In the traditional haunted house story, the tension usually comes from the fact the protagonist must stay within the house. Oftentimes, they’ve just purchased the place or inherited it. They are employed to caretake the house or are forced to live next door to it. The biggest scares in these stories may occur when the ghost pops out of the closet, but the true terror in these tales is that the characters are trapped. Yes, the Luntz’s could leave their home in Amityville to go to work on the grocery store, but every night they still came home to sleep beside their spectral roommates.
Joshua Hull ups the ante in his latest book, 8114 (out Aug. 26, 2025 from Clash Books), with a story where it’s not just a house that is haunted, it’s an entire town. Paul Early is an investigative podcaster whose bad-faith reporting has landed him in hot water just as he discovers terrible personal news. His childhood best friend has died by suicide inside Paul’s abandoned family home at the edge of town. Hungry for answers, Paul turns to the same podcasting skills that got him canceled to try to piece together what drove his friend to such an act. But there is something much more sinister lurking in this small Indiana town, and the closer Paul gets to the truth, the more lethal things become.
In a world of increasingly literary haunt novels, 8114 is a breath of fresh air. Readers are not left to wonder if the horrors Paul Early is facing are all in his head or a manifestation of trauma. Instead, Hull boldly makes his monsters real, visible, and threatening from moment one. Supernatural creatures burst from lacerations on skin, while demons lurk in the shadows of everyday locations. Dead friends drop by for a quick chat, while gangs of ghosts can be seen by more than one townsperson.
It’s this imagery that will stick with readers after they close 8114, and that comes as so surprise. Hull’s most recent success is as the script writer for the film Glorious, a cosmic horror-comedy about a man’s encounter with an eldritch god in a rest-stop bathroom. That cinematic eye is on full display here as characters see disturbing figures in one moment and then find them gone the next. Or, when a scene spirals into out-of-control body horror only for reality to snap back into focus and reveal none of these terrible events happened.
Horror movie fans will likely enjoy seeing this very film-centric technique explored on the page, but they may also lament the lack of rich internal life that comes with this approach. In film, we must understand the character’s feelings and motivations through their words and actions. While in books, we’re gifted the ability to dive deeply into their minds. Hull’s first-person novel certainly allows readers into Paul’s mind, but what they’ll find there is fairly surface. This is not a character with a rich internal life. His motivations are simple: untangle the mystery, save himself and his friends, and maybe get the girl in the end. The source of the haunting is revealed, but the reasons for it are basic. Even Paul’s belief that he is the reason so many lives have been ruined is discussed but never truly examined. What did he do on his podcast that was so uncouth? Why does his high school girlfriend consider him a fuck up?
But these questions and others are easily set aside as Hull lays out the track and sends readers on a fast-paced thrill ride they are sure to enjoy. 8114 is a refreshingly fun horror story sure to connect with horror hounds ready for a good old fashioned haunting.
Looking for more haunted house horror? Look no further than The House Next Door.
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