Novels like Keep Away from the Living
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Keep Away from the Living, best match first.
- 51 The Haunted Inn 惊魂旅馆 An unexpected downpour drowned out the sounds of murder. Late at night, in a remote inn, a corpse lay sprawled across a bed, blood pouring from all seven orifices. The killer seemed to be hiding among the guests, none of whom trusted one another: a police officer, a writer, a psychiatrist, a celebrity, a fan, a college student... Every one of them had something to hide. After a second murder, the line between the dead and the living grew increasingly blurred. Everyone was a suspect, and everyone 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 52 My Mom Died, and I Just Want to Go Home for a Meal 我妈死了，就想回家吃顿饭 My mom died, and all I wanted was to go home and have a meal. 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 53 The Ghost Way, Midway Through Life 半路鬼道 Smart male lead + one heroine On the night of the Ghost Festival, the living send off the dead, burn incense, make offerings, and burn joss paper. But that night, I heard a ghost calling for a soul… The gong sounds, the night grows dark, and the road to the Yellow Springs is hard to travel… With talismans to guide the way and the departed to show the path, summon the gods and command the ghosts: only then can one master the Ghost Path between Yin and Yang! 6.6kReads8.9Score48614d adds
- 54 Chronicles of the Kings 王者战纪 See how Wang Ze, an amnesiac, down-on-his-luck prince transmigrated to another world, saves the apocalypse, and becomes the strongest king. Manchester is a metropolis that can hold several hundred million people. With such a huge population density, it's only natural that there are buildings everywhere. It's a city with a staggering five hundred floors above ground and a hundred below. As for transportation, there are plenty of options: flying cars, airships, subways, brooms, all kinds of flying 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 55 EN The Terrifying Classroom 恐怖教室 There's an abandoned school building behind the school where people often go missing. But everyone who comes back out becomes rich overnight. I went in, and now I can't get out... 4.2kReads7.8Score34114d adds
- 56 The Sacred Emperor of War 斗战圣帝 A young man who can't find a job after graduating transmigrates to another world by chance. He has no golden finger, but by gathering cultivation resources from the droppings of exotic beasts, he makes a successful comeback and becomes a martial artist. In this other world, where everyone values martial prowess, he relies on his grit and social savvy to fight his way through every obstacle, eventually becoming a great emperor: the Battle Saint Emperor. 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 57 The Secret Notes of a Feng Shui Master 风水师秘记 My grandfather left me a handwritten ancient manuscript. When I turned eighteen, a dream of mine shook the entire world of feng shui... Liu Bowen severing dragon veins, feng shui guiding a celestial dragon, paper figures controlling one's fortune, plum-blossom tattoos, the dead seeking justice... Everyone knew Yang Qingtian was a legend, but no one knew that I was him! 3.7kReads8.2Score39614d adds
- 58 I Moved into Dorm 404 and Uncovered a Deadly Campus Mystery 住进404宿舍，我看破校园凶局 Feng shui, the supernatural, campus life, society: everything you're looking for is here! A story is just a story. Even if someone has experienced something similar in real life, I hope you'll still treat this as just a story! Don't get too caught up in it! Finally, may you, dear reader, stay safe and well! 33Reads—Score10414d adds
- 59 Give Me Back My Soul 把老子的魂魄还给我 My name is Lin Zhou, and I'm a security guard. After I lost my job, my childhood friend Erwa found me a high-paying security job at a hotel. I soon discovered that everything about the place was strange. There wasn't a soul around during the day, but at night it was bustling, sending chills down my spine. I tried desperately to escape the hotel, but no matter how far I ran, I couldn't get away... 114Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 60 The Last Soul-Quelling Master 最后一个镇魂师 I grew up at my grandfather's house in the countryside. He was the most respected suona player in our village. One day, Li Dashan, a fellow villager, beat his pregnant wife to death and came to ask my grandfather for help. My grandfather tried everything he could, but still couldn't calm the resentment of Li Dashan's wife. In the end, he had no choice but to play a suona dirge to forcibly pacify her soul. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Li Dashan and his family turned into vengeful ghosts 116Reads8.5Score1014d adds
- 61 The Yin-Yang Master of the Mountain Village 山村阴阳先生 My brother came back from the dead, and I learned funeral rites to uncover the truth My name is Chen Xiaojun, and I live in a place in Northeast China called Kaoshan Village. One year, my older brother died under mysterious circumstances. His death was gruesome. Though he was only in his twenties, his corpse was as thin as a skeleton, with hair turned white! Even more bizarre, my brother came back to life in the funeral hall! To find out what had happened, I learned a few tricks from an old mast 10.8kReads9.2Score80114d adds
- 62 Insomniacs' Forbidden Tales: 444 Midnight Ghost Stories 失眠者禁忌：444个午夜鬼谈 A horror anthology with a bonus at the end of every story. I have 444 folk ghost stories guaranteed to keep you awake until midnight, terrify you, make you break out in a cold sweat, and pull the covers over your head! At the end of every chapter, the “Author’s Note” will include an illustration or bonus! But before you open it, brace yourself. The author accepts no responsibility for what happens next! [Supernatural Horror] [Folk Horror] [Rural Ghost Stories] [True Cases] [Urban Oddities] [L 4.2kReads—Score36914d adds
- 63 The Yellow Springs Pawnshop: No Living Visitors 黄泉典当铺，生人勿近 [Ghost Hunting + Supernatural Horror + Folk Customs + Strange Tales + Taoist Arts + Maoshan] At the end of a street at midnight stands a Yellow Springs Pawnshop. You have no way of knowing whether those who come and go to trade are human or ghost! Lu Guanshan takes over the pawnshop, and on his very first night, he encounters a stunningly beautiful, cold and aloof Ghost Queen hanging from a beam. She latches onto him and stays by his side as they collect yin objects and subdue a hundred ghosts. 5.4kReads6.5Score49214d adds
- 64 A Collection of Folk Feng Shui Records 民间风水集录 Also known as The Dragon-Seeking Secret: The Five Masters of Jingmen. Main characters: Tao Duoyu and Ren Shiyu; The Five Masters of Zhongzhou: Xiong Lei of the Northeast, Zheng Xuan of western Hunan, and Su Mei of Jiangnan; My name is Tao Duoyu. My master is Tao the Blind, the foremost of the Five Masters of Zhongzhou. Twenty-four years ago, he saved me when I was at death’s door, snatching fate from the heavens to extend my life by more than twenty years. Twenty-four years later, my master myst 2.5kReads9.1Score38914d adds
- 65 The Wife’s Coffin Smoke 妻棺烟 The Wife's Coffin Smoke 8Reads—Score114d adds
- 66 Republican-Era Detective Tales 民国侦探诡事录 [Standalone cases + Republican-era investigations + criminal investigation and deduction + paranormal mysteries + powerful partners] In the chaotic Republican era, the land is shattered and strange events abound. One bizarre case follows another, but the truth remains as elusive as a mist... In a village at midnight, residents die one after another. Rumors say the “Stinking-Mouth Ghost” has returned to exact revenge, leaving everyone terrified. A haunted house by the lake conceals an old massacr 377Reads9.1Score10014d adds
- 67 The Loop 循环 From losing everything to striking it rich overnight, Wang Hao wins at the gambling table for five days straight. But there are no free lunches, and in the end, his greed will make him pay a terrible price! In a single night, Wang Hao vanishes without a trace. Awei, Wang Hao's friend, reports him missing to the police, then secretly investigates his whereabouts. Unexpectedly, one eerie incident after another follows! Someone who died more than twenty years ago reappears! As he digs deeper, he di 255Reads8.3Score1714d adds
- 68 The Years I Spent as a Funeral Mourner 我当哭丧人的那些年 Some people must be mourned loudly when they are laid to rest. Otherwise, according to old folk customs, it is considered an act of filial impiety. After I was born, everyone in my family except my grandfather died because of me. My grandfather fell gravely ill, and to earn money for his treatment, I had no choice but to join Zhang the Elder, a man from my village, as a professional funeral mourner. From then on, I set out on a path of mourning with no return! 126Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 69 The Heavenly Coffin 天棺 Because of a joke, my grandmother’s spirit refused to leave after her death and insisted on taking me with her to the grave. Otherwise, my whole family would die. To save my family, I went into the grave with my grandmother... 21.8kReads9.0Score1.9k14d adds
- 70 Crime Scene 诡案现场 When he was twenty, a blank painting was enshrined in the ancestral hall at a crime scene. Why were two male corpses embracing beneath an ancient tree? Was the shadow inside the house a person or a ghost? After all the confusing clues, was the killer human or ghost? 374Reads8.6Score—14d adds
- 71 Underworld Agent 地府经纪人 I was hit by a basketball at school and fell into a lake, but I survived and became an official employee of the Underworld. I also gained a Ghost Hunter System that helps the Underworld recruit talented ghosts, setting me on the path to turning my life around. 49Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 72 Lu Ban's Secret Art of Feng Shui 鲁班风水秘术 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 5.9kReads9.1Score83214d adds
- 73 Out of Control 失控者 [Anthology stories + supernatural horror + folk customs + feng shui and mysticism + subtle scares + jaw-dropping twists] Open a paper box sealed away for many years, and one terrifying incident after another begins to surface. The massacre that wiped out an entire family in Nanhua Estate, and the deaths of everyone connected to the case! A bride in a red qipao appearing by your side in the dead of night! Strange legends circulate through a dilapidated high-rise, where hands reach out of the dark 35Reads—Score—14d adds
- 74 The Haunted Grave 诡坟 I think I've been possessed! Right before the college entrance exam, I suddenly came down with a high fever that wouldn't break. I missed the exam and had to spend half a year recovering at home. During those six months, I found a job as a cemetery groundskeeper. My coworker, Old Zhang, saw how frail I was and how weak my yang energy seemed, and insisted on finding me someone to protect me. But he didn't tell me that my protector would be a female ghost!! Not only does she want to marry me, she 108Reads7.0Score514d adds
- 75 Infinite Haunting Realms: I Can See Through Lies 无限诡域：我能堪破谎言 [Infinite Flow]+ [No Romance]+ [Original Instances]+ [Mild Horror]+ [Ghosts Kill People]+ [Ghosts in Every Real-World Instance] “Ghosts cannot be killed.” “Humans cannot fight ghosts.” “Ghosts each have their own rules for killing.” A mysterious letter. A door that leads to the unknown. When Li Yu opened the door, one eerie instance after another awaited him. This is the [Ghostly Domain], a world of vengeful ghosts! Will you die in confusion, or be reborn from a nightmare? 155.8kReads8.4Score24.9k14d adds
- 76 Tales of the Haunted Mountain Village 山村诡事录 Where the woods are dense, ghosts abound; where the mountains are high, monsters are sure to lurk. After getting drunk, Chen Jianjun of Kaoshan Village encounters a beautiful woman in the mountains. Alone together, the pair spend several days in an intimate embrace. When he returns home, he goes mad for a day and then dies. On the day of his burial, Chen Jianjun suddenly comes back to life... To save his family, Chen Xiaojun becomes the apprentice of Yi, a lame man who was once sent to a work ca 4.5kReads9.1Score42814d adds
- 77 The Eerie Midnight Mirror 子夜诡镜 The scholar Chou Wuya happened upon a copy of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The stall owner casually included an ancient bronze mirror, named Seeing the Heart. At midnight, Chou Wuya discovered that the mirror could tear apart dreams and reality, drawing him into one eerie, terrifying mirror realm after another. Every mirror realm was a supernatural ordeal with no way out. A woman named Ruoxi was sealed inside the mirror. She told Chou Wuya that every time he entered a dream, he would gai 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 78 I Live in Fengmen Village 我住在封门村 My hometown shares its name with the legendary number-one haunted village in China: Fengmen Village. What’s more, our village also has a grandmaster’s chair. Whoever sits in it is doomed to die! It was 1997, and I had been accepted into the high school in town. Once summer vacation was over, I would finally be able to leave the place where I’d spent sixteen years. But what I never expected was for one terrifying incident after another to strike the village! Rats that ate human flesh, five-colore 712Reads6.1Score—14d adds
- 79 It's All the Haunted House's Fault 都是凶宅惹的祸 I'm a mystery writer. In search of inspiration, I moved into a house rumored to be haunted. Every night, a horribly disfigured face appeared in the window, and outside, the rotten corpse of a woman hung from a tree. I realized then that this really was a haunted house! Gradually, my family began acting strangely, and we even found a mummified corpse sealed inside the wall for years! As I investigated further, I came across something even more terrifying… 71Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 80 The Celestial Master's Dragon-Seeking Secret 天师寻龙诀 Before she died, Grandma gave me three instructions. The most important one was that, on the night I turned eighteen, I must not open the door for anyone. But that night, my dead grandmother came back... 4.7kReads8.0Score1.8k14d adds
- 81 The Underworld Calls Me Little Sir 地府叫我小先生 [Supernatural + mystery + power progression] Getting hit by a basketball and falling into a lake was bad enough. Even worse, I got killed by a basketball!! The Black and White Impermanence told me I still had seventy years left to live. To make it up to me, they offered me a job in the underworld. So I became an HR officer on the underworld’s permanent staff and even got a ghost recruitment System! As long as I help the underworld recruit talented ghosts, I can earn all kinds of abilities: talis 399Reads—Score—14d adds
- 82 Borrowing Yin Lifespan 借阴寿 Have you ever slept wearing burial clothes? Don’t try it. I did once, and that night... My name is Li Yiliang. I was born with a shortened lifespan, and my birth caused my mother to die in childbirth. But one night when I was eighteen, my mother came back and said she wanted to take me with her... My grandfather told me to sleep in burial clothes, then gave his own life to help me escape that fate. From then on, my life was never free of strange and uncanny things... 4.7kReads8.9Score41114d adds
- 83 Married Off While Driving Corpses 赶尸上嫁 Marrying into a Corpse-Chasing Family 8Reads—Score314d adds
- 84 At Midnight, My Best Friend Asked Me to Go Fishing 半夜十二点，闺蜜喊我去钓鱼 At Midnight, My Best Friend Asked Me to Go Fishing 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 85 I Run a Paper Effigy Shop 我有一间扎纸店 I Have a Paper Effigy Shop tells the story of the protagonist, Liu Dabao, who runs a shop making paper effigies. One day, a guy named Li Xunhuan asked me to burn him a villa and gave me a jade pendant, saying someone would come to collect it later. That evening, a woman came to pick up the pendant and gave me a thousand yuan. But who could have guessed that the next day, the money vanished and turned into a pile of white paper! Was it ghost money for the dead? Were Li Xunhuan and that woman both 134Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 86 The Living Must Keep Away 活人回避 Originally titled Living People, Keep Away. An antique set me on a desperate path. From then on, just to stay alive, I became a yin walker who dealt with the dead and the walking corpses. Three years searching for dragon veins, ten years locating acupoints, roaming between yin and yang, dealing in ghosts and spirits. I kept walking, struggling my way to where I am today. 2.7kReads8.9Score32714d adds
- 87 There Are Ghosts in These Words 话里有诡 They say everyone has a few little secrets they can't bring themselves to talk about these days. But if you really want to hear something out of the ordinary, go find Old Bu. Old Bu runs a little tavern set inside an abandoned train carriage. From the day it opened, he laid down one rule: One interesting story in exchange for a night's worth of drinks. Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it? Too bad he doesn't give you much to drink, and the stories just keep getting stranger. An intelligent wristb 8Reads7.6Score—14d adds
- 88 The Yin-Yang Hot Pot Restaurant 阴阳火锅店 I took over a hot pot restaurant from my second uncle. He told me never to serve customers a yuan yang hot pot after midnight! After I took over the place, everything I believed in began to crumble... One night, I wasn't paying attention and served a couple a yuan yang hot pot. The next day, I saw in the newspaper that the couple had died! They'd jumped to their deaths together! After that, every night at midnight, a strange couple would appear in my restaurant and ask me to make them a yuan yan 587Reads7.7Score2214d adds
- 89 In This World, Who Do You Think You Are? 天地间老子在你算老几？ On a pitch-black night, I dreamed of countless stars rushing toward me. By chance, I became a haunted-house tester, and all sorts of supernatural phenomena began appearing out of nowhere. The strange and bizarre things in the city, the mysterious forces deep in the mountains, and the gods people worship: do they really exist? Where can I find the key to a new world? Is this a responsibility, a mission, or a chance to become the next scapegoat? What unsolved mysteries lie in the world I inhabit, 57Reads—Score—14d adds
- 90 Thirty Years on Maoshan 茅山三十年 ♥ Don’t let the rating fool you, my book is top-notch! A feel-good story about a Taoist priest who descends the mountain to catch ghosts and drive out evil. No romance, no saintly do-gooder. Traveling far and wide to vanquish demons and uphold the Dao. No padding, no rambling, no romance. 9.3kReads8.8Score75714d adds
- 91 I Was a Detective in the Republic of China 我在民国当侦探 [Republican-era investigations + Anthology stories + Male leads + Strong leads + Folk customs] Gao Ren has been having an awful run of luck lately. He accidentally offended a rich young master and nearly got thrown in jail! Luckily, while making his escape, he ran into a gullible little Taoist priest. The little priest wasn’t just good-looking, he was also willing to be Gao Ren’s money tree! He could perform rituals and solve baffling cold cases, too! Gao Ren stuck close to the little priest, se 250Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 92 I Have 36,524 Folk Horror Stories 我有36524个民间恐怖故事 [Standalone stories] [Supernatural suspense] [Folk horror] [Mountain spirits and monsters] [Adapted from real cases] [Rural legends] There is no main storyline. Each chapter is a self-contained story adapted from folk rumors, with eerie, gripping plots. Note: This story discourages superstition and encourages belief in science. It is entirely fictional, so just enjoy it as entertainment. 4.2kReads8.8Score21714d adds
- 93 I Might Have Changed the Wrong Fate 我可能改了个假命 When I was little, my mom asked a Taoist priest to tell my fortune. He said I'd face a calamity at 26, and that he'd come help me get through it the day before my 26th birthday. When the day finally came, the priest really did show up to change my fate. He even gave me a “Fate-Changing Ruler” and told me I had to change the fates of seven people with different destinies to survive the calamity. Otherwise, I'd only have five years left to live. So much for changing my fate for me! Did he only cha 71Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 94 The Netherworld Inn 阴间客栈 My name is Qin Yu. While on a business trip, I checked into a uniquely styled inn called the Yin Room Inn. It even offered “special services” in the middle of the night. Little did I know it was an inn from the underworld. I began having nightmare after nightmare, and my friends kept getting into trouble... 2.7kReads9.0Score15214d adds
- 95 The House of Deadly Peril 死亡凶间 I work as a specialist crime-scene cleaner, tasked with cleaning up after murders, suicides, and accidental deaths. I’ve seen more than my share of partings and grief, as well as the other side of death. Then, on the Ghost Festival, I encountered something terrifying... 18.1kReads9.2Score1.8k14d adds
- 96 The Spirit Medium's Strange Cases 通灵诡事 Parental love? I have none. From the moment I was born, they wanted to strangle me. Sibling affection? I have none. My own brother calls me a country bumpkin. Friendship with my peers? I have none. Everyone in the village says I'm a demon in human form who eats children. Love? What even is that? The first time I saw Qi Yue, I just thought he looked clean-cut and handsome. The next time I saw him, I found out his mother was the woman who had gone looking for Fourth Auntie years ago. Only now, she 1.9kReads9.2Score37714d adds
- 97 Horrifying! The Haunted House That Claims Lives 惊悚！索命凶宅 After moving into a haunted house, I discovered the secret behind a murder. I'm a suspense writer. After moving into my new home, I discovered it was a murder house! I stumbled upon some hidden clues that seemed to point to rumors of a murder from years ago! At night, beneath the bright moonlight, I stared in shock at a horribly disfigured face! A woman's rotting corpse was hanging from a tree outside the window! A little boy in a black-and-white photograph, a dried corpse sealed inside a wall, 6.1kReads9.1Score45314d adds
- 98 Corpse-Walking Notes 2: The Myriad Forms Celestial Palace 《赶尸笔记2》万象天宫 Corpses driven along by corpse herders are known in the martial world as "corpses traveling ten thousand miles." It is said that in the Xiangxi region, some people make a living herding corpses. The Corpse Sect is one such group. Qin Shuang runs a funeral business; Brother Jiu has ties to both the underworld and the police; Haozi has just gotten out of prison; Baldy makes his living robbing and relocating tombs; and mute A-Wu is a skilled fighter shrouded in mystery. What kind of extraordinary s 122Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 99 Tang Corpse, Song Rush 唐尸宋弛 The Corpse of Tang, the Slackers of Song 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 100 Tales of the Supernatural 民间怪谈录 [Rural Horror Stories + Anthology + Folk Horror Tales + Chinese Supernatural] Supernatural happenings are most likely to occur in mountain villages, and the stories we've heard may well have really happened. In the eerie night wind, Granny Hao, the midwife who receives the dead, is like a messenger from the underworld, guiding the spirits of helpless mothers and children home. Locust trees commune with spirits, and poplars attract yin energy. Beneath the village's ancient trees lie secrets that 829Reads8.9Score10514d adds
