Worry Box by Chris Panatier is a unique haunted house horror novel. The house has opinions and its own ideas about right and wrong, which take a sinister turn.
Panatier delivers an emotional, deeply psychological story about being part of a family. The horror explores misunderstanding and the question of whether the ends justify the means. If you believed it was just a matter of time until evil was unleashed, would you do anything you could to stop it? That is what a haunted house believes in Worry Box.
The Worry Box is a device used by a foster child who is still developing and dealing with past trauma. She writes down her intrusive thoughts and places them in the Worry Box, which is an old shoebox with a slit in it. She doesn’t want to do those things. They are just thoughts, and if she writes them down, she is free of them. But what she doesn’t know is that the house reads these thoughts and becomes concerned.
The horror is a bit of a slow burn after the bloody prologue, but Panatier uses that time to build up the characters so the reader is emotionally invested when the haunted house starts messing with the residents. We feel like we are part of this tight-knit family that slowly starts unraveling at the seams.
This book is very emotional. Lailah, the foster kid who hopes to be adopted by the Martin family, will break your heart, and you just want to give her a hug. Her relationship with Dru, the younger daughter, and Nathan, the dad, is very special. The story really taps into the fear of not belonging and feeling like it is your fault. I really resonated with this, coming from divorced parents and having to acclimate to stepparents and stepkids.
The novel is told from multiple perspectives, including the house itself, which works well with the story. I thought sometimes the house’s knowledge was a stretch. When Hessians came up in the story, it pulled me out a bit. I guess the house can read, but it’s still a stretch.
The ending was good, but I felt it was a bit too long. I felt the house lost a little bit of its motivation in the process. I do like where the characters all ended up, and I enjoyed the final line of the novel.
Worry Box by Chris Panatier was first published on September 22, 2026, by Angry Robot.
Why did I read Worry Box by Chris Panatier?
Chris Panatier is a great artist and podcast guest. I follow the Jeffword YouTube channel, and he hosted a small convention called JeffCon, where Chris Panatier was a part of the lineup. Since it was a small convention, I got to chat with him for a while. He was talking about his newest novel, Daytide, which was Rapture Publishing’s first special edition hardcover book. I preordered a copy and bought a couple of his books.
Then I saw him at AuthorCon three months later, and he remembered me. He was the first author to remember me, which was special.
I have bought his novels ever since but have not had the chance to read one until Worry Box, which I received as an ARC through NetGalley from Angry Robot.
After reading and enjoying Worry Box, I need to prioritize his backlist.
Plot Summary:
The Martins have just bought a beautiful home that was built in the 1920s. It was love at first sight for both the home and the buyers. The home thought this was such a lovely family. A husband and wife, with one daughter and one foster daughter.
At a housewarming party, the kids witness a miracle as the house protects them during an accident. Both girls think it is a ghost.
Lailah is dealing with a lot of trauma from being a foster kid. She hopes to be adopted and is struggling with heavy intrusive thoughts. She is told to write them out and put them away in her Worry Box. This method works very well, but the house knows and has been traumatized before. It thinks Lailah will ruin this happy family, so the house needs to protect them.
What I Liked:
I love that Nathan was a foster kid himself and aged out of the program. He wants to give back by taking in and adopting Lailah.
I loved Dru and her conspiracy theories, as well as the punk music she listens to.
I loved that the house has named itself, and I love where the name came from.
This book got so emotional. I could feel the disappointment that Lailah felt and how she tried to rise above it.
What I Disliked:
The house’s motivations are more or less revealed at the end, and I didn’t feel the connection or understand the motivation for this particular member of the family.
The ending went on a little too long. I felt the point had been made, and we didn’t need the extra layers. I was already satisfied.
Recommendation:
Worry Box is a very memorable haunted house story. I felt it was in the same category as Brian Asman’s Man, Fuck This House, where the house is haunted and thinks it is doing good. But what makes this different is the emotional level that Panatier’s writing brings to the horror. I don’t know if I’ve cried during a horror movie, but I was darn close with Worry Box.
Worry Box was my first Chris Panatier read, and it will not be my last.
Rating:
Worry Box by Chris Panatier
4 out of 5 stars
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