| Author | Jo Nesbø |
|---|---|
| Translator | Neil Smith |
| Language | Norwegian, English |
| Genre | Horror |
| Publisher | Penguin Random House |
Publication date | 2023 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 156 |
| ISBN | 978-0593684900 |
The Night House is a horror novel by Jo Nesbo that was first published by Penguin Random House in 2023. The book is a coming of age tale. It is set to be adapted into a movie.[1]
Plot
Part I
Fourteen-year-old Richard moves to a small town, Ballantyne, to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents die in a fire. Richard, an outsider at school, befriends another unpopular boy, Tom. They make a prank call in a phone booth to an Imu Johansson. The prank goes wrong when Tom is swallowed by the telephone. Agent Dale investigates Tom’s disappearance, with Richard as a suspect. Richard and another boy from school, Jack (Fatso), go to Johansson’s house, a large, abandoned mansion (the “Night House”). Jack turns into a cockroach, leading Agent Dale to suspect him of a second disappearance. Richard confides in Karen, a cool girl at the school, about the supernatural events. Agent Dale sends him to a correctional facility for failing to cooperate. Karen visits Richard, driven to the facility by her boyfriend and classmate Oscar. Richard discovers that Johansson also spent time at facility. He receives a late phone call from Johansson, who tell Richard that he is garbage and tells him that Karen will burn. Richard escapes form the facility. He travels back to Ballantyne, burns down the Night House, and rescues Karen.
Part II
Fifteen years later, Richard flies home to Ballantyne for a class reunion as a successful author. His teen horror novel mirrors Part 1. During the reunion, Richard sees Oscar, Jack, and Karen (now a psychiatrist). He confides in Karen that his schizophrenic father called him garbage and set the fire that killed his parents. The power goes out at the reunion and the event moves to Oscar’s house, which is the Night House. Richard experiences a powerful headache there, and his classmates begin acting strangely. Big flashes of lightning get progressively faster as he tries to escape. Agent Dale dies trying to protect Richard from the zombie-like classmates. Richard manages to escape but classmates and townspeople surround him.
Part III
Richard lives in an asylum fifteen years after the death of his parents. Other patients include Jack and Tom. Oscar works as the lead doctor and Dale as medical staff. Richard has been getting electroshock therapy for PTSD to suppress memories of the fire. It is revealed that he is Johansson and that he is in love with his psychiatrist, Karen. The medical team discusses a limited release of Richard from the asylum, given the success of his therapy. Karen leads him to a typewriter, telling him that his journaling could form a novel. She also expresses a romantic connection with him after the release. Richard beings to write the story from Part I.
Reception
"
Originally published in Norway as Natthuset by H. Aschehoug & Co, Oslo, in 2023. This translation originally published in hardcover by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Vintage, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., London in 2023"
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ Ritman, Alex (2025-02-11). "Aaron Paul, Jacob Tremblay Join Adaptation of Jo Nesbo Horror 'The Night House' for 'Insidious' Producer, Protagonist Launching at EFM (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2025-08-28.