Ghosts on Friday

The story is told in the first person by Xu Lang, a twenty-two-year-old host of an online variety show. The show, titled Friday Has Ghosts, covers the supernatural, relying on theme planning and on-location shoots at haunted houses, abandoned sites, and locations rumored to be paranormal. After witnessing a late-night car accident, Xu Lang is beset by a series of eerie incidents—sleep paralysis, a ghost marriage, and even a brief descent into the underworld, where he nearly becomes a ghost bridegroom. By chance, he takes Wu Laoliu, a judge of the underworld, as his master and returns to the world of the living to release souls from purgatory, with all merit earned going to his master. To meet this condition, he applies to become the host of Friday Has Ghosts and meets Li Yiling, a hearse driver with extraordinary skills. Together with their companions they form a supernatural investigation team, tackling one paranormal case after another.

The novel uses show production as its narrative framework, weaving together folk legends, Daoist and Buddhist exorcism practices, the underworld's bureaucratic hierarchy, and urban ghost lore. The pace is brisk and the language witty. The protagonist's self-deprecation, adolescent bravado, and constant banter largely offset the horror, creating a distinctive "comic supernatural" reading experience. What actually airs is always only a small portion—material that will not truly cause panic; the real secrets lie hidden in plain sight, a narrative pleasure the book emphasizes again and again.