Novels like Puppet Theater! No, Wait, It’s Marionettes
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Puppet Theater! No, Wait, It’s Marionettes, best match first.
- 51 Horror Game: I’m Really Just a Doctor 恐怖游戏：我真的只是一名医生 [Long-form campus writing contest entry] [The only one on the entire site] Fu Bai is reborn as an NPC in a horror game. He considers himself an ordinary, normal person, yet players keep calling him the Murderous Ghost Doctor, the Mad Doctor, the Horror Doctor... Come on, he's a refined, cultured doctor with a rather wicked streak. How can people still criticize him like that? Oh? More players have arrived. Fu Bai swirls the blood-red wine in his left hand, toys with a scalpel in his right, and b 672Reads7.0Score11514d adds
- 52 I'm Really, Really Terrifying After I Die 我死后真的真的巨凶 [The protagonist is a ghost] [Slightly dark] Chen Xi confessed his feelings to the class beauty and was rejected. Then someone murdered him, but she assumed he had killed himself over her. Fortunately, the supernatural revival had just begun, and Chen Xi transformed straight into a vengeful ghost. Who could have guessed that the class beauty would come to his home, take his things without permission, and even damage his mother's keepsake? At last, Chen Xi couldn't hold back any longer and struck 13.6kReads7.9Score1.2k14d adds
- 53 Three Years of Sign-In, and I Became the Father of Global Special Forces 签到三年，成为全球特战之父 A new story is here! You can read my work on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 7.9kReads9.0Score83114d adds
- 54 I Might Have Changed the Wrong Fate 我可能改了个假命 When I was little, my mom asked a Taoist priest to tell my fortune. He said I'd face a calamity at 26, and that he'd come help me get through it the day before my 26th birthday. When the day finally came, the priest really did show up to change my fate. He even gave me a “Fate-Changing Ruler” and told me I had to change the fates of seven people with different destinies to survive the calamity. Otherwise, I'd only have five years left to live. So much for changing my fate for me! Did he only cha 71Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 55 Now, Reforge China's Glory 此刻，重铸华夏荣光 In 2036, the Age of Psionics, seven gates to the Demon Realms opened one after another. The world fell within nine months! Jiang Chen, China’s greatest guardian, died fighting the invaders from the Demon Realms in the Pacific Ocean. History was turned back, and bloodshed became eternal! But Jiang Chen was reborn three months before the crisis began. This time, he would surely overturn every regret and restore China to glory! 3.7kReads8.7Score27914d adds
- 56 Execution Livestream: I Become a Clown and Harvest Emotions 直播处刑：我化身小丑，收割情绪 851Reads7.9Score12914d adds
- 57 Tales of the Supernatural 民间怪谈录 [Rural Horror Stories + Anthology + Folk Horror Tales + Chinese Supernatural] Supernatural happenings are most likely to occur in mountain villages, and the stories we've heard may well have really happened. In the eerie night wind, Granny Hao, the midwife who receives the dead, is like a messenger from the underworld, guiding the spirits of helpless mothers and children home. Locust trees commune with spirits, and poplars attract yin energy. Beneath the village's ancient trees lie secrets that 829Reads8.9Score10514d adds
- 58 The Creepy National Fortune Game: My Chinese-Style Horror Terrified the World 诡异国运：我的中式恐怖吓哭全球 The supernatural invades the real world. Every country on Blue Star must design supernatural dungeons. Conquering another country’s dungeon lets you seize some of its national fortune, while a country whose dungeon is conquered will face all kinds of supernatural events, which may eventually lead to its destruction. For special reasons, the Dragon Kingdom has lost much of its supernatural culture and is at a disadvantage now that the supernatural has returned. Then Su Yi transmigrates here with 15.6kReads8.5Score1.4k14d adds
- 59 Do You Believe There Are Ghosts in This World? 你相信，这个世界上有鬼吗？ [Mind-bending] + [Slow-paced] + [Not for the faint-hearted] Thirty-six years ago, deep in the Tibetan grasslands, a secret research base studying the paranormal was rocked by a massive explosion. Only one person managed to escape alive. The male survivor not only made it out, but also brought a pair of pitch-black eyes from the secret base. Even after being removed from their body, they seemed alive. After this devastating disaster, the man deliberately avoided a mysterious organization and went 61Reads—Score—14d adds
- 60 Lord of Strange Tales 诡谈之主 The slit-mouthed woman appears, ready to give people a full makeover with her scissors. A raging fire burns inside the classroom as a pair of hands quietly lock the door. At the crossroads, a curious girl begins to summon spirits. In an abandoned mountain cabin, a head crawls across the floor. In the church, a demon sealed inside an angel statue opens its eyes. A greedy deal draws an extraordinary merchant into the world. In a peaceful and tranquil world, a pair of hands quietly stir 759Reads8.1Score10814d adds
- 61 As the Occult Withers, I Endure; As the Old Gods Die, I Live Forever 诡秘凋零我不朽，旧神逝而我永生 (Longevity + Cthulhu + Changing Eras + Attribute Points + Ultimate Villain!) In the Middle Ages, when strange corruption ran rampant, he became the mad pontiff who terrorized half a continent. In the age of science, after the Old Gods fell, he became a living legend who walked the mortal world. Even when humanity left the surface of the planet and reached for the stars, no one could deny the existence of this undying old monster who had endured across the ages! “First, I have to survive the 17.7kReads8.5Score1.7k14d adds
- 62 I Evolved Billions of Curses 我进化了亿万诅咒 [Chinese-Style Horror + Twists + Humans Scaring Ghosts] The supernatural returned, ferocious ghosts broke loose, and unimaginable horrors appeared in the real world. As night fell over the city, nightmares engulfed everyone. Jiang Fan gained the power to develop abilities by studying ghosts. As long as he kept scaring them, he could become the greatest terror in the darkness. The more terrified they were, the greater the power he gained. Then he discovered that his potential had been unleas 4.3kReads8.6Score45014d adds
- 63 My Years as a Buddhist Nun 我当师太的那些年 I was born a girl with a Pure Yang fate into a family of feng shui masters. For generations, my family had practiced feng shui in the countryside. My grandfather had hoped his eldest grandchild would be a boy, so he could pass down his skills to the eldest son and grandson. But I turned out to be a girl. Grandfather never took a liking to me, so my parents could only take me to live in the city. No one expected that, during the Ghost Festival in the year I turned twenty-five, Grandfather would s 425Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 64 How Could I, Coughing Up Blood Every Day, Possibly Be the Mastermind? 天天咳血的我怎么可能是幕后黑手 Also known as My Life in a Wheelchair: I Write Strange Tales, and They All Come True Single male protagonist + no romance but doted on by everyone + tragic yet strong + urban fantasy + strange tales + mastermind behind the scenes (not from the start) (female-oriented!!!!!) [System binding successful] [Hello, Host! This System is called the Strange Tale Author Development System. The Host must write one strange tale each month. If you don't write well, you'll die~] [P.S. To clarify, Host, you wer 5.9kReads9.0Score91614d adds
- 65 Tales of a Haunted Village 荒村怪谈录 [Rural Mysteries + Folk Customs + Chinese-Style Horror + Feng Shui and the Supernatural + Anthology + Shocking Twists] There is an old well in Jiulitun that has been sealed for thirty years, and one eerie incident after another keeps occurring. Why has a little girl become unbelievably strong and deranged? Why do villagers keep drowning, and why is the village taboo so difficult to speak of? It all goes back thirty years... 243Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 66 Midnight Wonders 午夜惊奇 At the stroke of midnight, amid a terrifying atmosphere, strange ghost stories begin to unfold! A bluish-white hand suddenly appears on the window in the middle of the night. Is it looking for someone to take revenge on? A bus still running in the dead of night: does it lead to the world of the living or to hell? The shapewear hanging in the wardrobe at home is made of human skin! During the Qingming Festival, a figure appears in the glass of the bathhouse. After returning to her room, a beautif 416Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 67 EN The Black Fog Descends: I Am the Taboo 黑雾降临：我为禁忌 [Sequences] [Cthulhu] [Slow burn] [No female lead] Sixteen years ago, a blood-red meteor tore across the dawn and descended upon the world. No one knew how terrifyingly strange the world humans knew would become because of its arrival. From that day on, a black fog that engulfed the entire world descended. Among humanity, people with immensely powerful abilities known as Sequence holders began to appear. With a wave of their hands, they could destroy cities and mountains, but the world had alrea 5.9kReads8.9Score79914d adds
- 68 Midnight Terror: Human Nature Stories That Will Haunt You 午夜惊魂：让人细思极恐的人性故事 At midnight, let's listen together to the little stories that circulate all around us. Maybe they're true. Maybe you've heard them too, or even experienced them yourself. Those moments that grow more terrifying the more you think about them go perfectly with the pitch-black night beyond the window. Red brick walls are common in many places. But we've never stopped to wonder: why are those bricks so red, so vivid? Rideshares at night aren't necessarily safe. Passengers have their concerns, and dr 537Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 69 Notes on Folk Spirit Mediums 民间出马仙笔记 [Spirit Mediums + Chinese-Style Horror + Episodic Stories + Supernatural Mystery + Karma + Mind-Blowing Twists + Feng Shui and the Occult] "Unraveling one strange and unpredictable tale of karmic retribution after another" In a remote suburb of the city lies a cemetery. Few people know that a shop dealing in the supernatural stands there, run by a spirit medium who can communicate with the dead and the living. The owner specializes in paranormal cases beyond ordinary people's understanding, but 512Reads9.3Score3514d adds
- 70 The Haunted Cabinet Opens by Itself Every Night, Long Hair Drags People Inside 凶柜夜夜自开，青丝缠人拖入柜 The sinister cabinet opens by itself every night, and strands of black hair coil around people and drag them inside. 33Reads—Score—14d adds
- 71 I'm in a Rule Horror Game, and I'm the Chosen Villain 人在规则怪谈，我是天命大反派 [Subverting expectations + horror administrator + creating rules + no romance, no female lead + invincible] Chen Fan woke up inside a rule-based horror scenario and discovered that everyone else had drawn powerful SSS-rank talents. He alone had no talent and no System. And wasn’t this task a little strange? “Kill the Chosen Ones in the scenario? Am I supposed to kill myself?” “Wait, I’m not a Chosen One. I’m the horror administrator?” “So I don’t have a talent or a System, but I do have all kind 6kReads9.0Score76414d adds
- 72 Weird Tales: From the Start, I Beat the Eight-Foot-Tall Woman to a Pulp 诡异，开局锤爆八尺夫人 The world of the uncanny was chaotic and lawless. Mountain demons, evil ghosts, phantoms, jiangshi, zombies, slit-mouthed women, Sadako, eight-foot-tall women, Bloody Mary… Every uncanny being once thought to exist only in the imagination was real in this world. Xu Changqing, a martial arts enthusiast, had ended up here by accident. He’d only wanted to scrape by and wait for death, but from the start, he was attacked by an F-rank entity from Sakura Country: the Eight-Foot-Tall Woman. To stay ali 11.4kReads8.7Score1k14d adds
- 73 Giving Interstellar Players a Little Ghostly Shock 给星际玩家一点小小的女鬼震撼 [Interstellar gaming + comedy + no romance for the heroine] Ye Yuxi transmigrates into an interstellar age full of tough customers. From the start, she’s tossed into a shoddy version of Saw made by a rotten classmate, who mocks her for being a coward and says she could never make a horror game. Born on Earth in her previous life and raised on a steady diet of horror from all over the world, Ye Yuxi takes one look at the monotonous selection of shooter and combat games topping the interstellar ch 17.7kReads9.3Score3k14d adds
- 74 EN Bloodline Showdown: Who in Huaxia Doesn't Have a Legendary Ancestor? 比血统？华夏谁没个牛掰祖宗 In a parallel world, ancestral symbols descended upon the earth. Anyone who awakened a symbol could inherit their ancestor’s legacy. That ancestor’s descendants could also awaken their bloodline and gain supernatural powers. The Western royal family, the Sakura Warring States clans, and descendants of the Silla royal family all awakened their bloodlines, transforming the balance of power across the world. But in Huaxia, a break in the historical record meant that ancestral symbols remained dorma 3.8kReads8.9Score40514d adds
- 75 Necromancer in a World of Warcraft 异世魔兽之死灵法师 [Warhammer universe + necromancer + apocalyptic disaster + World of Warcraft + mecha space battles] A young man transmigrates to an alien planet. This is a World of Warcraft where spirit and flesh, virtual and real, blend together: a living hell where artillery, machines, armored vehicles, and Warcraft tribes wage a bloody struggle against one another. The planet is ruled by a group of Warcraft lords, and humans are nothing more than “ants” at the bottom of the food chain! Want to avoid becoming —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 76 Survival in the Residential Complex, but I Was Pulled into the Management Group 小区求生，但我被拉入了管理群 [Infinite horror + no female lead + cold-blooded male lead + split personality + author’s mental state is questionable + kill, kill, kill!] When everyone is unexpectedly dragged into a survival game, Cheng Xu discovers that his name appears in the administrators’ group. By day, the survivors search for resources and strengthen themselves and their shelters. At night, ghosts run rampant and disasters erupt. Only those who rely on their shelters can survive. One deadly trial follows another, and b 6.1kReads9.2Score83714d adds
- 77 After My Sister Became the Hero, I Turned Out to Be the Demon King Behind the Scenes 妹妹成为勇者后，我竟是幕后魔王 Enjoy the thrilling experience of following an anime series [Urban] + [Behind-the-scenes] + [Superpowers] + [Overprotective brother] + [System] + [Anime elements] + [High-octane battles] + [Everyday moments now and then] Eight years ago, a mysterious virus known as “Demonic Energy” broke out, starting in Neon. Humans infected by it underwent physical mutations, and their minds became horribly twisted, turning them into puppets controlled by desire. Those infected, who looked like demons when 16.5kReads9.3Score2k14d adds
- 78 Ghostly Whispers at Midnight 夜半鬼语 [Rural + Supernatural + Ghost Stories] Back when my grandfather was young, he learned carpentry. As Old Zhao put it, a sixth-grade carpenter these days was worth half a scholar. But things were different back then. Carpenters belonged to one of the lowest trades. They had to carry their tools around every day, get up before dawn and stay out until the middle of the night, traveling from village to village to find work. And because they went so many places, and made coffins and dealt with the dea 5kReads9.0Score20414d adds
- 79 A World Out of Balance 人间失衡 [Mind-bending suspense + short stories + no overarching plot + crime + criminal investigation + shocking twists + stories of ordinary people] The deepest wounds are often inflicted by those closest to us. A bloody case at an old family home, shrouded in mystery. Who is the real killer? After her father dies of illness, her sister-in-law sells her to northern Myanmar! The body of a baby girl is found in the woods. A kidnapping case turns into a murder investigation. Who would target an innocent i 224Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 80 EN I Only Want to Destroy the World, Yet I'm the God Who Created It! 只想灭世的我，真的是创世神！ [Ensemble cast] [Invincible] [World creation] [Ridiculous netizens] [Pocket worlds] Su Mo binds himself to the Creation God System, only to discover that he can grow stronger simply by destroying worlds! A ladle of water becomes a world-ending flood! A shovelful of dirt becomes a meteor that destroys the world! Some revere him as the Creator of Worlds, the one who gave them life and intelligence. Others curse him as an evil god who destroys the world every thousand years. Countless lives wail in 12.5kReads7.6Score79114d adds
- 81 You Mock Huaxia for Having No Gods? From the Start, I Awakened Billions of Deities 笑我华夏无神？我开局觉醒亿万神 Spiritual qi revival sweeps the world, and the Mythic Arena appears. Gods from every nation arrive one after another: Japan awakens Amaterasu, the American federation summons Odin, and Greece calls forth Zeus… Only China has lost its mythological heritage, leaving it in grave danger! Then I transmigrate here by chance and discover, to my amazement, that I possess the complete system of Chinese mythology! “A mere Great Xia dares to compete with us in the number of gods?” “Hey… wait! Look at what 2.3kReads8.6Score41114d adds
- 82 Great Wall Watch: Leading a Global Counterattack in Another World 长城守望：带领全球反攻异界 [The counterattack has begun + perfect ending with no loose ends + Fourth Calamity + fight back against player invasions + lighthearted power fantasy + no heroine + no suffering for the protagonist + invincible + national destiny] The Fourth Calamity descends, and the era of the Phantom Realms begins for everyone. Players from other worlds invade, and the national destiny Phantom Realms of one great power after another are defeated. Panic spreads across the globe. Everything changes the day Fang 55.4kReads9.3Score7.8k14d adds
- 83 Mythic Arena: Ying Zheng from the Start, May His Reign Last Forever 神话擂台：开局嬴政，既寿永昌 The Mythic Arena descends, and the native gods of every nation appear one after another. The Japanese have Amaterasu, India has Shiva, and America has Odin... Only the Chinese pantheon is missing, and China is defeated. But the gears of fate begin to turn backward. Su Ming is reborn, with the complete Chinese divine genealogy in his hands. Have you ever heard of Qin Shi Huang, the eternal First Emperor, who slew the Western God King with a mortal body... The Monkey King answers the call. All liv 8.6kReads8.7Score1.5k14d adds
- 84 Trapped in a Horror World, I Was Forced to Become the Boss 人在惊悚，我被逼成了BOSS [No female lead + infinite-flow + decisive and ruthless + nuclear-grade absurdity + chaotic neutral] As everyone knows, surviving even a single day in a horror game is extremely difficult. Yet Lin Yi was trapped in the Undying Village for a full 29 days! Not only did he manage not to die, he was forced to become the ultimate BOSS of that instance! After resolving his survival crisis, he finally realized there was a problem. Now that I'm a BOSS, why haven't I cleared the game? That is, until a ne 5kReads9.0Score51814d adds
- 85 Global Mutation: The Mutant Frenzy of Trillions of Lives 全球畸变：亿兆生命的变异狂潮 Meat blossoms sprout from the soil, and fangs grow from the flowers. The old order awakens all around them. To it, humble humanity is nothing but vermin to be exterminated. Mount Fuji erupts, and the entire Sakura Isles are ripped up and hurled at Huaxia. The magnetic poles flip, super-earthquakes strike, towering tsunamis rise, and the seven continents are squeezed together by a giant hand. Abnormal memes, twisted reality, and layers of overlapping worlds: as the boundary between physics and co 13.8kReads8.8Score1.2k14d adds
- 86 The Woman in the Closet 柜子里的女人 The Woman in the Cabinet 55Reads—Score—14d adds
- 87 EN The Sickly Beauty Is the Infinite Game's Ultimate Boss! 病美人竟是无限游戏大BOSS！ [Complete] [Infinite-Flow, Two Male Leads + Two Powerful Leads, 1v1 + Younger, Bigger-Built Partner + Shamelessly Indulgent Power Fantasy + Love-Hate Relationship + Soapy Push and Pull + Boss × Player] [The romance is the focus; the plot is weak and won't stand up to close scrutiny] [Second book in the Dungeon series] [The author's bio is useless. See the beginning of Chapter One and the reviews for content warnings.] [Cool on the outside, warm on the inside, sickly white-cut-black, seductive, 11.2kReads9.3Score2.2k14d adds
- 88 I Teach as a Vicious Ghost in a Horror Game 我在惊悚游戏做猛鬼老师 A horror game descends upon the world. Su Yun, the game’s first A-rank player, suddenly vanishes from public view. When he reappears, he is a teacher at a kindergarten for evil spirits. This is an F-rank instance with a death rate as high as ninety percent, but no player believes it. “Little Chubby is so honest. How could he be dangerous?” “The ghost girl is so kawaii. There’s no way she’d hurt the players!” But Su Yun knows that these adorable, good-natured little ones are all evil spirits, 1.4kReads9.1Score13014d adds
- 89 I'm Almost a Max-Level Evil God, and You Want Me to Switch to Summoning? 我快邪神满级，你劝我转职召唤？ The animated series is now streaming: Buried Gods! If you can't get enough of the novel, please go show it your support!!! (Story-focused, somewhat dark, with a touch of warmth, no female lead, not invincible, not a System power fantasy, a modest ensemble cast; read with caution if any of that bothers you) On the wasteland, the gods greedily carve up their territories. To survive the beast tide, people can only offer up their humble faith, hoping to earn the gods' mercy and attain the supernatur 37.3kReads8.8Score5.4k14d adds
- 90 Northeastern China's Forbidden Secrets 东北禁忌手札 [Extreme horror + a folk-horror story set in the countryside] In a remote mountain village, deep within the forest, countless taboos remain unknown to outsiders. The people here follow ancient rules of life and death: pregnant women must never encounter a coffin, and anyone who dies of old age at a hundred years old is destined to become an evil spirit. But in a single day, the old Yu family breaks both taboos, drawing every kind of demon and ghost to their door! At midnight, someone hears the s 912Reads8.8Score10814d adds
- 91 The Qingling Rankings 清凌榜 The Qingling Rankings 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 92 The Girlfriend Who Disappeared 我消失的女朋友 My Girlfriend Who Disappeared 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 93 The Mysterious Domain City 诡秘域都 The Mysterious Domain City 3Reads—Score114d adds
- 94 The Strange Sword 诡剑 The Ghost Sword 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 95 The Blind Woman’s Wedding 盲女的婚礼 The Blind Girl's Wedding 27Reads—Score—14d adds
- 96 The Debt Beneath the River, Billed in My Name 河底那笔账，记在我名下 The debt at the bottom of the river is in my name 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 97 Terror at the Luxury Estate 豪苑惊魂 Terror at the Grand Estate 16Reads—Score—14d adds
- 98 Tales of Strange Happenings in the Countryside 乡村诡事录 The strange happenings in a mountain village. I was born and raised in the countryside. Deep in the mountains, there are always ghosts and spirits, and my village was no exception. Heaven, earth, black, yellow, the cosmos vast: demons and ghosts send shivers down your spine. One year, the start of spring fell on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. That year, so many strange things happened. Just bringing them up is enough to scare people. Meeting the Black and White Impermanence on a night wa 1.9kReads9.0Score13714d adds
- 99 Secret Art: I Transmigrate and Fight to Survive in a Bizarre World 秘法穿越:我在诡异世界极限逃生 Secret Art Transmigration: My Extreme Escape in a World of the Uncanny 95Reads—Score—14d adds
- 100 The Secret of the Buddha Mother 佛母的秘密 The Buddha Mother's Secret 38Reads—Score—14d adds
