We Used to Live Here Summary, Characters and Themes
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer is a gripping psychological thriller that masterfully blends elements of horror and suspense. The story follows Eve and Charlie, a young couple who find themselves trapped in a web of paranoia, eerie visitors, and unexplainable events after they move into an old house.
When a strange family knocks on their door, claiming they used to live there, Eve’s reality begins to unravel as ghostly apparitions, missing loved ones, and sinister secrets emerge. As Eve’s grip on her world slips, she is forced to confront the terrifying possibility that she may never escape the house—or her own mind.
Summary
Eve and her partner, Charlie, are thrilled to have purchased an old home nestled deep in the Pacific Northwest. The house is meant to be their next renovation project, a dream for the couple who flips homes. However, things quickly take a strange turn when a family arrives unexpectedly at their door.
The father, Thomas Faust, claims that he grew up in the house and asks if his family can take a look around. Despite her reservations, Eve invites Thomas, his wife Paige, and their three children—Kai, Newton, and Jenny—inside. From the moment the family steps in, unsettling events begin to unfold.
Jenny sneaks off to the basement, and Eve finds Thomas strangely unresponsive in the same dark space. When Thomas recovers, the girl refuses to leave her hiding spot. Eve’s suspicions deepen, but she doesn’t voice them to Charlie, who returns home and suggests the family stay for dinner.
The awkward evening stretches into an overnight stay when the only road out of the area is blocked by a storm. That night, Eve has a vivid nightmare, warning her that the family will never leave, and when she wakes, Thomas is outside, sleepwalking and mumbling about demons.
Things spiral further out of control the next day when Charlie disappears, leaving Eve alone with the family. Panic sets in as Eve discovers her phone is missing, and strange figures appear around the house. Desperate for answers, she sets off to a neighbor’s house to call for help.
There, she meets Heather, who claims to have once babysat Thomas. Heather’s unsettling revelations about the house’s violent past and its mysterious connection to a girl named Alison only fuel Eve’s growing fear.
Determined to get rid of the Fausts, Eve returns home and confronts Thomas, insisting he leave. Instead, she finds more disturbing evidence: a set of photographs marked with the name “Charlotte”—a name too close to Charlie for comfort.
Eve’s grip on reality starts to crumble. Her sense of time and space shifts, as does her perception of Charlie.
Is the woman beside her truly the partner she knows, or someone else entirely?
When Eve picks up a phone call late at night, she hears Charlie’s voice on the other end, warning her that the person in the room is an imposter.
Convinced she must save the real Charlie, Eve returns to the house only to find herself trapped in a nightmarish confrontation with the Faust family. In a violent clash, Eve stabs Paige and barely escapes the house alive.
The police arrive, but Eve’s desperate claims of an alternate reality fall on deaf ears. They believe she’s mentally unstable, especially when Thomas insists that her name is Emma, and that she’s his disturbed sister.
Imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital, Eve tries to piece together what happened, but the truth slips further from her grasp. When Thomas visits her and returns Charlie’s locket with Eve’s photo inside, she realizes the worst: she is trapped in an alternate version of her life, where the real Charlie may be lost forever.
Characters
Eve
Eve, the protagonist of We Used to Live Here, is a complex and psychologically intricate character whose journey through the story reflects themes of identity, perception, and mental health. She is portrayed as a young, queer woman who is sensitive, empathetic, and struggles with paranoia, which she personifies as “Mo,” a childhood toy.
As the novel progresses, Eve’s paranoia intensifies, and her perception of reality begins to warp, making her an unreliable narrator. Her vulnerability is highlighted by her tendency to appease others, especially when she allows Thomas Faust and his family into her home despite feeling uneasy.
Eve’s experiences blur the line between psychological horror and the supernatural, as her growing paranoia makes her question her own sanity. Her relationship with her partner, Charlie, is central to her emotional stability, and as she begins to feel disconnected from Charlie, her mental state deteriorates further.
The story explores Eve’s deep-seated fear of losing control over her life and identity, especially as she grapples with her belief that she is living in an alternate timeline. By the end of the novel, Eve’s sense of self is shattered as she is institutionalized, further emphasizing her tragic arc of isolation and helplessness.
However, the locket returned by Thomas suggests that her original life did exist, providing a haunting twist to her otherwise tragic fate.
Charlie
Charlie, Eve’s girlfriend, represents stability and rationality in the earlier part of the novel. A confident and level-headed person, Charlie balances Eve’s neuroticism and paranoia, often acting as a grounding force for her.
However, as the mysterious events unfold in the house, Charlie herself becomes an enigmatic figure. There are moments where Charlie seems distant, and Eve begins to doubt whether Charlie is who she says she is.
The introduction of Charlie’s new locket, with Eve’s picture inside, hints at deeper mysteries and complications in their relationship. As the novel progresses, Charlie’s role in the story shifts from being Eve’s support system to becoming an ambiguous figure, further feeding into Eve’s spiraling paranoia.
In the final sections of the novel, when Eve ends up in the psychiatric hospital, Charlie’s absence underscores Eve’s isolation. Nevertheless, the fact that the real Charlie is still looking for Eve, as implied in the final lines of the story, suggests that Charlie remains a connection to Eve’s lost sense of normalcy and her real life.
Thomas Faust
Thomas Faust is one of the most pivotal and unsettling characters in the novel. Initially introduced as a seemingly polite man returning to visit the home he once lived in, Thomas quickly becomes a figure of mystery and malevolence.
His calm, almost emotionless demeanor hides a disturbing backstory, including his connection to his “sister” Alison, who is implied to have had a violent breakdown. Thomas’s behavior becomes more erratic and sinister as the story progresses, leading Eve to distrust him deeply.
He seems to have knowledge of the house and its strange phenomena, particularly its connection to alternate timelines or realities, which plays into the novel’s themes of fractured memory and perception. His backstory, which includes elements of childhood trauma, sleepwalking, and an obsession with demons and alternate realities, mirrors Eve’s own struggles with her mental health.
As the novel reaches its climax, Thomas is revealed to be a key player in manipulating Eve’s perception of reality, ultimately gaslighting her into believing that she is not who she thinks she is. His chilling declaration that Eve is actually “Emma” suggests that Thomas may have been orchestrating the events in the house all along, though it remains unclear whether his motives are supernatural or psychological in nature.
Paige Faust
Paige, Thomas’s wife, plays a more passive yet equally disturbing role in the story. At first, she appears to be a doting wife and mother, but her behavior becomes increasingly strange as the novel progresses.
Paige often acts in ways that seem designed to unsettle Eve, whether it’s through her odd behavior during dinner or her insistence on staying in the house despite the discomfort it causes. She remains largely an enigma throughout the novel, allowing Thomas to take the lead in interactions with Eve and Charlie.
Paige’s most disturbing moment comes when she and Eve engage in a brutal fight toward the end of the novel, where they stab each other in a visceral scene. Her death marks a turning point for Eve, who begins to unravel even more after this violent confrontation.
Paige’s character, while not as developed as Thomas, plays a crucial role in heightening the tension and adding to the sense of claustrophobia that pervades the novel.
Alison
Alison, though largely a spectral and background figure, is central to the novel’s mystery and supernatural elements. Alison is Thomas’s “sister,” though the narrative suggests that she may have been adopted or taken in by the Faust family under strange circumstances.
Her mental instability and eventual violent outburst, in which she stabs Thomas, lead to her being institutionalized. However, her presence looms over the story, particularly as Eve begins to see her ghostly figure in the house.
Alison represents the unresolved trauma and secrets buried within the house, as well as the possibility of alternate realities or timelines that may be affecting Eve’s perception of events. Her appearances, particularly as a ghostly figure who seems to grow and shift in size, heighten the novel’s eerie atmosphere and contribute to Eve’s growing sense of unease.
By the end of the novel, Alison’s role becomes more symbolic, as her ghostly image represents the house’s power to distort reality and consume those who live within it.
Heather
Heather is a secondary character who plays a brief but important role in revealing key information about the house and its history. A former babysitter for Thomas, Heather provides Eve with crucial insights into Alison’s past and the house’s eerie reputation.
Her character is significant because she offers a connection to the outside world and the past, giving Eve information that deepens the mystery but also confuses her understanding of what is real. Heather’s seemingly friendly demeanor contrasts with the unsettling revelations she shares, making her an ambiguous figure in the story.
Like many of the characters in the novel, Heather’s role is to add layers of ambiguity, as her recollections about the house and its occupants further complicate Eve’s grasp on reality.
Kai and Jenny Faust
Kai and Jenny, the children of Thomas and Paige, contribute to the unsettling atmosphere of the novel through their eerie and unnatural behavior. Jenny’s fascination with the dumbwaiter and her strange disappearances add to the tension, as does her refusal to come out of the basement when found by her father.
Kai’s interactions with Eve, particularly when he is found holding what she believes to be her phone, blur the lines between innocent childlike behavior and something more sinister. The children’s odd actions mirror the novel’s theme of blurred reality and contribute to Eve’s growing paranoia.
Although they are not central characters, their presence heightens the eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere of the house, adding to Eve’s increasing sense of danger and distrust.
Themes
The Intersection of Reality and Perception as a Means of Personal and External Manipulation
One of the most compelling and intricate themes in We Used to Live Here is the exploration of reality and perception, especially as a tool of manipulation—both internal and external. Eve’s experience within the house raises significant questions about the reliability of her perceptions.
The house becomes a psychological battleground, where her understanding of reality begins to fracture. This isn’t just a struggle of psychological instability but of external forces—whether paranormal or sinister human manipulation—that aim to blur the lines between what is real and what is fabricated.
As Eve’s paranoia heightens, the novel continuously plays with the reader’s perception of events, reflecting the fragility of reality when one’s mental state is under siege. By immersing Eve in a reality where her partner’s identity, her home, and even time seem to morph before her eyes, Kliewer suggests that reality itself can be a constructed phenomenon, deeply susceptible to influence by both malevolent forces and psychological vulnerability.
The shifting narrative invites readers to question not only Eve’s reliability but also whether any truth exists independent of perception. Ultimately, the novel explores how distorted realities can be manipulated to control individuals.
The Fluidity of Identity and Its Displacement through Time and Space
The novel’s surreal and disorienting events bring to the forefront the theme of identity’s instability, particularly when it becomes unmoored from time and space. Eve’s identity is repeatedly called into question as she confronts versions of herself that do not align with her own sense of self.
Her battle to maintain her authentic self—against external pressures from Thomas and his family as well as her own deteriorating mental state—represents a broader commentary on the fragility of identity. The discovery of photographs labeled “Charlotte” rather than “Charlie,” and Eve’s realization that she might be Emma in another timeline, speak to the novel’s engagement with the idea that identity is fluid and potentially interchangeable.
Time in the novel is a malleable construct, with Eve possibly living out her life across multiple realities. In these parallel realities, her identity morphs, distorting her relationship with those around her, and leading to an existential crisis. The novel critiques the notion that identity is fixed, instead presenting it as something that is in a constant state of flux, vulnerable to external circumstances, particularly when those circumstances transcend the linear understanding of time.
The Infiltration of Domestic Space as a Metaphor for Psychological Disintegration
The novel’s use of domestic space is a subtle yet potent metaphor for psychological erosion. The house—often viewed as a symbol of safety and stability—becomes a space of horror and disarray, mirroring Eve’s inner turmoil.
The invasion of the home by Thomas and his family serves as both a literal and symbolic disruption. What should be a sanctuary is instead transformed into a site of invasion and mental disintegration. As the family overstays their welcome, the boundaries of personal space, time, and mental clarity begin to collapse.
Eve’s sense of security and ownership over her space erodes, aligning with her growing sense of detachment from reality. This invasion parallels Eve’s growing inability to differentiate between what is safe and what is dangerous, what is real and what is imagined. The gradual intrusion into her domestic life represents the encroachment of chaos into the psychological realm.
Kliewer uses this inversion of domestic norms to suggest that stability is an illusion, and the invasion of the home is symbolic of the more profound and disorienting invasion of the mind by external forces.
The Trauma of Mental Illness and the Stigmatization of Unreliable Narratives
At the heart of We Used to Live Here is a sophisticated exploration of the trauma associated with mental illness, particularly how individuals who experience such trauma are stigmatized and dismissed. Eve’s experiences—her paranoia, dissociation, and the eventual questioning of her reality by others—are emblematic of the struggles faced by those with mental health conditions, particularly when their narratives are labeled as unreliable.
The novel presents mental illness through the character of Alison, who is institutionalized for her violent outbursts and dissociation from reality. However, rather than simply demonizing mental illness, Kliewer uses these characters to critique the societal tendency to dismiss those whose experiences do not conform to conventional norms.
By the end of the novel, Eve’s narrative is completely overwritten by Thomas, who insists that she is his sister Emma, effectively erasing her identity and trapping her in an institution. This speaks to a broader theme of how narratives of those experiencing mental health crises are often discredited, rendering their stories irrelevant.
The novel critiques this erasure and challenges the reader to confront their assumptions about mental health, memory, and reliability.
Temporal Displacement and the Loss of Autonomy within Alternate Realities
The theme of temporal displacement plays a crucial role in shaping the narrative tension of We Used to Live Here. Eve’s increasing sense of being unmoored from linear time—the hints that she may be living in another timeline entirely—illustrates how shifts in temporal understanding can lead to a profound loss of autonomy.
Eve’s inability to trust her surroundings or her experiences directly correlates with her inability to control her fate. Temporal displacement in the novel doesn’t only refer to the possible supernatural manipulation of time, but also reflects the subjective experience of trauma, where time can feel distorted, looping, or fragmented.
The possibility that Eve’s entire life as she knows it has been replaced by a different reality suggests a nightmarish loss of agency, in which she can no longer dictate the terms of her own existence. Her final realization in the psychiatric hospital—that her life may be irreversibly shifted into a parallel universe—highlights the terrifying disempowerment that comes with the destabilization of time.
This theme intertwines with the overarching horror of the novel, suggesting that temporal control is one of the most fundamental aspects of personal autonomy, and the loss of it can lead to existential disintegration.