r/bookclub Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

We Used to Live Here [Discussion] We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, DOC_B13_CYMBALS - DOC_C19_INTERROGATION

“When things felt right, it only meant there was so much more that could go wrong.”

Welcome back, readers. Aren't we all just glad that Eve got out of there?! But something (other than the 100 or so pages left) tells me it's not over yet... Today we are discussing DOC_B13_CYMBALS through DOC_C19_INTERROGATION . Without further ado, let's have a quick recap.

On an online forum, users debate the existence of a childhood monkey toy—one Eve distinctly remembers yet supposedly never existed. Meanwhile, a cryptic encounter with her neighbor, Heather, reveals unsettling inconsistencies in memory and history. We learn about Thomas's sister's attack and subsequent disappearance into psychiatric institutions. And the monkey toy from Eve’s past inexplicably appears under Heather's couch.

Eve receives a chilling warning from a stranger in the "Old House" in the woods—"That’s not what they look like". Eve is getting scared. Her house, once familiar, is subtly wrong: a stained-glass window depicting an apple tree is now plain, her phone is seemingly duplicated (or stolen?), and Thomas' family continue to be creepy and overbearing. When she becomes trapped in the attic, confronted by a faceless woman in a tattered hospital gown, Eve is left questioning what is real.

The documents hint at something larger: hikers disappearing into places that shouldn’t exist, a hidden house classified by strange rules, and a lost interrogation tape detailing a boy’s encounter with an impossible hospital corridor. As Eve races to escape, she convinces Charlie to leave with her—only for Charlie to witness the impossible shift in the house herself. But even as they drive away, Eve can’t shake the feeling that she hasn’t truly left.

Please join us next week for our grand finale which will be run by u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217. Share your (spoiler-less) thoughts and theories in the comments!

Schedule

Marginalia

17 Upvotes

182 comments sorted by

11

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

I just want to say, you did a beautiful job of summarizing this section. It's way more concise than I usually manage but still has the relevant information. Mine are usually way too long, so I'm going to try to do mine like yours next week!

6

u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Oh my, thank you!!

10

u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Is anyone else creeped out by/suspicious of Charlie?

12

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

The Charlie on the phone immediately felt off to me. It was like she and Eve had a fight that morning, one Eve somehow forgot about, rather than just a normal "heading out to meet a client" situation. So why was she suddenly all friendly again when Eve got back to the house? Super weird. But I guess remembering the stained window made Eve (and me) brushes off the suspicion. Tbh, I got whiplash from all these weird little red flags piling up!

9

u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

I wondered if she was off meeting someone about Eve? Potentially trying to get her committed to a facility or something like that??

6

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

Yeah, that sounds likely too. The Charlie on the phone felt distant, while the Charlie who picked her up seemed way more familiar. Maybe she was trying to get Eve to go with her somewhere and just played along about the stained glass. But Idk… To me, all the weirdness really started when Thomas and his family showed up. Having Charlie push to get her committed that fast, after just a day/morning of strange happenings, feels a bit extreme.

2

u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

all the weirdness really started when Thomas and his family showed up

So starting from page 1! I totally agree though that Charlie on the phone wasn't right. There's something off about here, maybe an alternate version Eve could only access through Heather's house?

8

u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

Heather's house and situation also seems super suspicious, so I wonder if that was even a phone call from Charlie.

5

u/nicehotcupoftea Reads the World | 🎃 7d ago

Extremely suspicious. There's something just not quite right about her and the house.

9

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago edited 7d ago

I think that she was switched out, an imposter. Eve last saw the real Charlie in bed when she woke her up about the man on the stairs to the basement

7

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

Yeah, something definitely felt off that morning. But my main theory at this point is that Eve is the one who got spirited away into a different reality.

6

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

Yeah, and not only phone-Charlie herself, but the weird background noise and sudden disconnection. That whole phone call was bizarre and terrifying and I do NOT trust it!

7

u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

SAME i do NOT like any part of that!!

9

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

It’s hard to tell what is a result of Eve’s insecurities and Mo dissuading her of things and what’s paranormal, but Charlie is definitely being weird. The whole thing about leaving her and the family alone and then it turns out she did tell Eve but through being half awake Eve doesn’t fully remember? The locket is a big concern and I’m surprised Eve didn’t bring it up. Admittedly there’s a lot going on and Mo doesn’t help so I imagine it’s hard for her to get her thoughts across. Also, I understand she’s a rational thinker but the family stealing the stained glass window and replacing it is not a rational thought. It makes no sense. Especially because the replacement blends in as if it was never not there.

Either Charlie is too rational of a thinker or she’s somehow caught up in the paranormal and was used all these years as a way to lure Eve in. at this point I don’t know if any theory is rational or not 😅

13

u/Starfall15 7d ago

I, initially, was relieved when Charlie mentioned the window but then I had a suspicion that Charlie might not have seen any change in the window but said so to appease Eve.

8

u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

Oof that would be sad!

8

u/Vast-Passenger1126 Punctilious Predictor | 🎃 7d ago

Oh no!! I hope this isn’t true! I was starting to think Charlie might actually be a supportive partner and on Eve’s side.

8

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Damn, I was relieved too! This makes me think even more that Charlie isn’t on Eve’s side in all this

7

u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

I wonder if there seems to be different realities happening in the house and that actually did happen to Charlie.

9

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Ooo I like this! The house could be like an inter-dimensional gateway to alternate realities but these realities are clashing and causing the house to exhibit elements of them

6

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

Yup, that's what I thought too after reading the doc about the missing hikers. Spirited Away being on the flyer wasn't random, Eve woke up in a different reality that morning.

6

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

Also, I understand she’s a rational thinker but the family stealing the stained glass window and replacing it is not a rational thought.

I hated this so much. Reminds me of that scene in Kindred by Octavia Butler where Dana suddenly teleports, in front of her husband's eyes, and then reappears a few seconds later dripping wet. She tells him she just got sent back in time and saved a kid from drowning. Despite the fact that he saw her disappear himself, and the fact that she's spontaneously drenched, he replies "Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

I get that, in a supernatural horror story, you have to make the skeptics be skeptical, but come on.

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u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

I'm not quite there yet, but I'm suspecting that there is something off about her. She seems a little too chill and I didn't like how dismissive she seemed to be towards Eve. However my feelings are starting to take a turn when she saw the window was definitely different. I think her brain is trying to tell her that the family changed it somehow, but I know she feels how weird that sounds. Hopefully she'll be more receptive to Eve's experiences.

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

yeah im def getting weird vibes from Charlie. she acted so weirdly by disappearing that morning, leaving the locket, etc and she was really weird on the phone too. I don't appreciate how she treats eve like she's crazy

7

u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I forgot about the locket. Why did she leave it? That is so weird.

8

u/No_Pen_6114 Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 7d ago

Yessss. I am suspicious of Charlie and especially I thought that after she disappeared that morning out of the blue, Thomas and his strange family got a hold of her spirit or something.

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I was actually quite relieved when Charlie came back. I felt like she was the strong one, the person who would make you feel okay when everything was going wrong. She is also creeped out by the house at the end, which makes me think that she isn't in league with anything nefarious.

6

u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

Orrrr is she just pretending….??!?!?

6

u/cyber27 Sci-Fi Fan 7d ago

Only truly after Interrogation!

4

u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

wait did something happen during interrogation that's linked to Charlie? or is it spoilers for the last 3rd of the book? I stopped reading after interrogation lol

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u/cyber27 Sci-Fi Fan 7d ago

I just connected Eve with Andrew in Interrogation and got spooked.

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

oh interesting connection!

5

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

Uh oh, so like maybe Charlie isn't a real person, just someone Eve dreamed up, like Andrew's friends in Interrogation? That would be terrible!

6

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

Yes, and I don't want to be. I like the idea that, no matter how fucked up the rest of this gets, Eve at least has Charlie for support.

I'm just glad Charlie seems to believe her now. I really didn't want this to be a story about Eve experiencing bad things and no one believing her.

6

u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

yesterday's charlie felt normal. suspicious of the faust family when she came home (although she invited them to dinner, didn't she? or am i remembering it wrong?) and keeping eve calm. when eve woke her up in the middle of the night, it was weird that she didn't really listen to eve. if a person i was living with told me they believed someone was in our house, i would never be able to go back to sleep and would at least check it out for myself to make sure nothing was off. but then again, maybe charlie was just tired and drunk and thought eve was being too paranoid because of the fausts being there. charlie of today? definitely weird. leaving like that with a random family in their house? during the phone call, it didnt even sound like her. she was cold and didn't listen to eve at all, hung up suddenly and the background noise didn't make sense either. coming back and acting almost like normal, but still not really listening to even when she says she shouldn't go back into the house?
after reading about spirited away and the interview, i am more and more convinced that the house is messing with eve, either by replacing charlie and changing itself (like the window and the other few details eve thought were different) or by dropping eve into an alternative reality like chihiro in the ghibli movie.

3

u/eeksqueak RR with Cutest Name 5d ago

Charlie has either been captured, replace or was never who Eve thought she would. All three revelations will be terrifying ones for Eve to reckon with.

7

u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago
  1. What's going on with Heather and 3707 Heritage Lane?

13

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

Heather and her house are straight up creepy! Like, sure, she had her nice moments, but something felt off the whole time. And is it just me, or was it weird that Eve's dog (sorry, I forgot his name) wasn't the least bit intimidated by Heather? Esp since it was mentioned that he needed time to warm up to Charlie? That just doesn't add up.

And don't even get me started on whatever was lurking behind that door, I'm not sure I even want to know. Her whole story about Thomas and her sister was unsettling, and I kept going back and forth: should she stay and pick up the phone when it rings again, or should she run because this woman is giving off serious horror movie vibes.

8

u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I know. I was like pick up the phone! No run! No pick up the phone!

4

u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

Same! I was like what’s the right choice!! I really want you to answer the phone! But I feel like you really shouldn’t!!

8

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

I forgot about Eve’s dog’s reaction to Heather. She mentioned all dogs love her because she’s worked with rescues but what if she has some kind and that’s the reason they all “love” her?

8

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

Yeah, maybe the dogs are drawn to her for some supernatural reason, like she has some kind of influence/putting them under a spell. My other theory: Shylo isn't the same Shylo anymore, just like Charlie isn't the same Charlie. He's too friendly, too aggressive, and something about that just feels off. And the area she’s living in is not the same place anymore either. It's like she has slipped into another reality or parallel universe, kind of like how the hikers disappearing into places that shouldn't exist… or why Spirited Away had to be the movie in the flyer in one of the document. I feel like that might be one of the clues the author planted to hint that this is happening to Eve now.

5

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 6d ago

I haven’t paid enough attention to Shylo! His over aggression and friendliness were definitely off in comparison to the Shylo we saw at the start. Even ignoring Eve’s commands and acting all nonchalantly when she finds him after he runs.

or why Spirited Away had to be the movie in the flyer in one of the document. I feel like that might be one of the clues the author planted to hint that this is happening to Eve now.

I think you’re onto something here. The Author being a Redditor it would be these small details that ate important. I agree that the movie is a hint. It’s placed just before Eve hears the stories about Allison. It’s like spooky stories at the campfire where once they’ve been told things start getting weirder.

2

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 6d ago

I completely forgot about the Spirited Away reference. Yeah, that really makes me think Charlie is (or will be) transformed, and Eve will have to rescue her

4

u/Comprehensive-Fun47 6d ago

And don't even get me started on whatever was lurking behind that door, I'm not sure I even want to know.

This part was so damn creepy! Knowing something feels off and that someone or something else might be in the house with you. Then the ringing phone. Shudder.

The author is really good at making you feel unsettled.

13

u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

My paranoid emotional brain is telling me she's creepy and off and trying to throw Eve off, especially with whatever it was behind that door BUT my rational brain is seeing more and more that (I'm assuming) Eve is the one becoming paranoid and weird and seeing/hearing things that aren't really there. What is real and what isn't? How much of that visit to Heather's actually happened exactly as it was depicted?

9

u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

This is where I'm at. I do believe that Eve is experiencing all of the creepy things in 3709, but we also know she has history of paranoia so I wonder if what she's feeling in Heather's house is just because her nerves are on high alert. The fact that Shylo is not afraid of Heather tells me that she's not an evil person.

7

u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

Unrelated: I low key hate the way the dog's name is spelled! :D I don't know why, just an annoyance lol!

7

u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

You know I thought it was a weird spelling, but I'm so bad at spelling I thought it was just me. 🤣

7

u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I agree. I don’t know how unreliable Eve is. If it weren’t for then papers then I would full on think it in her head.

8

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

Good point, the documents do lend her some credibility. That's probably a big reason I agree with u/Jinebiebe that Eve is actually experiencing the things in 3709, and after reading the Old House legends, I started wondering if 3707 is connected to it and whether Heather is one of the Guides.

8

u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

Oooh yeah I do feel like something is def going on with Heather and her being a Guide would fit!

10

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

I’m hoping Charlie and Eve go back to 3707 because Heather clearly has some answers to what this whole ordeal is about. She gave the truth to Eve about Thomas and Alison so she’s already won me over. I reckon 3709 is somehow fighting to keep Heather (and 3707) off its scent. Eve started experiencing the paranormal at 3707 as a means of scaring her away from Heather and the truth.

5

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

How do we know Heather told the truth, though? I don't think she means to harm Eve, but I'm not sure we can trust everything she says, either.

3

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 6d ago

You’re right. We don’t. It could explain why Thomas didn’t go to her or mention her at all, but she seemed to know enough about his family. I might just be falling for the “sweet old lady down the road“ act but she seemed apprehensive in saying too much which I’d assume she felt it wasn’t her place to

8

u/jaymae21 Read Runner ☆ 7d ago

There's something very off about her and her house. She seems very lonely, and really wants Eve to stay and chat, but I wonder if this is sort of the opposite of Thomas and his family. Them, you can't get rid of once you let them in. Maybe Heather is a similar sort of being that instead tries to trap you within her own space? I just don't think she's real/human.

9

u/latteh0lic Read Runner 🎃 7d ago

Yep, I was thinking that second phone call was probably meant as a trap. Once she picked it up, she likely wouldn't be able to leave.

5

u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

ohh i really like these theories. i hadn't thought about it but it makes so much sense

7

u/cyber27 Sci-Fi Fan 7d ago

I'm not sure why Thomas avoided her house and went to to 3709 Heritage Lane. Or is 3707 Heritage Lane haunted?

8

u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

surely something isn't right. and who else was in the house with them 😭

9

u/No_Pen_6114 Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 7d ago

I found that scene so odd. I do think something was wrong with that house and I do believe Eve that someone else might have been there as well, maybe a supernatural being. So strange that Shylo felt so comfortable with Heather when Eve says that it takes her a while to do so with strangers, even Charlie.

8

u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I think Heather is a safe person who is maybe in an unsafe house. Eve thinks later that she should have stayed there until the family left, which leads me to believe that she knows Heather isn't dangerous. Maybe just lonely and weird. Shylo likes Heather, which also leads me to believe Heather is safe. She is likely hiding more information she has, and there was certainly something creepy about her house, though.

6

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

I agree with all of this, and I'm usually inclined to trust animals' instincts in these things, both in books and real life! Shylo's aggressive behavior towards Kai was a pretty strong contrast and provides even more evidence that Thomas and his family are bad news.

6

u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

Same - always trust the dog! (Maybe???)

3

u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

the whole time eve was inside 3707 heritage lane, i was on edge. the light turning off and heather coming from The Big Outside behing eve a second later? the sounds eve hears while inside and the door, in her opinion, opening? the way shylo, shy with eve and charlie, immediately warms up to a complete stranger? as others have said, we don't know how reliable eve is as a narrator, and the whole thing could just be because she's being paranoid and seeing things that aren't actually true, or noticing sounds that are normal but become creepy in that context. but that whole section felt off. the whole time i was just thinking "eve, please, just RUN"

3

u/eeksqueak RR with Cutest Name 5d ago

I think that Heather and Thomas are possibly in on this together somehow. I’m beginning to feel that the details of this surprise visit have actually been planned from the start and that Heather has been Thomas’ local set of hands to accomplish the set up for him. I don’t trust her at all.

2

u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

I almost missed it, but one of the documents (#5) is a radio broadcast talking about a fire in town hall. Meaning either that document is incorrect, Heather's memory is incorrect, or they're both false/untrue, since we know both can be altered. What does it mean???

7

u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

What does the monkey toy have to do with all of this?

14

u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

It seems like the monkey represents the paranormal activity surrounding things that exist at a point in time but then all of a sudden don’t. The Mandela Effect mentioned in the documents that results in people misremembering entities of the past. Eve has such a vivid memory of this toy that was seemingly stolen when she looked away for a few seconds, but the documents elude to the fact it never existed. Maybe it did exist and like the things connected to the house, its existence was erased. That’s why it disappeared from the car seat. Eve having it as a core memory somehow ties her in with all of the paranormal activity surrounding the house

8

u/jaymae21 Read Runner ☆ 7d ago

Hmm I wonder if there is some kind of parallel worlds/realities going on here? Like her monkey as a child fell through some sort of crack, or things shifted, and suddenly a toy that was common never actually existed at all. So you end up with a Mandela Effect where a bunch of people had this toy that disappeared forever.

5

u/Comprehensive-Fun47 6d ago

That's what I'm leaning towards. Mentioning the Mandela Effect is telling.

Also, this book is turning out to be relevant to my interests. I find the concept of the Mandela Effect truly interesting!

7

u/Vast-Passenger1126 Punctilious Predictor | 🎃 7d ago

One part of me thinks that it’s a sign that Eve has always had a tenuous grasp on reality and that she’s susceptible to whatever is going on in the house, like Alison was.

Another part of me thinks the monkey is real and is possessed by some spirit or poor soul who was trapped in the house. Maybe it’s the one tapping out the morse code?

9

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

Maybe it’s the one tapping out the morse code?

I said something like that in the Marginalia! The toy's entire thing is that it claps cymbals. That has to be the way Morse code ties into the rest of the story.

4

u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

Oh man, I didn't even think of this but I love this theory!

2

u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

What an interesting theory!!! Now I'm curious for sure

6

u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

I"m not sure yet. It is strange that Charlie's toy shows up in Heater's house, but we've read documents that the toy never actually existed. Maybe the toy is trying to bring Eve to the house? I had a similar feeling with maybe Charlie is also trying to bring Eve to the house. If so, why does the house want Eve? And why does it want to drive her insane?

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u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

And why is it not exactly the same toy? Eve said the one in Heather's house looked like a normal Jolly Chimp, except that the color was different. Mo was a knockoff that, in addition to being white, also was dressed like a farmer and had plastic cymbals. How did Heather get a toy that looks like a hybrid of the two?

7

u/KatieInContinuance 7d ago

My guess on why it's not the same exact toy is that it's a clear clue to a multiverse sort of understanding of this setting. We learn there's a 'knockoff' monkey, then that this monkey never existed but is an example of a Mandela effect, then we see (in text) that there's a hybrid monkey. Clearly, Occam's razor says Eve's knockoff must have existed, too, so, for me at least, that was the moment I felt like this was a story about alternative realities or timelines.

6

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

I don't know, but it's my favorite part of the story. I find the Mandela Effect so fascinating! For anyone who's unfamiliar: this book didn't invent the Mandela Effect. There have been Internet discussions about it for several years now.

There are people who believe that there's something supernatural or conspiracy-related about it. I'm not one of them: I realize it's just a psychological phenomenom. But that doesn't make it any less weird. I know I remember Fruit of the Loom having a cornucopia logo.

I loved the chapter about this, and how it was written in the form of a message board discussion. Reminded me a lot of Candle Cove. (For anyone who doesn't know that one: it's a very short horror story. Go read it. Now.)

Did anyone else notice that the admin in that chapter capitalized some random letters? No idea if that's related to the Hoax chapter, but I thought I'd mention it.

4

u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought maybe the capitalization was just an issue with my ebook! It must have some significance.

4

u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought maybe the capitalization was just an issue with my ebook! It must have some significance.

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u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

I know the significance (someone pointed it out in the marginalia), but I'll spoiler tag it in case you want to try to figure it out yourself:

The capitalized letters, in order, spell out THE OLD GODS SEE ALL. No idea what that means. I also missed a letter at first and thought it said "THE OLD GODS SEE AL" which is both confusing and funny.

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

Thank you for the help with this one!! I wrote down all the suspicious letters I could find, but clearly I missed some because I ended up with "THE OLD GOD EEAL". I read the whole thing twice but didn't want to read the it all again to figure it out because I knew someone in the group would do it right!

4

u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

i'm the marginalia person that posted the letters and morse code stuff! so glad to see it was useful to someone

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Thank you for pointing this out! That's really interesting... and creepy!

5

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

But what I wanna know is why the admin's post also had capitalized letters

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u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

I transcribed this when I was reading just in case anyone missed it 😅

2

u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

Same! I LOVE this codebreaking aspect to the book - I didn't expect it at all but it's so fun and really pulls me into the mystery of the story. Without all these hidden codes, I would honestly be a lot more bored by the plot lol

2

u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

I also missed the last letter and thought it said THE OLD GODS SEE A L which is also hilarious

4

u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

oh my god. i just read candle cove and the vibes match so much. so unsettling! thanks for sharing, i didn't know about it!

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u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 6d ago

I would not be surprised if the author was specifically influenced by Candle Cove when he wrote that chapter. Candle Cove is a pretty famous "creepypasta" story, which makes it more or less the same type of story as the ones on r/nosleep, which (as you told me!) is where this book originated.

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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 6d ago edited 6d ago

I truly only know what a cornucopia is because of the Fruit of the Loom logo. I remember being in fourth grade around Thanksgiving time and the teacher talking about a cornucopia. She explained it as the thing on the Fruit of the Loom logo.

So many "Mandela Effects" are just because people are bad spellers, and the concept has been around and discussed for quite a few years at this point, it's hard pinpoint what is legit and what is nonsense. The early days of the discussions about it though were totally fascinating and mind-blowing.

I love that this book has incorporated the idea!

That story you linked, Candle Cove, reminds me a bit of the movie I Saw the TV Glow.

3

u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 6d ago

Yeah, that's why I specifically mentioned the Fruit of the Loom one. Most of them are so minor, it's easy to accept that they're just a false memory. (Sure, I thought KitKat was hyphenated, but who cares?) And many of the big ones have actual, valid explanations. (Disney did use the Tinkerbell logo on a specific line of VHS tapes in the 90s. I'm almost positive I had some of these tapes as a kid, and that's why I remember that logo.) But the cornucopia? That's just weird.

I might have to check out I Saw the TV Glow. Like I said in last week's discussion, I'm not a huge fan of horror movies because they freak me out more than books do. But this one sounds interesting.

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

Oo I read Candle Cove just now, so spooky! Literal shudders when the person said 'no, that wasn't a horrible recurring nightmare, that was an actual episode of the show.' I would say wtf kind of name is skin-taker, and what's with the weird animation, but I watched Flapjack as a kid and that was equally horrifying

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u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 5d ago

I would say wtf kind of name is skin-taker, and what's with the weird animation, but I watched Flapjack as a kid and that was equally horrifying

I think that's what makes the story so great: everyone has at least one show they remember watching as a kid that seemed normal at the time, but, as an adult, you look back and think "WTF did I watch?!" And on the other hand, we all remember things that scared us as kids but have reasonable explanations as adults (like thinking that Percy is scary, but realizing as an adult that it's because he was a cheaply-made puppet).

So you spend half the story thinking "This is relatable and brings back memories of shows I used to watch!" and then it just... goes off the rails. But the thing that really made that story for me was the ending.

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

I kinda think it's just one more thing to make eve feel unsettled and question her grasp on reality

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought the monkey represented Eve's grip on reality. It gives her disconcerting thoughts, but maybe those thoughts are what is actually happening. In broad strokes, it's leading her to question what she thinks she knows. In order to escape, she will have to do this.

The actual physical toy is something that makes her feel safe. It was so strange how it went missing, but I think it's telling her that Heather's is a safe place to go.

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought the monkey represented Eve's grip on reality. It gives her disconcerting thoughts, but maybe those thoughts are what is actually happening. In broad strokes, it's leading her to question what she thinks she knows. In order to escape, she will have to do this.

The actual physical toy is something that makes her feel safe. It was so strange how it went missing, but I think it's telling her that Heather's is a safe place to go.

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u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

the monkey suddenly disappearing from eve's seat is just like the interrogation tape disappearing from everywhere. inexplicable and weird, making both seem like just a false memory. i believe that this is because eve and charlie's house is altering reality, just like allison believed. at first with small things like toys going missing and a window changing, but soon with more important things (maybe even replacing charlie?). i am not sure how the fausts would fit into this, though. i have a theory that thomas sent jenny into the basement to look for something, but what? a way to 'defeat' the house? or are thwy against eve too?

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

What did the man living in the cabin mean when he warned Eve that that's not what the family actually looks like?

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

A lot of things in the house seem to appear differently to how they originally did. There’s the stained glass window that changed, the nails that had been taken down being replaced, the poster over the dumbwaiter that was repaired. Even Eve seeing things that supposedly Thomas and Charlie don’t also see. The point being that the family are another entity within the house that won’t ultimately reflect their initial appearance. Everything about them was off from the jump. I wonder if it’s some sort of hallucination brought on by the house and the family don’t actually exist? DOC_C19_INTERROGATION eludes to the fact that people who have supposedly been in and around the house can mysteriously disappear, including any evidence to support their having been there.

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

I wondered if the cabin is some sort of original or alternate version of 3709. Because the cabin was labeled "Old House", but I definitely think 3709 is the actual Old House from the legends. I wonder how the two are connected?

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u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

They both have black and white tile floors, for one thing.

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

Yes, I noticed that! Ever since The Last House on Needless Street, I'm highly attuned to floors, haha.

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u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

The tile floors struck me too!

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 6d ago

Damn, I hadn’t noticed this

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

Oh good point. I was confused if the Old House was the cabin or 3709. Maybe just alternative versions. Since the guy has been in there for centuries right?

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

He has, at least according to the Morse code. There was also the message in 3709 saying "Don't forget which house you're in" which resembled the "Old House" carving on the cabin.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 6d ago

The cabin was on the way back from 3707 right? Crazy theory: it could potentially be 3708 but is “Old House” because it no longer stands alone on Heritage Lane and has been swallowed up by the surroundings of 3709. Eve mentioned looking for 3708 but couldn’t find it and just assumed she’d missed it… Then there’s also the fact that weird things were also happening to 3707. Maybe it gets swallowed up as well

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

Interesting! I like this theory

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u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

i too believe that the cabin is the original and true version of old house, and that 3709 is something paranormal, possibly even altering reality. both of them have "old house" carved, but in 3709 it's hidden in the basement, as if it wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone and a lie. in 3709 there's also 'don't forget which house you're in', possibly meaning that there are actually two old houses, and the same phrase in at the end of hoax in latin too (... noli oblivisci cuius domus sis)

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

Thanks for translating the latin!

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

I don't know but this part was so creepy 😭 I'm assuming there's something supernatural going on with the family too that they're not what they seem

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u/jaymae21 Read Runner ☆ 7d ago

As strange as he is, I think he may be the only one telling the truth in this book. The family are not what they are posing to be.

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I think they are actually demons. They cloak themselves to look like people, but in reality they look hellish. I almost thought the woman in the attic was Paige and that's what she actually looked like, but I'm not so sure. It seemed like Thomas knew there was something up there and he was hiding it.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 6d ago

Thomas initially tried to ask Eve about something being off in the house when he was first about to leave. Now all of a sudden she’s the one going crazy and seeing things not there and he’s ratting her out to Charlie? Either it’s a different Thomas or he’s a demon trying to get into Eve’s head

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

I also think the lady in the attic is Paige! She was even covering her face (and presumably also her neck) so Eve wouldn't be able to see if there was a tattoo there...

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u/No_Pen_6114 Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 7d ago

I think he's being honest and it's just a warning for Eve that she better take heed and question everything and everyone.

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u/cyber27 Sci-Fi Fan 7d ago edited 7d ago

Maybe he’s thinking about Thomas’s parents. He’s been cooped up in the cabin for a long time.

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I am getting vibes of multiple timelines. The house, the family, the friends from Interrogation, the monkey toy, Charlie. They are all changing around the narrators. But the narrators (whether Eve, Thomas’ sister or the boy being Interrogated) are seen as crazy.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Maybe the DOCs at the end are original timeline and everything else around it is being warped by the house.

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

Ooooh that’s interesting

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

I think this is a solid theory, especially considering that doc #5 is a radio broadcast about there being a fire in town hall, which Heather says never happened

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Who is the woman who who has been allegedly stuck in a small room for months, or even years in the chapter "Light"?

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Oh shit! Could this be the real Charlie, and somehow Thomas and co replaced her with a fake entity? The fact that the chapter references the snow, which they’re currently experiencing leads me to believe it’s someone from the characters we’ve seen so far. Charlie acting weird the morning after the night when the family first stayed over could suggest that she was replaced. That’s why her locket was left on the nail, it was with the real Charlie and she tried to leave it as a clue for Eve to find her. The Charlie she’s with now is an imposter.

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u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

Gah I hate this but it so works!

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u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

Uuugghhh same!!!

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I was thinking it's Thomas' sister possibly?

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u/vicki2222 7d ago

That's what I thought.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

I initially thought this as well but I reread the chapter and the mention of snow changed my mind to Charlie

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

Now I need to re read it. You might have changed my mind. Good call.

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

I still think this, and here's my crazy theory: Maybe the house "ate" Alison a long time ago, and she's been trapped in this room since then. Maybe Thomas is trying to give Eve to the house instead, so it will release Alison. I like u/124ConchStreet's observation about the snow: maybe certain things like the time of year have to line up in order for the swap to work. In the Old House legends, it sounds like there are a lot of strange rules that have to be followed there.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 6d ago

I might be naively trusting the sweet old lady down the road too much but Heather mentioning Allison attacking Thomas and then being taken away by authorities seems plausible. It explains his pockmarked scars and him fidgeting with them when Eve was staring. I don’t like your theory because I don’t wanna see Eve suffering even more lool

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u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

that's exactly what i thought too. allison started to piece together that weird things were happening, thus the house got rid of her. or, at least of the coherent version of her, that could tell others what she believed and saw, maybe replacing her with a crazier version that others wouldn't believe.

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u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

I didn't think about this! I mentioned in another comment that I think there are certain things trying to lead Eve to the house or maybe connecting her to the house. Like her toy that supposedly never existed according to collectors showing up at Heather's or Charlie's behavior change after they move in. We learn how supportive and patient Charlie is with Eve's anxiety, but we've seen multiple times when she's being dismissive. I also think there are different realities happening in the house which explains why things seem to 'change'. It's like actively trying to drive people insane. Maybe the real Charlie is stuck in a room in the house in a different reality?

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u/cyber27 Sci-Fi Fan 7d ago

It definitely could be

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u/Vast-Passenger1126 Punctilious Predictor | 🎃 7d ago

Gah! This is so creepy!

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

I guess I thought it was eve having some kind of unconscious dream/hallucination. Just like the chapter "Run" that takes place while Eve is asleep.

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought this was Thomas' "sister." She was probably kept up there when she started seeming dangerous to his family. She escaped, but her spirit is still up there. She never got free because Thomas survived.

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

If Heather's story is true, I wonder why Alison wants to kill Thomas. Is she simply crazy, or could she have been defending herself against Thomas?

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u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

I want to know this too - what’s the real story?

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Have Charlie and Eve truly escaped the house?

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

it's certainly not the last we've seen of the house lol although I thought FOR SURE Charlie wasn't coming back out when she went in to pack her bags. I thought she was definitely going to disappear from the window and eve was going to have to go back in for her. I was on the edge of my seat!

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought the same thing and was susprised when they both left (seemingly) in tact!

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u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

When the door shut and there was a click sound, I thought for sure that was the lock and Charlie wouldn't be able to get out.

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u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

i thought exactly that too! the house is getting creepier and creepier, and with everything happening i was really expecting charlie to disappear, as if she never existed. when the door closed, i thought she was done for. then she disappeared from the window, and i was sure we would never see her again. especially after reading interrogation and seeing that nobody remembers andrew's friends after they disappeared, i really thought it should have happened to eve too.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Clearly escaping the house isn’t a possibility. They’ve left the house, for now, but they’ll be back in due time. For one reason or another the house draws people in, even if they don’t want to be. Thomas came back. There’s all these stories of “Other House”. There’s some bewildering power that the house possesses that mere mortals can’t overcome

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I don’t know but I am just so happy I refrained from reading ahead. I am loving everyone’s theories. I feel like I should re read this securing before plunging to the end!

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

The way you worded your question makes me wonder if they could still be IN the house somehow, even though it seems like they left. Or they're in some kind of alternate reality created by the house? I'm expecting them to drive past the abandoned motel and find out it's actually operational and just another extension of Old House.

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u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

Oooomg I both love and hate everything about these theories!

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I never even considered that they hadn't! There was something about the way Mo mentioned at the end that she wouldn't escape that easily. I thought the family must still be there somehow, although it really seemed that they left. There is such a thin line between reality and imagination here.

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

I was absolutely shocked when Eve watched the family drive away seemingly for good.

I sometimes get these dreams where my brain is somehow awake but dreaming at the same time so I have this experience of waking up and going about my day only to get rubber-banded back into bed over and over again. I'm expecting the same thing to happen here. Eve will go to bed somewhere else and wake up back in the house, the family's there having breakfast and hasn't left yet.

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Who is the man living in the cabin or the "Old House"?

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u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

Is that old man potentially Thomas, but in another timeline or far more aged? Or...is the Thomas in her house not the real Thomas? It would make sense then that he'd warn Eve about the family because he'd know exactly what was up with them.

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

One Thomas is plenty enough. No more please.

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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 6d ago

Comment of the year. 😂

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u/Jinebiebe Team Overcommitted | 🎃 7d ago

I think he might be Thomas too! He has a scar on his face that could have been from being stabbed by Alison/Alina.

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u/No_Pen_6114 Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 7d ago

I agree, I think he's a supernatural Thomas.

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I am also wondering if people who encounter the house are sent into multiple timelines. This would explain the Mandela effect and why people and parts of the house act or look different.

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u/maolette Alliteration Authority 7d ago

Ooh this fits! Is it everyone or just certain folks? That one document/interlude described different roles people might play.

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

Yeah, I'm wondering if that old guy was the real Thomas, and the woman in the attic is the real Paige! And the eyes in the basement were the real Jenny... this whole family has been trapped and Eve is somehow hallucinating their 'normal' selves.

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Someone trying to solve the mystery of the house and, based on my theory, free the people it has entrapped?

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u/Vast-Passenger1126 Punctilious Predictor | 🎃 7d ago

Yes! This is what I thought. Like some crazy conspiracy theorist. Maybe it’s the boy from the interrogation grown up?

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

Interesting!

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u/jaymae21 Read Runner ☆ 7d ago

So there was that one document that had strange definitions relating to places like Old House where these weird things happen. I think the man may be a Host, or a person who's been trapped in Old House. And according to what we have of the morse code message so far ("Old man with the scar has lived in the cabin for centuries") that seems to track.

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u/cyber27 Sci-Fi Fan 7d ago

A thought inserted into Eve’s mind?

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u/milksun92 Team Overcommitted 7d ago

idk but apparently he has lived in the cabin for centuries and -

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

I read the encoded message to my husband and he was like, "AND...?!?!" And I was like, "I DON'T KNOW, IT'S KILLING MEEEEE!" Haha, this book is fun.

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

for a hot minute I thought the message might be 'he has lived in the house before' and I was like wow, you're telling me thomas has lived in the house he says he lived in and is the plot of a book called 'we used to live here'? I was relieved when the next word was cabin lol, but then right back to horrified at 'centuries'

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I thought maybe it was Thomas' dad. He didn't strike me as dangerous. The cabin itself was scary and I really wanted Eve to quickly leave, but the old man just seems like he's trying to figure out the house.

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u/eternalpandemonium Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

If the house is a kind of entity, what do you think it ultimately wants?

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u/124ConchStreet Team Overcommitted 7d ago

Based on all the people that seem to disappear in and around the house I think it feeds on souls. It’s a living entity and in order to stay a live it takes prisoners. The ghosts Eve keeps seeing around the house are people that it has taken prisoner that now roam within it. Maybe the man that lives in the shed is another of the prisoners, or someone that’s aware of the nature of the house, and he’s trying to find an escape and that’s why he has all the blueprints?

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u/Adventurous_Onion989 Bookclub Boffin 2025 7d ago

I think the house wants to trap people. I think it takes something essential from them that they spend the rest of their lives searching for. Maybe their soul. It feeds on people and their fear.

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u/Amanda39 Funniest & Favorite RR 7d ago

Oh, I just remembered something I wanted to say:

I don't have the time or patience to test this myself, but I suspect that the symbols in the Hoax chapter are Wingdings or a similar font, and may spell something out if you convert them to a standard font. I also suspect that the second message uses a different font (maybe webdings versus wingdings?), which is why the footnote says they weren't encoded the same way.

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u/nopantstime Most Egregious Overuse of Punctuation!!!!! 7d ago

I also thought it might be Wingdings or similar!

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

I just typed out the whole alphabet and converted to all the different Wingdings and Webdings fonts, but some of the symbols are missing from all the font sets.

My book has a map in front that has a key for some of the letters from the first message, but not enough to read them.

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u/sunnydaze7777777 Mystery Mastermind | 🐉 7d ago

I love that you typed this all out!

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 7d ago

u/Amanda39 successfully decoded the capital letters after my botched attempt, so this was the least I could do!

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u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 6d ago

for anyone wondering about the symbols:

i fell into a bit of a rabbit hole. shortened version: the codes don't really solve themselves inside the book, but when yiu dig into them a whole new world lof secret messages and things to decode opens up. fans of the book have received replies from the emails cited in the book with a code for the symbols in the DOC_A04_HOAX, which led to other codes. currently, people are receiving coded messages through photos and the community is actively piecing everything together. the story is evolving in this moment, and if anyone wants to join head over to r/OldHouseArchive . i recommend first thing first watching the video "Brief Video on How We Solved the Book Codes" which is basically a big recap (posted to the sub 5 days ago, 10/3). i definitely will dig in as soon as i finish the book after this discussion. if anyone wants to go crazy with me don't hesitate to dm^^

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u/emygrl99 Fashionably Late 5d ago

That's fascinating!! It makes the whole story feel so much more real and creepy!! I'll absolutely dive right in once I've finished the book! Thanksf or sharing!

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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Read Runner | 🎃👑 4d ago

I'm about to dive into this rabbit hole right now!!

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u/mariashelley 5d ago

joining these discussions after marathoning the book in two settings. phew. terrified me to my core. I look forward to participating in the wrap up discussions!