Looking for Suspenseful, Supernatural Stories Based on Folk Customs 求民俗类悬疑灵异故事

1. 1 镇 The Dragon-Suppressing Coffin and the King of Hell's Fate 镇龙棺，阎王命 Feiyi匪夷Mystery4.9M WordsOngoing They severed my tendons and buried me alive in a sealed coffin, but they didn’t know I was born with the fate of the King of Hell! [Folk horror, feng shui and talismans, incense offerings] Feng shui and fortune-telling, painted-skin demons and spirit summoning, walking in the shadows and corpse driving, corpse-raising spells and curses, yin tattoos and talismanic needles, puppets controlled by strings, red doors sealed with wax, Dogs digging graves on Burial Mound Ridge, ghosts feasting in the R 308.4kReads9.4Score27.5kShelves

   Reader note

   *The Dragon-Suppressing Coffin, the King of Hell's Fate* tells the story of Lin Shou, who was adopted by a feng shui master at a young age but was buried alive by his fiancée's family due to his "King of Hell's Fate" constitution. He later learns feng shui talismans, skin-painting, and other folk arts to seek revenge and survive in a bizarre world where the underworld and the human world intertwine. The novel incorporates many folk elements, such as spirit-walking, corpse-driving, Miao witchcraft, and Southeast Asian black magic. The scenes are designed to be terrifying and shocking, with scenes like "ghosts eating at the River God Temple" and "the red door sealed with wax" sending chills down the spine. The protagonist is calm and decisive, and the plot twists and turns, showcasing both traditional metaphysical culture and exposing the wickedness of the human heart. Netizens have praised it for its "vivid character portrayals and a story that unfolds like peeling back layers of an onion." *I Use a Fox Spirit to Suppress a Hundred Ghosts* tells the story of a protagonist who was born under nineteen lightning tribulations and was prophesied by a fortune teller to be a "born demon," destined for eighteen calamities. He later becomes a sorcerer who exorcises ghosts and suppresses evil. The novel unfolds from a first-person perspective, incorporating folk customs such as Northeastern shamanism and fox spirit exorcism, interspersed with traditional magic arts like "Five Thunderbolts" and "inviting Taoist soldiers with foxes, weasels, white willows, and foxes." The plot is filled with a sense of destiny and suspense. Netizens say it's "more and more addictive the more you read, you can't put it down even while eating or sleeping," especially praising the descriptions of the protagonist's wit and courage in fighting against various demons and evil spirits. It has both a thrilling atmosphere and humorous details, making it a benchmark work in the folk supernatural genre.

2. 2 我EN With a Fox Immortal, I Subdue a Hundred Ghosts 我以狐仙镇百鬼 Purple Dream Wandering Dragon紫梦游龙Mystery10.3M WordsOngoing The day I was born, nineteen bolts of thunder struck around our family’s courtyard. A fortune-teller said I was born a demon child, fated to suffer eighteen calamities in my life. Either someone else would die, or I would. As it turned out, the fortune-teller met his own calamity on the very day I was born. He carried me out of the village, and suddenly dropped dead! 743.2kReads9.4Score41.2kShelves
3. 3 百 March of a Hundred Ghosts: I Take the Hungry Ghosts to War 百诡行军：我带饿鬼上战场 Bai Suzhen白素针儿Mystery308k WordsCompleted [Comedy] [Adventure] Bilige was a half-baked shaman who had somehow ended up in the army. His companions included a Shaanbei fat man who'd eaten himself up to two hundred jin during a famine, a long-legged Northeastern squad leader who would grab a cleaver at the slightest provocation, and a Sichuan opera actor who never told the truth. Together with Wang Laihe, a hotheaded young man who couldn't read a single character, and a little hungry ghost who did nothing but bare its teeth and shout “Hun 163Reads—Score—Shelves

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   1. Folklore and strange tales are intertwined with the nation's landscape. On the march, there are not only enemies, but also the eternal souls of the dead.

4. 4 民 The Republic-Era Book of Mysteries 民国诡秘录 Luo Biqingbu洛笔青簿Mystery206k WordsOngoing Sometimes, the one who takes your life isn’t a person at all, but an evil spirit or demon. And the one controlling those spirits from behind the scenes might well be human... In the chaotic Republican era, foreign powers encircled the nation, eager to invade China, while warlords fought among themselves at home, leaving the land in ruins. On the other side of the jianghu, evil spirits rose everywhere and ghosts ran rampant, while mysterious foreign religions invaded as well. After waking from a 773Reads—Score105Shelves

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   A must-read book of the year! [Supernatural Folklore + Thriller + Mystery] The author's writing is superb! It's clearly been a labor of love, with supernatural elements and mystery unfolding layer by layer like peeling an onion, including tales of spirits and ghosts from ancient Chinese folklore! [Add to bookshelf]

5. 5 非 The Abnormal Female Celestial Master 非正常女天师 The Girl Who Swallows Ghosts吞鬼的女孩Mystery5.8M WordsCompleted Everyone says foreigners are superstitious. If they bully you, all you have to do is mutter strange things and wave your hands at them, and you can scare them off. After Wan Sui was set up by her own family and stranded abroad, she faced a gang of thugs. She copied Uncle Jiu from the movies and made a few hand seals. To her surprise, they really did run away in terror. Someone looking for a bit of excitement recorded the scene and posted it back home. Wan Sui became an overnight sensation online 9.7kReads8.9Score886Shelves

   Reader note

   The second book is really good; check it out if you're looking for something to read.

6. 6 自 Surrender 自首 Glazed Luanhua琉璃栾华Mystery691k WordsCompleted (Now streaming on iQIYI. Starring Xu Weizhou, Guo Junchen, and Xiao Yan. A criminal police captain, played by Xu Weizhou, teams up with a psychologist, played by Guo Junchen, to solve cases and capture the monsters of the human heart. Mystery + deduction + psychologist + episodic cases + serial murders + high-IQ crimes + revenge plots + strange tales and records + best partners + light horror + suitable for the faint-hearted) “I killed someone.” A girl turns herself in, claiming that she killed 21.5kReads9.4Score3kShelves

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   A sinister, eerie dwelling stands on the outskirts of the city, unapproachable to most, yet bizarre murders are constantly reported there. Are they the work of vengeful spirits, or is there a hidden conspiracy at play? Unravel the mystery in "The Eerie Dwelling" and "The Truth About Murder," peeling back the layers to reveal the cruel truth hidden in the darkness.

7. 7 诡EN The House of Dread 诡舍 The Sound of Wind and Rain at Night,夜来风雨声丶Mystery2.1M WordsCompleted [Infinite-flow + Mild Horror + Survival + One Female Lead] A driverless bus carried a group of cursed people to a strange black lodge… Inside the lodge stood a door stained red with blood. At regular intervals, the cursed were forcibly dragged through the blood-red door and into terrifying worlds, where they had to complete horrifying events… After Ning Qiushui survived one bizarre and terrifying story after another inside the lodge, narrowly escaping death each time, he discovered that none of 707.4kReads9.6Score103.9kShelves
8. 8 民 Strange Tales from the Civil Affairs Bureau (Complete in 8 Volumes) 民调局异闻录（全8册） Er Dong Shuishou耳东水寿Mystery1.6M WordsCompleted The Strange Tales of the Bureau of Investigation series creates an entirely new world of suspense: a mysterious organization dedicated to uncovering the truth behind bizarre, uncanny, and supernatural events, and the world it faces. The stories are wildly strange and utterly captivating, with a witty, playful style and one suspenseful twist after another. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put them down. Throughout history, strange cases and evil monsters have always been dealt with by 37.4kReads9.6Score5.8kShelves

   Reader note

   Following in the footsteps of "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" and "Ghost Blows Out the Light," this new pinnacle of suspense novels features a mysterious organization, the "Bureau of Investigation," investigating the truth behind bizarre and supernatural events. This mysterious organization safeguards peace, boasts vividly portrayed characters, and presents a thrilling and intriguing story with a humorous and suspenseful style. From a mysterious cave mummy case to complex historical mysteries, the protagonist, Shen La, and others grow through these events, experiencing both fantastical adventure and reflections on the nature of good and evil. Reading this book is like being immersed in the story, uncovering the truth amidst fun and suspense, leaving a lasting impression. A must-read suspense masterpiece that will take you into a wondrous world.

9. 9 十EN Ten Days to the End 十日终焉 Pest Control Team Member杀虫队队员Mystery3.2M WordsCompleted 2024 Tomato Novel Annual Peak Rankings TOP 1 | 2024 China Online Literature Influence List | 2024 China Good Novel Award | Over 2 million copies sold (No harem, no formulaic tropes, no invincibility, no System, no mindless antics, no wish fulfillment. Read with caution if these bother you.) Just when I thought it was an ordinary day, I discovered I had been captured and taken to the End. Just when I thought I could escape by continually taking part in death games, people began awakening supernat 1.7MReads9.9Score206.4kShelves

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   The 9.9-rated classic, *Ten Days to the End*, is a phenomenal post-apocalyptic novel that blends suspense, intrigue, and existential questioning. With its unique "game realism" style and imaginative Chinese-style setting, it has consistently topped the Tomato Novel "Peak List," garnering over ten million reads and a 9.9-star rating from 700,000 readers. The story begins with a mysterious astronomical phenomenon triggering a ten-day countdown. The protagonist, Qi Xia, and a group of "guilty" individuals are drawn into the Land of the End, forced to participate in a death game governed by the twelve zodiac animals. Within ten days, they must navigate three brain-teasing levels—Heaven, Earth, and Man—risking their lives for survival using the "Dao" as their bargaining chip. Losers will lose their memories and be resurrected indefinitely; only those who awaken the "Echo" ability can retain their memories and find a way out of the cycle. The author's team deeply blends Chinese elements with suspense and mystery: the twelve zodiac animals act as game referees, the dungeon design subtly incorporates cultural symbols such as the solar terms and cultivation of immortality, and the game process, like a "year of calamity," requires the cooperation of all four seasons to fight against the Nian beast. The unpredictable rules reveal philosophical insights. The protagonist, Qi Xia, uses his "unending life" ability to repeatedly reverse desperate situations. His advancement from mortal to celestial zodiac animal metaphorically represents the clash between humanity and divinity. The team's grassroots loyalty, such as that of Qiao Jiajin, and the forbearance and resistance of Attorney Zhang, make the characters vividly portrayed. The book offers both intellectual thrills and poignant metaphors like the "chained woman," making it a perfect combination of "database writing" and allegorical narrative. If you're tired of formulaic wish-fulfillment novels, why not step into the Land of the End and experience this survival fantasy where life is the game and faith breaks the cycle of reincarnation—after all, "when lies and despair become the norm, only kindness and wisdom can tear through the veil."

10. 10 红 Red and White Wedding 红白囍 AyeAyeCaptainTwo Male Leads186k WordsCompleted [Republican-era nostalgia + supernatural + two male leads + equally matched powerhouses + pure-hearted madmen] [Brilliant and passionate young diviner Tian Suanzi, Mu Geshen X cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside heir to a family of physicians, the saintly doctor Chai Shuxin] A funeral is mournful, a wedding joyful, I travel from the world of the living to the Yellow Springs, Prepare incense, candles, paper horses, and a bridal sedan, Lady Meng offers us the nuptial wine. White paper, red rob 50kReads9.7Score11.9kShelves

    Reader note

    This "Red and White Wedding" story has a romantic subplot, but it's still quite eerie and terrifying. It's a relatively short novel composed of three parts; both books were so bad they gave me nightmares if I read them at night.

11. 11 这 This Spirit Medium Is Pretty Powerful! 这个出马仙有点强！ Wu the Half-Immortal吴半仙Mystery3.8M WordsOngoing A piece of red cloth, three feet and three inches long. The old hall's people, the old hall's immortals. One day, when they emerge from the depths of the mountains, their names will spread far and wide! I was born in a rural village in Northeast China in the 1980s. When I was seven, a spirit medium said I was fated to suffer three calamities and eight misfortunes, and would one day become a horse-riding shaman. I didn't believe it, but hardship kept finding me. To make a living, I worked as a wa 150.8kReads9.7Score13.6kShelves

    Reader note

    1. The protagonist is born with a tragic fate, frequently encountering supernatural events. Through a series of coincidences, he becomes a shamanic disciple. The book provides detailed information about shamanic practices, is rich in folklore and legends, and reflects the author's extensive research and connections within the industry. The content is grounded in reality, making it a rare and high-quality first-person novel. 2. The main plot, centered around the protagonist's background and sect, is tightly woven and well-developed, without any unnecessary padding or romance. It's suitable for readers who enjoy supernatural suspense and fast-paced storylines.

12. 12 长 Old Dreams of a Long Night 长夜旧梦 Enchanting Demon风情万种的妖Urban107k WordsOngoing Make peace in the daylight Fall apart in the dark of night Tear a soul from the mire Can I be buried in the dust? My master said, “All things have a spirit. They gather and take form; when they die, they disperse and return to heaven and earth. Gathering and parting have their seasons, an eternal cycle through the ages, life unceasing.” 4Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Short story, the first few chapters are folklore and supernatural.

13. 13 红 A Red-Clad Female Ghost Knocks to Claim My Life. I Open the Door, Thrilled 红衣女鬼敲门索命，开门我兴奋了 Lord Buddha of the Nine Gates九门佛爷Mystery636k WordsCompleted The red moon rises! Ghostly energy returns! In the middle of the night, someone keeps knocking on the door of the campus beauty next door. Ning Chen curses in vain, then opens his door and steps out. To his surprise, a red-clad female ghost is knocking to claim the beauty’s life. Luckily, he activates the Supernatural Choice System. 1. Pretend you didn’t see her, go back inside, and lock the door tight, letting the red-clad female ghost claim the beauty’s life! Reward: a ghost-repelling constitu 7.1kReads8.9Score559Shelves

    Reader note

    It looks amazing, you'll definitely love it.

14. 14 灵 Supernatural: I’m the Top Exorcist in the Cosplay Scene 灵异：我！COS界超度大师 Kisuke喜助Mystery499k WordsCompleted [Supernatural + Anime and Manga + System] Ye Yu, a hardcore shut-in, encounters a supernatural incident while using the toilet and awakens the Myriad Worlds Merit-Bestowing System! But soon afterward, he discovers something even more terrifying than the supernatural incident. There’s no toilet paper. (‧̣̥̇꒪່⍢꒪່ )… Female ghost: Do you want red toilet paper or white toilet paper? Ye Yu: Um... I usually use sandpaper. The female ghost, inwardly: ∑(O_O;) Are young people these days all this hardco 939Reads8.3Score106Shelves
15. 15 午 The Midnight Pawnshop: The Living Must Keep Away 午夜当铺，活人回避 Chong Xiayueban虫下月半Mystery4.0M WordsOngoing [Traditional Supernatural Horror] [Chinese Folk Customs] [Unorthodox Trade] [Tales of Evil Objects] [No Romance] This is a strange pawnshop that deals exclusively in sinister objects with special value! When something goes against the natural order, evil must be at work! Some things simply should not exist in this world! Coins stuffed into the mouths of the dead, an executioner's blade, grave mushrooms, flesh lingzhi, Kunlun fetuses... Evil objects can harm people, but they can also help them! T 278.4kReads9.4Score23.6kShelves

    Reader note

    These four books are all folklore-themed suspense novels, and they're all pretty good.

16. 16 诡 The Haunted Tomb 诡坟 Sugar Quixote糖吉柯德Mystery2.2M WordsCompleted [This is no ordinary paranormal story. It's all about horror and suspense: no mindless wish fulfillment, forbidden yin-yang lore, no cultivation, and a ghost wife. If it's not good, you can break my legs.] People laugh at my family's poverty and say that all my blood relatives have died, so there must be a ghost in our house. I don't dare argue... because there really is a ghost buried in our ancestral grave! ...My name is Zhang Asi... I was born at four in the morning on the fourteenth day of t 40.1kReads8.8Score3.7kShelves
17. 17 这 Something's Wrong with How to Start This Urban Novel 这篇都市文的打开方式不对 Garlic Vermicelli Steamed Oysters蒜蓉粉丝蒸生蚝Modern Romance904k WordsCompleted After her parents died, Yan Xia was suddenly claimed by her biological parents. Her new parents seemed pretty wealthy, and her five older brothers were all outstanding men. Though she had no idea why there were five brothers again, maybe that was just the legendary tomato-novel rule for fake and real heiresses. After all, she’d heard she was the real heiress. But according to the “plot” suddenly implanted in her mind, the fake heiress, who had been raised by her new parents for twenty-three year 12.6kReads9.1Score2kShelves

    Reader note

    Different kinds of supernatural stories

18. 18 当 When I'm in the Rules Horror Game, Nothing Is Forbidden 当我在规则怪谈百无禁忌 Xu Moqing徐墨卿Mystery542k WordsCompleted [No female lead + supernatural horror + mental illness + comedy + national destiny] My name is Su Ming, and I'm a transmigrator. I currently work at Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital, where I'm in charge of the important project of “being studied.” They keep saying I'm sick, but I know I'm fine. It's the world that's sick. After I escaped from the psychiatric hospital, I was chosen by Rule Horror to become Longguo's chosen participant, representing Longguo in the upcoming horror games. [Ding! The Ho 67kReads9.6Score7.7kShelves

    Reader note

    It's incredibly visually appealing, and even better to listen to. The fantastical folk customs in Northeastern dialect will keep you hooked the more you listen.

19. 19 憋 The Treasure Hunter 憋宝人 Fan Xiaoban蕃晓般Mystery1.4M WordsCompleted The skin shed by a black fish as it transforms into a serpent can be stretched over a drum to carry its sound a hundred miles. The bowl atop a river imp's head can revive the dead when used to hold medicine. The pearl spat out by a giant serpent, the Marquis Sui's Pearl, is worth a fortune. The immortal herb that a yaksha gives you can grant eternal life when eaten. In the eyes of us shepherds, also known as treasure seekers, these heavenly treasures are all fat sheep. Sheep come in red and blac 3.3kReads8.4Score371Shelves

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    [Tales of the Mysterious Arts of Lu Ban's Feng Shui] Carpenter Guo Shouyi saves a weasel and gains immense wealth, unaware that the inscription on the roof beam, "Jiang Taigong is here," suppresses evil spirits! Five deficiencies and three lacks are exchanged for glory, but the extinguishing of incense conceals murderous intent. A weasel knocks on the door at midnight, and the use of yin food to prolong life hides karmic consequences. Lu Ban's curse manifests, and a young man wields an inkwell to avert disaster. From craftsman to feng shui master, he cultivates thirty-six talismans to suppress evil, treading on the bones and blood of the weasel, but in doing so, he uncovers the thousand-year-old blood curse of Jiang Taigong's demon-slaying platform... A beam determines life and death, a piece of wood suppresses yin and yang!

20. 20 我 The Years I Spent as a Shepherd 我当羊倌那些年 Fan Xiaoban蕃晓般Mystery3.2M WordsCompleted A noodle shop packed with customers uses eels dug out of graves. A scrawny yellow dog is willing to develop gallstones for the sake of its master. A man-eating catfish has a water-swallowing pearl in its belly, while the teeth of an ancient corpse have turned to jade. As an heir to the grave-robbing treasure-seeking trade, I transmigrate through mountains and forests in search of heavenly treasures. People call those of our trade shepherds… 2kReads8.1Score243Shelves
21. 21 鲁 Lu Ban's Secret Art of Feng Shui 鲁班风水秘术 Three Liang and Two Qian三两二钱Mystery1.7M WordsCompleted Carpenters revere Lu Ban as their patriarch. He left behind the Lu Ban Book, divided into two parts. The first contains carpentry techniques, while the second is a collection of secret spells, never to be shared with outsiders. The patriarch also left a curse: anyone who learns the spells in the second part must suffer one of the fates of being widowed, orphaned, childless, or disabled. That is why later generations called the second part of the Lu Ban Book the “Missing One.” In the old days, mo 5.9kReads9.1Score832Shelves
22. 22 直 Livestream Fortune-Telling: From the Start, I Sponsored Grandpa's Underworld Startup 直播算命：开局赞助爷爷地府创业 Osmanthus of August, Gui'an八月桂安Modern Romance1.8M WordsCompleted [No Romance + Livestreaming + Fortune-Telling + Metaphysics + Showbiz] A metaphysical master fails her tribulation and wakes up in the body of a universally hated, C-list villainess. To pay off her breach-of-contract fees, Ji He starts livestreaming fortune-telling. A viewer with dark circles under his eyes calls in: “Streamer, why do I dream every night that my grandpa is telling me to burn joss paper?” Ji He: “Your grandpa's starting a business down below. He's short on cash.” Viewer: “...” On 44kReads9.3Score7.8kShelves

    Reader note

    Zhouyi metaphysics, folklore, suspense

23. 23 栩 Vivid as Life 栩栩若生 Xiao Xu小叙Mystery2.3M WordsCompleted A fortune-teller said I was born destined for greatness, the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess, with the power to turn stones into gold and command flower spirits and tree sprites. Once I came of age, my family was sure to prosper. But when I was twelve, I came down with a strange illness. My fever wouldn’t break, and I kept seeing terrifying visions... In a dream, I met an old woman who told me to find an expert with supernatural powers to save my life. Millet to summon souls, altars and form 19.7kReads9.5Score3.4kShelves

    Reader note

    Highly recommended! The author writes exceptionally well, and the plot is very engaging.

24. 24 我 I Am Intersex 我是阴阳人 Xiao Xu小叙Mystery2.2M WordsCompleted My mother said that when I was born, her first reaction was to strangle me, because it was impossible to tell whether I was male or female. My grandmother called me a freak and a jinx, saying I would only bring shame on the family. It was then that my maternal grandmother, who had traveled all the way from the countryside to visit my mother, adopted me. So, by chance, I got to enjoy a pure childhood, free from scornful looks. Following my half-immortal grandmother, I unexpectedly discovered how 8.5kReads9.3Score1.3kShelves
25. 25 我 I Am a Female Physiognomist 我是女相师 Xiao Xu小叙Mystery893k WordsCompleted I was born in the twelfth lunar month of 1991, and came into the world with six fingers. The saying that people born in the Year of the Sheep have bad luck somehow became attached to me. Before I could even speak, my family sent me to live with my grandaunt, who ran a shop selling paper offerings and burial clothes. My grandaunt said I had a star spirit in my fate, and the Vermilion Bird would come to my aid. What did it matter if my destiny was cursed? As the saying goes: The Azure Dragon and W 13.1kReads9.4Score1.4kShelves
26. 26 治 How to Heal a God 治愈神明的方式 Xin Zhige辛止戈Mystery521k WordsOngoing The Cangshan Sanatorium has only one rule for its caregivers: observe, record, and never understand. Senior caregiver Cheng Jiuyue has followed it for three years, until a new visitor, Zhang Sanfeng, is admitted. His file contains just one line: “Claims to have fully experienced 137 cycles of reincarnation. Classification: undetermined.” From that day on, the sanatorium begins to spiral out of control. A blind old woman's scarf predicts death. A sleepless veteran digs up the bones of the Norse —Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    The scene where the twelve Earthly Branches sit around discussing matters brings together various characters, marking a significant climax in the main storyline. The plot flows smoothly.

27. 27 我 My Years Running a Spirit Hall in Liaoning 我在辽宁领堂口的那些年 Pavilion Master Yingyuan应元阁主Mystery316k WordsCompleted When I was three, a Huang spirit knocked my soul loose, and by chance I became sworn brothers with another Huang spirit. A Ghost King let something slip by accident, and following the clues, I learned that this Huang spirit was actually a golden-armored deity. It was only when the Living Buddha of Haitang Mountain appeared that I discovered I had two souls in one body. The arrival of my wife from a past life gradually awakened my sealed memories. Atop Mount Tai, the majestic and magnificent scen 11Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Supernatural/paranormal phenomena. True story.

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