Welcome to Dead House

“It certainly is a quiet neighborhood, I thought. And shady. The houses all seemed to be surrounded by tall, leafy trees. The front yards we drove slowly past all seemed to be bathed in shade. The street was the only sunny place, a narrow gold ribbon that ran through the shadows on both sides.

Maybe that’s why it’s called Dark Falls, I thought.”

This description of Dark Falls offers reasoning for the town’s name. With the context of the rest of the story, however, these details have meaning beyond providing details for the reader about the town’s appearance. The shadowy yards help the townspeople who can’t go out in sunlight, and this shows that the supernatural forces protect themselves and their own by keeping the homes bathed in shade. The sunlit street exemplifies the intersection of Reality and the Supernatural, as well as how reality encroaches upon the strange.

“I guessed that Petey was also upset about our moving. After all, Petey had spent his whole life in our old house. He probably felt a lot like Josh and I did about having to pack up and move and never see the old neighborhood again.

The new house, the new streets, and all the new smells must have freaked the poor dog out. Josh wanted to run away from the whole idea. And so did Petey.” 

Here, Amanda contemplates why Josh and the family dog (Petey) seem to be so against Dark Falls and the move. This is another example of Amanda ignoring the strangeness, instead attributing the behavior of her brother and the dog to stress and change. This passage also speaks to how people deal with change differently. Even without the supernatural elements, moving and starting over in a new place is stressful, as seen by how Josh and the dog keep running away from their new reality.

“I think some people were surprised that Kathy and I had stayed such good friends. For one thing, we look so different. I’m tall and thin and dark, and she’s fair-skinned, with long blonde hair, and a little chubby. But we’ve been friends since preschool, and best best friends since fourth grade.”

These lines come before the scene where Amanda says goodbye to Kathy, her best friend from her old town. These lines speak to the enduring power of friendship and also to how appearances are not an indicator of who we care about. Amanda and Kathy may look very different, but this hasn’t kept them from being the best of friends and won’t keep them from missing one another after Amanda moves.

“The next couple of weeks seemed to crawl by. I walked around the house thinking about how I’d never see my room again, how I’d never eat breakfast in this kitchen again, how I’d never watch TV in the living room again. Morbid stuff like that.

I had this sick feeling when the movers came one afternoon and delivered a tall stack of cartons. Time to pack up. It was really happening. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, I went up to my room and flopped down on my bed. I didn’t nap or anything. I just stared at the ceiling for more than an hour, and all these wild, unconnected thoughts ran through my head, like a dream, only I was awake.”

This excerpt from Amanda’s thoughts shows how change can have an impact, both in expected and unexpected ways. The first paragraph contains time passing and Amanda feeling cut off from reality as she realizes how much her life is about to change. The second paragraph shows reality setting in with the arrival of the cartons. Amanda’s reaction shows her feeling stunned and a bit saddened at the idea that she is powerless to keep the move from happening. Instead of just moving forward and packing, Amanda needs some time to process what’s happening.

“Still leaning against the banister, I listened. And I could hear footsteps scampering across the hallway.

No.

Not footsteps.

The rain. That's what it was. The patter of rain against the slate-shingled roof.

For some reason, the sound made me feel a little calmer.”

This passage comes during one of Amanda’s experiences with the supernatural in Dead House. During a rainstorm, she thinks she hears footsteps, which initially freaks her out. Her thought pattern here is an example of how she rationalizes strange events. Amanda looks for explanations that make sense within the way she understands the world. The patter of footsteps becomes the sound of the rain, and this calms her because it is something familiar that she understands.

“The door, creaking like a door in a movie haunted house, closed a little more.

Josh was nearly to the stairway. He was staring at me, violently motioning with his hand for me to follow.

But instead, I stepped forward, grabbed the doorknob, and pushed the door open hard. It didn’t resist.”

These lines hint at the supernatural events taking place in Dead House and also show the differences between Amanda and Josh. The creaking door is caused by supernatural forces, but when Amanda opens it, the window is open, which she uses to rationalize the event. Before she knows this, though, she and Josh are both afraid of what’s happening, which they deal with in different ways. In keeping with how he’s wanted to run from the house since the Bensons arrived, Josh backs away, fearful of what’s happening. By contrast, Amanda’s “make the best of it” attitude has her facing her fear head-on.

“Everything seemed so different, so wrong. The bed didn’t face the same direction as in my old bedroom. The walls were bare. I hadn’t had time to hang any of my posters. The room seemed so large and empty. The shadows seemed so much darker.

My back started to itch, and then I suddenly felt itchy all over. The bed is filled with bugs! I thought, sitting up. But of course that was ridiculous. It was my same old bed with clean sheets.”

These lines come from Amanda’s first night in Dead House, and they show how even her rational mind can fall victim to the darkness and strangeness of the house. Though Amanda has continuously told herself that there’s nothing strange about the house, this becomes more difficult to believe in the dark of the night when everything seems more frightening. In addition, her ability to rationalize slips, showing her thoughts coming more rushed and haphazard. Her discomfort with things like the bare walls and the direction her bed faces shows how things feel off in a new place. These things are superficial, but combined with the unease Amanda feels, they become real problems that keep her from being able to relax.

“At first, I saw us sitting around the dinner table in the new dining room. The room was very bright, so bright I couldn't see our faces very well. They were just a bright, white blur.

But, then, slowly, slowly, everything came into focus, and I could see that beneath our hair, we had no faces. Our skin was gone, and only our gray-green skulls were left. Bits of flesh clung to my bony cheeks. There were only deep, black sockets where my eyes had been.”

This passage comes from Amanda’s dream, and the dream itself foreshadows the strangeness of the town, as well as what will happen to Amanda and her family if they don’t escape before they are sacrificed. Amanda having this dream is more support for both The Benefits of Teamwork and Trust and Reality and the Supernatural. Amanda’s conscious mind is at odds with what her subconscious knows—that the town is dangerous and has it out for her family. This dream is a message from her subconscious, telling her to trust herself because the supernatural is real and a threat. The rational way Amanda views the dream, as if she is outside of it, shows how the brain compartmentalizes frightening information.

“‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ I said aloud. The room, I realized, was driving me crazy. No. I was driving myself crazy. Imagining all of these weird things.”

Here, Amanda has just returned to her room, where she found an outfit laid out on her bed and heard whispers coming from her closet. This is one in a long line of supernatural events, and Amanda’s reaction shows that her ability to rationalize away these occurrences is starting to wane. Speaking aloud to herself is a way of grounding herself, and it shows that her internal rationalizations are no longer enough to make her feel tethered to reality.

“The boy had short, wavy blond hair and very pale blue eyes. He had a funny turned-up nose that seemed out of place on his serious-looking face. He was wearing a maroon long-sleeved sweatshirt despite the mugginess of the day, and black straight-legged jeans. He had a blue baseball cap stuffed into the back pocket of his jeans.”

Here, Amanda and Josh meet Ray for the first time. Like the town, there is something a little off about how Ray looks that leaves Amanda wondering about him. His face and clothes aren’t what she expects, which she notes by how he is dressed too warm for the weather. Like the town, Ray is just odd enough to spark suspicion but not so odd that he gives away his true nature or the truth of Dark Falls, and he is yet another example of how Amanda dismisses clues in favor of rationalizing away strangeness.

“It was fun being with a whole new group of kids. They seemed really nice, especially the girl named Karen Somerset, who talked with me while we waited for our turn at bat. Karen had a great smile, even though she wore braces on all her teeth, up and down. She seemed very eager to be friends.”

Here, Amanda and Josh have decided to play ball with the kids of the town, and this passage shows how badly Amanda wants to make her new life work. Despite the strangeness and threatening nature of the kids a bit ago, she now enjoys spending time with them, Karen especially. The budding relationship between the girls shows what could have been if Dark Falls were a normal town. Rather than a supernatural threat, Karen could have just been a girl who invited the new kid into her circle, and Amanda’s desire for a new start is almost realized in this moment.

“In the hall outside my bedroom door, I heard whispering from inside my room and quiet footsteps. The usual sounds my room made. I wasn’t at all scared of them or surprised by them anymore.

Without hesitating, I stepped into my room and clicked on the light. The room was empty, as I knew it would be. The mysterious sounds disappeared. I glanced at the curtains, which lay straight and still.”

Amanda’s desire to appear unphased and not bother her parents keeps her from realizing the truth. This moment is also critical because it shows her growing confidence. Though that confidence is misplaced here, it later becomes important when she hatches the plan to knock over the tree and save her parents, showing how past experiences can prepare one for the future.

“This is the craziest idea ever, I told myself as I searched in the darkness for some clothes to pull on.

And it was also kind of exciting.

Josh was wrong. No doubt about it. Petey wouldn’t be hanging around in that cemetery now. Why on earth should he?

But at least it wasn’t a long walk. And it was an adventure. Something to write about to Kathy back home.

And if Josh happened to be right, and we did manage to find poor, lost Petey, well, that would be great, too.

Here, Amanda prepares to accompany Josh to the cemetery to search for their lost dog. This moment begins the rising action of the novel, and it also grounds the story firmly in fiction for young readers by taking Amanda and Josh’s parents out of the picture. With them off at their party, the kids don’t have the support of adults. This is the last moment of Amanda’s innocence before events become frightening and the truth of the supernatural elements is revealed.

“Josh’s light traveled from stone to stone, jumping up and down as he walked. ‘Petey!’ he called suddenly, interrupting the silence.

He’s disturbing the sleep of the dead, I thought, feeling a sudden chill of fear.

Don’t be silly, Amanda. ‘Petey!’ I called, too, forcing away my morbid thoughts.”

Here, Amanda and Josh are searching the cemetery for their dog, and Amanda’s thoughts show that she still clings to the hope that everything is normal in Dark Falls. This moment is also a role reversal from previous chapters. Earlier, Josh was the terrified one who backed away from the supernatural, but now, he strides confidently forward, calling out, while Amanda is fearful and must force herself to act.

“Run, Josh, I thought. Run away. Fast. Get someone. Get anyone.

I could think the words. Why couldn’t I scream them?”

In this scene, Ray has revealed his true nature and the true nature of the town after Amanda discovered his gravestone. To keep her quiet, he uses his supernatural abilities to start draining her life force, which Amanda understands as a loss of self. This offers some insight into how the town’s supernatural elements work. Ray identifies himself as a watcher, the person in charge of making sure the Bensons don’t learn the truth too early and try to escape.

“Ray’s skin seemed to be melting. His whole face sagged, then fell, dropping off his skull.

I stared into the circle of white light, unable to look away, as Ray’s skin folded and drooped and melted away. As the bone underneath was revealed, his eyeballs rolled out of their sockets and fell silently to the ground.”

This description of Ray’s demise is the moment of truth—the point at which Amanda and Josh are irrevocably changed for the rest of the story and cannot go back. After witnessing this, they are forced to accept that there is something wrong with the town of Dark Falls and its people, and the details that Amanda provides of Ray’s destruction show how big of an impact this moment has on the kids. This moment also foreshadows Amanda realizing that she and Josh can use sunlight to destroy the living dead and rescue their parents.

“‘We’ve got to tell Mom and Dad. Got to get away from here!’ I cried.

‘They—they won't believe it!’ Josh said, as we reached the street. We kept running, our sneakers thudding hard against the pavement. ‘I’m not sure I believe it myself!’

‘They’ve got to believe us!’ I told him. ‘If they don’t, we'll drag them out of that house.’”

This exchange between Amanda and Josh comes as the kids run away from the cemetery and back home after Ray’s demise. The debate between the siblings calls to both The Benefits of Teamwork and Trust and Survival Instincts in Dire Circumstances. Amanda and Josh realize that their parents won’t believe the story about Ray because their parents haven’t believed any of the other supernatural occurrences up until this point. In the past, the kids reluctantly stopped talking about their experiences, but now, they trust in themselves and what they saw enough that they are willing to do whatever it takes to make their parents listen. This moment is the intersection of the two themes it represents. Amanda and Josh’s newfound trust fuels what they are willing to do to save themselves and their parents, showing how trust is key in times of life and death.

“‘Karen—you seemed so nice,’ I said. The words just tumbled out. I hadn’t thought before I said them.

Her eyes glowed a little brighter. ‘I was nice,’ she said in a glum monotone, ‘until I moved here.’

‘We were all nice,’ George Carpenter said in the same low monotone. ‘But now we’re dead.’”

Here, Amanda and Josh have run back to their house after Ray’s demise, only to be ambushed by the rest of the town’s kids. Amanda’s comment shows that, even though she’s seen and accepted the truth, there is still part of her that doesn’t want to believe it. She genuinely likes Karen, and she wants there to be a way for them to be friends even though this seems like an impossibility. Karen’s comment calls to the effect the town has on the people it kills. Karen claims that she was nice before she moved to Dark Falls, suggesting that the supernatural force powering the town strips away more than just a person’s life—it also takes a fundamental part of what makes them human.

“This was a normal town once. And we were normal people. Most of us worked in the plastics factory on the outskirts of town. Then there was an accident. Something escaped from the factory. A yellow gas. It floated over the town. So fast we didn’t see it…didn’t realize. And then, it was too late, and Dark Falls wasn’t a normal town anymore. We were all dead, Amanda. Dead and buried. But we couldn’t rest. We couldn’t sleep. Dark Falls was a town of living dead.”

Here, Mr. Dawes fills Amanda and Josh in on the truth of the town’s past after the kids discover his gravestone and realize that he isn’t there to help them. This explanation suggests that, despite how the town changes those it kills, there is still some measure of humanity left in the townspeople. This passage also leaves the story with many unanswered questions.

“His smile grew wider. ‘Amanda, it doesn’t hurt to die,’ he said softly, almost soothingly. ‘Come with me.’” 

Mr. Dawes says this to Amanda after he explains the town’s past and how the townspeople need fresh blood every year to survive. The previous explanation frames the townspeople as victims to some unknown circumstance that changed them in ways they neither wanted nor can reverse. Here, though, Mr. Dawes comes across as a willing participant in what the supernatural force does to the living, showing how the town has twisted the people who live there. This tracks with Amanda’s past observations of the townspeople seeming normal one moment and strange the next, and this is yet another aspect of the supernatural elements that isn’t explained.

“Everyone was here except Ray, I thought.

Because we killed Ray.

We killed someone who was already dead.”

This passage comes when the dead begin to converge on the amphitheater in the cemetery. As Amanda watches, she realizes that the entire town has come to the sacrifice, which is when she realizes that Ray isn’t there because she and Josh “killed” him. Amanda realizes that the living dead are not invincible and that they do have a weakness—light.

“I was desperate to see if Mom and Dad were there.

But at the same time, I didn’t want to see.

I didn’t want to see them being held prisoner by Mr. Dawes and the others.

I didn’t want to see them…killed.” 

Here, Amanda and Josh are rushing to the amphitheater to rescue their parents, and these lines from Amanda’s thoughts show her fear and hope about the situation, symbolizing how the human brain reacts in times of stress. If her parents are alive, there is still hope, and Amanda can act accordingly. If her parents are dead—or worse, get killed in front of her—then she doesn’t know what she will do or if she will even be able to function after such an event.

“I saw Karen Somerset staggering across the floor. I saw her hair fall to the ground in a heap, revealing the dark skull underneath. She cast a glance up at me, a longing look, a look of regret. And then her eyeballs rolled out of their sockets, and she opened her toothless mouth, and she cried, ‘Thank you, Amanda! Thank you!’ and collapsed.”

Here, Amanda and Josh have pushed over the enormous tree shading the amphitheater, flooding the area with light and sending the living dead into a panic as they are destroyed. Amanda focuses on Karen, showing that Amanda feels a true connection with the other girl and again hinting at what could have been if Dark Falls were a normal town. Karen’s reaction to her second death offers more support to the idea that the people of the town are reluctant participants in what has happened to them. Karen thanks Amanda for stopping the cycle and freeing her from the control the supernatural force had over her, meaning that Karen wasn’t willingly following the town’s compulsions.