Incidents Around the House: A Novel

A young girl’s troubled family is haunted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy” in this chilling tale from the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box.

“Deeply discomfiting, imaginatively ripe, yet ruthlessly efficient [with] claustrophobic terror that almost transcends articulation . . . Simply put—and I do not say this lightly—Incidents Around the House is the most purely effective horror novel I have ever read.”Neil McRobert, Esquire

“This book is the monster that lives inside your closet.”—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House

COMING SOON AS THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OTHER MOMMY, STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN • LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home.

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Published Jun 25, 2024

400 pages

Average rating: 6.92

335 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Incidents Around the House* delivers eerie, psychological horror through the innocent yet troubled eyes of 8-year-old Bela, effectively p...

Steph Boggs
Feb 24, 2026
10/10 stars
Absolutely loved this book. It was such a creepy but thrilling ride through this story line with "other mother"..
Sarah Hackbarth
Jan 30, 2026
8/10 stars
The audiobook was phenomenal!
CozySocks
Jan 29, 2026
7/10 stars
Incidents Around the House was a spooky and unsettling read, but it didn’t fully land for me. At times, the writing felt like I was reading a children’s book, which makes sense because the narrator is a child, but it did pull me out of the story now and then and is the main reason for my lower rating. That said, some of the imagery was genuinely creepy. I imagined certain scenes while reading, and honestly, a few of them still haven’t left my head. Despite its flaws, it definitely delivers on atmosphere and lingering unease.
Gias_BookHaven
Dec 30, 2025
 I actually think the most creepy part about this book is the narration is done by someone who may still be very young. It's one thing to write from the perspective of a child; it's another to actually have a young adolescent narrate this story is hella creepy. And distracts from Other Mommy's presence personally. Like the author uses the eyes of a child (whom already see the world from a naive and turbulence perspective) to propel the element of spooky/scary tale onto the reader. It's a cheap and dated trick. 
RERES
Nov 18, 2025
8/10 stars
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