This is a sweet story about an open house for a haunted house that is lonely and desperately wants someone to buy it. There’s a little irony in that the one likely buyer hosts a podcast for skeptics, but mostly it’s a story about holding on to the memories of those you’ve lost. Lovely. ( )

Spring 2021 (April);

All 133 Poisonwood has is a light touch, but it knows how to use it. Haunting is an art.

I found this story incredibly charming. I loved that it was told from the house's point of view, from a place of longing of knowing about other house's haunting styles, and from such a place of gentle, deep, old aching. The house longing only for a family to move in and stay. The story wasn't very 'haunting' to me by any margin, but I truly loved the heart of it all. ( )

***My thoughts***
This is a lovely story. Is it horror though? Do I even know what horror is? (the answer is no, I avoid horror stories like the plague). The thing is, although I think it's lovely I know I'll forget about it in a few weeks. Which would be a shame.

***Finalists for the 2021 Hugo Awards***

Best Short Story
586 votes for 634 nominees, finalist range 65-35

◻ Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020
★★★☆☆ - My review for Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse
◻ A Guide for Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris) ★★★★☆ - My review for A Guide for Working Breeds
◻ Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer Tor.com
★★★☆☆ - My review for Little Free Library
◻ The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020
★★☆☆☆ - My review for The Mermaid Astronaut
◻ Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020
★★★★☆ - My review for Metal Like Blood in the Dark
☑ Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell Diabolical Plots – 2020, ed. David Steffen
★★★☆☆ - My review for Open House on Haunted Hill

( )

Oh, that's lovely. A haunted house...well, not haunted. Alive? It reminds me of the house in Nina Kiriki Hoffman's series - but this one is a lot nicer. I would love to see more of this - what happens later - but just this part is great. Reading for the Hugos - I need to read the others in this category, but this one's well up my list. ( )