“Once they’re in, they never leave.”
“We Used to Live Here” is author Marcus Kliewer’s debut horror-thriller novel. It’s a story that makes the reader question whether the main character is a reliable narrator. The novel follows Eve and her girlfriend, Charlie, who have just moved into a fixer-upper in the middle of nowhere—as every good horror story starts. One day, a family shows up at their front door, the father claiming he grew up in this very home. He asks if he can show his family around, promising he won’t stay more than 15 minutes. Eve, being someone who has a hard time telling people no, lets them in. From there, the mystery unfolds.
For a debut novel, this story is very well written and plotted. The author’s storytelling creates a sense of urgency, making the reader feel that at any moment something is not as it seems or someone is coming. Between chapters, there is also mixed media: message boards from a rare toy website, police reports from a fire, messages about getting rid of a dog, and one covered in what looks like hieroglyphics, with Morse code at the end of all messages. The reader is left to interpret what these mean and if they are necessary to the plot. You can even decode the Morse code to form a message as you read.
Kliewer started out on Reddit, posting stories on the subreddit NoSleep—a place where people share scary experiences. It is full of stories of ghosts, demons, and weird animal encounters. Kliewer originally began posting short stories on this forum and eventually turned those into “We Used to Live Here.” Overall, the book keeps the reader engaged and trying to make sense of the information given. It even makes the reader feel smart when they can put things together or decode something. It’s also said that Netflix has already bought the rights for a movie adaptation. This book has been compared to the movie “Get Out,” and it should be interesting to see how the adaptation evolves.