Novels like Tales of a Desolate Village
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Tales of a Desolate Village, best match first.
- 1 Is the Celestial Master Still Alive Today? 天师今天健在吗 [Supernatural * Fantasy * Smart Protagonist] Boss Li’s daughter was possessed by an evil spirit, so the self-taught exorcist Lin Qi was summoned in an emergency to perform a ritual in Lame Village. The strange, dilapidated village was silent and eerie. Every man in the village was a cripple, and they were all hideous to look at. Strangely, though, every one of them had married a beautiful woman. After that, strange incidents happened one after another, and Lin Qi’s heart was gripped by extreme t —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 Strange Footage 诡异录像 This is a story of revenge. One summer, eighteen years ago, Xu Lei accidentally died because of a prank played by several classmates. Eighteen years later, his vengeful spirit returns to take revenge. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 My Wife Is a Taoist Priestess 我老婆是女道士 [Traditional supernatural horror + magical duels and ghost hunting + no System + no livestreaming] For seven generations, my family has been butchers. Our killing karma was too great, and now the retribution has finally come. Put down the butcher’s knife, and you face endless calamity; pick it up, and you’ll drown in killing karma! I choose to become a god of slaughter. Demons, ghosts, monsters, and fiends: whoever disturbs my Daoist heart will be slain, no matter how far away! 71Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 4 Those Unspeakable Horrors 那些无法言说的恐怖 [Standalone stories] [Short and medium-length stories] [A collection of short horror stories: folk customs, technology, and chilling tales that get under your skin] Feel free to skip any story you don't like. It won't affect your reading at all. Through one lonely night after another, through day after day of exhaustion, when you lie awake late at night, join me in witnessing the strange and terrifying. I hope you'll find something more here than just eerie horror. 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 The Grave Behind Me 身后的那座坟 The Grave Behind Me 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 The Brokenhearted Paranormal Investigator 失心灵探 [Horror + mystery + comedy + supernatural + mildly gruesome] [Original title: How I Got Tangled Up with a God of Slaughter] After losing both his parents, Xuan Wen has given up on life. He plans to find a secluded corner where he can scrape by until he dies. But by chance, he meets a God of Slaughter who has likewise exiled himself from the world. From then on, a man and a god travel together, venturing into the strange and dangerous dark side of the world… 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 Messenger of the Underworld 冥界使者 After graduating from college, I hoped to find a good job, but ended up delivering packages. Then one day, I received a mysterious delivery slip, and my life changed completely. 35Reads8.6Score—14d adds
- 8 The Demon King's Guide to Raising 魔王养成法 [Fantasy: Swords and Magic, Love and Justice.] I would: Fall into the abyss, forsake reincarnation, and become a black knight, guarding you with my life. Turn into magic, flow for ten thousand years, all for the chance to meet you. hmj —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 9 Hearing the Strange, Seeing the Uncanny 听诡见异 Do you believe there are ghosts in this world? Maybe you’ve seen one already, or perhaps one is right beside you. You just don’t know it. Let me tell you: ghosts really do exist! 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 I Subdue a Hundred Evil Spirits with My Vengeful Ghost 我以厉鬼镇百邪 (Mystery, Horror, Complete Story) In a strange little town, the curse planted by four great clans begins to turn against them. Luo Xiaoyu, who has returned to life in another's body, is caught up in it all. The dead come back to life... The strange returns... Rivers of blood... —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 An Unacceptable Game 不能接受的游戏 [Chinese-style supernatural horror + infinite flow + mystery-solving and deduction + comedy] All I could do was play games, and I was a complete failure at everything else. Just before that fateful choice, I was sure I pressed Close, but instead I opened a game I couldn't accept. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 12 The Child's Haunting 童诡 Mystery | Horror | Hidden Chen Shuyang was overjoyed to move in with his girlfriend, Bai Lu. But as they spent day after day together, he gradually discovered her many strange quirks, from bizarre tastes in food to abnormal behavior. Little by little, he uncovered the terrifying secret she was hiding. 443Reads8.0Score11314d adds
- 13 The Yin-Yang Tribulation: Seeking the Way 阴阳劫途：寻道 Supernatural + suspense + angst + passionate action Most of life’s hardships arise from greed, anger, and delusion in our hearts. That is also why all beings may resemble Buddhas, yet fail to become Buddhas. Greed, anger, and delusion give rise to all kinds of monsters and demons in this world… 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 14 A Ghost Scared Itself to Tears in the Mirror 鬼照镜子被自己吓哭 Would you dare chat with a ghost for fifty cents? Would you dare sleep by a grave and beat up a ghost that sticks its head out? Would you dare live in a haunted house and beat up a hanging ghost? I would. A vain female ghost keeps pestering me, so I tell her to take a good look at herself in the mirror. The moment she does, she dies all over again. A ghostly woman tries to claim my life in a haunted house, so I whip out a compass and a Bagua mirror. You blame me for not waiting until your team m 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 15 Possession 上身 Ghosts: ethereal, elusive beings! Ghosts: a certainty that exists for those who believe, and not for those who don't! Are ghosts really only around at night? What do they actually look like? The truth is, they're right beside you! 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 16 The Divine Mystery 神之诡 When the uncanny invades reality, people cannot help but ask: Where have the gods gone? They cross layers of mist and find the answer, only to be driven to despair by an even more terrifying truth. The gods are dead. The world has become a playground for the uncanny. When people die, they become ghosts. What do gods become when they die? And in the celestial court above, what is it that wields the laws of the universe? 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 Old He's Collection of Strange Tales (Complete in Two Volumes) 老贺的诡事辑录（全两册） The Strange Cases of Old He is a horror mystery novel based on the real-life experiences of Yang He, a retired soldier. In 1982, while serving in the army, the protagonist Yang He made a mistake. After returning home, he encountered a series of bizarre events. Though he had never believed in fate, he began to believe the words of an old fortune-teller. He wanted to change his destiny, but was drawn into a vast conspiracy as a result. One strange and eerie event after another took place, and one —Reads8.6Score—14d adds
- 18 Many Worlds 多重世 Deep in the mountains, weasels roam the woods carrying lanterns. In an underground cavern a hundred meters below the surface, corpses of half-human, half-fish creatures covered in scales lie scattered everywhere... Deep in the forest, whose coffin lies buried beneath the graves arranged according to the yin-yang and Eight Trigrams? Is the black snake that feeds on human souls truly a messenger from hell? —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 19 Records of a Hundred Ghosts 百鬼事录 [Short Story Collection] + [Based on True Events] + [Folk Paranormal] + [Chinese-Style Horror] + [Urban Legends] + [Standalone Stories] Two hundred standalone horror stories, with no dragging things out. Every story delivers a jolt to the heart, with supernatural encounters, suspense, and eerie mysteries taking turns onstage. No lengthy buildup, just instant scares. Not for the faint of heart! 288Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 20 The Eerie Girlfriend 诡异女友 Can a loser really not find true love? One day, I suddenly discover that my girlfriend has disappeared. Did she dump me? But I’ve asked so many friends, and none of them have seen her. I can’t stop breaking out in a cold sweat... Was I dumped, or is there something “wrong” with her? 237Reads7.8Score—14d adds
- 21 Tales of Strange and Unusual Events: Supernatural Happenings in Everyday Life 奇闻异事录之生活中的灵异事件 This place has it all: remarkable people living ordinary lives, paranormal oddities happening right beside us, deadly places explored by thrill-seekers desperate to make a living, startling customs and secret tales from every corner of the land, mythical beasts and evil creatures found only in legend, and eerie coincidences so uncanny they make your scalp crawl. It's no exaggeration to say I've experienced every kind of paranormal event you can imagine, and plenty you can't. I used to be an adve 893Reads—Score—14d adds
- 22 Do No Evil: Her Third Eye Is Watching You 诸恶莫作，她的第三眼在看着你 [Occult + Supernatural + Episodic + Strong Female Lead + Face-Slapping + No Romance] Also known as “After Opening Her Third Eye, the Aloof Top Student Can Catch Ghosts and Heal the Sick.” Note: The actual fortune-telling begins in Chapter 2. When her mother dies of illness, Jiang Shuo accidentally awakens her third eye: spiritual sight, remote viewing, X-ray vision, the ability to see cause and effect and people's fates... You name it, she can do it. Her biological father and stepmother treat he 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 23 Rule Horror: The Master of Role-Playing 规则怪谈：角色扮演大师 The roles to be played next are an ambiguous priest, a psychologist disguised as a fraud. a detective investigating the secrets of Innsmouth, a folklorist, a deity’s favored one among the Caribbean pirates, a missing person. Of all these roles, the person who has played them best so far is one and the same. So, without further ado, let us welcome the one who walks between darkness and light, and ventures through places of terror. The undying Black Sun, the legendary master of disguise Du Wei —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 Night of the Return of the Dead 回魂夜 On my way home from work, I saw a group of girls beating up a pretty girl. She called out to me for help, but I didn’t get involved. Who knew she’d end up dead? Seven days later, on the night she returned as a ghost, I was the first person she came looking for. 29Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 25 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
- 26 The Underworld Shop 阴间铺子 [No System + traditional story + male and female leads + supernatural tales] After losing my job, I took over this funeral parlor, but all sorts of supernatural incidents started happening at night. Burned-to-death ghosts, drowned ghosts... After the parlor, a yellow weasel spirit that had become an adult made a bone-chilling discovery... Challenges faced together with my childhood sweetheart from elementary school. 40Reads—Score—14d adds
- 27 Strange Cases of the Paranormal Investigation Bureau 诡调局异闻 Is there really an organization that handles mysterious incidents? A lot of people wonder about it. So do I. Tales from the Paranormal Investigation Bureau chronicles a mysterious organization dedicated to investigating all kinds of supernatural phenomena. [Supernatural + mind-bending + terrifying on reflection + suspenseful and thrilling + horror + no heroine] A wealth of subject matter, drawn from real cases! This is why the Paranormal Investigation Bureau exists. 29Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 AI, Stop! I Must Protect the Future World of the Twelve Ai住手，我要守护十二未来世界 Hard sci-fi + AI quantum computation + Infinite Flow + suspense + a protagonist who often gets behind the wheel What will the future world be like? [Infinite Meat Corporation] A company capable of producing an unlimited supply of high-quality meat. What secrets lie behind it? [Frozen Planet] Wave after wave of cold fronts are about to sweep across the globe. Who will survive? [Quantum Computation] What would you do if you discovered that the events of your everyday life, from your girlfriend 2Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 29 Strange Tales from Liaozhai: Ghost Stories and Unsolved Mysteries 聊斋秘闻鬼魅传说与未解之谜 A collection of suspenseful short stories inspired by Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Chinese folk legends! Your follows and support motivate me to write. I’ll do my best to bring you even better stories! Fresh off the press! Leave a review, and I’ll keep improving! 1Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 30 Urban Corpse Whisperer: Starting with Nanyang Black Magic 都市尸语者：从南洋降头开始 At midnight, a corpse suddenly sat up in the morgue. I pulled out my family's heirloom copper-coin sword. “It's not a corpse turning into a zombie,” I said, staring at the golden thread beneath the corpse's fingernails. “It's a Golden Silkworm Gu.” The jade bangle the family had brought shattered without warning, and a swarm of wriggling Gu worms poured out. “Don't touch it! The jade has broken, and the Gu is loose. It's looking for a new Host!” The orderly ignored my warning and reached out. Wo 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 31 Ghostly Tales from Fengdu 丰都鬼事 In her previous life, young artist Lin Wan set out alone for the fabled ghost city of Fengdu to search for her missing older sister, Lin Zhixia. Naively, she trusted the seemingly kind innkeeper and local gentry, unaware that she had stepped into a carefully laid trap. Coveted for her yin constitution, she was ultimately sacrificed in an old mansion behind Fengdu's famous mountain by the so-called “good Samaritans” to a traitor in the underworld who had disguised himself as Black Impermanence. H 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 The Yin Master of the Living World 阳间葬阴师 I am Shen Xu, born under an ill-starred fate. On the day I was born, ghosts swarmed around me, and I barely survived my first twelve years. The day before I turned twelve, my grandfather used a living corpse hidden in a coffin to conceal my fate, while a nine-lived black cat upset the balance of yin and yang. He put my coffin on a little cart and sent it to the Xuanqing Temple on Mount Taiqing. From that day on, I set out on an uncanny and unpredictable path through the esoteric arts... 365Reads8.9Score10014d adds
- 33 On the Night of the Hungry Ghost Festival, a Yin-Born Child 七月半，阴生胎 The day I was born, a monster that came running down from the mountain stole a baby. Strange things kept happening in the village. The villagers listened all night to my mother’s wretched cries and cursed me as an ill-omened child. They blocked the entrance to our home, saying they would burn me alive. My grandfather simply sat by the gate, and not one of them dared come closer. A baby’s piercing wail rang out, and I came into this world. You need some skills to make your way in life. My name is 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 Curse of Resentment 怨咒 I went out with a few friends to take care of some business and witnessed a series of strange events. That night, I dreamed of meeting a beautiful girl. When I woke up, I discovered that the drunk girl from the night before had died outside my door... 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 35 The Strange Taoist 怪道士 My name is Niu Dabao, and I’m the only college graduate in Niu Village. I thought that after graduating, I’d get promoted, earn a higher salary, marry a beautiful, wealthy woman, and reach the pinnacle of life. Who could have guessed the company would go bankrupt and the boss would kill himself? I didn’t get a single cent of my wages, and I couldn’t even afford rent, so I slept at the train station every day! A shabbily dressed Taoist priest told me I was plagued by bad luck and haunted by a hun 1.8kReads8.4Score12714d adds
- 36 Bureau 749: A Yin Messenger on the Road to the Underworld 749局：黄泉走阴人 There is an organization that exists only in the darkness: Bureau 749. Founded in 1974, with no records and no official status, it is made up of scientists and people with supernatural abilities. It handles the dirtiest, most sinister, most forbidden affairs in the human world. Ghost soldiers march through the night, leaving nothing but empty skins in an entire village. The White God of Wealth kills anyone who worships him, taking their souls to feed evil. An ancient Buddha opens its mouth to de 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 37 Infinite Missions: Starting on Elm Street 无限任务，从猛鬼街开始 Li Mao was dragged into the Lord God space, and his very first scenario was Nightmare on Elm Street, where the death rate was almost one hundred percent. To make matters worse, he had been forced into it. Who could understand what it was like to be happily eating takeout in his dorm one moment, then suddenly get pulled into the Lord God space? And because he had been forced to participate, he wouldn’t receive any rewards even if he completed the mission. All Li Mao could do was say: Lord God, yo 1.9kReads6.1Score20314d adds
- 38 Carpenter Zhang and the Ghostly Wall 张木匠与鬼打墙 After encountering a ghostly maze, she inexplicably gets caught up in a bizarre disappearance case and can't escape. She even abandons her family and retreats to the mountains to farm and start a business... To save her wife, he lays a strange trap and cleverly sets a series of schemes in motion, only to get into a car accident... With two souls sharing one body, how will she face what comes next? Love and friendship intertwine in a tangled web... What story will a jade pendant reveal? Unravel t 14Reads—Score—14d adds
- 39 The Human Dog 人形犬 After my sister was assaulted, she died a horrific death in a cabin in the back hills. My parents chopped up her body and fed it to the old dog they kept at home. After that, the old dog began to look more and more like my dead sister. Late at night, it would stand outside my room and call for me in my sister’s voice. 42Reads—Score114d adds
- 40 The Golden Snake Appears, and the Path to Immortality Is Proven 金蛇现，证道路 [Supernatural][Cultivation][Plot][Single Female Lead][Vast Worldbuilding] Bullied and humiliated throughout his early years, he was fortunate enough to encounter a sliver of opportunity and join the Shenxiao Sect. But the sect has fallen into decline, its halls in ruins. His old grudge remains unsettled, and revenge still lies far off, as distant as a thousand cloud-wreathed mountains. The road ahead is long, and demons and monsters lurk and run rampant along the way. What awaits him is a strang 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 41 My Hopeless Life Became Even More Desperate 我无望的人生更加绝望 After something happened to her family, Mu Xia could never move on from that day. She went through life in a daze. Until one day, she accidentally entered a world of horror. And so began a fantastical journey. She made new friends, faced all kinds of events, and lived a new life. 1Reads6.4Score—14d adds
- 42 The Jiuzhou Pawnshop 九州当铺 [Urban Supernatural Powers + Traditional Paranormal Mysteries + Ghost Hunting and Demon Exorcism + Taoist Arts and Incantations + National Special Organization] The Jiuzhou Pawnshop is a mysterious organization dedicated to handling paranormal incidents. As a forfeited pawn at the shop, Bai Lian had his naturally double pupils sealed by his father not long after he was born, in exchange for three small gold bars. The seal would automatically break once he turned twenty-four. After that, he encou 347Reads6.4Score—14d adds
- 43 Luring Ghosts 招诡 A lot of the time, there are secrets and things hidden inside you that even you don't know about. For instance, what happens after you fall asleep... 376Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 44 Death Note: The Demon Star Throws the World into Chaos 死亡笔记：魔星乱世 Will he become the god of a new world, or a demon who slaughters thousands? A mysterious notebook falls from the sky, a god of death who toys with the world, and the power to kill without a trace simply by writing down a name. A boy who has never known the light, a tormented and shadowed heart, and an ambition to turn the world upside down. When the two meet, the demonic star will plunge the world into chaos. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 Terrifying Supernatural Events I Experienced Myself 亲身经历的恐怖灵异事件 Terrifying supernatural encounters I experienced firsthand 8Reads—Score114d adds
- 46 The Soul-Returning Soup 还魂汤 I was born in a remote village. The day my mother gave birth to me, she died a horrible death! I was born disabled, missing an arm, and with a red birthmark shaped like a coiled snake on my foot. My master said I had been cursed by an evil spirit, and that the curse could only be lifted if I found the one who cast it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t live to see twenty... 96Reads—Score—14d adds
- 47 Supernatural Tales: Twenty Years as a Spirit Medium 灵异怪谈：出马二十年 The Great Immortal takes his place, and sinister forces lurk in haunted lands! When I was 19, my parents laid out a banquet for ghosts, inviting a living corpse and the Eight Great Immortal Clans. For the next twenty years, I relied on my craft of raising ghosts and posing as a Great Immortal to make my way in the spirit-medium trade. I kept company with ghosts and monsters, consorted with wild immortals, and crossed blades with strange and dangerous people, always with my life on the line. 83Reads9.1Score—14d adds
- 48 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
- 49 The King of Face Reading 观相之王 This novel is complex and brainy, not a lightweight read. If that’s not your thing, don’t read it. Ensemble cast + mind games + the supernatural + climbing the ranks and getting rich + foretelling good and bad fortune + solving mysteries through face reading and divination. “I’d like to ask about my health using the character ‘six.’” “Certainly. The character ‘six’ looks like a person dismembered into several pieces, with the head separated from the body.” Why are some people blessed with endle 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 50 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
