Novels like Midnight in the Countryside
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Midnight in the Countryside, best match first.
- 1 The Snake People’s Classified Files 蛇人绝密档案 A mysterious female corpse was found near the Ming River. The corpse was intact on the outside but severely damaged inside, and the cause of death was unknown. While performing an autopsy, forensic pathologist Ye Han discovered numerous serpentine traits matching those described in the mysterious ancient book, The Serpent Traces. That night, a serpent person came back to life at the forensic center, the corpse vanished, and an intern was brutally killed. Ye Han was drawn into a series of events 30Reads8.0Score—Shelves
- 2 I Joined a Yangtze River Sand-Dredging Crew and Pulled Up a Ghost Bride with My Own Hands 我在长江捞沙队，亲手捞上鬼新娘 “Folklore,” “ghosts and monsters,” “the supernatural,” “mythology” The sand-dredging crew pulled up a ghost bride who had been offered to the River God. From then on, the bride began haunting them, and strange things kept happening. The River God was furious, too, and demanded that we give him an explanation! With no other choice, I went with the crew to the River God’s lair. There, we came across countless monsters from legend: yuan dragons, flood dragons, corpse-liberation rings... We also unc —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 3 I'm Broke, Why Should I Be Afraid of Ghosts? 我穷鬼，岂会怕鬼？ [Goofy] [Funny] [Irreverent] [Mystery] [Supernatural] [Hop in] [No System] [A fish that slipped through nine years of compulsory education] Wang Ling landed a job paying 18,000 yuan a month as a security guard at a private hospital. On his first day, he was left completely stunned! Each floor of the hospital's inpatient wing had a special passage enshrining one of the underworld's yin deities. The morgue even had butcher's knives inexplicably lying around. Wang Ling put up with all of that. Then 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 4 Short Tales of Terror: A Collection of Strange Stories 短篇微恐：志怪故事集 Do you think the footsteps behind you when you walk alone late at night are just the wind? Do you think the unfamiliar object that suddenly appears in an old storage box is just something you forgot about? Do you think the blurry shadow that sometimes flickers across the mirror is just a trick of the light? This collection of strange tales has no blunt, bloody shocks. It is filled only with eerie everyday moments hidden in the folds of ordinary life. Each story stands alone, yet after you close 59Reads—Score—Shelves
- 5 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—Shelves
- 6 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—Shelves
- 7 Mountain God Festival 山神祭 The Greater Khingan Range. Temperatures below minus twenty, with snow up to a hunter's knees. A weasel spirit crouched in a tree, watching as a hunter in a fox-fur hat crept across the snow with his rifle at the ready. If the hunter died, his flesh would go to the beasts and spirits hiding in the woods, while his soul would belong to the mountain god who commanded the clouds, winds, and rain. From the moment he took his first step into the forest and snow, the hunter's life was no longer his ow 47Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 8 Forbidden Strange Tales: The Taboos of the Folk 禁忌聊斋：民间禁忌的那些事 What you’re reading isn’t just an ordinary supernatural story. It may be a set of rural survival rules that can keep you safe. The taboos of the countryside aren’t just old people’s nagging. Every “don’t touch that” carries the weight of lives lost long ago. When dusk seeps into an abandoned village, the names on the road markers glisten with a deathly aura in the rain; white crows on the eaves of a birthing room beckon a newborn’s soul; copper coins in an old mansion rust into blood scabs; an 670Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 9 Rule Horror: I'm an NPC, and I'm Going Crazy Again Today 规则怪谈：我NPC，今天也发疯 Others enter Rule Horror scenarios to survive. I got sucked in as an NPC, and the System even forces me to go crazy. If I don’t, I die. Fine, then I’ll go crazy for everyone to see. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 10 The Fox Bride 嫁狐新娘 My stepfather sold me into the mountains to be the wife of a fool. My in-laws forced me to share a room with him, but a wickedly handsome spirit fox immortal swooped in and stole me away. Not only does he want to marry me, he wants me to bear his fox cubs. What am I supposed to do? 18Reads6.3Score—Shelves
- 11 The Ghost Fan's Grave: Crossing the Yin-Yang Divide 鬼扇坟之阴阳渡 I saw a ghost for the first time when I was five. Using a ghost fan and a pair of eyes that could see through evil, my grandfather led me into the crack between the worlds of yin and yang. From then on, I became someone who mended fissures, patching up secrets that the living should never see and the dead could never tell. This is a story about eyes that see through evil and a ghost fan, two souls sharing one body and the Six Fiends, sacrifice and protection. From the first ghostly wail in Yinsh 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 12 Horror Landlord: My Thirty-Eight Female Tenants 恐怖房东：我的三十八位女租客 “Zhuge Ming, if you come study at my kindergarten, I’ll give you five hundred a month, and pick you up and drop you off...” said the headmistress. “I brought you lunch, Zhuge Ming. I made it myself...” said the teacher. “Come here. I’ll marry all three of my daughters to you,” said Priest Lin. Zhuge Ming was born with a peach-blossom fate. He had the looks of a woman despite being a man, and from the moment he was born, every woman had just one wish: to marry him. Zhuge Ming was miserable. Who c —Reads6.8Score—Shelves
- 13 Welcome to the Nightmare Livestream!!! 欢迎来到噩梦直播间！！！ My new work is out! Everyone is welcome to read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Your support is what motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 14 Strange Little Tales from the Folk 灵异民间小故事 These are folk tales of the strange and supernatural, some true, some not. Some are quite old and have grown more and more fantastical with each retelling, so don't overanalyze them or take them too seriously. Some may resemble stories you already know, but that's purely coincidental. 171Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 15 The Underworld Retirement Home 冥府养老院 [Mystery + Supernatural Horror + Urban + Deduction + No Do-Gooder Protagonist + Decisive and Ruthless] On the first day of school, I ran into a female ghost! Facing the red-clad upperclassman before me, I raised a chair and brought it crashing down on her! "You think it's funny to dress up like a ghost and scare me, you bastard?" —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 16 Forbidden Tales of the Desolate Village: A Midnight Whistle, and a Shrouded Corpse Spirit at the Door 荒村禁忌：夜半吹哨，白布尸魂找上门 Taboos of the Abandoned Village: A Whistle in the Dead of Night, and a White-Cloth Corpse Spirit Comes Calling —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 17 The Cycle of the Ghost Soldiers' Crossing 阴兵借道之轮回 Deep within the Sacred Ruins Temple, the ancient Sacred Ruins Dragon slowly opened its star-bright eyes. Its gaze held a profound wisdom, as if it could see through every mystery in the world. Luo Aiai stood before the Sacred Ruins Dragon, her face showing a hint of nervousness and anticipation. Who am I? Her hands were clasped tightly together, as though seeking comfort. But when she felt the Sacred Dragon’s gentle yet powerful aura, the tension in her heart gradually faded. “You are... Your bo 1Reads7.8Score—Shelves
- 18 Where Love Runs Deep, Spirits Stir 情深则灵 Jiang Xiaomao has a secret: he’s discovered that his desires can get people killed. As he gradually awakens supernatural abilities during paranormal events, he also realizes that he’s been corrupted. What should he do? —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 19 The Ultimate Ghost-Raising Master 极品养鬼师 [Adult] + [Adorable Pets] + [Sharp Tongue] + [Making Money] + [Secret Arts] Do you know how to raise ghosts? No worries, I do! Do you know how to catch ghosts? No worries, I do that too! Do you know where to find ghosts? No worries, I’ll take you there! Watch your step. Get in! —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 20 Jade-Hued Splendor: Ninth Lord’s Wife Is a Max-Level Expert 翡色倾宸九爷娇妻是满级大佬 The seemingly fragile and easy-to-bully heiress of a jade empire is actually a max-level powerhouse with a pocket dimension! When her manipulative green-tea best friend runs into her unconventional face-slapping counterattacks, a high-energy urban drama of thrilling triumphs and crushing defeats begins. Shen Hua, the pampered little princess of a jade dynasty, disguises herself as a naive “reed girl” to experience ordinary life. Everyone thinks she’s a parasitic vine relying on her family and he —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 21 The Temple That Eats People 吃人的庙 The Man-Eating Temple 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 22 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 120Reads—Score—Shelves
- 23 Old Tales of Strange Happenings 民间旧诡事 The woman in red who knocks on doors late at night, the soul-binding bones beneath the locust tree, the copper-bell curse in an old house in an abandoned village... These old tales of the uncanny, scattered across the countryside, are the idle chatter of old folks and stories sealed away by time... 39Reads—Score—Shelves
- 24 Come Listen to a Ghost Story! 来听诡故事！ The chime of midnight is the switch that starts each story. Hidden here are 365 eerie legends from every corner of the world. Maybe it's the strange sobbing in the night-shift office during overtime, a stranger's long hair beside your pillow in an old residential complex, or a passenger in a white dress who vanishes in front of a cemetery. One short ghost story every night, tearing through the everyday facade to reveal the chilling truth beneath. Do you dare open this collection of midnight tale 34Reads—Score—Shelves
- 25 Songs of the Underworld 冥歌 [Not a wish-fulfillment novel] It’s a tangled, lengthy story, not one about a loser turning his life around by fawning over women. [There is a heroine] I’m new to this, so I don’t understand why novels have to be tagged as having no heroine. To be honest, mine has one, though she doesn’t appear much. [Not necessarily funny] Hard to say. The author has a strange sense of humor. [Neurotic] The author is a little crazy, with a mind that keeps jumping around, so the plot can sometimes feel erratic. 1Reads8.1Score—Shelves
- 26 Exorcising Evil 诛邪 When I was twenty, I went into the river to catch fish, never imagining I’d pull out… It became the nightmare of my life! This is a book about the strange things in rivers that you probably never knew about! 776Reads6.7Score109Shelves
- 27 The Dragon King’s Debt: A Ghost Marriage 龙王债，娶阴亲 During the Qingming Festival, I paid respects at the wrong grave. A high fever left me blind. My grandmother had always favored boys. To make my mother give birth to a son, she threw me into the back hills to be devoured by wild beasts. By sheer luck, I saved a white dragon from the mountains and survived. Grateful for saving his life, the white dragon gave me one of his eyes. He told me he would return to take it back once I came of age. But before I even reached adulthood, my life changed d 56Reads6.9Score—Shelves
- 28 The Ghostly Side of Humanity: Mad Stories You Never Knew, Volume 1 鬼味人间：你不知道的疯人故事1 Believe me, this world has another face. What seems insane to you may be perfectly normal to someone else. The eerie, unsettling stories of human life, the sinister and unfathomable depths of the human heart, and tales of madness you’ve never heard before are all hidden in this book, Ghostly Flavors of the Human World. 3kReads9.2Score269Shelves
- 29 The Eerie Game: From the Start, I Picked Up a Top-Tier Star 诡异游戏：开局捡个顶流女星 [Horror game + dark tone + unscrupulous tactics + Infinite Flow + one female lead] Could the strange creature Gu Changqing brought out of a haunted villa really be a top-tier star and a high-level player in the horror game? And does she really need to form a "deep connection" with Gu Changqing and devour his "life essence" to maintain her human form...? 7Reads8.0Score—Shelves
- 30 Nothing Is Forbidden: Keep Your Distance from the Living 百无禁忌之生人勿近 The year I graduated from college, I went on a road trip through Yunnan with a few of my dormmates. After we got lost, we stumbled upon a strange little village. The people there looked so bizarre that they didn’t seem human at all… After we returned from that village, one strange thing after another began to happen! 21Reads—Score—Shelves
- 31 The Storms of Longfeng Hall 龙凤堂风云 Burn incense to summon the gods, use the Eight Characters to divine someone’s fate, get to the bottom of their roots… In a small county town, Uncle Lin and Sister Ling, a married couple, set up the Longfeng Hall to help people with their troubles, embarking on an extraordinary new life. With a peachwood sword in one hand and an exorcism talisman in the other, they keep every evil spirit at bay. They’re also always happy to help people invite good fortune and blessings. Once the incense is lit, t 7Reads8.1Score—Shelves
- 32 The Strange Happenings in Northeast China Cemeteries 东北坟地里的那些邪乎事 The Ten Golden Crows are reincarnated, and a thousand-year feud binds Hou Yi and his wife, Chunhu Shi! The strange tales of the Northeast’s immortal clans begin in earnest The Ten Golden Crows return to the mortal world, while the tangled love and hatred between Hou Yi and Chunhu Shi stretch across a thousand years. This entanglement between immortals and mortals secretly steers the fate of the Northeast’s mystic world Rooted in the Northeast, this long-form supernatural novel takes you deep i 34Reads7.4Score—Shelves
- 33 The Haunted House at No. 13 13号凶宅 Number 13 Qianliang Hutong in Beijing has long been a haunted house. During the Cultural Revolution, several people died mysteriously one after another inside the residence. Long Fei, an investigator with the Public Security Bureau, assumed the alias Li Qiang and moved into the compound as a housing office inspector. After a series of thrilling struggles, Li Qiang finally discovered that Number 13 was an operational base for an enemy spy organization... 959Reads9.4Score—Shelves
- 34 A Lifelike Journey: Studying the Tao and Slaying Evil as an Apprentice 栩栩如生之拜师学道斩妖邪 Black mist swirls day and night at the mouth of the Ten Thousand Souls Cave, unleashing a supernatural catastrophe that throws both the mortal world and the underworld into turmoil. Lin Xu, a feng shui master, wields a bronze sword to ward off evil and uses a compass to detect danger. Along with the hapless Ma Mingyu, the spirit fox Bai Ling, the sentient Tanggao, and the jittery Maozaojing, he enters this forbidden place filled with vengeful spirits. The bone-corroding vines ensnare people and 181Reads—Score—Shelves
- 35 The Ditsy Girl Awakens Yin-Yang Eyes, Hunts Ghosts to Prolong Her Life, and Ventures into the Underworld 呆女觉醒阴阳眼，捉鬼续命闯阴间 I’m a clueless village girl, and at twelve I awakened as a ghost-hunting powerhouse. On the day I was born, every creature on the mountain stood guard for me, and I wouldn’t open my eyes until thunder struck! For the first twelve years, the whole village took me for an idiot. Then, once I came to my senses, an old Daoist declared I wouldn’t live past twenty-four! Forced to become his apprentice, I discovered that my master’s shop was connected to the underworld at night! I lazed around and doz —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 Slaying Demons and Ghosts Since High School 斩妖灭鬼，从高中开始 [Traditional Supernatural Horror] + [School Life] + [Ensemble Cast] + [Coming of Age] + [Not Overpowered] + [Passionate] It all begins with a student jumping from a school building. Liu Tianyu had expected to spend his student years in peace, but from that day on, his life was never quiet again. Peril at a haunted temple, a school turned into a sacrificial altar, a ghost city beneath the water: one challenge after another awaits. Watch as a group of students turn the tables amid the schemes of g —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 37 The Yin Guardian: The Mysterious Divine Coffin Hidden Beneath the Mountain 守阴人：藏在山底的神秘天棺 After I encountered the Ghost Granny, my dad died. Later, I found my older brother, and then my grandpa died too. Somehow, I became the last Guardian of the Yin. Later, I discovered that it wasn't the Ghost Granny behind it all, but another conspiracy hidden from view. [Entirely written by hand, no AI writing!] 225Reads—Score—Shelves
- 38 Daoist Bai Mei, Matchmaker of the Dead 白媒道长 Welcome to the works of Pangtou Yu! The author will do their best to bring you exciting stories. Thank you for your support and for sharing your criticism. Wishing all readers the best of luck. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 39 I’m Going to Lure 100 Lost Souls 我要勾满100个亡魂 Sequel to I Guide Souls at Wangxiang Terrace Lin Jiaojiao, 24, an overworked office worker, suddenly dies on the Nth night in a row of staying up all night revising proposals. When she opens her eyes again, she has already completed every step of the underworld’s procedures. But just as she reaches Wangxiang Terrace, the guide Zhou Yi stops her. “Your attachment remains unresolved. You can’t be reincarnated.” Judge Li Muzi offers her a way forward: work as a soul reaper under him, and she can be 9.7kReads—Score3kShelves
- 40 The Pact of the Ancient Book 古书之契 It all began when Lin Zhiyu picked up a strange book. Then he met the equally strange Yu Zhiyan, who seemed to have a secret connection to the book. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 Grandpa Started the Trouble, Three Generations Must Pay 爷爷闯下的祸，三代来还 The trouble Grandpa caused will take three generations to repay. 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 42 The Spirit Chaser 赶阴人 Read the stars and moon, and declare life and death with ironclad certainty. A man on the margins of the human world, he sets right the injustices of the underworld. My new book, The City's Strongest Immortal Son-in-Law, is out now. I humbly ask for your support! 450Reads7.1Score—Shelves
- 43 Coming for My Life on the Seventh Night? I Can Command the Most Ominous Creatures 头七索命？我能御大凶之物 Anyone who makes money from the dead knows there are three kinds of corpses you must never handle. First, don’t take the bodies of people who died violently or are missing limbs. Such corpses carry baleful energy, damage your fortune, and bind you to karmic debts. Second, don’t take a corpse that has been left unattended for seven days after death. After seven days, the flesh has begun to decay and the soul has nowhere to settle. Disturb it, and you may find yourself haunted by evil things. Thir 262Reads—Score—Shelves
- 44 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—Shelves
- 45 Notes from a Haunted House 凶宅笔录 A haunted house is a house where someone once met a violent death. Legend has it that people who die this way haven't yet reached the end of their natural lifespan, so they die with deep resentment. Anyone who moves in will suffer, at best, a life of misery, and at worst, a broken family and ruin. By a twist of fate, I became a dealer in haunted houses. They kept appearing, and one crisis followed another. Behind every haunted house lay a terrifying, secret story... By the time I wanted to turn 10.4kReads8.8Score221Shelves
- 46 The Yin-Yang Master of the Living World 阳间阴阳先生 I was an ordinary first-year college student. Then one incident gave me a whole new understanding of the world. From that day onward, I walked between the realms of yin and yang. 3.6kReads—Score110Shelves
- 47 King of Feng Shui: I Roam the World with a Sealed Divine Dragon 风水之王之我与封印神龙闯天下 The day I was born, my father died. A fortune-teller said I was born under an unlucky star and would bring death to my parents! No! I decide my own fate, not Heaven! Watch me defy fate alongside the dragon spirit living inside me! See how Lin Qingfeng rises from an orphan girl to become a renowned feng shui master! 465Reads—Score—Shelves
- 48 A Century of the Supernatural 百年灵异 This is a truly unusual book, recording the supernatural events that took place in a village over the course of a century. These events are unlike traditional tales of ghosts, fox spirits, demons, and immortals. There is none of the vulgar promotion of superstition or idealism found in popular culture. Instead, the book is filled with the world's strangeness and unknowns, leaving readers baffled. After the shock and terror, you can't help but question and imagine what lies beyond, and find yours 8Reads9.1Score—Shelves
- 49 Chronicles of Strange Events 异事簿 When I was eight, I accidentally drowned. The village's mad Taoist came to my house and told my parents to give me a grand seven-day funeral with gongs and drums. After seven days, I would return to life. During the funeral, lightning flashed every day and the rain poured without stopping. Everyone in the village said it was a bad omen. On the seventh day, strange phenomena suddenly appeared in the sky. The mad Taoist returned to my house, told me to take the moon in the sky as my godmother, and 32Reads—Score—Shelves
- 50 White Russian Cemetery 白俄公墓 [Supernatural + Mystery + Horror + Forbidden Sites and Zone Exploration + Dark] While traveling, I passed through a small town called Beima and accidentally entered a strange internet cafe. The terrifying legend of a woman ghost hanging upside down, messages from an online friend dating back to 2001, an old school campus regarded as forbidden ground, a mysterious ghost village behind the school, and a cemetery that exists only in people's memories. Somehow, all of it seems connected to me. This 49Reads8.0Score—Shelves
