mapping the interior by Stephen Graham Jones | grief opens a door you shouldn’t walk through

In this chilling episode of The Book Fix, we dive into Stephen Graham Jones’ haunting novella Mapping the Interior. Blending horror with sharp commentary on identity, grief, and family, this story takes listeners deep into a house that’s far more than it seems.

The book follows a fifteen-year-old boy who one night glimpses a figure moving through his home—someone who looks eerily like his late father, who died mysteriously years earlier. As the boy follows the apparition, he uncovers unsettling truths: the house is larger, stranger, and darker than he ever realized. Determined to chart its shifting rooms and corridors, he begins “mapping the interior,” but his exploration soon entangles his younger brother in terrifying danger. What starts as a desperate attempt to connect with his father becomes a harrowing journey of sacrifice, survival, and the heavy cost of protecting family. Join the besties as they discuss whether or not this spooky book fixed their life or not.