Novels like Rural Taboos
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Rural Taboos, best match first.
- 101 The Young Taoist Priest of the Celestial Masters' Mansion 天师府小道士 A little Taoist who could never catch a ghost returned to secular life. On his wedding day, not one of his fellow disciples showed up, but every ghost in the city gathered above the wedding venue. They wanted to shield the little fellow, who was always softhearted, endlessly chatty and eventually married a little fox, from a tribulation lightning strike. But that day, the sky was clear and cloudless, and nothing happened. 10.3kReads6.9Score1.1kShelves
- 102 By the Power of the Law 急急如律令 It all began when I took fifty yuan from a blind fortune-teller. Then, in the middle of the night, a woman's voice suddenly sounded behind me. 1.5kReads8.6Score160Shelves
- 103 The Bride of the Vengeful Ghost 猛鬼新娘 When I was sixteen, I rescued a woman who had been tricked into coming to our village, simply because I wanted to help. I never imagined that my actions would not only get the poor woman killed, but also lead to the deaths of more than a hundred villagers. And so my strange life began. 4.7kReads9.0Score333Shelves
- 104 I Became Uncle Jiu’s Disciple from the Start 开局拜师九叔 This is a novel set in Uncle Nine's world. It has Uncle Nine, gods, ghosts, and monsters, as well as witchcraft, poison magic, and tomb raiding. There are also ancient legacies. What's more, there is no heroine in the early part of the book, and Ren Tingting definitely isn't the heroine. That's that... Also, if you want to see characters flying through the sky and burrowing underground right from the start, you won't find that here... If you want to see someone become a Buddha or a ruler from th 2.9kReads8.8Score138Shelves
- 105 The Empty Grave 空坟 Don't mess with the mirror in the house! After my favorite mirror disappeared, I began to fear the light. The doctor said I was allergic to sunlight, and I thought I was just sick. Until one day... I saw... my own grave! 1.1kReads9.0Score107Shelves
- 106 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—Score366Shelves
- 107 The Last Daoist Lord 最后的道君 Ever since my mother got pregnant with me, strange things kept happening at home. First, a hedgehog came into the house, a long snake coiled around the beams, and a weasel dug a burrow in the vegetable patch out back. Then foxes from the mountains joined in, showing up at our doorstep every few days to peer inside. Now the five immortals were all gathered: Hu, Huang, Liu, Bai, and Hui. Anyone in the know would recognize this as the Five Immortals entering a home. Any one of the five entering 10.9kReads9.1Score1kShelves
- 108 The Demon Husband Is Here 妖夫在上 I have a birthmark, and I covered it with a tattoo to make it look better. Who could have guessed the tattoo shop I chose would be so unreliable? They actually tattooed a demon on me. From then on, my life was never peaceful again. 1.5kReads8.9Score239Shelves
- 109 My Master Says I'm Born to Deal with the Dead 师傅说我天生吃阴饭 Born with yin-yang eyes, I always walk down the middle of the road! A quick hand gesture and a single divination, and even the big shots follow me around! What? Money? Hold it right there. I’m not telling your fortune. 810Reads8.9Score102Shelves
- 110 Folktales of the Mountains and Wilds 民间山野怪谈 The hidden truths behind ten major unsolved mysteries, revealing a host of terrifying taboos that will send chills down your spine! 14.5kReads9.1Score960Shelves
- 111 Ferryman of the Underworld 黄泉摆渡客 My sister was abused to death by her husband. Even after she died, her resentment kept her from resting in peace. To help her find peace, I became a ferryman traveling between the worlds of the living and the dead. From then on, I strode between yin and yang as if walking atop a hanging coffin. The strong live, the weak die. I will be the one to decide who lives and who dies! 908Reads8.6Score118Shelves
- 112 Snowfall: A Record of Strange Tales from China 惊雪：中华异事录 This isn't a traditional ghost-hunting horror novel. It blends Taoist arts, high martial arts, mysteries, and more. I'm writing it for myself, OvO [Ghost Hunting, Taoist Arts, Mysteries, Martial Arts, Ensemble Cast] * The eldest disciple of the head of the Shangqing sect of the Zhengyi school, exceptional in martial arts and profound in Taoist arts... * A master of the Swallow Sect, known in the martial world as Li San the Swallow... * A Nationalist spy, clever and calculating, cold as ice... Du 244Reads8.5Score—Shelves
- 113 We've Got People Down Below 咱下面有人 The big shots of the Underworld? They're my ancestors! As the Underworld's number-one playboy, I stay calm. My family has always been serious about protecting its own! The Underworld's ghost dragons? They're my tattoos! Those guys are a little too wild. If possible, send a few more my way! The Underworld's bailiffs? They're my underlings! They can drive for me and deliver packages, too! Evil spirits causing trouble? I'll kill every last one of them. Well, as the Underworld's Ghost Courier Ju 9.3kReads9.0Score721Shelves
- 114 What If the Campus Belle Turns Into a Zombie? No Worries, I'm the Perfect Person for the Job 校花尸变咋办？不怕！我专业对口 [Supernatural + horror + urban legends + ghost stories + invincible protagonist + one heroine] What should you do if your school-beauty deskmate turns into a corpse during class? She’s probably faking it. Just give her a kiss. Huh? She’s not faking it??? Lu Jiuyang was utterly baffled. One moment, he was the last Celestial Master of Maoshan, battling a tide of countless ghosts and sealing the demons with his own body. The next, he had been reborn as an ordinary high school freshman. This 190.3kReads8.4Score26.9kShelves
- 115 The Serpent Coffin 蛇棺 On the day I was born, my family was moving our ancestral graves. My father killed a huge snake in a coffin that was on the verge of shedding its skin and transforming into a dragon, and nearly got bitten to death. When I was born, snakes surged in from every direction, hissing. Everyone said I was ill-omened. A rice medium from the village gave her life to save my father. She left me a black jade pendant shaped like a snake, but she too was bitten to death. Just after my eighteenth birthday, th 29.8kReads9.0Score1.9kShelves
- 116 Disciple of the Maoshan Sect 茅山门徒 A strange antique shop where the owner uses his ghostly eyes to appraise treasures and spends a fortune buying ghost bones! Think the owner only knows how to appraise antiques? Think again. He can read beautiful women, too! The domineering female CEO, the hottest star, an unconventional beauty, the pure-hearted campus belle, the girl next door… He can see right through you with a single glance! 7.1kReads9.0Score636Shelves
- 117 The Ghost Marshal’s Yin-Yang Inn 鬼差之阴阳馆 By day, she transforms into a human; by night, she helps ghosts cross over. Come visit this unassuming little shop, run by a newly hired underworld makeup artist, and make an inquiry. 795Reads9.1Score115Shelves
- 118 The Dragon King's Wife 龙王妻 On the night of the blood moon, the Dragon King takes a bride. Luo Anzhi was born a noblewoman, but fate swept her up and made her the Dragon King's wife. From then on, she set out on a path unlike anyone else's... 1kReads9.1Score360Shelves
- 119 Suppressing the Dragon 镇龙 For one person, he dug up an ancient grave, broke into a dragon's tomb, and wielded the Yang Sword to slay yin spirits! An heir to a family of secret arts, he joins a group of men and women bound together by fate. Together, they travel far and wide, fighting monsters in the mountains, slaying evil in the cities, breaking into the underworld, and robbing ghost messengers... To change our fate, we defy the heavens! 2.5kReads8.8Score532Shelves
- 120 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! 6.6kReads8.9Score486Shelves
- 121 Dark Web 暗网 How terrifying is the dark web? You may have brushed against its edges without even realizing it... Have you heard of the dark web? Hackers call it the other side of the internet. Every day, things that seem impossible to ordinary people happen there. A young woman goes missing for seven days. By the time we rescue her, she can hardly be called human. Then she tells me something so outrageous it makes my blood boil. She stumbled onto the dark web and was sold by human traffickers. She saw what s 8.3kReads8.1Score1.1kShelves
- 122 The Peerless Mage 法师无双 A top sorcerer who once led the Heavenly Masters’ Court returns, only to be cast out by his powerful family. As he prepares to leave, he discovers that his younger female cousin has fallen victim to dark magic… 3.9kReads9.1Score483Shelves
- 123 Death Club 死亡俱乐部 There are bizarre events, horrifying hellscapes, and the ugliness of human nature. People dwell among ghosts; there are hell trains, death academies… One terrifying incident after another, open only to members of the Death Club. The Death Club welcomes you to join! Zhang Chen was slowly growing drowsy. He had no idea how long it had been since night fell. Just as he was about to drift off, a series of thuds suddenly came from upstairs, the sound of wooden clogs striking the stairs. The clacking 3.9kReads8.6Score496Shelves
- 124 Coffin Shop No. 44 44号棺材铺 Everyone knows what a coffin shop is, but would you dare enter one where someone has died? Ever since I took over a coffin shop, strange things have been happening all around me. Only then did I realize that the people who come to buy coffins aren't necessarily alive… 2.2kReads8.0Score253Shelves
- 125 Monks Don't Give Their Names, Daoists Don't Speak of Their Lifespans, but I Can Exorcise Ghosts 僧不言名道不言寿但我会驱鬼 He was nearly buried alive at birth. The venerable Taoist Zhang Jiuye defied fate and changed his destiny, but in doing so planted a curse: he was fated to face three tribulations. At sixteen, he was summoned to call back a soul, then fought the Five Plague Gods by night, only to have his spirit dragged into a temple in the underworld! At nineteen, his life-and-death trial arrived, and beneath the Laojun Temple, a mysterious stone slab sealed away for a thousand years was unearthed... Other peop 1.5kReads8.6Score140Shelves
- 126 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. 9.4kReads8.8Score750Shelves
- 127 The Divine Son-in-Law in Hemp Clothes 麻衣神婿 The day I was born, strange omens appeared in the sky. To keep me alive, my grandfather came out of retirement and arranged an engagement to prolong my life. Twenty years later, thanks to the great fortune my grandfather bestowed on her family, my fiancée had become the richest woman in the land, yet her family broke off our engagement. They had badly underestimated my grandfather’s power and my background. Then karma came knocking... 9kReads8.5Score935Shelves
- 128 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... 22kReads9.0Score1.9kShelves
- 129 That Guy Is Both a Northern Shaman and a Southern Taoist 那家伙既是北马又是南茅 Join the Old Immortal in gathering merit and spreading blessings across the land! Anyone with a “little circle” on them is there to help others. This is a little master who is both rather laid-back and a bit of a slacker, “part Taoist, part Marxist,” and specializes in helping people solve their problems and helping the Old Immortal accumulate merit! He’s also an expert at exposing fakes! Ha, take that, take that, take that, take that, take that, take that! 725Reads9.4Score—Shelves
- 130 Tales of the Strange in Western Hunan 湘西异闻录 [A friendly warning: This book has no System. It's funny and terrifying, with suspense and clever twists throughout, plus plenty of passion and brains. The more you read, the better it gets.] When I was four, I was kidnapped and taken to a cursed village to be sacrificed alive. A fox spirit risked her life to save me, and secretly pledged herself to me for life. To marry my fox bride, I venture deep into the Miao Valley, tread the Nether River Gorge, and walk the boundary between Yin and Yang. I 6.1kReads9.1Score593Shelves
- 131 Record of the Spirit Seekers 2: Farewell to the Mortal World 访灵笔录2：入世辞 [Mystery + supernatural + powerful partners + lively humor + episodic stories + ghostly tales + an ensemble cast hunting ghosts] “Nothing brings greater joy than meeting a new friend; nothing brings greater sorrow than parting from a loved one.” A chance encounter with a beauty on Ghost Wasteland Mountain turns out to be a deadly ghost's attempt to claim a soul! Karmic ties from a past life and entanglements in this one: whose mistake is it, and whose fate? Quan Ning and Yin Cangyi are accidenta 45Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 132 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 246Reads8.3Score—Shelves
- 133 The Yin-Yang Master of the City 都市阴阳天师 Traditional supernatural horror. The protagonist starts out as a Celestial Master, turns into a purple-eyed zombie midway through, and transforms whenever he can’t win. If that bothers you, please give this a pass. Zhou Yuanqing studied under a purple-robed Celestial Master and chose to join Bureau 749, handling supernatural cases across the country: evil spirits, zombies, mountain demons, Japan’s Kiku School, Nanyang curse practitioners… In places ordinary people cannot see, battles of magic ha 30.9kReads8.1Score2.4kShelves
- 134 My Years as a Buddhist Nun 我当师太的那些年 I was born a girl with a Pure Yang fate into a family of feng shui masters. For generations, my family had practiced feng shui in the countryside. My grandfather had hoped his eldest grandchild would be a boy, so he could pass down his skills to the eldest son and grandson. But I turned out to be a girl. Grandfather never took a liking to me, so my parents could only take me to live in the city. No one expected that, during the Ghost Festival in the year I turned twenty-five, Grandfather would s 420Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 135 Terror in the Haunted Dorm 诡寝惊魂 I got a job as a dorm supervisor in a university women’s residence, but the girls there were a little too friendly… Crying in the middle of the night, dorm rooms catching fire, rooms that don’t exist. Hidden in the deepest corners of memory is a bizarre and fantastical world… The night is deep, the dream unfinished. A mountain spirit blows out the lamp. Where can a lonely soul return? 10.4kReads8.5Score1.1kShelves
- 136 Tales of Folk Taboos 民间禁忌杂谈 A pig butcher never slaughters a pig with five toes. The village guardian never guards a village with a temple. A feng shui master never selects a lair of an evil dragon. A midwife must wash her hands in rooster’s blood. There are three hundred and sixty trades in the world, and every one has its rules. Are these ancient, mysterious rules really nothing more than empty formalities? If I told you that some rules must never be broken, because breaking them means death, would you believe me? 9kReads8.0Score1.2kShelves
- 137 A Decree from the Underworld 阴司有旨 Before Grandpa died, he gave me a strange ledger. The first page bore four eerie characters: “Filed with the Underworld.” And the entries weren't sums of money, but “lives.” I used that strange ledger to collect debts and settle accounts on Grandpa's behalf, and it was as if I'd become a living judge of life and death in the human world. Somewhere beyond mortal sight, everything had already been decreed... 22.3kReads9.1Score1.3kShelves
- 138 Tales of the Taoist Sect 道门往事 Cha Wenbin holds the ancestral seal of the Maoshan sect and is the last heir to the position of sect leader in the Orthodox Way. He saves people caught between yin and yang, but brings disaster upon himself and suffers Heaven’s punishment. With a chivalrous heart and a mastery of Taoist arts, he rescues the living from the cracks between worlds and guides the dead through the endless hellish roads! Who are the ancient Di people clad in fish scales, the mysterious king brought back to life, and t 23.9kReads9.1Score4.4kShelves
- 139 The Grave Robbers' Chronicles 9 盗墓笔记续9 After the Zhang Family Ancient Building incident, Zhang Qiling went to the Bronze Gate, while I returned to Hangzhou to keep running Third Uncle’s business. I thought it was all over, but who knew it was only the beginning. Chen Wenjin appeared again. A mysterious map was hidden among Huo Xiangu’s belongings, and a third Ghost Seal had surfaced. Perhaps we wouldn’t have to wait another ten years: the ultimate secret was already within reach. 2.7kReads8.7Score375Shelves
- 140 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 4.5kReads9.1Score428Shelves
- 141 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—Shelves
- 142 The Soul Ferry Lantern 渡魂灯 [Supernatural + mildly scary + episodic stories, a fast-paced ghost-hunting romp with all kinds of tricks!] Fire runs in my veins, and I'm cursed to bring bad luck. When I was fifteen, my father kicked me out. To survive, I climbed into a stone tomb. The strange knocking at the door of the funeral home at midnight, The body that mysteriously vanished after a fatal car crash, A headless old man, a talking human skin, and haunted schools and skyscrapers... I guide five-element spirits onward and f 18.1kReads9.2Score1.7kShelves
- 143 Supreme Taoist: A Calamity of Bloodshed 道门太上：血光之灾 Offer blood to Heaven, and slay every evil thing. The Daoist arts are the strongest of all. All the great paths beneath Heaven come from Taishang. The Taishang lineage belongs to my Li family alone. The protagonist, Li Changsheng, makes a solemn vow to eradicate every evil demon beneath Heaven: he will never ascend, but remain in the mortal world for thousands of years. 10.7kReads9.4Score876Shelves
- 144 The Secret Treasures of Mountains and Seas 山海秘藏 I have stood atop mountains and descended into the vast seas. I have ventured into every mysterious corner of China! Could a distant ancient kingdom in the Western Regions really be home to a stunning queen who lives forever? Could the vast mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang really conceal the greatest sword under heaven? Did hundreds of people really witness a legendary dragon on a misty island in the North Sea? In a dark old coffin in western Hunan, the King of the Undead stirs restlessly. I venture i 3.2kReads8.9Score459Shelves
- 145 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... 4.7kReads8.0Score1.8kShelves
- 146 I'm a Haunted House Sleep Tester 我在凶宅当试睡员 I worked for a real estate company, but later I was transferred to another department. I never expected to encounter something terrifying on my very first day... 5.7kReads8.8Score600Shelves
- 147 The Grand Feng Shui Master 大相师 Ten years ago, nine snakes crawled into my bed. Grandpa said someone was trying to steal my life. To keep me alive, he arranged an engagement for me to extend my lifespan... 8kReads9.3Score984Shelves
- 148 Folk Tales: One Chapter, One Horror Story 民间怪谈一章一个恐怖故事 [Anthology of stories] [Folklore horror] [Supernatural horror] [Village legends] [Chinese-style horror] [Old-time storytelling] There is no overarching plot. Each chapter is a standalone horror story adapted from folk tales, with eerie, unsettling plots that grow more terrifying the more you think about them. Note: This story discourages superstition and encourages belief in science. It is entirely fictional, so just enjoy it as a bit of fun. 26.1kReads7.5Score1.2kShelves
- 149 Eerie Tattoos 诡纹 My grandfather was a tattoo artist, but the things he tattooed were seriously sinister… 7.5kReads9.1Score783Shelves
- 150 Special Operations Bureau 特事行动科 One thousand three hundred and ninety years ago, under the emperor’s direction, human adepts gained control of the “Void” and used it to create the “Wall,” which separated the real world from the anomalous one. After more than six centuries of effort by adepts from various schools, the anomalous remnants in the real world were finally purged, leaving humanity with a world of its own. Anomalous creatures became demons, ghosts, gods, and monsters in tales of the strange. As time passed, the adepts 1.8kReads7.0Score225Shelves
