This Cursed House

By: Del Sandeen

Narrated by: Chanté McCormick

One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of 2024

One of Crime Reads' Best Gothic Novels of 2024

In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth: They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.

In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago—and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over.

But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems. Light enough to pass as white, the Black family members look down on brown-skinned Jemma. Their tenuous hold on reality extends to all the members of their eccentric clan, from haughty grandmother Honorine to beautiful yet inscrutable cousin Fosette. And soon the shocking truth comes out: The Duchons are under a curse. And they think Jemma has the power to break it.

As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.

©2024 Del Sandeen (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"An absolute marvel of a debut from a prodigious talent. This Cursed House is a richly atmospheric, utterly chilling ghost story, an enthralling puzzle box of family scandals and secrets—that's also an unflinching examination of the insidiousness of racism, the horrors of colorism, and how the toxicity of hate is a curse that traps us all with the worst of ourselves. A spellbinding Southern gothic."—Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep and Such Sharp Teeth

“A sinister and beautifully rendered Southern Gothic, This Cursed House explores the real-life horrors of racism and trauma. Del Sandeen’s stunning debut haunted me.”—Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching

"Heavy as the theme is, This Cursed House is never less than absolutely fun. It’s self-aware but never self-conscious, and Sandeen pauses the breakneck pace only to ensure that you have a moment to fully grasp the secrets buried in its lineages and family trees, like Wuthering Heights transposed to the Big Easy. It’s such ripe Gothic that if you squeezed it, I’m half convinced blood-red juice would stain your hands."—Esquire

A great ghost story with lots twists

Awesome narrator preference and a very interesting story. I loved it, will search for more of this author work

The 1960s setting makes it even more interesting

What a pleasant surprise this book was!

Very well written, wasn't bored for a second, great setting and era, and a stellar audio performance.

I relate to this story so much

I appreciate the author for telling a very hidden story of white passing black people. This is a story that I know very very well including “ preserving the bloodline “ . The author did a great job. Very good read

It was pretty good

The story itself wasn’t very scary but was interesting enough to keep me going. I really enjoyed the historical aspect and the narrator did an amazing job.

You can bury the past. Or can you?

Excellent story and narration. At times both dark and poignant. Supernatural elements described hauntingly and never delving into the silliness other books about unsettled family matters can be. Loved it and hope for more from Del Sandeen!