Novels like The Forbidden Zone of the Living
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Forbidden Zone of the Living, best match first.
- 1 A Bloody Night in Jiling Village 寂岭村血夜 This novel contains depictions of human nature and graphic violence. Readers under 18 should read with a parent or guardian. On December 4, 1994, a small mountain village in eastern Shenzhong City, near the border with Huizhou City, was the site of an unprecedented major crime. It later became known as “Shenzhong’s Sealed Village.” “Help me! Everyone’s been killed!” “Hello, this is Danao Police Station. What happened?” “There’s a ghost! A ghost is here! N-no, don’t come any closer! P-please, hel 17Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 Taboo of the Living 活人禁忌 There are many taboos passed down in everyday life. For example, never stick your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice, and never look back when walking alone at night... But some people refuse to believe in them. The consequences? Death, or something worse than death! One taboo passed down by word of mouth in our village was never to touch the stone tablet beside the well. Then the village’s Eighth Master touched it, and terrifying events began happening one after another... 28Reads6.9Score—14d adds
- 3 Do I Look Human or Like a Ghost? 你看我是人还是鬼？ After graduating from high school, I was guarding watermelons in a melon field. One night, a thief came to steal them. I rushed over and fought him, driving him off, but then I came down with a high fever that wouldn't break. The next day, my family went to check the field. All they found were my own chaotic footprints and the watermelons trampled into mush... —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 A Dream of Brocade, A Heart of Rippling Waters 锦梦澜心 Life is like the pages of a book, turning gently. Sometimes it overflows with sunshine, and sometimes dark clouds gather. But that is what makes the good things all the more precious. Pay attention, and you’ll find surprises hidden everywhere in life. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 The Ghost Banquet 鬼禁食 A glutton's feast: can it really eat anything at all? Open wide, and nothing is off-limits? When you're indulging in wild game, have you ever felt a hint of murderous intent behind you... 29Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 Strange Tales of Southeast Asia 东南亚诡事 (The author has opened a coffee shop in the ancient city of Dali and is busy with renovations. Please wait a little while for updates.) My name is Ning. During college, I went alone to Thailand to intern at a hotel, where a series of bizarre and inexplicable things happened. Why was there a temple built inside the hotel? What secrets did this temple hide? 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 The Woman in the Red Dress 穿红色连衣裙的女人 The Woman in the Red Dress 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 Haunted 撞邪 Can you guarantee that the people around you are really human? A lowly office worker had always kept his head down and worked in silence, until one day he accidentally discovered that his coworkers weren’t human at all… To stay alive, he has to pretend everything is normal, struggling to survive in the narrow cracks of this place day after day… 4.2kReads8.4Score30414d adds
- 9 Is This the Funeral Parlor? 是那间丧葬店吗？ A funeral goods shop that looks completely out of place has suddenly opened on a bustling shopping street. It keeps its doors shut during the day and opens for business by night. Qi Shiwu, born at an hour of yin, accidentally becomes a shop assistant. What connection could she have to this place? Follow Shiwu as she opens the shop’s doors! “Shh! A customer’s here!” 102Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 The Heavenly Eye Coffin: Tales of Tomb Raiding in Tibet 天眼棺材：西藏盗墓惊奇录 [Mystery] + [Supernatural] + [Horror] + [Tomb Raiding] Two tomb-raiding enthusiasts meet online. After receiving an invitation from a mysterious stranger, they head to Tibet in search of an ancient tomb containing a coffin with a celestial eye. After enduring countless dangers, they uncover a shocking secret and treasure, and encounter both allies and enemies, along with a web of intrigue. Hidden inside the celestial-eye coffin is a crystal ball that can see through everything. It will change 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 The Mystic Carpenter 玄门木匠 A new work is out! Welcome to read my stories on Tomato Novel. I hope you'll enjoy them. Your support is what inspires me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 12 The Haunted Old Mansion 恐怖老宅 The living guard the yang, while ghosts hold the yin in check. Yin and yang are inseparable, and nothing is forbidden. In this world, everyone is either human or ghost, yin or yang. But there are people who walk between the two realms all year round, neither human nor ghost. They are the Yin-Yang House Guardians! 53Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 13 Tomb of Terror: My Haunted Forest Expedition 古墓惊魂，我的恐怖森林探险之旅 Terror in the Ancient Tomb: My Adventure Through a Haunted Forest 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 14 The Living Burial Mound 活人坟 Never let an unfamiliar woman into your car! Especially at night! Because the person you meet... might not be alive! 63Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 15 The Impostor of Jinling 金陵伪人 WARNING: If you are home alone, lock all doors and windows. If necessary, pick up a weapon and protect yourself. ...If you notice anyone with strange features, or... unusually long arms, an oversized head, or walking upside down, hide immediately if you see any of these signs... November 30, 2024, Yanjing was sealed off. Wang Manling and I were trapped in the teachers' apartments at Yanda University. Number of survivors: 16. December 1, 2024, Someone ignored the warning and went to pick up his p 69Reads—Score—14d adds
- 16 There Are No Evil Dogs on Evil Dog Ridge 恶狗岭没有恶狗 There Are No Vicious Dogs on Evil Dog Ridge 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 The Conspiracy Behind the Terrifying Calls 恐怖电话背后的阴谋 The conspiracy behind the horror phone 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 Redemption and Rebirth in the Darkness 黑暗中的救赎与新生 Salvation and New Life in the Darkness 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 19 Terror Underground: My Journey of Adventure and Growth 地道惊魂，我的探险与成长 Terror Underground: My Adventure and Growth —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 20 The Abandoned Wife's Desert Island Adventure 弃妇的荒岛冒险之旅 An Abandoned Wife's Adventure on a Deserted Island 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 21 Forbidden Ground for the Living 活人禁地 Seek out the world's rare treasures, and plunder its hidden relics. The living should stay away from these places... 1.5kReads7.2Score13114d adds
- 22 The Coffin Prison 囚棺 The seventh-night return of the soul. A peaceful death is called a returning calamity; a violent death is called a returning evil spirit. On the day the evil spirit returns, the household is unsettled, and another death may follow. A man must be chosen to send the spirit away. After my second uncle hanged himself, I once had to send a spirit away. As a result, I was marked by it. 476Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 23 Ultraman's Fantastic Journey 奥特之奇幻之旅 [Ultraman + Passionate action + No System + Becoming Light + Faith] The clash between light and darkness has never ended. Xingye, who gained the Light of Noah… The legendary light of the universe, the light of the Land of Light, protector of the universe… An Ultraman transmigrates into the world of Battle Through the Heavens to work as a laborer? An Ultraman becomes a top student in the Land of Light? The everyday life of an Ultraman getting beaten up as a child? An Ultraman gets beaten until he 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 Walking Between Yin and Yang, I Took Two Vengeful Ghosts as Aunts 行走阴阳，我认了两个厉鬼作姑姑 [Supernatural + Horror + Ghost Stories + Urban + Ghost Hunting + Taoist Magic] He was punching ghost dolls and kicking fox spirits at the age of three, and you tell me that's reasonable? He's a yin-yang master who took two vengeful ghosts as his aunts, and you tell me that's perfectly normal? You can already fly on a sword, and now you're telling me to believe in science and reject superstition? Beating up evil spirits at the funeral home, making a water ghost copy out the Tao Te Ching, and sicc 82Reads6.2Score—14d adds
- 25 Mo Chi Y 墨池Y The inspiration for this novel came from a real supernatural incident involving a residential compound security guard. As cities expand, they inevitably encroach on the homes of the dead. The Dingyuan Estate, where Yao Yan worked as a security guard, had been built on a mass grave abandoned for a thousand years. One late-spring night, deep in the darkness, all was silent beneath a fine drizzle. Suddenly, a girl’s spine-chilling cry for help came from outside the guard booth: “It hurts so much. C 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 26 Whispers of the Ghosts 鬼魅低语 [Standalone Stories] [Eerie] [Thriller] [Strange] [Wild Imagination] Worlds full of distortion and absurdity. Whether it's seemingly ordinary snippets of everyday life or strange phenomena that gradually come to light, everything sends a chill down your spine and grows more terrifying the more you think about it. 39Reads—Score—14d adds
- 27 Terrifying Tales 惊魂诡事 Deep, silent alleyways, eerie, terrifying deserted villages, reed marshes choked with weeds... Every scene holds some of my most unforgettable memories! Everything that happens in this book is something I saw or heard myself. You can also read it as a story. Curious about the supernatural tales that have taken place in rural villages and mountain hamlets? Have you ever heard of or seen something that made your hair stand on end? If you find yourself sleepless in the dead of night, put on your he 308Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 28 The Great Tomb of Ailao Mountain 哀牢山大墓 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 29 Ghost Stories by Night 鬼话夜谈 The story follows Chen Xingchen and Jiang Chuyan, who grew up together in a village. They hear tales of the supernatural from the village elders and experience a number of eerie events themselves. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 30 Midnight Terror 午夜惊魂 It started one morning when I stepped outside and found a yuan at my doorstep. I didn't think much of it. The next morning, I found a ten-yuan bill at the door. I thought I was pretty lucky, finding money two days in a row. But on the third morning, when I opened the door and saw a hundred-yuan bill on the ground, I finally realized something was off. After that, strange things kept happening around me, and I began venturing into one forbidden zone after another, all in the name of staying alive 2.1kReads7.3Score14814d adds
- 31 Supernatural Revival: From the Start, I Bet on a Livestream from a Psychiatric Hospital 灵异复苏开局对赌直播精神病院 Haunted House Livestream: Three Million to Save a Life. The People of Longguo Never Bow Their Heads [Supernatural revival + No System + No saintly protagonist + Fresh plot + Escape + Exploration + Crime solving + Not dark] Chen Feng opens his eyes in a foot massage parlor to find himself three million in debt and his younger sister on the brink of death! A mysterious creditor offers him a deal: livestream three trips into deadly places, and the money and your life are yours. The first stop is 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 The Eerie Immortal’s Box 诡仙魔盒 [Mystery] + [Eerie] + [Xuanhuan] + [Thriller] + [Mind-Bending] + [One Female Lead] Chen Tong, a young man struggling to make a living in the city, returns to his hometown to attend his grandfather's funeral... But he unexpectedly discovers that his grandfather's death was shrouded in mystery. He comes into possession of a mysterious golden-thread nanmu box, and everything begins to turn Eerie... The grandfather of a female classmate from his village also dies. The monks and Taoist priests hired —Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 33 Strange Tales from the Countryside 乡村诡故事 Before you start this book, a warning: if you scare easily, don't read it. If you live alone, be careful. Every short ghost story here is based on an ordinary person's real-life experience. Not a single word is made up. From the damp old alleyways of the south to the frozen, deserted villages of the north; from late-night overtime in office buildings to lights-out in university dorms; the taboos our elders forbade us to talk about, and the moments you dare not dwell on in the middle of the night 119Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 After My Face Was Stolen, I Drew the Six Realms of Living Beings 我的脸被夺走后我画出六道众生相 My face was stolen. It wasn’t disfigured. It wasn’t disguised. My face was literally gone. To stay alive, I had no choice but to paint one new face after another onto my own. Human, ghost, demon, beast, god, immortal. Every face I painted gave me a new ability. As I tried to reclaim my original face, I gradually discovered that this world was far more complicated than it seemed. 96Reads—Score12614d adds
- 35 Treasure Hunting in the Deep Mountains: A Thrilling Journey on the Brink of Death 深山寻宝，生死边缘的惊险之旅 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 36 The Great Master of the Ma Yi School 麻衣大相师 I was born on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. My grandfather, a feng shui master, never let me go outside after dark when I was little. Then one day, he had to leave the house… 234Reads8.6Score—14d adds
- 37 The Eerie Coffin in Deep Waters 深水诡棺 When I was ten, I fell into a well. Deep in the water was a coffin. After I saw it, I was plagued by nightmares and fell ill. My grandfather gave me a piece of deadwood to protect my life, and I miraculously recovered! From then on, strange and supernatural events followed one after another, and all kinds of mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas came after me! Even stranger, a mysterious neighbor moved in next door. He was fair-skinned, beautiful, and long-legged, with a mastery 191Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 38 The Last School Bus 末班校车 [A female-focused mystery thriller, a brain-teasing and hilarious redemption story] From here on, I'll personally take you on this last school-bus journey... You'll see a terrifying doll sitting right beside you... You'll witness a string of murders in a girls' dormitory, all within a single year... You'll shudder at the bizarre death of a school beauty who was three months pregnant... You'll rage at the evil hidden in a fog-shrouded residential complex along the way... And you'll encounter the 417Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 39 The Bride in the Red Coffin 红棺里的新娘 The first book: horror, terror, and the uncanny. The sequel: comedy and humor! Two stories: The Bride in the Red Coffin + its sequel, also known as My Ghost Wife Keeps Trying to Scare Me to Tears. When crimson ripples spread across the deep pool, I finally saw the bone comb in the hands of the bride in the sunken coffin. Carved into it were my birth details, even though I had been missing for three years. Xu Xiaomo was drawn home by tales of the Sunk 175Reads—Score—14d adds
- 40 A Thousand Years of Ghost Stories 千年鬼话 A Thousand Years of Ghost Stories: One Thousand and One Nights of Chinese Folk Ghost Tales is a spine-chilling collection steeped in folk tradition. This book brings together ancient folk legends and ghost stories from across China, featuring mysteries and uncanny events from different historical periods and regions. From eerie mountain forests and desolate old villages to bizarre corners of modern cities, every story holds little-known horrors and shocking revelations. The plots are mysterious 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 41 Don’t Call My Name at Midnight 半夜不要喊我名字 Believe it or not, this is a true story. She is Yang Xiaofan, dumped by a man who had been using her for her money, then left with nothing. With almost no savings left, she had no choice but to move into a deserted house. The mysterious landlord disappeared without a trace after his first appearance. After midnight, terrifying knocks and calls to summon spirits put her life in danger. A black cat that comes and goes appears at strange moments, then vanishes without a trace. Again and again, I wa 1.2kReads8.3Score—14d adds
- 42 The Bizarre Case Investigator 诡案惊探 [Mystery]+ [Supernatural]+ [Deduction]+ [Crime Solving]+ [Male lead versed in both Yin and Yang] After his girlfriend vanishes under bizarre circumstances and every effort to find her comes to nothing for two years, Qin Zhong loses heart and takes a job as a police officer at a remote township station. One day, he suddenly receives a bizarre case. The entire village of Niewa has vanished. As the investigation deepens, one strange Supernatural incident after another unfolds. Along the way, his pa 1.6kReads8.4Score18714d adds
- 43 Who’s Watching You Sleep? 谁在看着你睡觉 A collection of horror stories, including The Haunting of the Girls' Dorm, The Peeping Eye, and The Abyss of the Locked Room: A Mother's Checkmate! I guarantee you'll be too scared to use the bathroom after reading them at night! Each story is 80,000 to 100,000 characters long. I'm a newcomer, and this is my first time writing on Tomato Novel! I hope you'll give me lots of encouragement! Your support is what motivates me to create more and better stories! 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 44 Spirit Village 灵村 Thrills and the supernatural! There's an ancient village called Lingzhuang, also known as Bagua Village. I was born there. Lingzhuang is always shrouded in an atmosphere of terror: Enormous pythons, centipedes, black spiders, strange birds, and ferocious beasts roam about, attacking people... Lingzhuang is also rife with strange tales and bizarre happenings: A female ghost haunts the village; a cave in Longmian Mountain holds an arsenal from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; a mysterious master live 69Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 Selling Ghosts 卖鬼 A new book is coming in July, titled: From the Start, I Cut Out the Rake of the Slit-Mouthed Woman Born in a yin year, yin month, yin hour, and yin place, with a yin ghost as the midwife. Yinjian had been sickly since childhood. Driven by hardship, he accidentally walked into a shop. From then on, he started a business selling ghosts. A weeping ghost knocks at the door. The Five Immortals demand a title and turn into beautiful older sisters. A skeleton friend who loves grave robbing. A five-star 259Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 46 The Eerie Realm: It Starts with an Elevator 诡界：从电梯开始 [No System]+ [No Heroine]+ [Dungeon Progression]+ [No Saintly Protagonist]+ [Eerie]+ [Original Dungeons] Have you ever wondered? Beneath the neon lights and atmosphere of this city, things lurk that defy all reason. They were chosen by the Eerie [Elevator] and marked by a terrifying curse. Again and again, they must take part in death games, until death claims them. 54Reads—Score—14d adds
- 47 Strange Tales from the South 南方灵异事 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 48 What Kind of Security Guard Is Responsible for Catching Ghosts? 谁家保安还负责抓鬼啊？ Baiyun Residential Complex is an upscale neighborhood, but the countless strange tales and ghost stories surrounding it have made many people wary of the place. The story begins when Li Si applies for a job as a security guard there... 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 49 Strange Tales, Volume 1 奇闻诡事录1 This is a collection of folk tales about the uncanny, strange accounts from across the land. Each chapter is a complete story, each tale a separate supernatural mystery, revealing the mysteries of yin and yang, folk taboos, and the obsessions of the dead. You never know when a casual remark might draw the attention of spirits lurking in the wilderness; when an old object you pick up might hold the memory of a tragic death; or when an everyday habit might already have crossed a forbidden boundary 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 50 The Neighbor Auntie’s Secret 邻居阿姨的秘密 Each volume is a standalone horror story. Read them in any order. Open one at random and plunge straight into terror for a frightening reading experience anytime, anywhere. The scares never stop. —Reads—Score—14d adds
