What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedOrphan
Jaume Collet-Serra · Film · 2009
If you loved Orphan, start with VERITY (Colleen Hoover) — a book on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Orphan across media.
What hooked you in Orphan is the chilling realization that the most dangerous threats often hide behind the most innocent facades.
Books on the same thread
VERITY
Colleen Hoover · Book
Shares a thread with Orphan: gaslighting.
Much like the deceptive Esther in Orphan, this story uses gaslighting and an unreliable narrative to dismantle your sense of security, revealing a truth far more disturbing than expected.
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins · Book · 2015
Shares a thread with Orphan: Gaslighting.
If the psychological manipulation in Orphan kept you on edge, you will appreciate how this narrative forces you to question every perspective through its deeply unreliable and fractured narrator.
Psycho
Robert Bloch · Book · 1959
Shares 2 threads with Orphan: Psychological Horror, Gothic Horror.
The sense of dread surrounding a hidden, monstrous identity in Orphan finds its roots here, where the isolation of the Bates Motel mirrors the claustrophobic terror of the Coleman household.
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë · Book · 2010
Explores: Orphanhood, Social Class, Forbidden Love.
While Orphan twists the gothic trope of the mysterious child, this classic novel provides the foundation for the orphan-in-a-new-home dynamic that makes Esther's arrival so unsettling to witness.
Series on the same thread
The Promised Neverland
Series · 2019
Explores: Orphanage, Child Protagonists, Hidden Truth.
This story takes the hidden truth of a child’s true nature seen in Orphan and expands it into a terrifying institutional scale where the adults are not who they seem.
Servant
Tony Basgallop · Series · 2019
Shares a thread with Orphan: Gaslighting.
This series mirrors the grief-stricken domestic instability of Orphan, focusing on how the loss of a child can invite a sinister, unexplainable force into the heart of a home.
Monster
Series · 2004
Explores: Moral Dilemma, Existentialism, Nature vs. Nurture.
If the sociopathic nature of Esther in Orphan fascinated you, this exploration of a brilliant surgeon’s entanglement with a cold-blooded psychopath will satisfy your interest in the nature of evil.
Hannibal
Bryan Fuller · Series · 2013
Shares a thread with Orphan: Gothic Horror.
The intense psychological warfare and manipulation present in Orphan are amplified here as the protagonist navigates the mind of a serial killer who hides in plain sight among others.
Podcasts on the same thread
Lore
Aaron Mahnke · Podcast · 2026
Explores: Dark History, Supernatural, Mysterious Events.
The eerie, historical unease found in these tales echoes the way Orphan turns a domestic setting into a site of horror, proving that the most frightening stories are often grounded.
Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén
Spotify Studios · Podcast · 2026
Explores: dark human nature, criminal psychology, public fascination.
This deep dive into dark human nature provides the same chilling fascination with criminal psychology that makes the sociopathic behavior of the character Esther in Orphan so deeply compelling.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Orphan based on a true story?
Orphan is a fictional 2009 film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The plot follows a married couple who adopt a nine-year-old girl named Esther after suffering the loss of their own baby, only to discover that she is not the innocent child they initially believed her to be.
What happens in the movie Orphan?
In Orphan, a grieving couple decides to adopt a nine-year-old girl named Esther to help cope with the loss of their baby. The story centers on the couple realizing that Esther is hiding a dark secret and is not the innocent child she appears to be.
Who directed the 2009 film Orphan?
The 2009 film Orphan was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The movie depicts the unsettling experience of a married couple who adopt a nine-year-old girl named Esther, whose behavior suggests she is not as innocent as she seems following their tragic loss of a baby.
Does Orphan feature a couple adopting a child?
Yes, Orphan features a married couple who choose to adopt a nine-year-old girl named Esther after losing their own baby. The plot explores the tension that arises when the couple discovers that Esther is not the innocent child they thought they were bringing into their home.