Construction sites can be scary places, fraught with danger, as workers and machines come together to build.
Project procurement can feel like trying to decipher a Ouija Board, report some industry stakeholders, and never mind the monsters in a site porta potty or the vampires in contract language and change orders.
With Halloween upon us, your Daily Commercial News (DCN) and Journal of Commerce (JOC) publications continue their long-held tradition of haunted construction storytelling with this year’s Sinister Seven – A Haunted Construction BOO-ks Guide.
The books in this guide needed to have construction or construction-related activity to qualify, from residential to the trades to DIY. We also have a special The Construction Record podcast episode to partner with this list. Have a listen to us discussing the Sinister Seven and other various current issues that go “bump in the night,” bringing fear to the hearts of the industry.
Assembly of this guide was completely unscientific, and we have not read all the books. However, through friend recommendations, Reddit threads, book reviews and other similarly compiled lists, we curated these Sinister Seven since they showed up the most in our research.
The research was not aided by AI because using AI to compile this is a scary thought – one doesn’t get to explore the debates and interpretations these books generated among their fans if you let a machine do it for you…and then the machine begins to take control…and then it is you being controlled by the machine and a dark, post-apocalyptic landscape awaits you as you mindlessly follow its beck-and-call…hmm, does that sound like an outline for a scary tale slowly evolving in real time? Or, yet another Terminator sequel (please, no)? OK, back to the BOO-ks.
A happy and safe Halloween to all.
In no particular order, here is your Sinister Seven – A Haunted Construction BOO-ks Guide:
Construction Site Gets a Fright! by Sherri Dusky Rinker and AG Ford
From the creators of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site comes this tale of endearing, spooky fun at the construction site on Halloween night as the machines get ready for bedtime. However, with trick-or-treating on their minds, the construction site becomes scarier even for the toughest of heavy equipment. “Laughing with friends is the best way to turn fright into fun,” is one of the books key messages. We have read this, and the kids loved it, heck, I did too.
The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
A young married couple with tension in their marriage, move to a fixer-upper in the woods. What could go wrong? “The descriptions of decorating and renovation mixed in with the couple being tormented by some outside entity makes for an engaging read,” states a litreactor.com.
The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan
What happens when a mysterious online DIY instructor delivers dark subliminal messages about handling problems around the house? Well, for the young family in this book who move into an unfinished community, “cracks begin to emerge in both their new residence and their lives,” reports one book overview.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
We have read this book and fair warning, I enjoyed it, but it is not a traditionally structured book so if you like linear reading, front to back, this may not be for you. The book unfolds with complexity as you learn about a family who discovers their house is bigger on the inside than the outside and try to investigate the how and why.
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
A couple living in a peaceful Atlanta suburb are surprised to see construction starting on the vacant lot next to them which they believed would always remain undeveloped. The couple soon realize “that more is wrong than their diminished privacy” as the fate of each of the new home’s inhabitants unfolds, writes a goodreads.com overview.
The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
Big DIY project means big paranormal problems for a married couple who decide to build a dream home in Vermont. The property has the bones of the former estate and a swamp. “If you enjoy watching HGTV house-building shows, do not miss this,” states a litreactor.com. Just from the reviews alone of this novel, it leaves one wondering what a better site survey may have uncovered before the couple’s purchase…
The Restoration by J.H. Moncrieff
A woman is hired to take on a year-long restoration of a crumbling old manor. She has such high hopes for the project and its success; she moves into the manor with her daughter. As some weekend Home Depot DIY warriors can attest, the restoration begins to go sideways as old walls (and spiritual wounds) are opened up. “Fans of This Old House and Bob Vila will love this blend of home restoration and all the classic haunted house tropes,” writes litreactor.com.
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