5 Best Horror Books To Read If You Love House Of Leaves

Published Oct 27, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves has become one of modern horror's most distinctive cult classics, taking readers on a terrifying journey into a seemingly endless labyrinth hidden inside a house that's inexplicably larger on the inside than the outside. Told through a dizzying collection of manuscripts, footnotes, and conflicting accounts, the novel's unconventional, ergodic structure and epistolary storytelling make the reading experience almost as disorienting as the story itself. Over the years, House of Leaves has influenced countless artists, authors, and creatives, with its legacy evident in modern liminal-space horror like the Backrooms and projects such as the acclaimed Doom II mod "MyHouse.wad." Although few novels have quite replicated Danielewski's singular achievement, there are plenty of similarly disturbing and experimental horror books that deserve a place on your reading list, particularly if you're looking for another mind-bending experience that challenges your understanding of reality. Episode Thirteen Craig DiLouie (2023) Craig DiLouie's Episode Thirteen takes the familiar premise of a ghost-hunting television show and pushes it into some truly nightmarish territory. The novel follows the crew of Fade to Black, a fictional paranormal reality series led by husband-and-wife investigators Matt and Claire Kirklin. For their thirteenth episode, the team heads to Foundation House, a decaying mansion once occupied by researchers conducting bizarre experiments in the 1970s. The investigators hope to capture convincing evidence of the supernatural, but what they encounter upends their understanding of reality altogether. The clearest connection to House of Leaves is DiLouie's structure, which unfolds through transcripts of recorded footage, journal entries, emails, and other documents, inviting readers to "piece together" the crew's disturbing ordeal. The fragmented style creates the unsettling feeling of sifting through the aftermath of something you shouldn't be looking at. Episode Thirteen is an excellent choice for readers who loved Danielewski's labyrinthine masterpiece, and earned a starred review from Library Journal, while bestselling horror author Peter Clines compared it to a cross between House of Leaves and The Haunting of Hill House. You can order Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie via Amazon here. The Tunnel William H. Gass (1995) William H. Gass's The Tunnel isn't a horror novel in the traditional sense, but spending hundreds of pages inside its narrator's mind will feel every bit as unsettling as exploring the labyrinth of House of Leaves. Published in 1995, the novel follows William Frederick Kohler, a historian who has completed an exhaustive study of Nazi Germany but finds himself unable to write the intro. Instead, he begins a disturbing account of his own life, exposing his deepest resentments, prejudices, and capacity for cruelty. Meanwhile, he secretly digs a tunnel beneath his house, creating a physical manifestation of his psychological descent. Gass also treats the book's pages as part of the experience, experimenting with typography, illustrations, and unconventional layouts in ways that will feel familiar to Danielewski fans. There's no supernatural monster lurking beneath Kohler's home or anything like that, but the horror comes from what his confessions reveal about human nature. It's an exceptionally dense, challenging read, but one that rewards patience, particularly for readers who appreciate the philosophical complexity, unconventional structure, and deeply uncomfortable subject matter of House of Leaves. You can order William H. Gass' The Tunnel on Amazon here. Strange Houses Uketsu (2021) Japanese author Uketsu's Strange Houses takes the concept of unsettling architecture and transforms it into an incredibly inventive horror mystery. The novel follows a writer investigating an ordinary-looking house in Tokyo, only to discover bizarre inconsistencies in its floor plans, including a mysterious space concealed between its walls. With the help of an architect friend, he begins uncovering disturbing secrets that suggest something far more sinister is happening. Part of Uketsu's wider collection of Strange mysteries, which includes Strange Pictures, Strange Buildings, and the upcoming Strange Maps, the novel blends psychological horror, crime fiction, and interactive puzzle-solving into a genre-bending experience. Readers examine illustrated floor plans and piece together clues themselves, making the book especially appealing to House of Leaves fans who enjoyed deciphering its labyrinthine mysteries. Strange Houses has also earned considerable praise, with the Daily Mail celebrating its combination of "horror, crime and fantasy," while Voice Magazine described it as "a haunted architectural puzzle." It's a remarkably original take on horror that makes the reader an active participant in the experience. You can order Uketsu's Strange Houses via Amazon here. The Cipher Kathe Koja (1991) Named one of the "Top 10 Debut Sci-Fi Novels That Took the World By Storm" and winner of both the Bram Stoker and Locus Awards, The Cipher is an absolute must-read sci-fi horror experience for House of Leaves enthusiasts. First published in 1991, the novel follows Nicholas, an aspiring poet, and Nakota, his lover, who discover a mysterious black hole in the floor of an abandoned storage room. Nicknamed the "Funhole," the seemingly bottomless opening becomes the subject of a series of disturbing experiments, with objects and living creatures emerging grotesquely transformed. When the pair lower a video camera into its depths, the resulting footage raises even more terrifying questions about what they've discovered. What makes The Cipher so unsettling is Koja's blend of visceral body horror and psychological terror, using the black hole to explore obsession, madness, and humanity's fascination with the unknown. Much like House of Leaves, the novel transforms an impossible physical space into something disturbing and eerie, challenging both its characters' and readers' perceptions of reality. Its feverish prose and nightmarish atmosphere make it a particularly unforgettable reading experience. You can order Kathe Koja's The Cipher via Amazon here. The Grip Of It Jac Jemc (2017) Listed as one of Vulture's "10 Best Thriller Books of 2017" and a finalist for the Chicago Review of Books Fiction Award, Jac Jemc's The Grip of It also received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal. The latter specifically recommended it to readers of House of Leaves, which is perhaps the strongest endorsement possible for this list. The novel follows Julie and James, a married couple searching for a fresh start after James's gambling addiction sends their relationship into a spiral. Unfortunately, their new home proves anything but a sanctuary. Strange drawings materialize on the walls, hidden rooms and passageways are discovered, and Julie develops unexplained bruises that mirror the creepy stains around the house. As the couple investigates, their perspectives make it difficult to separate supernatural events from what's going on in their heads. Jemc's short, alternating chapters make the experience especially tense, taking a familiar haunted-house premise into a deeply uncomfortable examination of distrust, isolation, and a marriage collapsing under pressure. You can order Jac Jemc's The Grip of It via Amazon here. These five books take the unease found at the heart of House of Leaves in wildly different directions, from grisly cosmic horror to psychological torment and literary experiments that are horrific even if not explicitly considered horror. And none of them need to replicate House of Leaves' famous structure or seemingly endless puzzle-like pages to leave readers feeling utterly lost. While there's nothing quite like Danielewski's iconic work, these books capture that same vibe and unease perfectly. House of Leaves