Welcome to Dead House

“‘I don’t remember your Uncle Charles,’ Mom said, moving behind Dad to read the letter over his shoulder.

‘Neither do I,’ admitted Dad. ‘But he must’ve been a great guy! Wow! This sounds like an incredible house!’ He grabbed Mom’s hands and began dancing happily with her across the living room.

Dad sure was excited. He’d been looking for an excuse to quit his boring office job and devote all of his time to his writing career. This house—absolutely free—would be just the excuse he needed.”

These lines from the opening chapter set up the backstory of how the Bensons wind up in Dark Falls. The letter is later revealed to be false, truly sent by the supernatural forces that drive the town’s need to feed on fresh blood once a year. It is never made clear how the letter gets to Amanda’s family or why her family is chosen, showing the uncertainty and mystery within the relationship between Reality and the Supernatural.

“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