Get our latest book recommendations, author news, competitions, offers, and other information right to your inbox.
Table of Contents
About The Book
In this terrifying ghost story based on true events, the President’s late son haunts the White House, threatening all who live in it—and the divided America beyond its walls. From the bestselling author of The Homecoming.
The year is 1853. President-elect Franklin Pierce is traveling with his family to Washington, DC, when tragedy strikes. In an instant, their train runs off the rails, violently flinging passengers about the cabin. When the great iron machine finally comes to rest, the only casualty is the Pierces’ son, Bennie. The loss sends First Lady Jane Pierce into mourning, and casts Franklin’s presidency under a pall of sorrow and grief.
As the Pierces move into the White House, they are soon plagued by events both bizarre and disturbing. Strange sounds seem to come from the walls and ceiling, ghostly voices echo out of time itself, and visions of spirits crushed under the weight of American history pass through empty hallways. But when Jane orchestrates a séance with the infamous Fox Sisters—the most noted Spiritualists of the day—the barrier between this world and the next is torn asunder. Something horrific comes through and takes up residence alongside Franklin and Jane in the very walls of the mansion itself.
Only by overcoming their grief and confronting their darkest secrets can Jane and Franklin hope to rid themselves—and America—of the entity that seeks to make the White House its permanent home.
The year is 1853. President-elect Franklin Pierce is traveling with his family to Washington, DC, when tragedy strikes. In an instant, their train runs off the rails, violently flinging passengers about the cabin. When the great iron machine finally comes to rest, the only casualty is the Pierces’ son, Bennie. The loss sends First Lady Jane Pierce into mourning, and casts Franklin’s presidency under a pall of sorrow and grief.
As the Pierces move into the White House, they are soon plagued by events both bizarre and disturbing. Strange sounds seem to come from the walls and ceiling, ghostly voices echo out of time itself, and visions of spirits crushed under the weight of American history pass through empty hallways. But when Jane orchestrates a séance with the infamous Fox Sisters—the most noted Spiritualists of the day—the barrier between this world and the next is torn asunder. Something horrific comes through and takes up residence alongside Franklin and Jane in the very walls of the mansion itself.
Only by overcoming their grief and confronting their darkest secrets can Jane and Franklin hope to rid themselves—and America—of the entity that seeks to make the White House its permanent home.
About The Author
Photograph by Heidi Pyper
Andrew Pyper is the internationally bestselling author of ten previous novels, including The Demonologist, which won the International Thriller Writers award for Best Hardcover Novel, and The Killing Circle, which was selected a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. He lives in Toronto. Visit AndrewPyper.com and follow him on Twitter @AndrewPyper.
Why We Love It
“When I first heard the phrase ‘horror in the White House’ I immediately thought about abuses of power, unhinged Tweetstorms, or many other aspects of our long, national nightmare. The Residence delivers scares in a much more enjoyable way.”
—Joe M., Editorial Detector, on The Residence
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 1, 2020)
- Length: 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9781982147372
Browse Related Books
Raves and Reviews
“Cross White House history with The Shining and you’ve got Pyper’s occult-filled novel. . . . Add in the presence of a creepy kid and there’s plenty of satisfying horror to be had, though The Residence also presents an interesting love story and nicely weaves in America’s struggles with war and slavery.”
— USA Today
“A supernatural thriller steeped in the melancholic and macabre, the kind of ghost story that will keep you up at night. A vivid nightmare of a book.”
— IAIN REID, bestselling author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things and Foe
“The only thing more bewitching than a ghost in the White House is putting its story in the hands of Andrew Pyper. Herein lies the coupling of the uncanny with the all-too-real, and the glow from such a pairing lights the way to a chilling, profound reading.”
— JOSH MALERMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie
“A claustrophobic, absorbing tale of parental grief and paranormal chaos. . . . The historical details ring true without bogging down the story in research. Scary and surprisingly affective.”
— Toronto Star
“Horror in the tradition of Henry James’ Turn of the Screw and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. . . . Pyper retells a historical narrative, weaving it with imagined possibilities and a thick layer of creepy. But underneath the bumps in the night and the ghostly apparitions, Pyper is also telling us something else: the moral behind the genesis of the American Dream. . . . He remains a true storyteller of gothic horror.”
— The Globe and Mail
“[An] intriguing fusion of horror thriller and historical fiction . . . rooted in the foundations of the American nation, in particular the moral crime of slavery. . . . a shivery pleasure.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“As timely as it is scary.”
— Toronto Star
“Andrew Pyper’s work never fails to amaze and The Residence is no exception. He is the rare writer who always manages to create a fun, scary page-turner that is also deeply literate and achingly human.”
— JEFF LEMIRE, New York Times bestselling author of Descender and Essex County
“Andrew Pyper shows us the White House as we’ve never seen it before. Haunted. Possessed. And occupied by a demon. The Residence shows the depths of sadness and madness possible through grief. A Gothic horror story that is rich with emotional complexity and as beautiful as it is terrifying.”
— ALMA KATSU, author of The Deep and The Hunger
“Pyper does a good job of haunting the White House . . . [and] this eerie ghost story is sure to please horror fans.”
— Publishers Weekly
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): The Residence eBook 9781982147372
- Author Photo (jpg): Andrew Pyper Photograph by Heidi Pyper(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
