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.
- 51 The Death Inn 死亡民宿 On the first night after checking into the guesthouse, the owner died. But at midnight that same night, Lu Shou actually received a text from the owner. “Please be sure to follow the rules of the Deerhorn Guesthouse. Find the landlady’s dowry box before five tomorrow morning, and you can leave with the deputy manager, an orange cat.” “Otherwise, you’ll be stuck here forever.” Lu Shou broke out in a cold sweat, utterly baffled. “I clearly took his phone. How can he still text me?” —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 52 The Ghosts Come Out at Night Series 猛鬼出更系列 The Ferocious Ghosts Come Out at Night Series 122Reads—Score—Shelves
- 53 The Silent Echo 沉默的回声 Five years ago, in Room 601 of Ningchuan High School, a girl was found hanged from a bathroom pipe. Her eyes bulged, her tongue was missing, and strange words had been written in blood on the mirror: “He… is back.” Five years later, the sealed cold case was suddenly reopened. Trainee criminal investigator Qin Chuan took over the investigation, never expecting that this bizarre murder would also uncover another buried case: the “South Campus Disappearance.” A deadly game of hunting, lying dormant 54Reads—Score—Shelves
- 54 When the Funeral Dance Begins, the Living Must Flee 丧舞起，活人避 The Red Luan chapter of The Book of a Thousand Autumns, also known as Red Luan Ferry [Folk Professions + Southern Yunnan Mysticism + Paranormal Folklore + Strange Tales] I was supposed to die when I was six, but I joined a sect to prolong my life. A folk sect in southern Yunnan: warding off evil spirits and guiding the dead. There are countless rules and taboos in our line of work. “When the funeral dance begins, the living must stay away.” When the funeral dance is performed, the living must tu 211Reads—Score—Shelves
- 55 Fish Woman 鱼女 My father was a famous fisherman in the villages around us. Whenever he went out to sea, he always caught more fish than anyone else. He gutted countless live fish, scraped off their scales, and chopped off their heads. Then one day, he brought home a sea fish as tall as a person, and the entire village came to gawk. He turned down a merchant's offer to buy it, killed the fish himself, and put on a feast for the villagers, serving every part of it. The banquet lasted all night. The next day, the 56Reads—Score—Shelves
- 56 The Secret of Dad's Death 爸爸死亡的秘密 When I was seven, my dad died. An accident sent me back to the 24 hours before his death. I did everything I could to save him. But I never could have imagined it. This time, the one who killed my dad was... —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 57 The Real Lunatic and the Fake Patient 真疯子假病人 In my dream, I thought it was nothing more than a dream. But when I woke up, someone beside me was lying on the ground, clutching their arm and crying out in pain. Now, I've dreamed of the crime scene once again. 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 58 Lover in a False World 虚假世界的爱人 My wife has been acting strangely lately. She keeps pestering me, saying she wants me to stay by her side forever. I can't help finding it a little funny. "Of course I'll stay by your side forever and ever, honey." But whenever she hears me say that, her body stiffens noticeably. Then she goes back to her room alone and locks the door. No matter how I try to coax her from outside, she refuses to open it. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 59 Longevity Soup 长寿汤 When I was little, Liu Laoer’s family in the village made a living selling goat-horn powder. The powder came from the horns of female goats. Though those horns were short and slender, Liu Laoer would skin and butcher female goats alive right after they gave birth. Then he would cut off their horns and grind them into powder. He would add the powder to soup made with freshly slaughtered lamb. They said drinking it regularly could help you live a long life. 13Reads—Score—Shelves
- 60 Tales of the Haunted Mountain Village 山村诡事录 Where the woods are dense, ghosts abound; where the mountains are high, monsters are sure to lurk. After getting drunk, Chen Jianjun of Kaoshan Village encounters a beautiful woman in the mountains. Alone together, the pair spend several days in an intimate embrace. When he returns home, he goes mad for a day and then dies. On the day of his burial, Chen Jianjun suddenly comes back to life... To save his family, Chen Xiaojun becomes the apprentice of Yi, a lame man who was once sent to a work ca 4.5kReads9.1Score428Shelves
- 61 The Loop 循环 From losing everything to striking it rich overnight, Wang Hao wins at the gambling table for five days straight. But there are no free lunches, and in the end, his greed will make him pay a terrible price! In a single night, Wang Hao vanishes without a trace. Awei, Wang Hao's friend, reports him missing to the police, then secretly investigates his whereabouts. Unexpectedly, one eerie incident after another follows! Someone who died more than twenty years ago reappears! As he digs deeper, he di 246Reads8.3Score—Shelves
- 62 After I Lost My Memory, a Woman Just Like Me Appeared at Home 失忆后，家里出现和我一模一样的女人 I've lost my memory. Since then, people have kept showing me all kinds of evidence and implanting all sorts of memories in my mind. But I feel like an outsider looking in on my own past, unable to relate to any of it. One day, I came home and found a woman fast asleep on the sofa. What terrified me was that she looked exactly like me! 8Reads—Score—Shelves
- 63 The People Around Me and I Had the Same Dream 我和周围人做了一样的梦 I knew I was dreaming, but everything in the dream was strange. When I woke up, I discovered that my coworkers and I had all shared the same dream. It turned out to be a monster's trap. 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 64 Spirit-Seeking Case Files 1: The Road to the Yellow Springs 访灵笔录1：黄泉路 [Mystery] [Supernatural] [A Powerful Duo] [Lighthearted] [Episodic Stories] [Ghostly Tales] [Ensemble Cast Hunting Ghosts] "The road to the Yellow Springs stretches for thousands of miles. The living and the dead are separated, with only fate to reunite them in another life." Quan Ning got into a car accident on a mountain road. As he lay on the brink of death, a man claiming to be a ghost judge from the underworld offered him a chance to live. "I'll lend you ten years. Interest is three percent 102Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 65 Coffin Shop No. 44 44号棺材铺 Everyone knows what a coffin shop is, but would you dare enter one where someone has died? Ever since I took over a coffin shop, strange things have been happening all around me. Only then did I realize that the people who come to buy coffins aren't necessarily alive… 2.2kReads8.0Score253Shelves
- 66 A Feng Shui Master with a Bachelor's Degree, Class of 2000 00后本科风水师 [The rating has just come out and will rise later. Updates are steady, so you can read with confidence, friends!] [Small-town supernatural tales + true experiences + folk legends + ensemble cast + thrilling adventures] I'm Fang Kai, a feng shui practitioner with a bachelor's degree, born in the 2000s. I never dreamed that after graduating from college, I'd end up on the path of catching ghosts. Think ghost-catching is all about fighting and killing? Wrong. It's just as much about dealing with pe 5.2kReads8.6Score375Shelves
- 67 The Doll Grows Cold 人偶失温 Everyone says I must have done something virtuous in a past life for Qin Chuan to choose me. Only I know that's not the case. He married me because he wanted me dead. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 68 An Unremarkable Jumping Death Case 不起眼的跳楼案 My fiancé, who had been overseas for three years, called to tell me he was coming back the day after tomorrow. I went to meet him at the airport. On the way home, he proposed, and I said yes. But this morning, he disappeared again, because I had once more returned to the day he called me. I've already relived these three days seven times. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 69 The Life-Extending Money 借寿钱 After a friend dies in a bizarre car accident, could a hundred-yuan bill inscribed with “Borrow your years to buy my life” really be a deadly curse? At the funeral home, he uses “life-borrowing money” to buy an urn, only to be haunted by the dead man's mother in a strange way. A talisman hides a sinister plot, and three life-borrowing bills appear out of nowhere at midnight! A locked kitchen, boiling water, knives falling for no reason... Who is controlling this deadly game? 273Reads—Score—Shelves
- 70 Give Me Back My Soul 把老子的魂魄还给我 My name is Lin Zhou, and I'm a security guard. After I lost my job, my childhood friend Erwa found me a high-paying security job at a hotel. I soon discovered that everything about the place was strange. There wasn't a soul around during the day, but at night it was bustling, sending chills down my spine. I tried desperately to escape the hotel, but no matter how far I ran, I couldn't get away... 101Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 71 The Horror Night-Duty Booth 恐怖值班亭 Back around the 2000s, I worked as a security guard at an apartment complex. The complex had a strange rule: [After midnight, do not leave the security booth.] It made no sense, but I always kept it in mind, until the day one of my coworkers died! That night, a woman in a skirt knocked on the security booth window… 30Reads—Score—Shelves
- 72 Paper Bride 纸新娘 Rumor has it that I tried to seduce the Lin family's young master, failed, and then killed him in the village's paper-offering shop. To save my life, I agreed to marry Master Lin, who had raised me for ten years. On our wedding day, Master Lin laid his hands on me. "Darling, did you know I've wanted you for many years?" Of course I knew. I'd been looking forward to this day even longer than he had. 15Reads—Score—Shelves
- 73 Crimson Wish 绯红之愿 I bought a cursed object, hoping to summon a ghost and make a pact with her so I could go to the Ghost City and find out what happened to my missing master. The summoning went unusually smoothly, but the moment she appeared, the powerful yin energy pouring out of the magic circle sent me flying several meters and knocked me to the ground. She stood quietly in the middle of the circle, dressed in a bright red bridal gown and phoenix crown, with her red veil neatly covering her head and her hands —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 74 Summer Vacation of Terror 暑假惊魂记 I can see things other people can't. I've never let it show. I didn't want anyone to think I was a freak. Until that summer vacation... Two classmates and I made plans to go swimming. I saw something in the water. I was terrified. But they insisted on going in, and I couldn't stop them... —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 75 The Secret of Chaoxiao 朝校的秘密 In the village where my family lives, every household's first child has to be a girl. The day after their tenth birthday, these girls are sent to a place called Chaoxiao on the other side of the mountain. They say it's a paradise for girls. That is, until a black cat appeared in the village. 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 76 The Secret of Chongcao Village 虫草村的秘密 “The cordyceps we raise are so fast, you can’t even catch them.” I was watching this funny video on a certain short-video app. Comments flew across the screen. Some people said the joke was hilarious, while others earnestly explained that cordyceps couldn’t possibly run fast. But I knew the joke wasn’t funny at all, because I had seen fast-running cordyceps myself. Perhaps “rabbit cordyceps” would be a more fitting name. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 77 Huizhu Village 慧猪村 My college roommate claimed she came from an ancient village called Huizhu Village. She said the village got its name because, from ancient times to the present, it had produced many high-ranking officials and top scholars, as if its villagers were born with pearls of wisdom. It wasn’t until she talked the rest of us in the dorm into visiting her village around the Qingming Festival that I learned it was actually called “Wise Pig Village.” 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 78 Old Wei’s Supernatural Stories 老魏讲灵异故事 [Traditional Supernatural Tales] [Chinese-Style Horror] [Based on True Stories] [Reader Submissions] [Chilling on Second Thought] [Bizarre Tales] [Beyond the Realm of Science] [Plain, Simple Writing] [Just Stories] These stories were collected from various places by the author, then adapted and fictionalized, so no sources are listed. They’re all kinds of little ghost stories to listen to before bed: straightforward and easy to follow, perfect for unwinding and relieving stress. To keep reader 1.4kReads9.4Score213Shelves
- 79 Spirit-Seeking Case Files 3: The Grudge of the Wronged 访灵笔录3：冤亲赋 [Mystery] [Supernatural] [Strong Duo] [Lighthearted] [Episodic Stories] [Ghostly Tales] [Ensemble Ghost-Hunting] "Love gives rise to sorrow; love gives rise to fear." "An evil spirit lives inside my body. I don't know when it will devour me." A naked woman's corpse is discovered in an underground parking garage, her chest stuffed with weeds and her organs missing. A string of murders throws the entire city into panic! Quan Ning accidentally gets caught up in this bizarre case. As clues gradually 40Reads7.9Score—Shelves
- 80 Folk Tales: One Chapter, One Horror Story 民间怪谈一章一个恐怖故事 [Anthology of stories] [Folklore horror] [Supernatural horror] [Village legends] [Chinese-style horror] [Old-time storytelling] There is no overarching plot. Each chapter is a standalone horror story adapted from folk tales, with eerie, unsettling plots that grow more terrifying the more you think about them. Note: This story discourages superstition and encourages belief in science. It is entirely fictional, so just enjoy it as a bit of fun. 26.8kReads7.5Score1.2kShelves
- 81 The One-Yuan Villa 一元别墅 Never believe that a windfall will fall from the sky. At 28, I was “hit” by a villa, but I don't have much time left. Now I have to find my next heir. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 82 Record of the Spirit Seekers 2: Farewell to the Mortal World 访灵笔录2：入世辞 [Mystery + supernatural + powerful partners + lively humor + episodic stories + ghostly tales + an ensemble cast hunting ghosts] “Nothing brings greater joy than meeting a new friend; nothing brings greater sorrow than parting from a loved one.” A chance encounter with a beauty on Ghost Wasteland Mountain turns out to be a deadly ghost's attempt to claim a soul! Karmic ties from a past life and entanglements in this one: whose mistake is it, and whose fate? Quan Ning and Yin Cangyi are accidenta 45Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 83 The Yin-Yang Master of the Mountain Village 山村阴阳先生 My brother came back from the dead, and I learned funeral rites to uncover the truth My name is Chen Xiaojun, and I live in a place in Northeast China called Kaoshan Village. One year, my older brother died under mysterious circumstances. His death was gruesome. Though he was only in his twenties, his corpse was as thin as a skeleton, with hair turned white! Even more bizarre, my brother came back to life in the funeral hall! To find out what had happened, I learned a few tricks from an old mast 11.6kReads9.2Score877Shelves
- 84 I Have 36,524 Folk Horror Stories 我有36524个民间恐怖故事 [Standalone stories] [Supernatural suspense] [Folk horror] [Mountain spirits and monsters] [Adapted from real cases] [Rural legends] There is no main storyline. Each chapter is a self-contained story adapted from folk rumors, with eerie, gripping plots. Note: This story discourages superstition and encourages belief in science. It is entirely fictional, so just enjoy it as entertainment. 4.2kReads8.8Score217Shelves
- 85 I Run a Paper Effigy Shop 我有一间扎纸店 I Have a Paper Effigy Shop tells the story of the protagonist, Liu Dabao, who runs a shop making paper effigies. One day, a guy named Li Xunhuan asked me to burn him a villa and gave me a jade pendant, saying someone would come to collect it later. That evening, a woman came to pick up the pendant and gave me a thousand yuan. But who could have guessed that the next day, the money vanished and turned into a pile of white paper! Was it ghost money for the dead? Were Li Xunhuan and that woman both 134Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 86 Out of Control 失控者 [Anthology stories + supernatural horror + folk customs + feng shui and mysticism + subtle scares + jaw-dropping twists] Open a paper box sealed away for many years, and one terrifying incident after another begins to surface. The massacre that wiped out an entire family in Nanhua Estate, and the deaths of everyone connected to the case! A bride in a red qipao appearing by your side in the dead of night! Strange legends circulate through a dilapidated high-rise, where hands reach out of the dark 35Reads—Score—Shelves
- 87 The Coffin Walks at Night 灵棺夜行 I was carrying a coffin up the mountain for a burial when they stuffed me inside and buried me alive. Then, in a single night, all three hundred or so people in the village vanished. Only at night was the place alive with voices. I crawled out of the coffin, only to discover... 5.9kReads8.2Score373Shelves
- 88 Ghostly Eyes 鬼灵瞳 A reclusive man known as Little Master, along with several strange people brought together by coincidence but united by their shared interests, gradually uncovers a history buried for many years: the five great clans of the ancient world and the Yin-Yang adepts who could do anything. It seems that fate has long been leading them into one thrilling fantasy adventure after another... 1kReads9.1Score103Shelves
- 89 Folktales of the Mountains and Wilds 民间山野怪谈 The hidden truths behind ten major unsolved mysteries, revealing a host of terrifying taboos that will send chills down your spine! 14.4kReads9.1Score977Shelves
- 90 The Yin-Yang Hot Pot Restaurant 阴阳火锅店 I took over a hot pot restaurant from my second uncle. He told me never to serve customers a yuan yang hot pot after midnight! After I took over the place, everything I believed in began to crumble... One night, I wasn't paying attention and served a couple a yuan yang hot pot. The next day, I saw in the newspaper that the couple had died! They'd jumped to their deaths together! After that, every night at midnight, a strange couple would appear in my restaurant and ask me to make them a yuan yan 676Reads7.7Score—Shelves
- 91 The Cursed Girl with a Doomed Fate 诡命煞女 Ever since I was little, I was a child my mother hated. Born with an overwhelming concentration of the Seven Sha, I made every demon and monster flee at the sight of me. It wasn’t until I was twelve that I learned the truth: my birth had been part of a massive conspiracy... 10.3kReads9.2Score1.1kShelves
- 92 The Republic-Era Book of Mysteries 民国诡秘录 Sometimes, the one who takes your life isn’t a person at all, but an evil spirit or demon. And the one controlling those spirits from behind the scenes might well be human... In the chaotic Republican era, foreign powers encircled the nation, eager to invade China, while warlords fought among themselves at home, leaving the land in ruins. On the other side of the jianghu, evil spirits rose everywhere and ghosts ran rampant, while mysterious foreign religions invaded as well. After waking from a 1.2kReads—Score105Shelves
- 93 The Last Soul-Quelling Master 最后一个镇魂师 I grew up at my grandfather's house in the countryside. He was the most respected suona player in our village. One day, Li Dashan, a fellow villager, beat his pregnant wife to death and came to ask my grandfather for help. My grandfather tried everything he could, but still couldn't calm the resentment of Li Dashan's wife. In the end, he had no choice but to play a suona dirge to forcibly pacify her soul. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Li Dashan and his family turned into vengeful ghosts 117Reads8.5Score—Shelves
- 94 The Vanishing Her: Who Is My Girlfriend, Really? 消失的她：我的女友究竟是谁 I'm a corporate wage slave. I've noticed my girlfriend has been acting strangely lately. She often dances in front of the mirror in the middle of the night and makes all sorts of eerie expressions. Worried about her, I started investigating her in secret. I discovered that she has a twin sister with dissociative identity disorder. The hospital staff said her sister went missing a month ago. My girlfriend seems to have changed completely around the same time. Just as I sat at my computer, feeling —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 95 Painting Yin and Yang with a Single Stroke 一笔绘阴阳 As I gazed down the shadowy corridor and across the empty hall, the strange order of light and darkness stirred a fear of the unknown deep inside me. The elders always said, “The ancestral hall is home to spirits that have yet to depart.” “Don’t step on the threshold, don’t touch the ancestral tablets, and don’t whistle in the ancestral hall.” “The names on the tablets weren’t carved there. They moved in.” When the wind blew past the row of wooden windows, the latticework let out a mournful wail 200Reads—Score101Shelves
- 96 Opening the Road to the Underworld 开冥路 [No romance, no female lead, not much of a power fantasy, first-person narration, a slightly slow start. If you don't mind, please be patient. My new book, "Nine Divinations Out of Ten Are Wrong", is the second installment of this story.] My name is Sui Xiaotian. I'm a guide. But I only guide those who die unnatural deaths. An unnatural death is a bitter consequence brought about by bad karma. After death, the great temples won't accept you, and the small temples won't keep you. You become a lon 12.5kReads9.0Score1.2kShelves
- 97 The Haunted Grave 诡坟 I think I've been possessed! Right before the college entrance exam, I suddenly came down with a high fever that wouldn't break. I missed the exam and had to spend half a year recovering at home. During those six months, I found a job as a cemetery groundskeeper. My coworker, Old Zhang, saw how frail I was and how weak my yang energy seemed, and insisted on finding me someone to protect me. But he didn't tell me that my protector would be a female ghost!! Not only does she want to marry me, she 101Reads7.4Score—Shelves
- 98 It's All the Haunted House's Fault 都是凶宅惹的祸 I'm a mystery writer. In search of inspiration, I moved into a house rumored to be haunted. Every night, a horribly disfigured face appeared in the window, and outside, the rotten corpse of a woman hung from a tree. I realized then that this really was a haunted house! Gradually, my family began acting strangely, and we even found a mummified corpse sealed inside the wall for years! As I investigated further, I came across something even more terrifying… 71Reads8.7Score—Shelves
- 99 Horrifying Hauntings: Ghost Stories 恐怖灵异诡：鬼故事 Do you really think stories are just stories? In fact, behind every story lies a real event! In this book, I wrote a story about the last bus on Route 24. To experience what it would really feel like, I set myself a goal: for seven days straight, I'd ride the last Route 24 bus from its starting point to its final stop, then ride it all the way back. And that's where the story begins...! 312Reads—Score—Shelves
- 100 Infinite Haunting Realms: I Can See Through Lies 无限诡域：我能堪破谎言 [Infinite Flow]+ [No Romance]+ [Original Instances]+ [Mild Horror]+ [Ghosts Kill People]+ [Ghosts in Every Real-World Instance] “Ghosts cannot be killed.” “Humans cannot fight ghosts.” “Ghosts each have their own rules for killing.” A mysterious letter. A door that leads to the unknown. When Li Yu opened the door, one eerie instance after another awaited him. This is the [Ghostly Domain], a world of vengeful ghosts! Will you die in confusion, or be reborn from a nightmare? 154.8kReads8.3Score24.8kShelves
