Novels like The Midnight Chef
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Midnight Chef, best match first.
- 1 I'll Accept a Yellow Immortal's Request for a Title, but You're Just a Huge Rat 黄仙讨封我认，可你是大耗子 It all began when a rat demon asked to be granted a human form and was refused, setting off a series of bizarre events. Feng Wuxie has blundered his way through life up to now, unaware that his grandfather had long ago prepared an escape route to help him evade his calamity. His grandfather went to his death in high spirits, and the reason he was so closely tied to Feng Wuxie remains a mystery. But what is coming will come. There’s no escaping it. The vicious old corpse-chaser Yin Hou Tan insist 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 My Best Friend Became My Master 闺蜜成为我的师父 [Two Heroines + Master and Disciple + Horror + Mystery and the Supernatural] My longtime best friend turns out to be someone so powerful that even the gods would kneel before her!!! “I died such a horrible death, and you kept me from reincarnating, yet you get to live just fine...” A woman’s voice echoed through the darkness, seething with rage. I trembled with fear, clutching my blanket tightly. Who was this? Why would she say such a thing? Suddenly, a cold gust blew in and swept th —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 The First Strange Tale of the Countryside 乡野第一怪谈 Funeral Mound Village is an ancient, remote place surrounded by burial hills. Corpses roam everywhere, and the yin energy is overwhelming. There are walking corpses, weasels as fat as pigs, malevolent gods that wreak havoc, bizarre Gu witches, Xi spirits, evil Jian ghosts... One paranormal incident after another... 117Reads6.6Score—14d adds
- 4 The Black Cat Crosses the Coffin on the Night of Return 还魂夜黑猫过棺 The Black Cat Crosses the Coffin on the Night of the Return —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 The Haunted Hearse 灵车诡事 I'm an ambulance driver for the dead. When I first started the job, Third Master told me a few rules every hearse driver must follow. Then one day, to pay off my loan, I transported a bizarre corpse... 324Reads6.6Score—14d adds
- 6 A Debt of Wrongful Death 枉死债 Debt of an Unjust Death —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 Northeast China Paranormal Cases: Calling Spirits 东北灵异事件:问灵招魂 Northeast Paranormal Incidents: Calling Spirits and Summoning Souls —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 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
- 9 The Flayed Double 剥皮替身 The Flayed Doppelganger —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 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? 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 A Compendium of Strange Events in the Mountain Village 山村诡异事件大全 This book is adapted from true events recounted by Uncle Zhengyu. It comprises a series of separate paranormal stories, recounting the strange, unexplained events that take place in mysterious mountain villages… It has all kinds of unsolved mysteries! —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 12 Someone's Always Covering My Shift, Turning Me into the Company's Model Employee! 总有人替我上班，替我卷成公司模范！ Someone's Always Filling In for Me, Working Overtime to Make Me the Company's Model Employee! —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 The Corpse Mother 尸母 Every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, a lantern made of human skin appears in the mass grave on Shiping Mountain. A little girl carrying a skull follows behind it at a leisurely pace. The girl is named Qiyue. Born with a corpse-bound yin fate, she has spent her life searching for the truth about her Corpse Mother’s past. When all the evidence points to a mysterious ghost village...! 55Reads6.9Score—14d adds
- 14 Curse of the Sinful Shadow: The Sinner's End 孽影咒怨之罪者的末路 In the shadowy corners of a bustling city, evil grows unchecked like a cancer. Driven by greed, some resort to the most despicable means to line their pockets, while others lose themselves in an abyss of desire, unable to climb out. Little do they know that retribution is already drawing near. Each sin has finally awakened a curse lurking in the unseen world. This is a horror story about evil and retribution. Every sinner pays a terrible price for their misdeeds, while the resentment hidden in t —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 15 Old Alley Sound Repair: At Midnight Tonight, Qin Opera Calls the Souls 旧巷声修：今夜子时，秦腔引魂 [One Heroine + Sound Cultivation + Qin Opera + Livestreaming + Supernatural Mystery + Urban + Adventure] In modern society, information explodes across the world, and human negativity is amplified through social media, forming an immense “Tide of Resentment.” If no one guides and dispels it, within three years it will gather into a “Lament of Doomsday,” and the boundary between the worlds of yin and yang will collapse completely. Humanity’s power comes from “the Power of Wishes”: energy formed w —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 16 The Eighteenth Floor Underground 地下十八楼 [Urban Mystery / Thriller / Puzzle-Solving / Supernatural / No System] Beneath an upscale residential complex lies a mysterious space known as “Underground Level Eighteen.” They say that anyone who goes in either dies or goes mad… Su Chi, a new resident, accidentally gets caught up in it. There are ancient coffin mazes, a blue underground river, savage subterranean creatures, and even mysterious wild men… Danger lurks at every turn, and the mysteries are hair-raising. It feels as if a pair of ey 34Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 The Paranormal Crimes Investigation Bureau 邪案调查科 Have you ever longed to uncover the mysterious truths hidden in the darkness? The Department of Strange Case Investigations takes you deep into the unfathomable abyss of bizarre cases, embarking on a thrilling adventure. The book presents a series of spine-chilling mysteries and uncanny events. Some are terrifying moments the author experienced firsthand, with a very real fear that clings like a bone-deep curse and leaves you shuddering. Others are bizarre tales heard through the grapevine, wher 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 Tales of the Supernatural in Rural Northeast China 东北农村诡事录 A collection of eerie and terrifying folk tales. Zhang Liang was born in the 1970s and was forced onto the path of exorcism by a curse. Every tale is full of danger and excitement, with an ending no one can predict. If you have the nerve, come take a look and experience a different kind of ghost story. Mildly scary, read with caution. 87Reads—Score—14d adds
- 19 At Midnight, Don't Stay in Room 404 午夜十二点，别住404 After transferring schools, Lin Xiaoman is assigned to the strangest dormitory of all: Room 404. On the first night, she sees a pair of soaking-wet slippers beneath her bed, but no one admits they belong to her. On the second night, the shared clock turns counterclockwise and stops at the moment Senior Chu fell from the building three years ago. On the third night, her reflection in the bathroom mirror moves three seconds behind her, and unfamiliar bloody marks appear on her wrist. Her roommates 23Reads—Score—14d adds
- 20 My Ghostly Roommate 我的阴室友 [Paranormal mystery] [Updates daily, though not on a fixed schedule] [Thanks for your support ❤️] Over the summer after my college entrance exams, I kept having the same dream about my college dorm and roommates. Then I dragged my suitcase into Room 304 and saw those familiar yet unfamiliar faces, along with an empty bed. I was stunned. They were Yaoyao and Xinxin, the girls in the photo from my dream. Was the empty bed Qingqing’s? She hadn’t shown up for months after the school year began, so w 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 21 The Spirit-Sealing Corpse Shroud 镇灵尸衣 On the day I was born, ghosts surrounded our home. I only survived because a master gave his life to save me. Only later did I learn the truth: I was born on a yin year, yin month, and yin day, making me a Yin Child. My master said that anyone born under all three yin signs would have a life full of misfortune and spend their days wandering from place to place. 133Reads—Score—14d adds
- 22 One Horror a Day 一天一个惊悚 One terrifying tale every day, and a different world each time. Just because you haven't seen it from in front of your phone doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Enough chatter. See you in the book, everyone. 9Reads6.6Score—14d adds
- 23 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 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 Notes on Strange Folk Tales 民间诡事札记 The countryside hides the strangest legends and lays bare the truest depths of the human heart. A single red embroidered shoe beneath an old pagoda tree holds a grievance and a hatred left unspoken. A strange peddler knocking at the door in the dead of night carries no ordinary goods in his pack, only old stories frosted over with time. A bronze mirror rising from an ancient well can reflect ghosts, but not the depths of the human heart... These curious tales scattered across bustling streets an 66Reads—Score—14d adds
- 25 The Haunted Dreamscape, Part One 诡梦境第一部 Are ghosts always frightening? Are people always kind? Sometimes, people can be more terrifying than ghosts. Behind every strange incident may lie a tragic story you never saw coming. 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 26 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
- 27 Frightening Folk Tales of Ghosts and Monsters 民间吓人的鬼怪故事 This book collects folk tales about ghosts and monsters from China and around the world, both ancient and modern. They include deeply moving love stories, myths where good and evil are repaid in kind, and eerie tales that will leave you trembling with fear. We hope you enjoy them. This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual events or people is purely coincidental. 24Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 Lord of the Origin Clan 源族之主 [Mystery and the Supernatural, Ghost Wife and Fox Demon] In my senior year of high school, I became the top scholar in a dream and married a female ghost and a fox demon. After I woke up, one strange thing after another began happening around me. Together with my ghost wife and the fox demon, I embarked on adventures, weathered countless trials, and fought powerful foes. Bizarre and uncanny cases, strange folk customs, Miaojiang sorcery, demon arts, magic, and all manner of oddities await. Let’s 28Reads—Score314d adds
- 29 My Funeral Clothing Shop Only Takes Orders from Ghosts 我开的寿衣店，只接鬼订单 The day Zhang Zaizai took over the funeral clothing shop his grandfather left behind, he discovered it wasn’t an ordinary funeral business at all. The ledger was an order system for the underworld, the paperweight was a soul-pinning nail that kept vicious ghosts at bay, and even the “New Order” alerts from the delivery app came from “Mr. Li in Bed 3 of the morgue.” “Ding! Order accepted. Task: Deliver a peachwood comb to the Midnight Hair-Combing Ghost. Rule: Do not meet her eyes while combing h —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 30 The Nuo Dancer's Ordeal 傩人难 Isolated and misunderstood, two people just alike meet because of fate. What kind of story will unfold? Will it be funny or terrifying? Everything takes place beneath a vast shadow. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 31 I Have the Body of a Ghost King, Yet Became the Strongest Exorcist 我，鬼王之体，却成了最强术士 [Traditional supernatural horror, folk horror, strange tales and bizarre encounters, taboos of yin and yang] On the third day of the third lunar month, ghosts go mad. Chen Sansan was born on just such a day. Because of him, his father was buried alive by his master in the old house in Heilong Village. For his sake, his master was trapped in a tiny room. As for Chen Sansan, he has no choice but to keep signing contracts between yin and yang with ghosts to prolong his life. Otherwise, he won't sur 38Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 32 Mysterious Curse 1 神秘诅咒1 [Supernatural Mystery + Urban Cultivation + Folk Taboos + A Passionate Coming-of-Age Story] Enter a sinister world concealed beneath the bustle of the modern city! I have no control over life or death. My name is Zhang Wen. I thought getting into college would let me escape that bleak village in the southwest. Then my grandfather died suddenly, with these words written in cinnabar on his palm: "Dig three feet down at the southeast corner of the wall." I unearthed a bloodstained notebook. Its fir 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 33 Fifth Watch 五更 The stories my grandpa used to tell me were probably meant to scare me into staying put, or maybe to lull me to sleep. He always told them with such conviction and vivid detail that I often found myself dreaming of the very scenes he had lived through. I met the old flower-growing woman on Yinshan Mountain, and one villager after another from Sangen Village. Their faces were gloomy and strange, and their deeds served as a warning, reminding us that “the gods are watching from three feet above yo 728Reads7.2Score10014d adds
- 34 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
- 35 Republic-Era Notes on Summoning Evil 民国招邪笔记 Chinese-Style Horror + Episodic Mysteries + Ancestral Taboos + Republican-Era Suspense + Cursed Objects That Claim Lives Each supernatural case wraps up in three to five chapters. The pace is breakneck, with no dragging things out! Folk-horror elements: red wedding gowns, ancestral halls, midnight opera troupes... If you’re a scaredy-cat, read during the day. If you’re brave, listen to the audiobook at night for the full dose of terror. 78Reads—Score—14d adds
- 36 Northeastern Folk Taboos 东北民间禁忌 The black soil of the Northeast holds too many stories, and hides too many rules. If you hear someone call your name in the middle of the night, never look back. On New Year’s Eve, if a dumpling wrapper breaks, it’s for the “good brothers” to eat. If you meet a woman in red while walking at night, remember to pull your hat down low... These taboos passed down by the older generation are superstition if you don’t believe in them. But if you break them, they become a ghostly gateway that leads str 1.6kReads—Score10314d adds
- 37 I'm a Bar Owner, Forced to Catch Ghosts 我，酒吧老板，被迫营业捉鬼 [Horror + supernatural + semi-invincible + no System + not brainless + ruthless decisiveness] I’m Heibai, an utterly ordinary bar owner. I only wanted to live a quiet life, but one commission and one problem after another keep landing on my doorstep. Curse magic, a drug-induced dreamless sleep, a yin-yang wedding, a deadly text message... As the Underworld descends, little Jiangcheng becomes a den of danger, and one strange incident after another unfolds. Well, looks like I can’t hide my abiliti 1.2kReads8.8Score11014d adds
- 38 My Snake Immortal Husband Comes in the Dead of Night 蛇仙老公，深夜来 When I was ten, I came down with a fatal illness. To save me, Grandpa went to Changbai Mountain and brought back a snake pill. I recovered, but Grandpa and my parents all died. That dragon came for revenge… It didn’t kill me. It demanded offerings and wanted the snake pill back. From then on, Changbai Mountain had a new Pool Immortal Maiden. A pig spirit bewitches people, a little ghost steals unborn babies, and at midnight, who is it holding a bone umbrella and carrying a human-skin lantern to 324Reads9.1Score11014d adds
- 39 Tales of the Unextinguished Lights 不熄灯异闻录 More chilling than ghost stories, these tales recount the uncanny happenings secretly passed down by our elders! Children will be too scared to walk alone at night after hearing them, and adults will want to pay their respects to their ancestors. This is a book of taboos that the village elders tried to keep from being written! This collection of short stories features folk horror, supernatural mysteries, thrillers, legends, strange tales, and fantasy from across China and around the world. 23Reads—Score—14d adds
- 40 The Skinning Ghost 扒皮鬼 (Traditional supernatural horror + extreme horror + multiple twists + mystery + entirely handcrafted) Lately, I've been having nightmares every night. A fortune-teller said I might have a ghost clinging to me. He told me about a forbidden folk ritual: Put on a pair of worn underwear over your head, and it will block a ghost's sight. That night, I got home and followed his advice, half believing it. My girlfriend came back to the room after washing up and stared blankly at where I was. "Where... 64.2kReads8.3Score7k14d adds
- 41 The Corpse Keeper 守尸人 The morgue is where life and death meet. At this boundary, there are many taboos to heed. I grew up beside a hospital morgue, and I'll tell you about the hospital's taboos from a different perspective. Taboo 1: If you see a patient being resuscitated, don't gather around to watch. Taboo 2: If a patient's family throws away something the deceased used while alive, don't toss your own trash on top of it. Taboo 3: If you hear a cat meowing at night, don't go outside to look, whether you're a patien 891Reads6.3Score10214d adds
- 42 The Strange Book 诡书 [Supernatural + Protagonist’s Growth + Single Female Lead + Ensemble Cast + Mild Horror] What would you do if you could see ghosts? Would you explore out of curiosity, or keep your distance? What if I told you that ghosts are impossible to resist, and that an ordinary person would lose the ability to move just from seeing one? All you could do is watch yourself die with your mind perfectly clear. What would you do? Would you charge into one last desperate attack, no matter the cost? Or would you 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 43 Delusions: The Book of Ghostly Grudges 诡妄：鬼怨书 [Two heroines + Lovecraftian horror + thrills + madness + mutual devotion + smart leads] A meteorite resembling a ball of flesh crashes into Earth, bringing with it a god from another planet: the Mad God Mo Shanshan. The arrival of this uninvited guest awakens supernatural evils that have slumbered for ages, and a bizarre, terrifying feast of “god-making” is about to begin. 80Reads—Score—14d adds
- 44 The Underworld’s Temporary Overseas Worker 地府驻外临时工 [Mysticism + Ghost Hunting + Demon Hunting + No Romance + Powerful Female Lead + Set Abroad] Qin Sulan is an Underworld temp stationed overseas. Her main job is to escort the souls of Chinese people who die abroad back to the Underworld in China. Her secondary job is helping handle certain paranormal incidents overseas. The work is easy and leaves plenty of time to slack off, but it does carry a bit of risk. If you kick the bucket, don’t worry. Have a bowl of Meng Po Soup, then get right back to 103Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 The Incense of the Underworld 走阴香 [Spirit Medium + Supernatural] The year I turned ten, my grandmother passed away. Not long after, I came down with a strange illness. Days of injections and medicine did no good, and every night I became unusually alert, often babbling incoherently. After five days of continuous fever, my parents had no choice but to take me to the countryside to see a woman they called Auntie, who they said could treat me. Here, “Auntie” didn’t mean a relative on my father’s side. It was the respectful title we 989Reads9.1Score16914d adds
- 46 The Number One Yin Messenger 第一阴差 Wandering souls, where will you linger? Three souls, come back at once; seven spirits, return! Lost soul, the gates of heaven open, the gates of earth open. A thousand-mile journey, let the child bring the soul home! The day I was born, strange signs appeared in the heavens. Misfortune plagued me from childhood, and it’s a miracle I survived this long. After I came of age, something happened that shattered everything I thought I knew. My dad told me he was the underworld’s bailiff in Spring City 132Reads—Score—14d adds
- 47 Paranormal Streamer: The Sledgehammer Notes 灵异主播：铁锤笔记 A paranormal livestreamer and a female yin-yang practitioner team up to deal with supernatural incidents. After being ambushed by an evil sorcerer, they fall victim to a curse involving poisonous magic. To break the curse, they descend into the Yuanchen Palace, face off against ghosts in a battle of song, storm a reclusive sect’s warded realm, help underworld officials subdue demons, escort an earth immortal to take up a post, and venture into the underworld to steal a prophecy from a forbidden 28Reads—Score—14d adds
- 48 The Autobiography of a Yin Walker 一位走阴人的自传 Adapted into a full-cast audiobook on Tomato Listen. [This story is based on the true account of someone who walks between the worlds of the living and the dead. The horror is off the charts, so timid readers beware!] Have you ever heard of someone who walks between the worlds of the living and the dead? I'm the only son in three generations of the Guo family. My name is Guo Lideng. I've had the yin-yang eyes since I was a child, and can see things ordinary people cannot. As an adult, I stumbled 5.7kReads7.1Score32514d adds
- 49 Ghost Corpse Refining, Bearer of a Deadly Fate 鬼炼尸，背命人 Song Yuanqing is a former soldier. After leaving the military, he turned down a government-assigned job and chose instead to become an adventure tour guide. Because of the dangers of the profession, people like him are also called “edgewalkers,” meaning they are always walking on the brink of death. In just a few short years, Song Yuanqing has guided clients through the Amazon rainforest and into Lop Nur, the “Sea of Death.” He has also traversed the Bewitched Marsh of Wawu Mountain, known as th 2.1kReads9.3Score21414d adds
- 50 The Corpse Retriever 捞尸人 Twenty-three years ago, his father died under mysterious circumstances. His skin was hung from the old locust tree at the entrance to the village. Twenty-three years later, the eldest brother who had been given away as a child returned. His banner read: Corpse Retriever. 3.3kReads8.3Score48414d adds
