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Is “We Used To Live Here” One of The Best Horror Novels of 2024?
A review of Marcus Kliewer’s 2024 novel
Every year, I look forward to browsing the top-rated novels featured on the Goodreads Choice Awards. Among the nominees for both the horror and debut novel categories in 2024 was Marcus Kliewer’s We Used to Live Here. Securing second place behind Stephen King’s Holly for Best Horror, I couldn’t help but wonder what made Kliewer’s debut so compelling that it’s already set to become a Netflix adaptation.
Although I wasn’t familiar with r/NoSleep — a Reddit community where users share horror stories presented as though they’re real — I later learned that the novel originated there as a serialized short story. Heading into the book, I was expecting an entertaining haunted house tale. Unfortunately, We Used to Live Here turned out to be a surprising disappointment.
Charlie and Eve, a couple who make a living flipping houses, manage to get a deal on an old Victorian home in a picturesque neighborhood. One evening, there’s a knock at the door, and Eve answers to find a man with his family. He claims to have lived in the house years ago and asks if he could show his kids around. Eve, ever the people-pleaser, finds herself unable to refuse and invites them inside.
