Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman is a deeply unsettling horror novel told from the perspective of eight-year-old Bela, who has an unnatural being living in her closet that she calls Other Mommy. 

Bela used to think that Other Mommy was her friend, but now she won’t stop asking: ‘Can I go inside your heart?’. Bela doesn’t want to say yes, but Other Mommy is getting more and more insistent and now Bela’s family may pay the price if she doesn’t answer.

While the concept of the spooky imaginary friend is not uncommon in the horror genre, Malerman’s choice to tell this story in Bela’s words gives the story the uncomfortable lens which only helps the tension build with every page. There is minimal punctuation: prose and dialogue are differentiated by page indents and Malerman absolutely nails the naïve innocence of Bela’s character and the way that an eight-year-old would interpret the world in these nightmarish circumstances. Bela’s descriptions are childish and entirely normal until Malerman casually slips in a horrific detail, leaving the reader to frantically reassess their understanding of the events so far while Bela’s train of thought keeps meandering on. Excuse me Mr Malerman, what do you mean she keeps her eyes on the side of her face?

Bela’s point of view also provides a unique depiction of her parents’ relationship and their behaviour towards her. She admits to pretending to sleep while her parents use her as a sort of confessional – a convenient way for Malerman to inject paragraphs of Mommy or Daddo’s innermost thoughts into the narrative, despite the slightly unrealistic nature of the interaction. 

This is a page-turning horror that doesn’t slow down for longer than it absolutely has to, with utterly haunting descriptions that had me thoroughly regretting my decision to read this on my own in the dark. Some unexpected plot twists would have massively increased my enjoyment of this novel, but Malerman still succeeded in what he was trying to achieve with this story and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a speedy, supernatural romp that keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

Incidents Around the House is available now – you can order your copy HERE