The Residence - by Andrew Pyper (Paperback)

About the Book

"In this ... horror story based on true events, [President Franklin Pierce's] late son haunts the White House, breaking the spirit of what remains of the First Family and the divided America beyond the residence's walls"--

Book Synopsis

In this "chilling, profound" (Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie) horror story based on true events, the President's late son haunts the White House, breaking the spirit of what remains of the First Family and the divided America beyond the residence's walls.

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. But when the great iron machine finally comes to rest, the only casualty is the President-elect's beloved son, Bennie, which casts Franklin's presidency in a pal of sorrow and grief.

As Franklin moves into the White House, he begins to notice that something bizarre is happening. Strange sounds coming from the walls and ceiling, creepy voices that seem to echo out of time itself, and visions of spirits crushed under the weight of American history.

But when First Lady Jane Pierce brings in the most noted Spiritualists of the day, the Fox sisters, for a séance, the barrier between this world and the next is torn asunder. Something horrible comes through and takes up residence alongside Franklin and Jane in the walls of the very mansion itself.

Only by overcoming their grief and confronting their darkest secrets can Jane and Franklin hope to rid themselves--and America--from the entity that seeks to make the White House its permanent home.

Review Quotes

"Legitimately creepy... Recommended for fans of historical fiction with a bite, like that of Alma Katsu."-- "Booklist"

"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

"The Residence is 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, author of I'm Thinking of Ending Things and Foe

"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, Eisner Award-winning author of Descender and Essex County

"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.

About the Author

Andrew Pyper (1968-2025) was the internationally bestselling author of fourteen novels, including The Homecoming, The Only Child, The Damned, and The Demonologist, which won the International Thriller Writers award for Best Hardcover Novel, as well as The Killing Circle, which was selected a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. He lived in Toronto with his family.