Review: How to Fake a Haunting by Christa Carmen

Title: How to Fake a Haunting

Author: Christa Carmen

Genre: Adult, horror

Publication date: October 2025

Published by: Thomas & Mercer

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: A desperate woman’s plot to frighten her husband out of her life takes a nightmarish turn in a chilling novel of modern horror by a Bram Stoker Award–winning author.

Lainey Taylor is being pushed to the brink by her alcoholic husband, Callum. Prone to hallucinations and erratic behavior, it’s only a matter of time before he puts Lainey’s life—and that of their daughter, Beatrix—in jeopardy. A divorce and full custody is out of the question. In Callum’s words: Over my dead body.

Lainey’s sympathetic friend Adelaide has a wild solution. They’ll stage a haunting so convincing it will drive Callum out of Lainey’s life for good. Nothing too over the top: strange smells, noises in the walls, and flies unleashed along the windowsills. It could work. Considering Callum’s alcohol-induced night terrors, he’s already close to broken. With each new scare, Lainey is closer to seeing the haunting through to its bitter, freeing end.

But in a house filled with so much rage, resentment, and fear, is it any wonder that Lainey and Adelaide’s plan goes horribly wrong? As their fake haunting spirals into something no one can control, Lainey discovers that the only way out of this frightening trap is to join forces with Callum, or die trying.

My rating: ★★★★⯪

"So"—Adelaide's eyes had that glint again, all fire and excitement—"what do you say? Shall we turn this place into a motherfucking haunted house?”

I LOVED the premise of this book! This is what our protagonist has been dealing with in her home life:

My current reality—shackled to a man more concerned with drinking than his daughter, my dreams reduced to getting through each day, holding things together for Bea while practically falling apart myself.

The problem with simply getting a divorce is that her husband comes from a very rich, very influential family. So, if they get a divorce, do you know who’s going to get custody of the kid? Not Lainey, let me tell you. So then Lainey’s friend comes up with the idea of this fake haunting. I mean, the deadbeat husband is a drunk and already has hallucinations on his own...

If we get this right, we can stage a full-blown Poltergeist remake here in this living room, and he'll be so spun up over all the strange occurrences that preceded it, he'll probably check himself into a mental institution.

I was not expected to be as sucked into the family drama as I was. But he and his family SUCK. So all the gaslighting was really fun for me. Lol. I’m not gonna lie, though, when he did start losing it, I felt kinda bad for him. Like, he doesn't seem that horrible a guy, despite the drinking and his only interest being drinking. And Lainey, too, had a conscience about all this.

All I wanted was to do right by [Bea]. But was this the right path? Haunting her father into submission?

The friend Adelaide is the one who sometimes went overboard with things, so I was very happy when Lainey set boundaries regarding this fake haunting. A fake haunting that starts to turn a bit too real, perhaps? 👀

Why did it suddenly feel as if I were being haunted too?

I loved this so much! It was so fun, in a petty sort of way. Lol. I loved all the fake haunting stuff mixed with the potential of a real haunting. There were also some creepy mirror things, which I always find horrifying, so I loved that 😆 Plus, I really appreciated the symbolism with said mirrors, and just the overall character growth by the end. It was all just crazy, but in the best way possible! I loved this!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊