Novels like The Midnight Pawnshop: The Living Must Keep Away
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Midnight Pawnshop: The Living Must Keep Away, best match first.
- 1 My Pale Life 我苍白的一生 My name is Zhang Yuan, though my childhood nickname was Ergou. I'm male, born in 1990. Everyone encounters all kinds of strange, inexplicable things in life. By the way, do you believe in ghosts? 507Reads8.4Score101Shelves
- 2 Shattered Yin-Yang Jade 阴阳玉碎 [Supernatural + horror + suspense + first person + no idiots in the story + clever protagonist + a touch of angst] "I'm turning eighteen soon. I should die, too." Yu Yue and I are twin sisters, born eighteen years ago on Ghost Festival. A fortune-teller gave us each a jade pendant and said that on our eighteenth birthday, whoever's pendant broke would die. We're seventeen now, and suddenly both pendants have shattered. How can we possibly survive? 44Reads—Score—Shelves
- 3 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 733Reads7.2Score100Shelves
- 4 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... 64.5kReads8.3Score7.1kShelves
- 5 Horror Taboo: Returning the Soul Beneath the Coffin 恐怖禁忌，压棺回魂 The dead open their eyes, ghosts come to claim souls, the living borrow lifespans, and the dead press down on their coffins... One bizarre, uncanny experience after another keeps resurfacing in my mind like a nightmare. The strange tales in this book are mainly based on Yang Jian’s firsthand experiences... A warning: the actions in this book are for entertainment only. Do not imitate them! There are three kinds of people who read this book: thrill-seekers who aren’t easily scared... those who pu 987Reads6.2Score101Shelves
- 6 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... 31Reads—Score—Shelves
- 7 36,036 Terrifying Stories You’ll Regret Not Reading 不看后悔的36036个恐怖故事 [Standalone Stories] [Paranormal Events] [Unbelievable] [Forest Spirits] [True Cases] [Rural Ghost Stories] There is no overarching plot. Each chapter tells a self-contained story adapted from the encounters of a shamaness who can see spirits, and the strange, gripping tales surrounding each young friend she meets. 331Reads—Score—Shelves
- 8 I Am Not a Paper Spirit 我不是纸仙 A paper effigy is made by folding paper into the shape of a person, so it can take on another's sins, endure their punishment, and bear the consequences of their karma. I was an orphan from a young age, adopted by my master. He was a paper effigy maker, and when I was nineteen, I learned his craft. That set me on a road of no return and turned me into a jinx. Before long, I brought about my master's death. Through one mistake, I turned a “Lovers' Fold” into a “Life-Damaging Fold,” creating a pap 43Reads7.6Score—Shelves
- 9 I Blundered into a Horror World, Only to Find That All the Bosses Were Lamps 误入恐怖世界，没想到BOSS全是灯 I stumbled into a world of horror, only to find that every BOSS was a lamp. 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 10 Strange Happenings in the Ancient City 古城诡事 A mysterious phone call full of suspense and a childhood friend he hasn't seen in years draw him into a dangerous web of intrigue. Following the clues, he steps into one carefully laid trap after another. His friend, returned from the dead, Qin Zhijie, who clings to him relentlessly and seems neither wholly good nor wholly evil, and Shangguan Wan'er, whose identity is shrouded in mystery, all vanish without a trace at the most crucial moments. Why did Da Kui, who had braved life and death, come 50Reads8.8Score—Shelves
- 11 The Yin and Yang of the Mist 迷雾阴阳 The Municipal Public Security Bureau's Special Cases Investigation Division, or Special Investigations Division for short, specializes in supernatural incidents that defy rational explanation. Shen Yanzhi, an officer in the division who is calm, rational, and skilled in talismans and spells, meets Lin Mo, a descendant of a family of yin-yang masters whose bloodline can suppress evil forces and whose gentle nature conceals a stubborn streak, while investigating a case. Together, they gradually un 33Reads—Score—Shelves
- 12 The Sealed Cave Behind the Mountain: I Became the Village's Soul Guardian 后山囚洞：我成了全村守魂人 After accidentally entering a century-old forbidden site in the back mountains, Jiang Ningyue unexpectedly inherits a fated duty and becomes the village’s only soul guardian. A deep, secluded prison cave suppresses countless wrongfully dead spirits. Ancient village rules conceal secrets unknown to outsiders, while turmoil erupts along the boundary between Yin and Yang, and one eerie calamity follows another. Generations of cave guardians have borne endless suffering, and a century of tangled gru 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 13 The Vengeful Ghost Great-Grandma Wants to Kill My Daughter, but My Pure Yang Infant Shatters a Century-Old Blood Pact 厉鬼太奶想杀我女，我纯阳婴镇碎百年血契 A Vengeful Ghost of a Great-Grandmother Wants to Kill My Daughter, but My Pure-Yang Baby Shatters a Century-Old Blood Pact 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 14 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 4.1kReads—Score385Shelves
- 15 My Years in the Funeral Business 我干殡葬的那些年 People light candles, ghosts blow out the lamps. The dead return at midnight, corpses rise in funeral halls, and ancient relics lie buried for thousands of years. In my years working in the funeral business, I’ve encountered plenty of strange and uncanny things. The living walk the roads of the living world, and the dead walk the roads of the underworld. But sometimes, not everyone on the underworld’s roads is a ghost, and not everyone on the living world’s roads is human… 51.1kReads9.2Score5.1kShelves
- 16 The Missing Body 丢失的身体 Two empty bottles of sleeping pills lay before the grave, and two kidneys lay before his son's grave. With a smile on his face, he leaned against his son's gravestone and slowly closed his eyes. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 17 Midnight Strangulation Marks on a Severed Hand 断手的午夜掐痕 That night on duty, my junior grabbed my sleeve, his voice trembling. “Senior, the patient who lost a hand in a drunk-driving accident half a year ago… he's dead.” A chill ran down the back of my neck as the memories came flooding back. Two accident victims had been brought to the hospital that day, and both had lost their right hands. Yet only one of them survived. Later, the survivor woke in the middle of the night with red marks where his own hand had choked him. His family sought help from e 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 18 My Best Friend Disappeared While Picking Up Takeout, and Everyone Says She Never Existed 闺蜜取个外卖就失踪，所有人都说她并不存在 My best friend went out to pick up a delivery and never came back. She vanished from my life completely. Nobody remembered her. They all thought I was mentally ill. The truth was, we had been split across two different timelines. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 19 I'm Xie, a Yin-Yang Guide, Not a Taoist Priest 阴阳开路人谢邀，不是道士 I've seen too many lonely spirits trapped in corners, unable to move on, and too many people hell-bent on harming others. Sometimes I can't tell whether I'm imagining it in the throes of a psychotic episode or witnessing something real. The truth is far darker than fiction. “Absurd” is the only word for it. 14Reads—Score—Shelves
- 20 After My Brother Was Crushed by a Tycoon Family, I Summoned the Ten Kings of Hell to Claim Their Lives 弟遭豪门碾杀，我引十殿阎罗索命 After his younger brother is crushed to death by a powerful family, he summons the Ten Kings of Hell to claim their lives 14Reads—Score—Shelves
- 21 Paralyzed by Terror: The Shadow That Smelled of Tobacco 鬼压床惊魂-那具带着烟草味的黑影 Terrifying Sleep Paralysis: The Shadow That Smelled of Tobacco 16Reads—Score—Shelves
- 22 The Tiger Skin: Three Years After My Mother Died, Someone Knocked at My Door in the Dead of Night 皮打虎：我娘死后三年，深夜来敲我家门 Leather Tiger: Three Years After My Mother Died, Someone Came Knocking at My Door Late at Night 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 23 A Woman Fell from the Building at My Feet, Then Begged Me in the Middle of the Night to Avenge Her 坠楼女子落我脚边，半夜她哭着求我替她报仇 The Evil Spirit in the Talisman On a rainy night, I watched a girl jump from a tall building and die on the spot. Her soul latched onto me and demanded that I avenge her. 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 24 Deadly Delivery 致命快递 I received a package from an unfamiliar sender. A note inside said I could scan a code to claim a huge cash bonus. But when I scanned it, my phone opened a livestream instead. Even stranger, my face appeared right in the middle of the screen. The comments were flying by: "This girl looks pretty good. What a shame to kill her." "Tsk, tsk, what a beauty. I recommend having some fun with her before killing her." Just then, I suddenly heard someone knocking behind me. "Hello, delivery!" 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 25 The Corpse Stitcher 缝尸匠 My family makes its living dealing with the dead, and my father is a renowned corpse seamster in the surrounding area. His skills are superb. No matter how mangled a corpse is, he can restore it to look as good as new. Whenever someone died in an accident and their body was disfigured, wealthy families from hundreds of miles around would ask my father to stitch it back together. But as far as I knew, my father used to be a butcher. He was skilled at dressing pigs, but I had never heard that he w 8Reads—Score—Shelves
- 26 A Terrifying New Year’s Eve 惊悚除夕夜 A Chilling New Year's Eve 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 27 Night-Shift Internet Cafe Attendant: The Woman in Red in the Men's Room Stall Hides a Ten-Year-Old Case 夜班网管：男厕隔间的红衣女，竟藏着十年旧案 Night-Shift Internet Cafe Attendant: The Red-Clad Woman in the Men's Restroom Stall Is Hiding a Decade-Old Case 52Reads—Score—Shelves
- 28 Killing My Second Personality 杀死第二人格 I killed my second personality. But before he died, he left me a “grand gift”... A list of people to harass at the asylum, with 16 names on it, even though the asylum has only 15 patients in total. “Did you think you were the only one with a second personality?” What is the truth? Who is the real madman? —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 29 Blood Ties 血缘关系 I rushed a thousand miles to mourn my mother, only to discover that she had died under suspicious circumstances. I wanted to uncover the truth and avenge her, but my whole family opposed me! It turned out everything was because there was a “vampire” in the family! 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 30 My Fiancée Disappeared, and I Became the Killer 未婚妻失踪，我成了凶手 My name is Cheng Yuan. My fiancée has disappeared. The last message I saw before I passed out was from her. “Cheng Yuan, run!” When I woke up, I found myself trapped in a perfect replica of my home, with something sinister lurking everywhere. And it seemed someone was watching me! A madman claimed to be deeply in love with my fiancée. But later, I discovered that the real madman was someone else. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 31 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 2.1kReads8.9Score192Shelves
- 32 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… 1.4kReads—Score—Shelves
- 33 Ghost Stories of the Southwest 西南鬼事 This is a collection of ghost stories from southwest China, made up of a series of medium-length tales. Some may be part of your childhood, some may be stories you've told yourself, and others may be stories you've never heard. Today, let Xiao An tell you these strange and wondrous tales, one by one. 81Reads—Score—Shelves
- 34 Chronicles of Strange Folk Tales 民间怪谈事件录 Not for the faint of heart! Not for the faint of heart! Not for the faint of heart! The 1980s and 1990s saw one bizarre incident after another in Jubao Village: Zhao Laohei, who rose from the dead at the execution ground... The woman who hanged herself in town, her whole face turned a purplish black... The ghost child encountered during a game of hide-and-seek on the Ghost Festival... The terrifying bamboo fiend in the old bamboo grove... People and ghosts playing cards in a yin-yang card game.. 220Reads—Score—Shelves
- 35 Terror at the Villa: Everyone Who Heard the Weeping Died 别墅惊魂：听见哭声的人都死了 I'm a feng shui master. One day, I was hired by the tycoon Jia Qing, who said something strange was happening at his villa on Lingzhou Island. Every night, the sounds of a woman and a baby crying could be heard inside the villa. The reward he offered was so generous that I couldn't refuse. Who knew that a string of terrifying events would unfold on the very night I moved in? 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 Calling Spirits in the Ruined House: My Seven-Year-Old Brother Mysteriously Fell from a Building, and a Shadow in White Came After Him 荒坯房叫魂：7岁小弟莫名坠楼，白衣黑影缠上了他 A Spirit-Calling Ritual in a Derelict House: My Seven-Year-Old Brother Mysteriously Fell from the Building, and a Shadow in White Is Haunting Him 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 37 My Senior Disappeared from a Nursing Home, So I Went Undercover as a Nurse and Uncovered a Shocking Secret 学长在养老院失踪，我去当护士卧底发现惊天秘密 My senior disappeared three months ago. He was working at Paradise Nursing Home at the time. To find him, I applied for a job at the nursing home. I never expected to see an elderly resident jump to his death on my very first day. Then more residents started disappearing, one after another. Until one day, inside the refrigerator, I found the finger of a missing resident... —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 38 Workplace Rule Horror: A Desperate Fight to Survive the Grind 职场规则怪谈：玩命打工求生 A job interview turns into a deadly game The printer devours people, the elevator plummets, the boss eats human flesh… Every workplace rule is a lethal trap! Double-sided printing can save your life; pressing the wrong elevator button can cost it. Remember the rules of the workplace, or you'll be the next zombie! Is this workplace bullying, or a death game? Welcome to workplace hell Please do your best to survive. 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 39 Studying Neutrinos at the Funeral Home 我在殡仪馆研究中微子 ❎ Not for the faint of heart! Five-star horror rating. I’m a college student. To ease the burden on my family, I decided to find a part-time job near campus. By chance, I spotted a faded advertisement on a utility pole nearby. The job was keeping night watch at a funeral home, and the pay was great, so I took it. On my first day, the manager told me three bizarre rules for the funeral home’s night shift: I’d be the only one working overnight; never open the door for strangers; and never get invo 16.7kReads7.2Score2.4kShelves
- 40 After the Wicked Mother-in-Law Drove Her Son’s Family to Their Deaths, They All Became Ghosts 恶婆婆逼死儿媳妇一家后，全变鬼了 Back in our village, it was perfectly normal for a mother-in-law to bully her daughter-in-law. Even when the entire husband's family bullied the daughter-in-law, nobody thought there was anything wrong with it. But driving the daughter-in-law's entire family to their deaths? I doubt many people could do something like that. 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 Rule Horror: Don't Look Back During 72 Hours in the Dorm 规则怪谈：宿舍72小时不要回头 A word of warning: this is terrifying, so timid readers beware. (No female lead, no cheats, no romance, game instances, infinite flow, horror, mystery) Eight university students who returned to campus early found a mysterious sheet of rules in their empty dormitory building: Rule One: No matter what strange “person” you see, don’t cry out or scream. Rule Two: No matter who calls you from behind, don’t turn around or answer. Rule Three: One of you is an impostor who will eat people in the middle 4.6kReads6.1Score390Shelves
- 42 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
- 43 The Child Who Never Existed 不存在的孩子 My son suddenly disappeared. Everyone told me that I had never had a child. The daycare teacher didn't know me. My husband said we'd never wanted a child, and even my best friend urged me to calm down, saying it was all just an hallucination. But I clearly remembered the child I'd risked my life to give birth to. His name was Liu Chaoyang, he was one year and eight months old, and he was a chubby little dumpling! Then I found baby supplies under the bed, along with photographs and traces that ha —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 44 I Decided to Kill My Lover, Then Got on a Haunted Bus with Her 我决定谋杀情人，和她上了一辆闹鬼的巴士 I think I got on a haunted bus. My girlfriend was sitting beside me, her pretty little face deathly pale with fear. "Th-those two people just carried a corpse onto the bus." 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 45 There’s a Ghost in the Dorm 宿舍有鬼 My roommate is a cosplayer. A month into our sophomore year, she ordered a complete Chinese ghost-bride outfit online to wear to a horror party. She even hung the entire outfit beside her bed the night before. But that night, I woke with a start in the middle of the night and saw with my own eyes a female ghost in a bright red wedding dress pacing back and forth at the foot of her bed. 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 46 The Spirit-Suppressing Coffin 囚灵棺 I was curious about the coffin necklace around my boyfriend's neck. Before I could even touch it, he broke up with me on the spot. I complained about it to the viewers in my livestream, but then a fortune-telling streamer suddenly joined the call and warned me: “Break up with him right now. Your boyfriend is wearing a Spirit-Binding Coffin!” From that day on, eerie nightmares, a mysterious female ghost, and my boyfriend's secrets... One strange event after another began to unfold. Just when I th —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 47 Daughter Village 女儿村 I was born in Daughter Village. For twenty years in a row, every child born in our village was a girl. Every nightfall, the cries of baby girls echoed through the valley. Once, a Taoist priest came to our village and said the entire village was cursed. During the summer of my first year of graduate school, my advisor ignored my protests and brought me and several other students to the village to conduct research. 11Reads—Score—Shelves
- 48 The Haunted Inn 惊魂旅馆 An unexpected downpour drowned out the sounds of murder. Late at night, in a remote inn, a corpse lay sprawled across a bed, blood pouring from all seven orifices. The killer seemed to be hiding among the guests, none of whom trusted one another: a police officer, a writer, a psychiatrist, a celebrity, a fan, a college student... Every one of them had something to hide. After a second murder, the line between the dead and the living grew increasingly blurred. Everyone was a suspect, and everyone 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 49 The Deadly Neighbor at Midnight 午夜凶邻 The Neighbor from Hell at Midnight 107Reads—Score—Shelves
- 50 Office Ghosts: Don't Work Overtime office有鬼之不要加班 There Are Ghosts in the Office: Don’t Work Overtime 83Reads—Score—Shelves
