Novels like Folk Tales: Ghost Stories
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Folk Tales: Ghost Stories, best match first.
- 51 The Water Ghost 水鬼 Water Ghost 8Reads—Score—Shelves
- 52 I Heard of Strange Things That Year: Never Read This Late at Night 那年听闻怪事，千万别深夜翻看 These stories are adapted and fictionalized from various experiences shared by friends. They are written in an accessible style and make for a good way to unwind. A reminder: reject superstition. This is all imaginative fiction. Any similarities to real events are purely coincidental, so don't take it seriously! 11Reads—Score—Shelves
- 53 The Soul Collection Record 集魂录 Yao Yinsheng had never seen her grandfather, not even once. But she had been able to see spirits since childhood, and after witnessing the Black and White Impermanence spirits seize a soul when she was eight, she began having strange dreams. In them, an old man would often say to her kindly, “I’m your grandfather!” Regardless of whether Yao Yinsheng wanted him to, the old man taught her all sorts of things in her dreams. Then, when she turned eighteen, he suddenly produced a booklet and asked wi 221Reads—Score—Shelves
- 54 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—Shelves
- 55 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 728Reads7.2Score100Shelves
- 56 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
- 57 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—Shelves
- 58 After Losing My Memory, One Terrifying Ghostly Incident After Another 失忆后恐怖鬼事接连不断 (An alternate world. No tired tropes, no invincible protagonist, no plagiarism, entirely original. Any similarities will be changed immediately. Comedy, deadpan humor, no official pairing, a touch of horror, and characters with sound values.) Accidentally drawn into a paranormal incident: a girl whose mouth has been sealed shut, the walking dead with no eyes to see, monsters covered in tumors that crawl along the ground... Is the world turned upside down, or is this an elaborate hoax carefully s 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 59 60 Chilling Stories from Real Life 来自现实的60个惊悚故事 (Purely written by hand, not AI) Schemes! Poisoning! Possession! Framing... evil spirits! Returning from the dead! Ghosts! Curses... Terrifying and chilling stories based on real events, showing you the things that lurk in the dark world! Every story is a horror short drama! 21.3kReads8.9Score2kShelves
- 60 The Terrifying School 极度恐怖校园 As the best university in the city, this school admits only outstanding students. But it also has many rules that are hard to understand: no studying after eight o’clock, and no leaving your dorm room after midnight. No matter who calls to you from the corridor, do not answer... The protagonists in this story are all independent, but their countless connections eventually bring them together. What secrets does this school hold? 293Reads—Score—Shelves
- 61 The Strange Rural Tales My Aunt Told Me 姑姑给我讲的农村怪事 When I was little, I was timid, but I still loved listening to my aunt tell stories. Today, I'm sharing with you the stories she told me. I'll do my best to keep writing, and I hope you'll support me. 15Reads—Score—Shelves
- 62 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 2.1kReads7.3Score148Shelves
- 63 Strange Tales from the South 南方灵异事 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 64 A Collection of Folk Ghost Stories 民间鬼怪故事合集 The faint of heart should stay away. This collection of ghost stories is all based on things I’ve seen and heard myself. Ghosts and monsters really do exist in this world. Call it superstition, or call it mysteries science has yet to explain. (Better to believe they exist than to assume they don’t.) 94Reads—Score104Shelves
- 65 Rental Notes 出租笔记 A city needs police officers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, sanitation workers, and many others to keep it safe and thriving. But that's only what you see on the surface. There are also people working behind the scenes for the city. They ask for no reward and care nothing for fame; they simply guard the city in silence. Some are injured, some are left disabled, and some die. Those who survive keep going. If it were up to you, would you sacrifice a few people to bring happiness to the majority? 1Reads8.1Score—Shelves
- 66 Chronicles of the Supernatural 异灵实录 At three in the morning, check the list of the dead; let the ferryman guide your soul. Chinese horror stories, spirit-summoning, death notes. Some things can be explained, while other feelings defy description. A terror that makes you shudder as you think it over rises from the depths of your heart. After reading these 99 stories, you'll find yourself questioning your own life. There's a rumor that you should never stay in the last room on the ground floor of a hotel. The author once traveled ou 24Reads9.2Score—Shelves
- 67 The Strange and Supernatural Things I’ve Heard and Seen 那些我所闻所见的灵异事 I’ll tell stories about the strange things that have happened to me over the years, along with the folk secrets and I Ching mysticism I’ve learned. At the start of each story, I’ll say whether I experienced it myself or heard it from someone else. I may not tell them in chronological order. I need to remember and organize everything, so I’ll just talk about whatever comes to mind. Things I experienced myself may be exaggerated, but they’re absolutely true. As for some of the stories I’ve heard, 2.4kReads—Score156Shelves
- 68 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—Shelves
- 69 Night Talks at the Threshing Ground 打谷场夜话 Long ago, in the countryside, there were no phones, televisions, air conditioners, or fans. When darkness fell in summer, people would head to the threshing ground to cool off, sit in a circle, chat, and start telling strange and terrifying ghost stories… 1.9kReads—Score122Shelves
- 70 A Spirit Medium’s Disciple Who Became a Taoist 当道士的出马弟子 First, I offer incense as a disciple of the spirit-medium tradition. I am a junior student of Qingwei! This book has three aims! First, to explain some rather mysterious topics and present superstitious ideas from a scientific perspective! Second, to share a few tips on avoiding scams, so no one gets tricked! Third, there is no fantasy cultivation or wish-fulfillment in this book! Fourth, everything mentioned in the book is based on my own personal experience! Zhengyuantang, Wang Clan Immortal R 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 71 Major Paranormal Events in China 中国民间灵异大事件 Major Chinese Folk Supernatural Cases is based on real supernatural incidents. Its contents are terrifying, mysterious, eerie, and suspenseful, with no more scientifically reasonable explanation to this day! Each chapter of this book tells a supernatural fantasy tale, with bizarre, chilling, and gripping plots. We hope readers will tune in and enjoy! 301Reads7.2Score227Shelves
- 72 Old Tales of the Dead Village 死人村旧事 Chen Ergou holds a stalk of grass and gently pokes at the paper money still smoldering in front of him. Behind him, a dense crowd of “people” from the village and beyond stands packed together... Hanwa, his belly slit open and his tongue hanging down to his chest; Sufen, naked, with raw flesh exposed; the Fat Taoist, whose limbs and head are covered with tightly packed stitches at the joints; Tian Da, his body stiff, a walking stick jutting from his wide-open mouth; Xiao Zhao, pale-faced and dri 185Reads8.4Score109Shelves
- 73 A Corrupted Heart 糜烂之心 Deep inside the Luocheng Police Department, a metal filing cabinet labeled “Bloodstained Files” holds dozens of long-unsolved, grisly cases. Each one once shocked the nation with its bizarre deaths, but limited forensic technology at the time meant they were ultimately filed away as “unsolved.” In 2025, advances in forensic science prompted the department to launch the “Bloodstained Files Resolution Project.” The first case to be reopened was the most controversial of them all: the “Terrifying P 42Reads—Score—Shelves
- 74 Grudge-Locked Patterns 怨气锁纹 Dai Xiaochao, the protagonist, is a college graduate in architecture from the 1990s. Under heavy financial pressure, he moves into a tenement building where a locked-room murder took place two years earlier. Surveillance was scarce in those days, so the police had to investigate door to door, and the case made little progress. Then the ancient Taotie jade pendant inherited by Dai Xiaochao’s family, along with its Taotie patterns, begins to react... And that is where the story begins. 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 75 Paranormal Encounters: What I Saw and Heard 灵异事件之所见所闻 No System + no transmigration + no power fantasy + no harem + no invincible protagonist + no sweet romance + no clichés + no female lead + no cultivation. Important notice: if this isn’t for you, don’t read it. If this isn’t for you, don’t read it. If this isn’t for you, don’t read it! Do you believe there are things in this world that science cannot explain? Have you ever experienced anything supernatural yourself? Treat the events in this novel as stories, and remember: Fear and respect the sp 130Reads—Score—Shelves
- 76 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—Shelves
- 77 My Job at the Horror Radio Station 我在恐怖电台任职这件事儿 [Folklore] [Supernatural] [Short Story] [No Superpowers] [No Rule-Based Horror] [Not a Wish-Fulfillment Story] [Not for the Faint of Heart] The author is working hard to make a living. 23Reads—Score—Shelves
- 78 A Collection of Ancient Folk Tales of the Supernatural 古代民间灵异故事合集听来的故事 A hugely popular collection on Tomato Listen, featuring rule-based horror, infinite-loop survival, folk customs and taboos, deranged killers, deadly survival instances, feng shui, livestreaming, modern technology, and many other kinds of horror. Volume One: Classical ghost stories. A blend of modern and classical taboos: never look in the mirror at midnight, someone is under the bed... A wedding sedan, an old well, an ancestral shrine, a nighttime opera... Any ordinary thing can become a spirit; 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 79 The Departure That Year 那一年的离去 The Day They Left 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 80 Anomaly Survival Guide 异常求生指南 [The Backrooms X rules-based horror X Cthulhu Mythos X infinite flow X wild imagination] No System, no leveling up, no harem. This handbook is designed to help you deal with all kinds of anomalies. We hope every investigator will survive and provide us with more useful data. Because of the existence of the gods, most life in the universe is subtly influenced by the rulers scattered throughout the galaxy. As the universe grew ever more prosperous, the rulers’ psychic projections created a space 59Reads—Score—Shelves
- 81 Spirit Village 灵村 Thrills and the supernatural! There's an ancient village called Lingzhuang, also known as Bagua Village. I was born there. Lingzhuang is always shrouded in an atmosphere of terror: Enormous pythons, centipedes, black spiders, strange birds, and ferocious beasts roam about, attacking people... Lingzhuang is also rife with strange tales and bizarre happenings: A female ghost haunts the village; a cave in Longmian Mountain holds an arsenal from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; a mysterious master live 69Reads—Score—Shelves
- 82 The Soul Ferryer Between Yin and Yang 阴阳渡魂人 Soul-snatching ghost weddings, bathroom hauntings, the legend of the red-clad senior, Thai black magic, ghost soldiers borrowing the road, man-eating mountain demons, nightmare fiends that enter your dreams, the mystery of the headless woman, a bizarre bride in an escape room, vengeful child spirits, games that summon ghosts, human organ trafficking, a shocking exhibition of human deformities, and long-lost Maoshan secrets... Do these things send a chill down your spine? - The truth is, this wor 177Reads9.2Score102Shelves
- 83 The Hanging Charm 魅巾悬 No romance + fantasy and the supernatural + mild horror + modern-day imaginative premise + episodic plot + feel-good power fantasy Liu Yixian, with a high forehead and a broad, square face, was taken in as an apprentice by Daoist Wu in the twelfth year of his life, setting him on an extraordinary path. A thousand-year-old fox or a century-old ginkgo: which one will win Yixian’s heart? A blood-red sickle stabbed the ghost seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, maybe twenty times. The ghost couldn’t take 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 84 The Five Elements and the Art of Physiognomy 五行相术 Rumor has it that centuries from now, the Five Elements Art of Physiognomy will reappear in the martial world, sparking a scramble among heroes from every corner. Strange events from the decade of calamity, the Qinling Demon Tower, the ancient city of Fuxian, the Tianshan Blood Tomb, the ghost city of Miaojiang, and the haunted lake of Qinghai: after his grandfather mysteriously vanishes, Yuan Yuan must uncover a series of secrets. 121Reads9.0Score—Shelves
- 85 Forbidden Horror: Don't Look in the Mirror at Night 禁忌怪谈：晚上不要照镜子 Taboo Horror: Don’t Look in the Mirror at Night —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 86 Horror Park: I Teach in the Ghost Realm, and the Boss Cries While Doing Homework 惊悚乐园：我在鬼域搞教育，BOSS哭着写作业 Horror Paradise: I Teach in the Ghost Realm, and the Boss Cries While Doing His Homework 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 87 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—Shelves
- 88 Scorpion’s Tail 蝎尾针 [Contains blood, horror, suspense, mystery, and mind-bending twists. Read with caution.] At Binhai City’s May Day Hospital, Ji Xiao is the night watchman in the morgue. To help the Shen family bring a dead relative back to life, he enters the game as a yin-yang master, putting his own life on the line. An old woman visiting a corpse, the Seven Deadly Sins of Extreme Evil turning on one another, a great yin-yang master who has taken over someone’s body... As he investigates a grisly headless mu 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 89 The Haunted Houses I’ve Experienced 我经历的凶宅 The older generation often says that people who die violent deaths cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation. Their souls endlessly haunt the places where they died, seeking substitutes. Only then can they be reborn. That’s why we often hear in the news about car crashes that keep happening at certain locations. Sometimes the place isn’t even a proper intersection, yet terrible accidents leave cars wrecked and people dead. Some streams aren’t even as deep as a person is tall, yet every year there 2.1kReads8.9Score199Shelves
- 90 Ghosts in Pieces 散装见鬼 Do you believe there are ghosts in this world? I think that question is as impossible to answer as whether there are dragons in this world. The answer you hear most often is: Believe in them, and they exist. Don’t believe in them, and they don’t. But if you ask me, my answer is simple: Yes! Not because I believe, but because I can see them. Of course, I wasn’t able to see them from birth. It all goes back to the strange experience I had when I was six... 32Reads—Score—Shelves
- 91 Rule Horror: Help! My AI Miracle Doctor Says I Have to Die 规则怪谈：救命！我的AI神医说我必须死 Rule Horror: Help! My AI Miracle Doctor Says I Have to Die —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 92 A Strange Tale Every Night 夜夜都有诡故事 [Extreme Supernatural Horror] [Ghosts, Fox Spirits, and Other Strange Creatures] [Not for Women] [Not for the Fainthearted] Based on personal experience and real events. The occult is science we have yet to touch; science is the occult we have already mastered. 22Reads—Score—Shelves
- 93 At the Cemetery, I Find a Pair of Red High Heels 人在公墓，捡到一双红色高跟鞋 Wang Jin finally graduated. He never expected that after studying civil engineering, he'd end up in a tomb, landing a job as a security guard at a high-end cemetery. He figured he'd work there for a few years, save some money, and then leave. But on his very first day, he found a pair of red high heels outside the security office. An ordinary person with no worries might have thrown them away. Someone more cautious might have grown suspicious. But Wang Jin was neither. He looked around, saw no o 1.5kReads8.0Score128Shelves
- 94 Grandma’s Ghost Stories 听奶奶讲灵异故事 I was raised by my grandmother. The bedtime stories I heard as a child were all supernatural events she had experienced herself. They scared me so badly I was afraid to go to the bathroom, but I could never resist listening to the end. What I didn't know was that the more stories I heard, the more likely they were to come true, and that I had plenty of secrets of my own. 152Reads6.7Score—Shelves
- 95 Mysterious Tales: Stop Crying! Smile, Damn It! 诡秘怪谈：别哭了！给老子笑！ Weird Tales of the Mysterious: Stop crying! Give me a damn smile! —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 96 Folk Horror Taboos 民间恐怖禁忌 Do you know the stories old people tell? Do you know there are many things in folk tradition that people say must not be spoken of? Do you know what the elders say about dreams? The elders say there are things you mustn't talk about at night. Did you know that? 121Reads6.3Score—Shelves
- 97 The Soul-Summoning Lantern 招魂灯 The Soul-Summoning Lantern 21Reads—Score—Shelves
- 98 The Double Fiend 子母双煞 The Mother-and-Child Fiends —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 99 Rule Horror: Feeding Records from No. 7 Huaiyin Lane 规则怪谈：槐荫里7号进食记录 Rule Horror: Feeding Records from No. 7, Huaiyin Lane —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 100 The Witch Seeks the Veins and Calms the Soul 巫师寻脉镇魂 A man in a red robe isn't necessarily a groom. He might be a shaman, known as a Duangong. The protagonist, Liu Chunqiu, is the youngest shaman in southwestern Hubei. Other people wear red to marry. He wears red to drive out ghosts. Other people pray to Buddha and beseech the gods. He invites the gods to possess him. His master asks him to find and recover the lost lineage of shamanic arts. From then on, the protagonist performs Duangong rites day and night to heal the sick and ward off evil, and 110Reads—Score—Shelves
