Open House on Haunted Hill

Nataliya

Rating: really liked it
This is the cutest, most adorable and heartwarming Hugo and Nebula nominated story — and now Nebula Award winner for Best Short Story! — about a very lonely haunted house that really would like a family to move in.

133 Poisonwood Avenue needs to make a good impression and “it pulls its floorboards so straight that its foundations tremble”. Good thing it’s not a killer house and really just wants to be loved and lived in. “The house straightens its aching floorboards, like a human sucking in their belly.” A widowed father and his four-year-old kid would be just perfect.

“Every decent haunted house has at least one secret room.”

The title clearly evokes a well-known horror story, but this sweet little tale is anything but horror. Reading it is just like petting a cute fluffy kitten. It is cozy and charming and made my heart grow three sizes which cannot be healthy.

4 stars.

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Read it free here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...
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My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dennis

Rating: really liked it
***Nebula 2020 winner for Best Short Story***

A very different haunted house story.

Told from the perspective of the house, we learn that it never actually killed anyone. Well, in 1989 an old lady died there, but it was not the house’s fault. No, this house is not a killer. It is just ... lonely. It wants somebody to finally call it their home again.

So, when Mrs. Weiss is organizing an open house, 133 Poisonwood Avenue is on its best behavior. Can it convince someone to live in it? A widowed father and his young girl might be its best chance.

This is an adorable little story. While nothing spectacular and certainly not scary, it is really sweet and put a smile on my face.

Can be read for free here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...

Also a Hugo 2021 finalist for Best Short Story.

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2020 Nebula Award Finalists

Best Novel
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)
• The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk (Erewhon)
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
• Network Effect by Martha Wells (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Novella
• Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)
• Finna by Nino Cipri (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
• The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Novelette
• Stepsister by Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
• Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Shadow Prisons by Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as The Shadow Prison Experiment, Shadow Prisons of the Mind and The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)

Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• The Eight-Thousanders by Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20) (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
• My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
• A Game of Fox and Squirrels by Jenn Reese (Holt)
• Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)

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2021 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

Best Novella
• Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020)
• I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020)
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from Big Girl)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)

Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Interdependency by John Scalzi
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Best Graphic Story or Comic
• Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

Becky

Rating: really liked it
This was freaking ADORABLE. I absolutely loved the concept of the house haunting itself, and beneficially "haunting" the family that may move in. Very cute, very heartwarming and sweet. I read this in about 5 minutes while eating lunch, and, as much as I am a cynical, non-hugging beast of a human, I am also a big emotional softie and this almost made me tear up a bit.

Excuse me while I call my bank about a completely unrelated mortgage question. O_O

mwana

Rating: really liked it
A haunted house is a lonely fate. Many resort to killing their occupants. Or terrorising them. However, 133 Poisonwood isn't like other haunted houses. It's—lonely.


What 133 Poisonwood wants, is a resident. It watches pensively as client after client is brought in by the realtor.

It sometimes intervenes Haunting is an art. yes, yes it is. I will not be ghosting any stories about anthropomorphic objects. Is this a new favourite trope? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out.

You can read it here.

Mitticus

Rating: really liked it
Nebula short story award 2020

Oooh so sweet. I have a soft spot for sentient haunting lonely things.

All 133 Poisonwood has is a light touch, but it knows how to use it. Haunting is an art.

Fiona

Rating: really liked it
133 Poisonwood Avenue would be stronger if it was a killer house. There is an estate at 35 Silver Street that annihilated a family back in the 1800s and its roof has never sprung a leak since. In 2007 it still had the power to trap a bickering couple in an endless hedge maze that was physically only three hundred square feet. 35 Silver Street is a show-off.

This was sweet, sad, and got a lot done in a very short space of time. No wonder it won a Nebula!

Mir

Rating: really liked it
This was really touching. The not-exactly-haunted house just wants some nice people to move in.

Stephen

Rating: really liked it
Wonderful story. I recommend this as a companion read to The House in the Cerulean Sea. Both are charming and have the same whimsical feel. Like The House in the Cerulean Sea, the house at 133 Poisonwood Avenue would make a wonderful home for gifted children because it also seeks to protect a gifted child. If you liked Cerulean Sea, definitely give this a read.

Drew

Rating: really liked it
133 Poisonwood would be stronger if it was a killer house. But it couldn’t be more adorable. This haunted house story isn’t short on anything but length. I’ll be looking for more from this author! Thank you to Nataliya for the wonderful review and link to the story. Now, it’s my turn to pass it on. Read it here: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fi...

Silvana

Rating: really liked it
Better than expected but it ended way too soon. Would love to read more about the house and Anna.

Elena Linville

Rating: really liked it
What a lovely little story! It made my heart full and even made me tear up a little by the end. Haunted houses don't always have to be scary. Sometimes they just want to be inhabited again.

Vivian

Rating: really liked it
Super cute supernatural short story.

Nicola

Rating: really liked it
Sweet, lovely story with exceptional personification! It will only take a few minutes to read but it will keep you thinking!

http://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fic...

Mehsi

Rating: really liked it
A short but oh so much fun story about a haunted house... but way different than you may think it is! This haunted house is actually nice! He actually wants people to live in him. In this book we follow, through the eyes of the house, a day in which the house is open for people. We especially follow a single father and his tiny daughter. The house seems particularly fond of them and I had fun seeing the house do his best to make them at home. Showing them parts, making rooms shiny a bit brighter, straightening the floor, giving a nudge or two to the people, and so on. It was so much fun to read and I really loved how sweet the house was. Haunted houses generally are bad places to be in, but this one? Just so homey and welcome, I wouldn't mind being there.
I wasn't too sure at times about father/daughter given how he reacted to her at times.
A fun short story and I definitely wouldn't mind this one get expanded and a bit longer. I would love to know more about this haunted place.

Beverly Fox

Rating: really liked it
One of my favorite stories of all time. To take something normally so frightening and evil and turn it into the most endearing, lovable, cuddle-worthy (if one could cuddle a house) characters is nothing short of miraculous. And yet, it's completely this author's jam.

Handling something as heavy as grief with the depth of emotion conveyed here, while still making the reader laugh as often as he does, is also miraculous. But that is, again, exactly his jam. I never feel like anything is being played for laughs, it's just that life really is pretty funny when you think about it.

John has such a unique view and voice in his writing that his work is literally incomparable. And I can't wait for what comes next.