I have always found haunted houses really interesting - scary but interesting and so I found this such a interesting and though provoking read

As a fan of haunted house stories and movies, this book sounded like a lot of fun. In a way, it delivered, with chapters devoted to different “sick” houses, their architecture, history and use in various art forms. The author doesn’t just include haunted mansions, but any type of dwelling that causes unease or is unusual in any way. Mostly, the evil resides in the people and not the houses (like the Unabomber’s cabin). Sometimes there is no evil at all (the Winchester house). Often, the sickness is a reflection of a larger problem. I enjoyed revisiting some famous movies and learning their background. What wasn’t clear from the synopsis is that the volume is very personal and highly political. This is Taylor’s vision of what a sick house is, what society should be and her politics imbue the whole book. I’m aware as to how horror reflects a generation’s deepest fears, but I was interested in the entertainment angle and the political preaching got a little tiresome in the end. Knowing that might help this book find the type of reader who might be looking for that type of content. Other than that, this trip through horror houses was entertaining.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Repeater Books.

In Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread, author Leila Taylor seeks to examine houses that are somehow believed to be "wrong" whether through traumatic events that have taken place in those houses, the wrongness of the people who have lived in them, or just a sinister reputation that has been assigned due to unpleasant quirks in architecture.

There are some very interesting sections of this book (I'm grateful to Taylor for pointing me in the direction of The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths, which I had never heard of and which are creepy and delightful), and I always love to hear other horror lovers share their enthusiasm for my favorite works in the genre. But there are a couple of big issues that I had with the book that made it not entirely work for me. For one thing, for a relatively short work, the scope here is huge. Taylor discusses a little bit of everything, from historical houses like the Johnathan Corwin "Witch House" in Salem and the Winchester Mystery House, to the abodes of serial killers like the Kansas homestead of the "Bloody Benders", Ed Gein's farmhouse, the Unabomber's cabin in Montana, to houses and apartment complexes made famous in books and film. This large range of various topics that touch on architecture give the book a lack of cohesion. It's also written like a series of blog posts, so you get a lot of the author's opinion and personal politics thrown in as well, which was at odds with what is often a rather dry and scholarly approach to the material.

Ultimately, this book was like one of those tv series where people who work in the horror industry chat about their favorite horror tropes/moments/movies, etc. But a lot less fun. I would also add that spoilers to some horror books and movies abound here, so read with caution.

Thanks to Repeater Books and NetGalley for a digital advanced readers copy. <i>Sick Houses</i> will be available February 11, 2025.

Book: Sick Houses: Haunted Homes & the Architecture of Dread
Author: Leila Taylor
Publisher: Repeater
ISBN: 9781915672643
Publication Date: February 11, 2025
Capone’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5⭐

Part analysis, part polemic, and part memoir, Sick Houses balances as a (haunted?) stool on three legs, and Leila Taylor’s work is worth your attention. Chapters are arranged topically (e.g. Brutal Houses, Witch Houses, Mad Houses, Forever Houses), and the tone is largely informal rather than academic. At a brisk 240 pages, this cultural history of hauntings, infestations, and traumas offers a brief overview of the role houses—literally in terms of their shapes, sizes, and designs; metaphorically in terms of their emotional baggage and psychic experiences—in American horror over the years.

The aforementioned informal tone works to this book’s advantage, as it kept me swimming along enjoying the tour where a more formal tone would have stopped me—a pleasure reading curioso—from carrying on. It works to the book’s advantage when Taylor connects her personal perspective to an introduction to the section on witch houses: “Perhaps my affinity for decay is due to my having grown up in Detroit in the 80s, so decrepit Victorian mansions were part of my natural landscape. Perhaps it’s also that I prefer, for the most part, to be left alone.” Relatable, right? Even more insightful are Taylor’s social observations: “If [a house were] a woman,” Taylor writes, “[...] its human proxy would be [...] a certain type of woman we have been taught to fear, pity, and avoid becoming at all cost: post-menopausal, living alone, and abandoned by society long ago; the ‘crazy cat lady’; the Miss Havishams, the Norma Desmonds, the Blanch and ‘Baby’ Jane Hudsons’.” In particular, Taylor’s analysis of witch houses and what they represent (in essence: women who don’t submit themselves to the patriarchal expectations to which our society still clings) is poignant. This work moves beyond simple analysis and identifies connections between our behaviors and those of our forebears in Salem and unmerry old England.

This reader loves stories from Cold War America, so the bit about bomb shelters in the “Forever Houses” chapter was fascinating. Taylor observes: “Just as homeownership was marketed toward a specific American family portrait, so were bomb shelters. The Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization explicitly targeted suburban, white, middle-class families with a working father, a mother at home, and a few kinds. If America was going to survive through a nuclear holocaust, they wanted to make sure the ones who made it out alive were the right sort of people.” True horror, indeed, is best found in real life. No supernatural forces needed. Tying this kind of house to the Twilight Zone episode “The Shelter” (1961) was apropos, and Taylor didn’t miss the opportunity to discuss one of my favorite episodes of television.

The book’s strengths also contribute to its few shortcomings—that the book didn’t seem to know which it wanted to be: an analysis, a polemic, or a memoir. That lack of focus had an impact, as in we get little more than name dropping, as in the case of “The Shelter”—without a deep dive. But it’s hard to hold that fact too much against Leila Taylor’s Sick Houses, as the speed of the narrative is what allows the author to cover so much ground in so little space, and this book isn’t a stand-in for a graduate course on the subject. Taylor does provide food for thought and a list of books and movies for my TBR/TBW list, and I’m glad for the short time I spent with the author and their subject.

This book was a fascinating dive into the architecture of some iconic haunted houses from movies and books. The pictures added a great visual element, and the quotes from news publications were a nice extra touch.

What I really appreciated was the way it incorporated true crime elements without leaning into all the gore. Instead, it focused on intriguing facts about real-life homes that inspired horror classics, like the Benders' house and Ed Gein’s infamous property. It’s a fun and engaging read for anyone curious about the spooky stories behind some of horror’s most famous settings. 👻📚

Leila Taylor's "Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread" is an excellent overview of the different aspects of homes through a horror lens, what makes them that way, and what that means for the people inhabiting them. By providing examples of both fictional and non-fictional houses, Taylor turned her literary criticism into a cabinet of curiosities. Each chapter leads us to a new sub-section of the topic, pulling examples from pop culture, history, and true crime; Taylor's strength as a descriptive author made it unnecessary to Google every house she mentions and continue to read on (though the added photographs of certain houses were tasteful and well placed). The tone is conversational yet professional, with her insights and wrap-up adding strength to her analysis.

As a slight critique, a heads-up for spoilers about some movies and books would have been nice. I quickly caught on that any time Taylor mentioned a film or book, the entire plot would be revealed, but I imagine it would be offputting to some readers. Additionally, There was no way she could feasibly address every example for each chapter, either; but I believe she could have gone more in-depth at some points or made the connections between her examples stronger.

The final chapter of "Sick Houses," "My House," feels like an extended metaphor for this text. She brings us a pile of information, debris of terrifying instances both real and fictional, and wants us to make something of it. She never draws our conclusions but makes her thesis for each chapter clear. If the reader is here for the actual gritty details of architecture itself, they may be disappointed, but "Sick Houses" is perfect for anyone interested in the subject of pop culture horror and how it intersects with our lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy.

Taylor does an amazing overview and interrogation of haunted houses across American and British popular culture, and even digs up a few movies that I thought would never be interrogated in this kind of context (Dogtooth!!). Great read, great analysis, pick it up when it comes out this Feb.

Even though she defines “house” vs “home” in chapter 1 and opines that a home can’t be haunted, Taylor keeps coming back to talk about the concept of home which, for me, takes away from the interesting history and descriptions of the sick “houses”. Overall, as a fan of haunted and “sick” houses, it was an enjoyable reminder of the houses I’ve read about and seen in film and was fun to learn a little more about those and others I wasn’t aware of. It’s also an interesting combination of having all the appearances of an academic text but punctuated with strong, occasionally expletive-filled opinions about the houses or their inhabitants, especially the non-fictional ones.
While I appreciated the opportunity to read the ebook, I look forward to seeing the physical book as there were many photos of the houses she mentions that were not done justice in ebook form.

"The pall of terror or despair from a violent or unexpected demise lingers so heavily over a house that it permanently stains the very structure of the building."

Leila Taylor's book is a deep dive into the architecture of haunted houses, uncanny domestic spaces, and how the horror genre subverts and corrupts the sanctity of home. It explores how the horror genre in film, television, and literature uses architecture and the ideology of the home against us.

This has been my first non-fiction read in absolute ages. The idea of the lasting impact haunted spaces have and the way in which they have been perceived was interesting to me.

I like the way in which this felt like a well researched piece. It does not feel heavy to read. There are so many references I was quite familiar with. This new insight gave me another avenue with which to think about the affect these spaces have had over the decades.

If anything this has made me want to revisit the many horror films mentioned along with looking further into several locations.

This was in the Horror category so I was surprised to find a nonfiction book. The title is so misleading, it’s not about sick houses or haunted houses or even murder houses. This is about movies with houses in them. A very deep dive into movies. Very disappointed.

Sick Houses is a fascinating work of horror literary criticism that takes the reader on a tour of haunted houses, ranging from the fiction to non-fiction. Leila Taylor is a knowledgeable, engaging and insightful narrator: I found her writing style completely absorbing.

The definition of what makes a haunted house is wide ranging, including not only supernatural hauntings but more abstract ones, such as attempts to design architecture to influence human behaviour (High Rise), humans held in captivity (Room), and the way houses and inhabitants influence each other (the Unabomber cabin). It's a mark of how much I enjoyed this book that I didn't want it to end: there are plenty of haunted houses which didn't make the cut which I would love to hear Leila Taylor's take on. The haunted house is such a widespread and well established trope that it would be impossible to catalogue every one. Instead, the examples act as prompts to explore our expectations around houses and how we react when people fail to meet them.

Sick Houses focuses mainly on the American haunted house, with a few exceptions such as High Rise, The Others and His House. At times, I felt like the book would have benefitted by narrowing its focus to specifically American haunted houses, at others I would have liked to broaden it to include more international examples. However, the non-American examples were well chosen and added something interesting to the discussion that I would have been sorry to lose.

Thank you to NetGalley, Leila Taylor and Repeater books for an ARC in return for my honest review.

This book was a surprise for me. I was really drawn in by the description but still a bit apprehensive because I'm not a big reader of non-fiction. My love for haunted houses is bigger though... This was a very good book about the architecture of haunted houses. I learned so much and the research from the author really shines through. The writing style is not tedious and it's nothing like a textbook from school.

This book can reel you in and keep you close through the entire book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a fantastic concept, and I really found this kind of editorial essay approach to a fascinating non-fiction subject a good one for the topic. This book covers the idea of houses and homes and the in-between that gives us such a distinct sense of dread when dealing with the supernatural in them. I know this feeling well - we live in an incredibly old house, and have just as many cats as necessary to compensate for (presumably) all the ghosts that probably live here with us.

This book starts off with the concept of homes and then the concept of hauntings, and then further dives into interesting sub-genres of the haunted and bizarre in houses. There are segments dedicated to different forms of houses, often pulling on the strings of pop culture to bolster points and the concept of the weird. I found that there were some bits that were a bit too short, and drew on movies that I maybe would not have put into those precise contexts or segments, but they were still solid.

This is a really interesting read as a whole, and while I would have liked for it to be a bit longer, it is definitely an interesting book, and well worth the time!

Sick Houses explores the architecture of the quintessential domestic space: the home. What makes our refuge, that place of protection, become unsettling? What haunts these spaces? Leila Taylor masterfully dissects what happens when a disruptive element intrudes upon our sanctuary, transforming it into a hostile setting, even a trap.

The connection with Taylor is almost immediate: she seems to share with me a series of neuroses and obsessions that are utterly fascinating. Her concern with understanding how a home can be desecrated to the point of becoming merely “a house” resonates deeply.
Through real-life examples intertwined with references to horror literature and cinema, Taylor attempts to explain the cases where the house becomes a character. Sometimes, it takes on an overwhelming prominence, with malevolent intentions that even overshadow its inhabitants, that fall victims to the building's perverse will.

The author dedicates each chapter to a specific type of house: the haunted house, the dollhouse, the witch’s house, and so on, interweaving themes and political analyses. For instance, she explores how capitalism and certain policies have created a culture that idealizes homeownership, making us vulnerable to its eventual perversion. The homeowner, having invested time, money, and hopes in their home, has no choice but to become a victim of the house.

Taylor’s analysis goes beyond mere anecdotes—though she uses concrete examples—and seeks out the possible origins, the initial malignant cell that contaminates a house and makes it sick, in a thoroughly compelling work of non-fiction that will captivate horror enthusiasts and curious minds alike.

Thanks to NetGalley and Repeater Books for this ARC

Sick Houses is an exploration of unnerving and haunted domestic buildings, from simple family homes to imposing concrete tower blocks, and the fiction and real life that shows us these. The chapters focus on different types of architecture and spooky homes, sharing a range of examples and some of the eerie elements of these, and drawing on a range of media to look into what makes a house haunted.

I like Taylor's approach to the idea of haunted houses, making it quite a broad term that doesn't just cover houses with ghosts, but a range of types of 'haunting'. There's a lot of different material covered in the book, with a lot of examples, but I did find that it was more of a collection of different kinds of haunted homes rather than an analysis of things about them. I expected it to have more of an argument than it did, though I did like that the final chapter was Taylor's own experiences and a sense of uncertainty around what exactly a haunting is. I'd say that it is good if you're looking for something that shares a lot of different types of 'sick houses', but it is worth knowing that it isn't an in-depth exploration of the concept of these houses and what it might mean. I think it would sit well alongside Jacob Geller's YouTube video 'Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House', which takes the approach of analysing a few haunted houses more deeply, as for me that video set the bar very high for looking at the concept of a haunted house.

Cool concept, and I liked the debunking of some misreadings.
I expected it to focus more on the mood of the settings, the locations, and more of the author’s analyses and supporting visuals.

I never expected a book about houses—haunted or otherwise—to be so interesting. Leila Taylor avoids the morbid details of true crime in favor of exploring real and fictional horrors, and does so with the precision of a professional and the charm of a close friend.

Absorbing and highly atmospheric, this is a well-written book about houses with a creepy past, whether fictional or true. The author’s tone is likeable and readable, and the information is in depth yet totally parsable. The author clearly knows her stuff!

My expectations for Sick Houses were very high as I am a big fan of horror, especially of the haunted house trope. This is a non-fiction book that unfortunately reads like a school report on horror movies. The majority of the book is just a movie synopses and summaries that are big spoilers if you haven’t seen the films. I had to skip some descriptions, because I don’t want to be spoiled the ending or the whole premise of certain books and movies – huge spoilers for the movies Us and The Amityville Horror. I expected the author to put more explorations and analysis of their own opinions, but we just got some facts about famous houses. The best quotes and metaphors were from different sources, the bibliography at the end is massive. It was interesting reading how true events can be interpreted and presented as hauntings, as in the case of the Winchester house. This house was very fascinating, but there we no photos of it. There are plenty of photos of other houses, including movie scenes from various films, which was very unnecessary in my opinion. There were no floor plans or architectural drawings of buildings, there were some photographs I can assume taken by the author, but I can’t be too sure of that. The book ends with a personal experience that the author had, but for the most part I felt like the person writing this isn’t very familiar with the things they are writing about. I was pretty disappointed and unfortunately I cannot rate it very high.
Thank you to NetGalley and Repeater Books for providing me with the ARC.

What a fascinating combination of personal experience, film criticism and social commentary! I thought this was such an interesting concept and it did not disappoint- the author’s conversational tone brings life to the analysis. I think I’d have liked to hear more on about houses in fiction but that’s just a personal preference for literary studies and doesn’t negate how interesting I found this, or how informative it was. I’ve spoken to people about this already so I’ll definitely be enthusiastically handselling on publication. Looking forward to reading the author’s other work on black southern horror!