We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
I wanted to dive deeper into the horror/thriller space with this one, and I liked it. Before We Used to Live Here, I hadn’t fully bought into haunted house stories, but this book genuinely made me feel insane, in the best way possible.
It follows a queer young couple, Eve and Charlie, and their dog, Shylo (who is very important to me, can’t forget her), as they settle into their new home. Not long after moving in, Eve hears a knock knock knock at the door. On the other side is an ordinary-looking family, led by a father who claims he grew up in the house and begs Eve to let them in so he can show his children where their old man spent his childhood. Reluctantly, Eve allows them to look around, but from the moment the family steps inside, things start to get weird.
Spoilers, Beware
Kliewer really knows how to write scary shit. His haunting descriptions linger long after you’ve put the book down, especially at night (a mistake I made one too many times). I loved the way he builds tension: from doors left slightly ajar, to shadowy figures lurking in dusty attic corners, and THE BASEMENT. The relentless, maze-like descriptions of that dark, malevolent basement genuinely made me feel grateful to live in an apartment.
The horror is grounded in reality: a couple moves into a new home, and suddenly shadowy figures begin appearing everywhere…right.
Eve was an incredibly compelling character, I absolutely loved her descent into madness. It genuinely made me feel like I was the one unraveling, because the writing does such an effective job of creating doubt. That creeping fear of forgetting, misremembering something, or misplacing everyday items like your phone, it all builds an eerie atmosphere of trickery and distorted perception, especially when anxiety is heightened. That’s what works so well for Eve’s character. She’s initially introduced as someone grounded, albeit a bit anxious, but ultimately reliable. Yet halfway through, I started questioning her. Was she changing or was it the environment? Is she lying? Is it all in her head? Do I believe her?
I also really enjoyed the document excerpts between chapters that attempt to explain the unexplainable. What truly scared me, especially because I read this part at night, was the section on sleep paralysis. That might have been the scariest part of the book for me precisely because it’s real. I was so spooked I had to stop reading.
Sleep paralysis is incredibly common, which is what makes it so horrifying. The idea that people across different places and experiences report seeing the same recurring figures, everything from cats to a man in a wide-brimmed black hat, makes the fear feel collective and disturbingly plausible. The horror is grounded in reality: a couple moves into a new home, and suddenly shadowy figures begin appearing everywhere…right.
Again, Serious Spoilers, Beware…
That being said, the book left me with so many questions. After reading the acknowledgements, I learned that Kliewer has a three-book deal, so I’m hoping we’ll get a sequel that picks up where this one leaves off.
I want to know more about the man in the cabin that Eve bumps into, it feels like such a pivotal moment, yet it never fully goes anywhere. And what about the maps on the wall? The house itself constantly shifting, new doors appearing, rooms manifesting out of nowhere, was never clearly explained, nor was the exact nature of what was haunting it. From what I gathered, the house might be part of a larger network, almost a system of homes functioning as checkpoints to travel between other haunted places. But I’m still not entirely sure. That uncertainty feels intentional. Every time you think you’re about to piece it together, something completely unhinged happens, and suddenly you’re back at square one.
deeply unsettling, almost like a fever dream, hallucinatory at times, and it kept its claws in me the entire way through
The whole “that’s not what they look like” moment was never really explained either. I think the kooky neighbor says it to Eve when she’s at her house, but who is she actually referring to? Thomas, or the entity? I would like to see more of her story fleshed out if there is a sequel.
One idea I had while reading was that the story could benefit from a full flashback to when the house was first built, something that really grounds us in the origin of the haunting. I kept thinking about the most recent season of Welcome to Derry, based on Stephen King’s IT, where we actually see how Pennywise became Pennywise. That kind of historical deep dive adds weight to the horror because it gives the evil a tangible beginning.
It felt like Kliewer was attempting something similar during Eve’s final trip into the basement, when she’s surrounded by the old photographs of the Faust family and images of the house over time. But for me, it didn’t quite land. The moment hinted at an origin story without fully committing to it.
And that leads to another lingering question: what’s the significance of the circle symbols Alison carved into the house? Are they meant to signal something ritualistic or supernatural, or does it really just boil down to her dad liking heavy metal? That explanation felt a bit blasé, especially given how ominous those symbols seemed and how big of a deal Thomas made them out to be.
Overall, I really liked We Used to Live Here, even if it left me with plenty of burning questions. It was deeply unsettling, almost like a fever dream, hallucinatory at times, and it kept its claws in me the entire way through. I finished it with the sense that there has to be a sequel, and I’m hoping those lingering questions will be answered there.
I was fully committed to getting to the bottom of the doppelgängers, the creepy sister that's not really the sister in the attic, and Shylo’s disappearance (no, seriously, what happened to the real Shylo?). If there isn’t a sequel, I’ll be honest: I’m not sure the book feels strong enough to fully stand on its own given how much is left unresolved. Still, it was undeniably entertaining.
