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A review by screamdogreads
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
3.5
"You have to hide... You have to hide...You have to- she awakes in a room no bigger than a walk-in closet. Beige walls. Rickety bed. A window that overlooks a murky pond. She's been here for months now, maybe years, she doesn't know anymore, she stopped counting when the snow stopped falling in March, or maybe February. She wonders- "
We Used to Live Here is an intensely horrifying, confined, closed space, cloying, suffocating horror novel that imprints upon us the most claustrophobic and oppressive of feelings. Going into this novel blind is absolutely the way to go, there's some seriously fun and fantastical elements that make up this story that are so very easily spoiled. It's something that you really have to discover for yourself. As a story, it's full of unanswered questions and vagueness - nothing will be easily answered and in fact, you'll likely leave with more questions than you had going into it, it's an absolutely mindfuck. But, it works, for this particular story, having everything wrapped up in a neat little bow would only detract from it, the weird, off-kilter air that shimmers around this novel is what makes it.
Marcus Kliewer prays upon our most basic of fears and insecurities to create a story that's entirely monstrous and horrific - our own memories failing us. Despite the lack of any actual answers, and despite how many times this book forces you to pause and question "What if...?" it's a journey that's so worth taking. We Used to Live Here succeeds in a place where many horror novels fail, it manages to actually be scary, it manages to deliver some seriously creepy scenes. Each and every page is absolutely soaked in layers of dread, from the very beginning, it's clear that something is very, very wrong, and from that very first page, this novel never once lets up. There's an eerie, sinister feel that just oozes off this thing, it makes you feel entirely trapped and isolated.
We Used to Live Here is an intensely horrifying, confined, closed space, cloying, suffocating horror novel that imprints upon us the most claustrophobic and oppressive of feelings. Going into this novel blind is absolutely the way to go, there's some seriously fun and fantastical elements that make up this story that are so very easily spoiled. It's something that you really have to discover for yourself. As a story, it's full of unanswered questions and vagueness - nothing will be easily answered and in fact, you'll likely leave with more questions than you had going into it, it's an absolutely mindfuck. But, it works, for this particular story, having everything wrapped up in a neat little bow would only detract from it, the weird, off-kilter air that shimmers around this novel is what makes it.
Marcus Kliewer prays upon our most basic of fears and insecurities to create a story that's entirely monstrous and horrific - our own memories failing us. Despite the lack of any actual answers, and despite how many times this book forces you to pause and question "What if...?" it's a journey that's so worth taking. We Used to Live Here succeeds in a place where many horror novels fail, it manages to actually be scary, it manages to deliver some seriously creepy scenes. Each and every page is absolutely soaked in layers of dread, from the very beginning, it's clear that something is very, very wrong, and from that very first page, this novel never once lets up. There's an eerie, sinister feel that just oozes off this thing, it makes you feel entirely trapped and isolated.
"Her face - an image that etched itself into Eve's retinas - was exposed by the dancing glow, undulating shadows bleeding upward. Her skin was pulled tight, every contour of her skull harshly pronounced, as if the bones might burst through in a blood-soaked mess. And her eye sockets were so deep, so emaciated, it looked like her bulging eyes might fall out if she were to lean too far forward. But even in the dim light, even in the brief glimpse - the vivid green of the woman's irises were unmistakable. "
We Used to Live Here is a strange novel, a whirlwind of a horror story, far from your typical tale of haunted houses or strangers turning up in the night. There's a very certain disjointed, disconnected feeling to the entire thing, which, makes a lot more sense once you realize it's a book that began life as a series on Reddit. The fragmented nature of the novel seems only to heighten the unsettling feeling it delivers, and the shifting narratives only add to the dreamlike ambience of it all. It's a truly solid horror story, scary, intense and unnerving, you just have to be prepared to be beguiled and maybe even a little confused. Nothing is going to be fully explained, and that's really very okay.
"A pitch black void. Once they're in, they never leave... The phrase repeats in her head, flitting with the singsong rhythm of a deranged limerick. Once they're in, they never leave... A pale blue light forms in the distance. Once they're in, they never- "