You’ve seen all the movies. You know those scary horror films where the innocent couple with two.3 kids buys the beautiful American dream style house in the middle of no where for cheap and think they’ve just gotten a great deal. Only two weeks later strange things start happening; first to the family dog and then a few bumps or cuts that can be mysterious but also explained and then caboom! Junior is sitting on the front porch asking if he can have another squirrel to offer up to Satan while his sister is in the kitchen sharpening the cleaver, dad has taken to wild eyed chain saw running and mom’s face is peeling off as she hyterically laughs at the absence of her refection in the mirror. All of this is preverbial “punishment” when they refused after that first week to “get out” as the house had howled for them to do (bleeding walls optional).
So, when I wanted to write a new short story for my friend for his birthday, I thought to myself, what would happen if the house was the opposite? What if the house didn’t want the family to leave? What if it LOVED the family? Could a house become a child with separation anxiety or better yet, an estranged lover? Could a house be haunted by spirits who threw a fit when they saw a for sale sign go up or boxes being packed? Such is the subject of a new short simply called “House”.
For all you people out there who are in foreclosure, in a shortsale, or simply selling off the house you grew up in, this one’s for you and for my friend. Happy Birthday! The audio version will be available in a few weeks. Look for “House” on the Something Wicked This Way Strums anthology on itunes as well as the RSS feed here.