BAD THINGS HAPPENED HERE (Holiday House, fall 2026)
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A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
For fans of R.L. Stine, this supernatural horror follows twelve-year-old Sam to his unsettling family home in Singapore, where his journey to unearth details of his dead mother’s life entangles him in a deadly decades-old mystery.
Sam doesn’t remember much about his mom, who died when he was young. So when he’s gifted a plane ticket to visit his grandma in Singapore-at his mom’s childhood home-he jumps at what he imagines will be the perfect summer break.
Instead, Sam arrives to find a derelict hoarder house in a shadowy neighborhood haunted by a dark, secret history. All Sam wanted was to get to know his mom… but when he comes face-to-face with her ghost, stuck in time at age twelve, he realizes that something has gone terribly wrong.
Priya Malhotra is nothing like the mother he’d imagined. She’s got skinned knees and a sharp tongue, and she won’t let him call her “Mom.” But she does need his help: a young girl’s vengeful spirit is keeping her trapped. What does Priya have to do with the girl’s tragic death? Can Sam really untangle a decades-old mystery-even if it means losing his mom forever?
And if Sam gets too close to the answers… will he be the next to disappear?
Praise for Bad Things Happened Here
Visceral, unsettling imagery sustains the horror-tinged atmosphere, while quieter interludes of connection between Sam and his mother’s ghost lend the story tender warmth. It’s an ominous combination of paranormal suspense and complex mystery that centers grief, memory, and longing.
—Publishers Weekly
The fright factor is maintained through Sam’s frequent nightmares and the appearances of a terrifying ghost stalking Priya. . . . Packed with vivid and gruesome details, this book will appeal to mature readers who relish ghost stories and mysteries.
—School Library Journal
Hossain’s prose is compellingly moody, building suspense slowly while engaging readers on every page. Gothic settings, spectral attacks that leave Sam physically bruised, and eerie elements of South Asian mythology provide thrills for those seeking serious scares. . . . Horror, suspense, and family history collide with marvelously scary results.
—Kirkus Reviews
Vividly evoking an everyday Singapore, Hossain adds sensory details that heighten suspense, and the genuinely creepy images of decay and restless spirits are satisfyingly chilling. Themes of grief, memory, and finding acceptance add heart to this authentically gothic tale. An immersive, shivery read and an impressive, haunting novel.
—Booklist
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Bad Things Happened Here was featured on Good Day Sacramento! Watch the clip here