We Used to Live Here Summary: Identity-Warping Terror
Introduction
Imagine inviting a stranger into your home for a quick look around, only to realize they have no intention of leaving—ever. In “We Used to Live Here,” Marcus Kliewer twists a simple act of hospitality into a nightmare.
Eve Palmer and her partner Charlie just want to fix up their isolated Oregon house.
But when a family of five arrives claiming a connection to the property, the line between guest and intruder begins to blur.
What follows is a fast descent into a reality that refuses to stay put.
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TL;DR: A House That Erases You
This is a psychological horror story where the monster doesn’t just haunt the house; it rewrites the occupants’ identities. Eve lets a family inside during a storm. The father, Thomas, seems to know everything about the home. Soon, Charlie disappears, and Eve is told she is someone else.
The book follows her fight to prove her own existence while the physical world shifts around her. Key themes include gaslighting, memory, and the terror of being completely alone in your own mind.
- Core threat: An ancient, reality-warping mimic named Thomas.
- Primary struggle: Eve tries to hold onto her identity as “Eve Palmer” while everyone insists she is “Emma Faust.”
- Ending: Eve is institutionalized, with no one left to believe her truth.
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Story Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: Supernatural Horror / Psychological Thriller
- Core Narrative Tropes: Haunted house, reality warp, doppelgänger replacement, gaslighting, isolated wilderness.
- Tone & Atmosphere: Paranoid, tense, claustrophobic, and deeply unsettling.
- Primary Conflict: Eve fights to survive and retain her true identity while Thomas rewrites her existence.
- Pacing Style: Fast-paced after a slow-burn setup; escalates into a surreal nightmare.
- ISBN: 978-1982198794 (ISBN-10: 1982198796)
- Pages: 320
- Book Structure: 24 chapters plus supplemental documents, police transcripts, and forum threads.
Marcus Kliewer is a writer known for adapting his own online short stories into novels. “We Used to Live Here” began as a viral short story and became his debut novel. He focuses on psychological dread and reality-bending horror.
We Used to Live Here Summary: The Deep Dive (Spoilers)
Spoiler Warning: This section details major plot points and the ending.
Eve Palmer and Charlie Bastion move into 3709 Heritage Lane, a Victorian fixer-upper in backcountry Oregon. The setting is isolated, with a history of missing property records.
On a freezing Friday, a man named Thomas Faust arrives with his wife Paige and their three children. He claims he grew up in the house and asks to show his family around.
Eve feels uneasy but lets them in to be polite.
Strange events happen immediately. Thomas stands frozen in the basement, unresponsive. The family has no car visible.
A winter storm traps them all inside. During dinner, Paige makes hostile comments about Eve and Charlie’s relationship.
That night, Charlie finds Thomas sleepwalking in the snow, crying about a sister named Alison. Thomas tells a story about Alison going insane because she thought the house was changing.
The next morning, Charlie is gone. Thomas says she left for a meeting. Eve cannot find her phone. She notices Charlie’s brass locket is now hanging above the fireplace.
Eve walks to a neighbor, Heather, to use a phone. She calls Charlie, but the voice sounds wrong and angry. Heather reveals that Thomas was an only child.
Alison was actually a runaway ward who stabbed Thomas thirty-seven times because she believed he was an imposter.
Eve rushes home and searches the attic. She finds a warning carved into the wood: “DON’T FORGET WHICH HOUSE YOU’RE IN.”
A gaunt woman in a hospital gown appears and chases her. Eve falls and blacks out. When she wakes, the family tells her she is hallucinating.
Eve notices the house’s stained-glass window has changed. It looks like a plain window has always been there.
She flees with someone she believes is Charlie and checks into a motel. Late at night, she answers a phone in Charlie’s bag.
The real Charlie whispers that she is trapped in the attic and the person with Eve is a fake. Eve sees the sleeping partner is missing a finger tattoo.
Eve drives back to the house alone. Inside, she finds evidence in the basement: photos showing a different Faust family where Thomas never existed.
A letter from Alison warns that Thomas is an ancient mimic who replaces people’s loved ones with duplicates. Eve finds a catatonic version of Charlie covered in ants.
Thomas finds Eve and calls her “Emma Faust,” his sister. He forces her to join a dinner where the family acts like she belongs to them.
At the table, Paige is wearing Charlie’s locket.
Eve snaps. A struggle ends with Eve accidentally killing Paige with a corkscrew. Thomas chases Eve into the attic. He screams about being ancient, saying, “We were here when the light of day was born.”
Eve chokes him with tire chains until police arrive.
Three years later, Eve is in Greenwood Asylum. Everyone calls her Emma Faust.
Thomas visits, fully healed, and leaves Charlie’s locket behind.
Inside is the only photo of the real Eve.
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Summary by Chapter (Spoilers)
Warning: The following is a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the novel’s 24 chapters and includes major spoilers.
Chapter 1: Outsiders
A family of five shows up at Eve Palmer’s door unannounced. The father, Thomas, says he grew up there and wants a tour. Eve notices they have no vehicle. She tries to call Charlie but gets voicemail. Despite her discomfort, Eve lets them inside as the snow begins to fall.
Chapter 2: Memory Lane
Thomas leads his family through the house, showing detailed knowledge of its features. He points out a symbol carved under the banister, claiming his sister Alison made it. Eve follows them, noticing a strange gray look in Thomas’s eyes. He pauses outside Alison’s old room, and Eve eventually returns downstairs.
Chapter 3: Hide-and-Seek
Jenny, the youngest child, hides in the basement. Thomas and Eve search for her. Eve finds a painting of a dog in a wardrobe. She then finds Thomas standing frozen solid in the hall, unresponsive. He snaps out of it, blaming poor hearing. They find Jenny, and Thomas decides to go back upstairs.
Chapter 4: Communion
Charlie arrives home and invites the family to stay for dinner. Paige, Thomas’s wife, makes passive-aggressive comments about their move. Eve notices a circle tattoo on Paige’s neck. The dinner is tense and uncomfortable as the storm worsens outside, trapping everyone for the night.
Chapter 5: Refuge
Charlie sets up bedding for the family in the study. Eve tells Charlie about Thomas freezing in the basement, but Charlie is skeptical. Charlie gives Eve a brass locket with a photo of her inside. They hear a noise and discover the front door is wide open, letting snow into the house.
Chapter 6: Old House
They find Thomas sleepwalking in the yard, crying. He tells them about Alison, a girl who lived with his family as a ward. Alison believed the house was changing and that their parents were imposters. Thomas says she was taken away after a psychotic break. Eve and Charlie feel guilty for making him talk about it.
Chapter 7: Run
A short dream sequence shows a girl running through a snowy forest. She is being chased by people with searchlights. She reaches a cliff and jumps, falling to a sudden stop. The dream ends in darkness as the girl’s consciousness is lost.
Chapter 8: Shut-Eye
Eve wakes up with a headache and goes to the kitchen. She sees the basement door open. A small figure stands in the dark, then rises to a six-foot-tall adult. Eve slams the door and runs to wake Charlie. Charlie is dismissive and goes back to sleep, leaving Eve to watch the door alone.
Chapter 9: Wake
In the morning, Charlie is gone. Thomas says she left for a meeting. Eve cannot find her phone. Thomas explains his family is on a “digital fast” and has no screens. Eve sees Charlie’s locket hanging above the fireplace. She decides to walk to a neighbor’s house for help.
Chapter 10: Stray
Eve walks down the snowy road with her dog, Shylo. She sees tire tracks from Charlie’s truck. The family’s moving truck is covered in snow. Eve recalls her realtor’s warning about the extreme isolation of Stray Dog Summit. She treks through the woods toward the neighbor’s property.
Chapter 11: 3707 Heritage Lane
Eve reaches Heather’s bungalow. Heather lets her inside to use a rotary phone. Eve calls Charlie, but the voice is angry and distorted. A strange mechanical voice mutters in the background before the call cuts off. Eve is deeply shaken by the call.
Chapter 12: Old Friends
Heather makes tea and talks about the house’s history. She says the town records were stolen, not burned. She reveals Thomas was an only child. Alison was a ward who stabbed Thomas 37 times because she thought he was a fake. Eve spots a Jolly Chimp toy that reminds her of her lost childhood toy, Mo.
Chapter 13: Stranger
Leaving Heather’s, Eve sees a figure run into the woods. She follows and finds an abandoned A-frame cabin covered in notes about “Old House.” A gaunt old man warns her that the people in her house are not what they look like. Eve retreats, terrified.
Chapter 14: Relic
Eve returns home and goes to the attic to find tire chains. She notices repaired wallpaper and finds a box with Charlie’s old camera. She finds a warning carved into the windowsill about forgetting which house she is in. Thomas screams and slaps his head in the yard below.
Chapter 15: Light
A disjointed interlude shows a person waking in a small room. She has been there for months, losing track of time. She notes the snow stopped falling. She lies on a bed in a beige room, left alone with her thoughts about her situation.
Chapter 16: Thief
Eve wakes on the couch. She hears her phone’s ringtone upstairs and finds Kai with a phone. A struggle happens, and Shylo bites Kai. Eve realizes the phone is Kai’s. She also notices the stained-glass window has been replaced by plain glass. The family leaves to take Kai to the hospital.
Chapter 17: Reunion
Eve meets Charlie in the pickup truck. Charlie says she is going to meet the realtor. They agree to sleep at a motel. Charlie goes inside to pack. Eve waits, watching Charlie move through the house. Charlie returns and admits she saw the changed window.
Chapter 18: Getaway
They check into the Kettle Creek Motel. Eve remains paranoid, watching the parking lot. Charlie comforts her. Eve asks how they met, and Charlie recounts the story perfectly. This brings Eve some temporary relief from her fears.
Chapter 19: Chase
Eve wakes to a vibrating phone in Charlie’s bag. The real Charlie is on the line, whispering that she is trapped in the attic and the woman with Eve is an imposter. Eve sees the sleeping “Charlie” is missing a finger tattoo. She flees the motel, drives back up the mountain, and nearly hits a glitching figure in the road.
Chapter 20: Spiral
Eve enters the dark house and finds the dining table set for six. She hears Charlie calling for help. In Alison’s bedroom, a woman in a hospital gown warns her to hide. Eve flees into the basement as the family plays a deadly game of hide-and-seek.
Chapter 21: Labyrinth
Eve discovers hidden rooms in the basement. Photos show a Faust family where Thomas never existed. A letter from Alison explains Thomas is a mimic who rewrites reality. Eve finds a catatonic Charlie covered in ants. She hides in a wardrobe and experiences Alison’s memories of Thomas replacing her family.
Chapter 22: Home
Thomas finds the hammer and leaves. Eve grabs it and walks into a renovated 1950s-style house. Thomas catches her and calls her “Emma Faust,” his sister. He claims she is hallucinating from medication withdrawal. Eve pretends to go along with dinner to find an escape.
Chapter 23: Family Troubles
At dinner, the family treats Eve as Aunt Emma. A fake Shylo is terrified of her. Paige is wearing Charlie’s locket. Eve confronts her, and a struggle begins. Paige stabs Eve’s leg. Eve accidentally jams a corkscrew into Paige’s throat, killing her. Thomas screams in grief.
Chapter 24: Old Wounds
Thomas chases Eve to the attic and attacks her. She fights back with a hammer and chokes him with tire chains until police arrive.
Three years later, Eve is in Greenwood Asylum as “Emma Faust.” Thomas visits, fully healed, and leaves Charlie’s locket with the photo of the real Eve.
Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Eve Palmer | The protagonist who buys the house and fights to keep her identity. |
| Charlie Bastion | Eve’s partner, a photographer who is replaced by a duplicate. |
| Thomas Faust | An ancient, reality-warping mimic who takes over the house and Eve’s life. |
| Paige Faust | Thomas’s strict, religious wife who clashes with Eve. |
| Jenny Faust | The youngest child of the Faust family, curious and playful. |
| Kai Faust | The preteen son who sneaks a phone and is bitten by Shylo. |
| Newton Faust | The anxious preteen son who is bullied by his brother. |
| Alison Faust | A runaway ward who stabbed Thomas and now acts as a ghostly guide. |
| Heather | The neighbor who reveals Thomas’s true history to Eve. |
| Dr. Preston Karver | The psychiatrist at Greenwood Asylum treating Eve. |
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Is We Used to Live Here Right for You?
Readers who enjoy psychological suspense with a supernatural twist will find this book engaging.
It is paced as a fast-moving thriller once the initial setup is complete.
The story focuses on paranoia, identity, and the fear of not being believed. It does not rely on graphic gore but builds dread through gaslighting and reality shifts.
Fans of closed-circle mysteries and isolated settings will recognize many familiar tropes here.
The structure mixes traditional chapters with documents and transcripts, which adds texture to the main story.
Books Similar to We Used to Live Here
The Outsider by Stephen King – Features a reality-warping entity that steals identities and frames innocent people for horrific crimes. It shares the theme of an ancient being replacing loved ones.
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware – Set in an isolated glass house in the woods, this thriller uses a snowy retreat to build paranoia and sudden violence. The claustrophobic atmosphere matches the novel.
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda – Tells a mystery in reverse structure, focusing on small-town secrets and the unreliability of memory. The sense of a past being rewritten is central.
The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark – A suspense novel about reconstructing a missing person’s history and uncovering dark secrets. It appeals to readers who enjoy reality-bending puzzles.
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll – Explores trauma, reinvented identities, and a protagonist confronting repressed memories. The psychological tension is comparable.
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