Novels like Baby Lantern
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Baby Lantern, best match first.
- 51 The School Cemetery Office at the Medical College 医学院里的校墓处 Supernatural + campus horror + strange tales from a bygone era + folk magic + crime-solving In 1996, I enrolled in medical school. In the campus's northwest corner stood a sealed-off west annex, known among the students as the School Cemetery. Disappearances, madness, hanging... Every tragedy pointed to an anatomy lesson plan from the Republic of China era. I never believed in the supernatural, until a girl came to me: “You’re the only one who can break the curse.” I broke into the building l —Reads6.7Score—14d adds
- 52 The Record of Calamity at the School of Ghostly Eyes 诡瞳之校厄录 Strange legends about the school's four forbidden zones have circulated through this ominous-looking place for years. Not long after Su Wen transfers there, an irreversible tragedy erupts once again. The moment she takes off her blindfold, unease and fear flicker in Su Wen's red eye. In the pupil that should have belonged to her twin sister, she sees nothing but endless ruins. What secrets does this school conceal? The instant the bell rings, the truth of the past flashes before everyone's eyes —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 53 The Calamity of the House Guardian 镇宅之祸 The Calamity of the House-Guardian 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 54 The City's Exorcist 都市驱魔先生 When shadows emerge beyond the reach of the city’s neon lights, young exorcist Jin Lei sets out on the path fate has laid for him. He inherits more than his family’s powers: he also inherits a tragic mystery spanning a hundred years. Why did his ancestor and fellow disciple turn evil? What earth-shattering scheme is the Xuanjing organization plotting from the shadows of history? From strange happenings on campus to bloody feuds in the countryside, from urban crime investigations to a battle ove 256Reads—Score—14d adds
- 55 The Calamity Wardens' Apocalypse 压祟默示录 [Mystery and the supernatural + ensemble cast + first-person narration + Eastern mythology + Daoism] The copper coin a strange Daoist casually gave me turned out to be the legendary evil-repelling coin? Are the haunted mansion and the attacks by the walking corpses really because an evil fiend has emerged from seclusion? Or is there some other hidden truth? Is there more to the familiar New Year's Eve story than we know? Can some of the inexplicable things in modern life actually be explained? D 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 56 Strange Tales, Volume 1 奇闻诡事录1 This is a collection of folk tales about the uncanny, strange accounts from across the land. Each chapter is a complete story, each tale a separate supernatural mystery, revealing the mysteries of yin and yang, folk taboos, and the obsessions of the dead. You never know when a casual remark might draw the attention of spirits lurking in the wilderness; when an old object you pick up might hold the memory of a tragic death; or when an everyday habit might already have crossed a forbidden boundary 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 57 One Chilling Story Every Night 每晚一个惊魂故事 [One story per chapter] [Chinese-style horror] [Folk tales] [Urban vengeful spirits] [Haunted houses] [No main plot] Collected and adapted fictional tales of terror from all over, one story per chapter, each one different. No grand lectures, just bone-chilling tales rooted in everyday life. All adapted from strange folk tales passed down for years. They sound true, and the more you think about them, the more unsettling they get. Great for unwinding, but don't try to “unwind” alone in the dead of 1.2kReads—Score10314d adds
- 58 The Corpse Coffin's Ghostly Fragrance 尸棺鬼香 [The corpse sits in the coffin, the ghost eats incense] [Fate from a past life, continued in this one] A Maoshan Taoist’s path to raising ghosts... After his grandmother dies unexpectedly, Shen Lin happens upon the notes his grandfather left behind. From then on, he begins a ghost-hunting life in which he narrowly escapes death time and time again... 158Reads—Score—14d adds
- 59 Tales of the Supernatural Among the Common Folk 感灵之民间异事 In the old days, there were all kinds of strange happenings in the villages of northern China: ghost stories, tales of immortals appearing, and encounters between humans and monsters. Here, you can read about the people and stories of the past. What kind of mischief will the intriguing huangpizi get up to? What stories did the elders tell children during the quiet nights of that bygone era? This book will take you back in time to see those curious old tales. The huangpizi aren’t the only ones he 4Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 60 Midnight Terror: Tales of the Supernatural 午夜惊魂：民间鬼事录 [Folk Taboos + Rural Ghost Stories + Episodic Tales + Chilling on Second Thought] The village elders say that some things are better believed than dismissed. Liu Er, a bachelor, picked up a red wedding dress. That very night, he heard the sound of a suona, and a faceless bride knocked on his door and said, “Liu Er, I’ve come to marry you.” Before a dead person is buried, the guiding candle at the head of the coffin must never go out. Old Liu Guang died, the candle went out, and a crack appeared 4.1kReads—Score17714d adds
- 61 Supernatural Revival: From the Start, I Bet on a Livestream from a Psychiatric Hospital 灵异复苏开局对赌直播精神病院 Haunted House Livestream: Three Million to Save a Life. The People of Longguo Never Bow Their Heads [Supernatural revival + No System + No saintly protagonist + Fresh plot + Escape + Exploration + Crime solving + Not dark] Chen Feng opens his eyes in a foot massage parlor to find himself three million in debt and his younger sister on the brink of death! A mysterious creditor offers him a deal: livestream three trips into deadly places, and the money and your life are yours. The first stop is —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 62 Maoshan Edict for Slaying Evil 茅山斩邪令 Chen Xuan, the nineteenth-generation successor of Maoshan, descends from the mountain at eighteen to enter the mortal world. With a single talisman, he subdues a hundred ghosts; with a wooden sword, he cuts down every evil spirit! In a mountain village, a hanging ghost comes to claim lives. In an ancient town, a water ghost drags people under. A deserted village hides the secrets of a lantern made from human skin... Other people go weak in the knees when they see a ghost. Chen Xuan draws his s 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 63 It's 2:30 A.M. Let Me Tell You a Story! 凌晨两点半，我来给你讲故事！ Before I knew it, this book had passed 200 chapters. Time flies, and now the story is nearing its conclusion. It will end after just one million words. We’re currently in the rapid-update phase, with three chapters posted every day at 9 a.m. This book is a collection of folk horror stories set in the countryside. Each chapter is a standalone story, and every plot has been carefully crafted by the author. Comments from fellow readers are welcome. If you like it, add it to your bookshelf. 13Reads—Score114d adds
- 64 The Life-Devouring Ancient Formula 噬命古方 The Life-Devouring Ancient Formula 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 65 The Curse of the Manicure 美甲之咒 The Nail Art Curse 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 66 A Collection of Ancient Folk Tales of the Supernatural 古代民间灵异故事合集听来的故事 A hugely popular collection on Tomato Listen, featuring rule-based horror, infinite-loop survival, folk customs and taboos, deranged killers, deadly survival instances, feng shui, livestreaming, modern technology, and many other kinds of horror. Volume One: Classical ghost stories. A blend of modern and classical taboos: never look in the mirror at midnight, someone is under the bed... A wedding sedan, an old well, an ancestral shrine, a nighttime opera... Any ordinary thing can become a spirit; 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 67 The Little Fool’s Demon-Hunting Chronicles 瓜娃儿捉妖记 [Mystery and Supernatural] + [Folk Customs] + [Legends] + [Strange Tales] This really is a mystery and supernatural novel about catching demons and ghosts. The author begs the officials who review the categories to show mercy and stop changing this book’s category at random. Could you please? During the Xianfeng era, Gua Wa’er is sent to learn magic from Taoist Li at the Wengong Shrine, having incurred a debt of gratitude for changing his father Niu Yuansheng’s fate. He joins the wondrous Yunmen 40Reads—Score—14d adds
- 68 I'm Just a Photographer, So Why Do I Keep Seeing Ghosts?! 我就是个摄影师，为什么总见鬼！ [Original Work] [First Published Here] [Supernatural Horror] [Mystery and Puzzles] [Chinese-Style Horror] [Folk Supernatural] [Light Transmigration] Photographer Lin Shen ventured alone to an abandoned manor in the wilderness, hoping to capture a series of supernatural photographs that could turn his career around. Instead, he was lost in a ravine forever. When he opened his eyes again, he had transmigrated into the body of He Xun, another freelance photographer. Like before, he made a living wi 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 69 The Eighteenth Floor Underground 地下十八楼 [Urban Mystery / Thriller / Puzzle-Solving / Supernatural / No System] Beneath an upscale residential complex lies a mysterious space known as “Underground Level Eighteen.” They say that anyone who goes in either dies or goes mad… Su Chi, a new resident, accidentally gets caught up in it. There are ancient coffin mazes, a blue underground river, savage subterranean creatures, and even mysterious wild men… Danger lurks at every turn, and the mysteries are hair-raising. It feels as if a pair of ey 31Reads—Score—14d adds
- 70 A Collection of Folk Supernatural Tales, Part One 民间灵异事件合集（上） Collection of Strange Supernatural Tales from the Countryside, Part One 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 71 The Yin-Yang Fate Borrower 阴阳借命师 [Traditional Supernatural Horror]+ [Feng Shui and Mysticism]+ [Suspense and Deduction] On my seventeenth birthday, I watched my best classmate die horribly right in front of me. That was when I learned someone had stolen my fate! A mysterious old man told me I was one of the Seven Wise and offered to take me as his disciple. If I refused, I wouldn’t live past thirty. When I was twenty-five, my master ventured alone into the underworld to negotiate with the King of Hell and extend my life. He ult —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 72 Snowfall: A Record of Strange Tales from China 惊雪：中华异事录 This isn't a traditional ghost-hunting horror novel. It blends Taoist arts, high martial arts, mysteries, and more. I'm writing it for myself, OvO [Ghost Hunting, Taoist Arts, Mysteries, Martial Arts, Ensemble Cast] * The eldest disciple of the head of the Shangqing sect of the Zhengyi school, exceptional in martial arts and profound in Taoist arts... * A master of the Swallow Sect, known in the martial world as Li San the Swallow... * A Nationalist spy, clever and calculating, cold as ice... Du 249Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 73 Born of a Corpse: I Landed a Government Job by Catching Ghosts 尸生子：我靠抓鬼混上编制 My new work is out! You can read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 77Reads—Score—14d adds
- 74 The Taoist Priest's Pact with Three Thousand Ghost Brides 道士与后宫三千女鬼的约定 This Daoist Master doesn't care for fighting and killing. I've had just one hobby all my life: collecting all kinds of beautiful female demons and ghosts from around the world. 133Reads—Score1214d adds
- 75 The Yin-Yang Master of the Wilderness 山野阴阳先生 [Yinshan + Maoshan + Folk legends + Supernatural + No saintly protagonist + No womanizing] My grandfather from Yinshan protects my life, and my brothers from Maoshan protect my body. As a Yin-Yang Master who walks among the dead, all I carry is an umbrella and a copper bell. Deep in the mountains, I encountered an old shapeshifter gnawing on a living person's hand. In southern Xinjiang, a demonic carpet sucked people's lifeblood in the middle of the night. In western Yunnan, a one-legged ghost 48.7kReads6.7Score2k14d adds
- 76 Strange Tales from the Countryside 农村里的奇异怪谈 [Traditional supernatural horror + third-person narration + one female lead + no immortal cultivation] In a strange, gloomy bamboo forest, evil forces claim people’s lives. A university graduate has just returned to his village when he becomes embroiled in a series of bizarre events. In the end, he takes a master and learns the Dao. Is the mysterious woman good or evil? What other strange events will the protagonist encounter? Find out in the book. 26Reads—Score—14d adds
- 77 One Man, Five Ghosts: Want to Run? Pay Five Million First 一个男人五个鬼，想跑先赔五百万 [Completed novel + horror + supernatural + comeback + face-slapping + episodic stories] My name is Cao Dakui, and I just inherited a massive fortune: a four-hundred-square-meter luxury apartment in the capital, plus a storefront. Sounds great, right? Except... The butler in the apartment says he was born during the Wanli era. One of the residents is a beautiful woman who, whenever she's in a good mood, takes off her head and plays with it like a ball. There's also a mysterious person living in t 317Reads—Score10214d adds
- 78 The House Immortal Affairs Office 家仙办事处 Chen Ping'an, a graduate student in folklore, has never believed in ghosts or gods. That is, until he inherited his old family home and caught a fox spirit sitting on his sofa in the middle of the night, playing Honor of Kings. Then it tossed him an employment contract from the “Household Spirits Affairs Office.” From then on, his materialist worldview completely fell apart: Huang Xian works as a delivery driver, gathering intelligence. Bai Xian runs a traditional Chinese medicine clinic and sec 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 79 Tales of Folk Ghosts 民间鬼故事说 Each story stands on its own. Leave a comment about what you'd like to read, then pick whichever ones you like. There's no need to read them in order. Some parts are bound to be less well-written, but others may catch your interest, so browse around. 60Reads—Score—14d adds
- 80 I’m Just a Middle Schooler, Why Do You Want Me to Stand Up for Ghosts! 我一初中生，你让我为鬼撑腰！ My grandpa and I go ghost hunting in our daily lives... My two best friends and I go ghost hunting in our daily lives... I don't know how I ended up with a constitution that attracts ghosts. Wherever I go, there are ghosts... —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 81 The Taboos of Moving a Grave: I’m Forced to Be a Dead Man’s Best Man 迁坟禁忌，我被迫给死人当伴郎 Inside a brightly decorated hall, I was serving as best man to a corpse. After that, I went through all kinds of bizarre events... The dead kept sending me gifts I couldn't get rid of. A dried corpse murder case that claimed three lives in a single day. The undead patrolling a wilderness graveyard. A pale child who nailed himself inside a coffin. And the thatched hut that stole people's lifespans. To understand what started this endless string of events, we have to go back to the part-time job I 34Reads8.8Score—14d adds
- 82 A Strange Tale Every Night 夜夜都有诡故事 [Extreme Supernatural Horror] [Ghosts, Fox Spirits, and Other Strange Creatures] [Not for Women] [Not for the Fainthearted] Based on personal experience and real events. The occult is science we have yet to touch; science is the occult we have already mastered. 23Reads—Score114d adds
- 83 The God in the Cage 笼中之神 This is a requiem for prisoners, echoing between the abyss of reality and illusion. When the prison of consciousness is exposed, will you choose to sink into a sweet lie, or awaken to a cruel truth and be destroyed? The answer was already decided from the very start of the search. 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 84 Miaojiang Yin-Yang Gu 苗疆阴阳蛊 Miaojiang Yin-Yang Gu 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 85 The Corpse Stitcher: Thread in Place 缝尸匠.引线归位 The Corpse Stitcher: Setting the Thread in Place 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 86 Supernatural Tales of the Northeast: Strange Spirits in a Rural Village 牲灵诡事：东北村落的灵邪异闻 In a village somewhere in northeastern China in the 1990s, two strange incidents took place. In 1992, villager Tian Youfu's black ox returned from the dead. In 1994, villager Zhao Xianglan gave birth to a lamb. After that, every animal in the village lived indoors, eating and sleeping alongside people. The villagers treated the animals like honored guests, giving them a higher status than humans. Two police officers arrived in the forgotten mountain village to put an end to the superstition. 18Reads9.1Score—14d adds
- 87 Is It Too Much for a Fortune Teller Like Me to Know a Little Yin-Yang Magic? 我一个算命的会点阴阳术不过分吧 [Maoshan Arts + Ghost Hunting + Face Reading + Powerful Connections + Walking Between the Yin and Yang Worlds + Team] Zhao Yang's grandfather made him study three books from a young age: the Zhouyi, the Ma Yi Divine Physiognomy, and a third book with no cover, whose contents were handwritten. After his grandfather passed away, Zhao Yang inherited his mantle. But now that cremation was the norm, all he could do was read people's feng shui, barely earning enough to get by. Just as he was thinking 302Reads—Score—14d adds
- 88 The Ghost Doctor's Heir 鬼医传人 A reincarnated child can't live past twelve? At twenty-four, I was forced into the fate of a reincarnated child! From then on, I became a modern-day Tang Sanzang. Ghosts and monsters were drawn to me all my life! Fortunately, I met an old Chinese medicine doctor and a successor to the Celestial Master sect, and they saved my life! From then on, I set out on the path of healing the sick, saving the world, and driving out demons... 58Reads—Score214d adds
- 89 Paranormal Civil Servant 灵异公务员 Wang Xiaotian, a civil servant wielding the "Heaven-Measuring Ruler," transmigrates to a parallel world where the supernatural resurges in the 1990s. Zombies have to meet their KPIs, and ghosts who like people have to follow the proper procedures. Using the bureaucratic wisdom he's gained from writing reports and mediating disputes, he specializes in dealing with every kind of monster and demon that refuses to cooperate. When a red-clad vengeful ghost has to write a work summary, and a thousand- 17Reads—Score—14d adds
- 90 The Daoheart’s Journey 道心征途 (This novel focuses primarily on horror, the supernatural, and suspense. It isn't mindless, it isn't about cultivating immortality, and the story is tightly connected. The early chapters lay the groundwork, and there are many genuinely frightening scenes. If you don't like it, feel free to say so in the comments!) My master said there are only two principles to being a Taoist priest. First: Never put off revenge until tomorrow. Let it fester in your heart, and it will throw your Daoist mind into 7Reads6.5Score—14d adds
- 91 I Read People's Fortunes 我是一个看事的 (No harem, not a power fantasy, slow-paced, fighting monsters and leveling up) My name is Yu Xuanxiao. I was an ordinary person, but I was inexplicably drawn into a conspiracy and had no choice but to enter the Daoist sect and learn the art of talismans. By chance, I discovered that the source of it all was connected to a black fox from a hundred years ago. For the sake of my future, I can only fight alongside a group of like-minded companions, battling demons and monsters to the death time an 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 92 Heaven's Secrets Forbidden: A Metaphysics Master's Art of Feng Shui and Yin-Yang 天机禁忌：玄门风水相师镇阴阳 Xu Daoyi was born with a pure Yang constitution, a once-in-a-century rarity. The Yang energy within him was so strong it could burn vengeful ghosts to ash. But this gift was also a death sentence. His master told him that unless he found a woman with a pure Yin birth chart before the Summer Solstice and united their Yin and Yang, he would explode and die seven days later. The seven-day deadline drew closer, and the Yang energy in his body surged higher every day. Xu Daoyi had saved countless liv 116Reads—Score15514d adds
- 93 Grudge-Locked Patterns 怨气锁纹 Dai Xiaochao, the protagonist, is a college graduate in architecture from the 1990s. Under heavy financial pressure, he moves into a tenement building where a locked-room murder took place two years earlier. Surveillance was scarce in those days, so the police had to investigate door to door, and the case made little progress. Then the ancient Taotie jade pendant inherited by Dai Xiaochao’s family, along with its Taotie patterns, begins to react... And that is where the story begins. 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 94 Medium's Notes: My Left Eye Can See Ghosts 灵媒笔记：我的左眼能见鬼 The Cangye lineage of the Southern Frontier unleashes chaos. The Cherry Blossom Curse, Yin Soil summoning, Ruin Spirits, and malevolent earth veins emerge one after another, leaving the seals protecting the land on the brink of collapse. In a desperate battle, pure Yang Heavenly Energy collides with the turbid qi of Yin Soil inside him, forming a yin-yang vortex whose blessings and dangers are impossible to predict. His old enemies flee into the Hundred Thousand Mountains, seeking a chance to p 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 95 The Ghost Bone-Reading 鬼称骨 Where I'm from, we call our great-grandfather “Laodie.” In Meihua Village, everyone gives a thumbs-up when they talk about my Laodie, saying he was an extraordinary man. Even the children have surely heard the adults tell stories about how my Laodie dealt with ghosts, monsters, and spirits. In the late Qing dynasty, Laodie passed the xiucai examination at the age of twelve. He was supposed to go on to take the provincial and metropolitan examinations, but an unexpected accident changed everythin 434Reads8.7Score10514d adds
- 96 The Ghost-Deceiving Master 骗鬼大师 [Mystery] [Ghost Hunting] [Comedy] [Urban] [Scheming Hero] [Feel-Good Power Fantasy] My master is a real oddball, so naturally, I didn’t turn out innocent or naive either. Armed with a peachwood sword, I roam the world, making a living catching ghosts. But don’t assume I have any profound magical arts. In truth, catching ghosts is all about bluffing! I can scare a timid little ghost into trembling with fear, and I can talk a century-old vengeful ghost into a complete daze. Watch as my peachwood —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 97 Strange Little Tales from the Urban-Rural Fringe 城乡结合灵异小故事 This collection of little supernatural tales is drawn from stories told by elderly villagers and young people. It's hard to tell what's true and what's not, so just enjoy them as little stories to pass the time over tea. 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 98 My Years as a Yin-Yang Master 我当阴阳先生那些年 In my line of work, I’ve run into all kinds of things: the underworld and its officials, sinister spirits on campus, Taoist priests from Laoshan, bloodsucking vampires... You name it. I’ve also crossed paths with plenty of beautiful fox spirits, seductive female ghosts, and wicked temptresses from demonic cults. A friend once asked me, “You know how to hunt demons, so why not marry one?” One word: broke. Do you really think dating a monster is free? 240Reads6.3Score—14d adds
- 99 I Became a Skinner After Moving Into the Apartment 入住公寓后成了剥皮匠 On the day I moved in, the building manager handed me a rusty key and a yellowed set of house rules. “Light the red lantern in the living room every night. If it goes out, hide under the bed immediately.” Next door lived a qipao-clad female ghost who loved to sing. Downstairs was a doctor with a peculiar taste for blood. To stay alive, I lit the lantern on time every day, until the power went out on the seventh night. The instant the lantern went dark, I saw the dried corpses of the previous ten 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 100 The Spirit Pact of Sinister Schemes 诡谋之灵契 People often say that a person’s fate is decided by Heaven, but that is not entirely true. Mu Fan was born into a vast conspiracy. With a body of four yin and an utterly yin fate, his perilous destiny made an ordinary life impossible. A female ghost in the park tries to seize his soul, while a stunning ghost bride enters into a marriage pact with him. Corpses dance in the funeral home; teachers and students at a school haunted by vicious ghosts leap from buildings in eerie circumstances; deep in —Reads—Score—14d adds
