When I was little I was sure my grandmother’s 1800s rural farmhouse was haunted, but I wasn’t sure if the ghosts were there to scare us or help us. Wanting to make my friendly intentions clear, I made up my own rituals to communicate with them, and while they never spoke back to me with a clear response, I also felt safer. Thus began my obsession with stories that have supernatural and paranormal elements, and it’s a dream come true to get to explore those powers in my own novels.
The supernatural typically refers to events, forces, or entities that exist or occur outside the known laws of nature and science and is defined as of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe, especially : of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil.
My hot take is that you have to be a little woo-woo to be a writer. Think about it! We make up characters out of thin air, put them in terrible situations to see how strong and smart they are, and then craft a twisty ending to explain it all. Where does that come from? Our imagination? Some open channel to the muse? I’ve clearly given myself away as a pantser, but even the plotters admit to the story taking on a life of its own. That’s what I call a little bit supernatural.
Of course, I like more than a little bit. My debut, The Astrology House, explores what forces are at play for a woman who has been told by a psychic that she’s going to die. Is this a metaphorical death—like the Death card in Tarot—or a real end of her life? And is there anything she can do about it? Can we thwart our fate or is free will limited?
My second novel, The Dahlia Suite, begins with a woman who can communicate with her long deceased mother, but her chosen profession in the law means she keeps her powers to herself. It’s not until another guest on the island believes in her abilities, and the concierge of the resort needs help solving a string of missing local girls, that the lawyer’s skill grows on the tropical paradise island.
I’m not the first author obsessed with the supernatural, nor will I be the last. Here are some of my favorite books that refuse to stay grounded in the reality we can explain.
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Stephen King, The Shining
A huge inspiration for the powers in The Dahlia Suite, young Danny, the son of a grand hotel’s caretaker, has “the shine”—psychic precognitive abilities. But because he’s a child, no one believes his violent premonitions.
King was inspired to write the story when he and his family were spending the night at the Stanley, a grand old hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. They were the only guests that night as the hotel was closing down for the winter. The abandoned corridors became the setting of King’s dream where his own three-year-old son was running and screaming out of terror, and The Shining was born.
This book had a lasting impact on me at a young age, but it wasn’t the only one. Stephen King is the master of embracing the inexplicable and making it real rather than dismissing it. Another one that left me shook: Pet Sematary.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic
This novel deftly entwines two of my favorite domestic thriller tropes: a house with secrets and the supernatural. After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, an isolated mansion in the Mexican countryside. When she arrives it’s clear that there are many secrets within the walls of the estate and as she digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness while trying to not fall victim herself.
In crafting the story, Moreno-Garcia was inspired by the history of Mexican mining ghost towns, such as Real del Monte, where indigenous people of Mexico were used by colonialists for cheap labor. The result is a propulsive, claustrophobic novel that makes the supernatural feel so real you might be scared to fall asleep.
Simone St. James, The Sun Down Motel
Told in dual timelines of 1982 and 2017, The Sun Down Motel follows two women—an aunt who worked the night shift and her niece—as they investigate the scary happenings at the motel. The ghosts that haunt this town are true supernatural beings, as well as dark memories and loneliness.
The idea for the story was born from St. James’ love of Stephen King books, Stranger Things, and Psycho and this ambitious novel works on every level.
Riley Sager, The House Across the Lake
This novel begins with a very strange occurrence: a woman found face down, drowned, in a lake is revived with no real effort. The story follows Casey Fletcher, a widowed actress who becomes entangled in the mysterious disappearance of her neighbor while staying at the family’s lake house.
But what really happens is far more eerie and shocking than any true crime documentary could ever touch.
Sarah Pekkanen, The Women in White
I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the latest from bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen, not only because she’s a fantastic writer but because this one “goes there.” The Women In White combines a decades-old mystery with paranormal elements guaranteed to make the hair on your arms stand up.
The novel follows four remarkable young women at a prestigious university when they become the subjects of parapsychology experiments in 1964. Do they have extrasensory perception? A sixth sense? Or is it something else entirely? Told in dual timelines, the real story unfolds as old secrets rise to the surface when some would rather than stay down.
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