Novels like One Thousand and One Modern Tales of the Supernatural
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as One Thousand and One Modern Tales of the Supernatural, best match first.
- 1 My Grandmother's Hunan Soul-Summoning Ritual Saved Me from the Dead 外婆的湖南招魂术，救了死去的我 Grandma's Hunan Soul-Summoning Ritual Brought Me Back from the Dead —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 Strange Tales from Criminal Investigation: The Seven Deadly Sins of Pride 刑侦异闻录，傲慢七宗罪 [The victims got what they deserved + romance] Legend says Pandora's box was filled with calamities, plagues, fear... Some even claim it held the full range of human emotions and desires. Then there are the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. A human-skin drum born of envy; endless greed; impotent rage... The cases are baffling and intricately connected. Police captain Jiang Ren pursues the truth, uncovering one strange revelation after another... Crimes that 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 Secret Scroll: My Days Working at a Funeral Home 秘卷：我在殡仪馆打工的日子 [First-person horror and supernatural + ghost-hunting + folk tales + folk horror] If someone offered you five million, on the condition that you spend the night with a female corpse in a morgue's refrigerated cabinet, fulfilling her final wish, would you choose the money or your life? That ad caught my attention, and I somehow ended up working at a funeral home. On my very first day, I saw a dead person putting on an acrobatic show in the courtyard... 386Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 Ghost Stories at the Third Watch 三更说鬼 This book, Tales of Ghosts at Three in the Morning, is part of a series with another book, Five in the Morning. Five in the Morning tells of strange events from my grandfather’s time, while Three in the Morning recounts things I’ve experienced in my own era. I hope you’ll give them a read. These are all short stories, but I hope you can experience the unease I felt, too… I’m from the countryside, born in 1989. I’m not highly educated, and my writing isn’t especially sophisticated. I’m the second 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 The Terrifying Night Shift 恐怖夜班 My name is Li Sihua. Ever since I started working the night shift at Wanhua Group, strange things have kept happening: the sound of high heels in the dead of night, a shadow darting past in the hallway, the strange dripping sound in the women’s restroom... Here, you’ll face your deepest fears. The plot will make your brain work overtime and go beyond your imagination, so read with caution! 15Reads6.8Score—14d adds
- 6 Tales of Terror from a Deathly Phone 死亡手机惊魂录 Han Qianqian, a sophomore at a medical university, is suddenly abducted by criminals and inexplicably inherits a mysterious death phone. Her supernatural constitution is awakened, and a hundred-day countdown to her death begins. She has eight chances to find the next successor. If she fails, death is all that awaits her. To stay alive, she has no choice but to put herself in danger and act decisively. A series of campus murders follows, and her close friend Li Lan is dragged into the case as wel 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 The Soul-Calming Banquet 安魂席 Soul-Calming Banquet —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 The Seven Original Sins 七宗源罪 This story explores seemingly inexplicable murder cases rooted in the darker sides of the human psyche: inferiority, humiliation, jealousy, greed, laziness, pride, and anger. A study of the psychology behind crime. 171Reads—Score—14d adds
- 9 This Evil Spirit Is a Little Fierce 这个阴灵有点凶 My grandfather said I was born with a life as fragile as paper, and that I was never meant to come into this world. Every day I’ve lived since has been a gift. But when I was twelve, my grandfather died under mysterious circumstances. From then on, I depended on my only remaining relative, and we relied on each other to survive. But on my twenty-fourth birthday, in my zodiac year, I’ll face my most dangerous trial yet. Will I make it through...? 73Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 The Fate-Stealing Knife Peddler 篡命赊刀人 My name is Chen Sheng, and I run a little shop that buys antiques. One night, after drinking, I happened to spot a nail on a friend. From that moment on, my life changed completely. I was dragged into boundless darkness and terror, and a brand-new, shadowy world began to take shape around me. I walked through the darkness, until I even became the darkness itself. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 11 Record of Jiangnan's Haunted Towns 江南魇镇录 “My name is Jiang Nan. My former boss paid 250,000 to buy my life. He said my Four Pillars are all Yin, making me the perfect sacrifice for someone with the finest destiny.” He never expected me to survive. And he never expected my old granny to be the last spirit medium for miles around. She gave her life to shield me from my death tribulation, then placed the family heirloom, the Twelve Methods of the Xuan Sect, in my hands. She left me with a prophecy she could have told me sooner: “You can’t 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 12 True Tales of Terror 恐怖实录 When people get old, they grow frail, and the older they get, the more they want to look back on the past. There's no blessing a person can't enjoy, and no hardship they can't endure. I've lived through two dynasties. They say seeing is believing, but that doesn't mean everything you hear is false. There are plenty of things in this world that can't be explained. 17Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 I Clock In at a Haunted House 我在凶宅打卡上班 According to the latest report from a television station, a woman who was more than seven months pregnant was struck by a speeding van while on her way to a prenatal checkup. She died at the scene, but miraculously, her baby survived the tremendous impact and was born alive... I was that baby. My name is Wang Changsheng, and my childhood nickname is Wang Ergou. Grandpa chose it simply because, as he said, “A cheap name makes a child easier to raise!” I've known since childhood that I was differe 1.4kReads—Score—14d adds
- 14 Notes from a Visitor to Another World 异界人笔记 [Infinite Flow horror + mild scares + mystery + single male protagonist + no romance] My father is Pei Shiwu, my mother is Zheng Baifen, and I’m Pei Zheng, who both loses and gains. At sixteen, I unexpectedly gained the ability to see ghosts. I fought evil, helped the vulnerable, and encountered one bizarre, fascinating tale after another. These are my notes. Come along and see what I went through. Got your seats ready? I’m about to reveal it all, one story at a time… 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 15 The Psychic Girl 通灵女孩 The Medium Girl 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 16 Married to an Evil Spirit: The Red Veil of Huaian Village 嫁煞：槐安村的红盖头 Married to a Malevolent Spirit: The Red Veil of Huaian Village —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 On My Birthday, an AI Told Me My Best Friend Was Going to Kill Me 生日那天，AI告诉我闺蜜要杀我 On my birthday, an AI told me my best friend was going to kill me —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 Afraid of Ghosts? I Just Scare Them Instead! What About It? 怕鬼！我直接吓鬼！如何呢？ Su Zhen transmigrated to a parallel world overrun by ghosts and awakened a Fear Points System. As long as he made ghosts afraid, he could earn Fear Points and exchange them for magical artifacts and skills. And so, the whole style of things changed. Others ran when they saw ghosts. He smiled. Others risked their lives to exorcise ghosts. He killed them for points. Wandering spirits? Scare them to tears before sending them on their way, for five times the reward. Evil ghosts? Break their lim 17Reads—Score12214d adds
- 19 The Yellow Springs Occultist 黄泉诡术师 My name is Yan Fu. Yan as in King of Hell, Fu as in floating clouds. A corpse of a woman from the Yellow River protects my life; half a volume of ghost records conceals my whereabouts. My double pupils see the worlds of yin and yang, and I wield evil arts to command ghosts and corpses. I hunt female ghosts in an abandoned mansion in the eastern mountains and capture demons on the western desert frontier; I travel far to the Miao borderlands to battle blood gu, and pass through the Southern Seas 520Reads—Score10214d adds
- 20 I Was a Ghost Officer, but Now I Only Want a Promotion 身为鬼差的我，后来只想升官 I wield the Register of the Underworld as a ghost officer, commanding the power to seize souls. Everyone says the King of Hell is the supreme ruler of the netherworld, but to me, he is merely a stepping stone. The underworld is vast, and the Nine Hells are deep. Is that really the limit of my ambition? I want to break the Nine Hells’ shackles, shatter the chains between yin and yang, ascend to the realm of the Great Emperor, and rule the netherworlds of all realms. Only then will my lifelong wis 33Reads6.0Score—14d adds
- 21 Rule Horror: It Begins with Escaping the Asylum 规则怪谈：从逃出疯人院开始 [Rule-based horror + original scenarios + infinite flow + Chinese-style horror + survival + terrifying folklore + no heroine + supernatural resurgence] The elderly often say, “Don’t talk about people during the day, and don’t talk about ghosts at night. If a ghost knocks at midnight, whatever you do, don’t look back.” Behind the walls shrouded in thick fog, is it a school that educates the young, or an asylum where the inmates drink blood and eat flesh? Beneath countless hidden rules lies either 37Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 22 The Funeral Bearer of the Desolate Village 荒村送葬人 When the suona sounds, it sends off neither ghosts nor gods. It only buries the player. Nineteen years old, a severed finger, a lonely tower, and a deadly Three Corpses Seal in his belly. Behind him, a skin-flaying demon. Before him, red coffins and mist. Not a single person beside him could be trusted. Driven to the brink, he blew the battered suona he’d found. The tune was off-key, yet it shook the underworld. Since this world insists on making me a sacrifice, I’ll be the corpse-piper who send 3.2kReads8.2Score20614d adds
- 23 Yin Feast 阴食 I’m a food delivery guy, but not just anyone can eat the food I deliver. Only three kinds of people can. The first kind are those with an exceptionally strong aura of yin. The second kind are those who are about to die. And the last kind... All I can say is, don’t open the door! 44Reads6.0Score—14d adds
- 24 Before the Strange Things Begin 在一切诡异之前 [Supernatural resurgence + horror + no System + semi-infinite survival + no saintly protagonist + not dark + no female lead] When ghosts invaded reality, a group of survivors gained the protection of the “Rules.” They became employees of the “Rules,” and to keep enjoying their protection, they had to complete tasks. But the power of the “Rules” was limited... I didn't really care about any of that. I didn't want to bother figuring out what was the cause and what was the effect. So what if this w 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 25 The Terrifying Asylum 恐怖疯人院 [Traditional supernatural fiction] + [Traditional mystery] + [Twists] + [Deduction] A tribute to The Last Bus on Route 13. My girlfriend, Tian Wenjing, was an intern doctor at a psychiatric hospital, but she died mysteriously while working there. To investigate what happened, I somehow ended up at the same hospital. After experiencing all kinds of bizarre events, I discovered a tremendous conspiracy lurking behind it. And somehow, this conspiracy was closely connected to me... 656Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 26 Supernatural Horror Livestream Recordings 超级恐秘直播实录 Prophecies, bizarre murders, mystical feng shui, treasure appraisal, secret Taoist arts... My name is Lin Mo, and I'm from Fujian. By day, I run my family's antique shop, which is barely staying afloat. By night, I make money from tips and commission fees by livestreaming from haunted houses. For the first ten or so streams, I didn't even catch a glimpse of a ghost's hair. Then came my twentieth stream... During that livestream at the ancient Guiyin house in Quanzhou, the regulars in my chat and 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 27 A Ghost at the Interview: The System Makes Me Play Chu Renmei 面试撞诡，系统让我扮演楚人美 [Supernatural resurgence + no female lead + System + role-playing + horror + decisive and ruthless + urban] Fresh out of college and already unemployed, Lin Ye receives a high-paying job offer from the Afterlife Funeral Home. It turns out to be a death warrant leading straight to hell! The interviewer is a faceless ghost, and HR is a painted-skin demon! The moment a ghostly claw pierces his heart, Lin Ye thinks he’s done for! [Ding! Host’s life is in imminent danger. Critical condition at 100% c 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 28 Horror WeChat 恐怖微信 Don’t claim red envelopes carelessly, and don’t accept missions on a whim! A character called “Ghost King” appears in the work group chat and starts posting red-envelope missions. Complete one after claiming it and you’ll get the money, but if you fail, the consequences... 162Reads—Score—14d adds
- 29 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—14d adds
- 30 The Human-Skin Umbrella 人皮伞 A human-skin umbrella! Just as the name suggests, it’s made from human skin. Before the skin is removed, the “material” must soak in a medicinal bath for three full nights. Then the skin can be peeled off with ease. The intact skin is cut into several pieces and soaked in a specially prepared solution for two days. Only after it has been dried in the sun can the crafting begin. A human-skin umbrella is impervious to sunlight. The better the “material’s” skin, the better the user’s skin will be i —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 31 I Rented a Haunted House, and My Roommate Is So Strange 租房租到凶宅，我的室友太奇怪 I Rented a Haunted House, and My Roommate Is So Strange While scrolling through short videos, I discovered that the place I’d been renting for six months was a haunted house where someone had died. Even the pillow used to smother someone to death was lying quietly on my computer chair. I was going to ask my roommate to come with me to get out of the lease. But the landlord said he’d only rented the place to me. What roommate? 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 Terror on the Meat Delivery Run 运肉惊魂 On the eve of Spring Festival last year, I quit my job in a fit of anger and went back to my hometown to work at a buddy’s butcher shop. One night, while we were driving back with a load of meat, a stunningly beautiful woman stopped us. I kindly offered her the front passenger seat, but she opened the door and climbed into the rear compartment, which reeked of blood. On the way, I could faintly hear tearing and chewing sounds coming from behind me. But the only things back there were that beauti —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 33 My Neighbor Isn't Normal 我的邻居不正常 My Neighbor Doesn’t Seem Quite Right I secretly recorded all the evidence and called the police, but watched with my own eyes as he hanged himself in a room full of “trophies.” —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 There's a Ghost in the Dorm 宿舍有诡 My roommate gave me a handmade paper-cut window decoration: the magpies had no eyes, and the paired fish had their tails cut off. Someone commented on my social media post: “That’s a broken talisman. It’s meant to lure a lonely ghost into your home.” I didn’t believe in such things. That night, there was knocking at our dorm room door. In the darkness, I heard a plastic bag rustling under the bed. A cold hand slowly crawled up my leg. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 35 The Haunted House 诡异之家 Three of us went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, but there were four of us when we came back. I desperately told my parents there was an extra person, but they laughed and said I was imagining things. Until, in the middle of the night, I heard them whisper, “She seems to have noticed.” Mom gripped the meat cleaver and sneered. “Just kill her like we did the last one. Then everything will be fine.” —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 36 The Intern Who Died at His Desk 死在工位上的实习生 On my first day at my new company, the boss said, “Remember, you must leave before seven.” I thought it was a perk, until my coworker Xiaojuan saw a woman with “limbs like bamboo poles” in the empty office next door. The next day, she jumped to her death. That night, I worked overtime until 7:01. Suddenly, someone cut the power, and a freezing hand slipped inside my collar. The cleaning lady appeared in the darkness. “Run! Everyone on this floor has been dead for ages, except you!” —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 37 Please Do Not Use the Voice Button 请不要使用发声按钮 At midnight, my dog pressed the talking buttons in the living room: [Mom] [Bad thing] [Went out]. I was too sleepy to pay attention, until it pressed them again: [Mom] [Hungry] [Want food]. But my dog was fast asleep at my feet. The living room was empty, except for the overturned dog bowl and the soaked buttons. My best friend said, “Cats and dogs can see things people can’t.” I tried to stay calm, but then I felt a dog leash tucked between the sofa cushions. It wasn’t mine... Just then, the be —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 38 Manor of Strange Tales 庄园怪谈 I came to Cloudtop Manor to look for clues about my younger sister’s disappearance. When the gates closed, the manor’s steward told us: “You can only leave once you find the key.” Each of us was given a list of rules about the manor: “Do not set foot in the red house to the east. It will bring misfortune!!!” “Do not wander around the manor after eleven o’clock!!!” “Do not pick a single rose in the manor, or you may bring a deadly disaster upon yourself!!!” The remaining rules are still “unlockin —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 39 The Door Guardian Statue 门神像 The company is built on a mass grave, and every night, “something” follows me into the bathroom. My boyfriend told me to put up a Door God poster, but I accidentally put up a “Yin-Gathering Formation” instead. Ever since, the ghostly knocks at my door haven’t stopped. He said that repeating “I do” three times would drive away the evil spirits. But after I actually said it for the third time... I realized he didn’t want me. He wanted my body. The male ghost who’d been chasing me kept whispering i —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 40 Beware of Yourself 小心你自己 Every Wednesday, a note warning me would appear in the company suggestion box. I thought it was a prank. I thought my colleague Lin Hao was getting revenge, until the police shot him dead in my living room. The last note said: “Watch out for yourself.” I turned around and saw my wife raise a knife —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 41 The Vengeful Ghost 怨鬼 My roommate sobbed as if her heart were breaking every night. I posted online to complain, and a female Taoist priest messaged me: “She’s not human. She’s a vengeful ghost. The more often she cries, the sooner you’ll die.” I didn’t believe it, until one night she bit into my wrist and smiled. “Have a taste.” I ran, she chased me, and the Taoist priest Jiang Yu handed me a string of bodhi beads. “Put them on. They’ll protect you.” I put them on, and she smiled. It turned out this wasn’t a protect 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 42 Knock on the Door and Die 敲门会送死 An delivery driver chasing online views deliberately targeted orders marked “Don’t knock.” This time, he’d picked the wrong person. He pounded on the door, picked the lock, and stormed into my home with a group of people, shouting to the millions watching his livestream, “Come out and apologize, beautiful!” Cradling the ghost baby, I said softly, “Go eat, sweetheart.” The next second, a tiny blue-gray figure pounced That night, every viewer in the livestream remembered: Some doors, once knocked —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 43 Please Find My Body 请寻找我的尸体 I’m Hell Butterfly, a mystery writer who never shows her face. One day, I launched a puzzle game called “Find My Body,” and the whole internet thought I was just drumming up publicity. Until someone really found the body of a woman in white beside an abandoned building. Posing as a reporter, I called the police and pointed out “my own” corpse to them. Everyone thought the dead woman was me, not knowing she was my younger sister, who had been missing for half a year. The real killer lived in the —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 44 The Night Shift Guard 夜班保安 On my first day as a night-shift security guard, I found my predecessor’s patrol notes in a locker The last page was scrawled with the words, “Don’t trust Captain Wang. He’s been dead for seven years.” At that very moment, in the monitoring room, Wang Shouquan was staring at a screen full of static and smiling, his corpse-spotted hand clutching an employee badge from twenty years ago. And I’d just seen another uniformed version of him patrolling the fourth floor. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 45 Last Train: No Living Passengers Allowed! 末班车，活人勿进！ The card reader let out a series of warning beeps, and the driver handed me a note: Don’t speak to anyone on the bus, or you’ll die. I turned around and saw Lin Shen, the senior I’d had a crush on for five years, sitting in the back. He was dressed in a suit, but his head was slick with cold sweat. “Everyone on this bus except us is a ghost,” he whispered. The next second, the wound on my wrist suddenly split open, and a drop of blood fell. Every passenger turned to stare at once. I recognized t —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 46 A Thousand-Year-Old Zombie Awakens! And Becomes a Celebrity Ghost Hunter 千年僵尸苏醒！竟成网红捉鬼师 My name is Jiang Shi, and I’m a thousand-year-old jiangshi. But after waking from a long slumber, I took on a new identity. I’m going to become an internet-famous ghost hunter. 43Reads—Score114d adds
- 47 The Ghost Whisperer 鬼语者 I’m a nurse, and I can talk to ghosts. After working night shifts for so long, I’ve seen my share of strange things. The nurses were chatting about the weird things that had been happening lately. Every night at midnight, we could hear the sound of a woman’s high heels. Click... click... click... “It’s so creepy. It’s our turn on the night shift tonight. What are we going to do?” Xiao Zhang asked nervously, clutching my sleeve. “What’s there to panic about? It’s normal for ghosts to show up in a —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 48 The Woman Eaten by a Cat 被猫吃掉的女人 Ten years ago, I handled a child abduction case. The child was never found, and the mother drank herself into a stupor every day. One day, she got drunk and passed out in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. Dozens of rabid feral cats devoured her, leaving behind only a pile of bones. Many years later, I ran into the woman who’d been eaten by cats in a small town. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 49 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—14d adds
- 50 I'm a Little Spirit Medium 我是小神婆 [Mysticism + supernatural + crime-solving + powerful protagonist + resolving mysteries + hidden origins + folk customs] I'm an abandoned baby, picked up from a trash can by my shaman grandmother. Growing up under her influence, I always wanted to become an even more powerful shaman than she was. Because of my unusual fate, strange and bizarre things, sometimes terrifyingly uncanny, are always happening around me... What happened to the female ghost who fell in love with someone else's body? Did 1Reads—Score—14d adds
