We Used to Live Here

One of the only books I've read that has truly scared me. 

I wanted to love this one, but it just didn't do it completely for me. It starts off great, and has a quick pace throughout. The articles thrown in here and there interrupted the flow for me so that is part of the issue. The other part is that it's just too many questions and not enough answers.

It has a creep atmosphere and at times had me chilled. For those that want scary but don't want a lot of gore, this is a good read for that.

Overall, I liked this...just not a complete love.

Sometimes, along comes a book that leaves you scratching your head, and asking yourself "what the hell did I just read?" This is one such book. For this is no ordinary haunted house book peeps, oh no, this is bizarre on a grand scale. 🏚

Allow me to set the scene. Eve and Charlie have bought a house, with the intention of doing it up/rebuilding, and selling. Eve is home alone one evening, when there's a knock at the door. On answering it she finds a family of five: 2 adults and 3 children. The man introduces himself as Thomas. He explains that he grew up in that house, and asks Eve if he might come in and show his family around. It is from this point that things take a turn for the sinister. 🏚

If you're not a fan of horror, I would give this book a swerve. Seriously. This is a deeply unsettling book, where nothing is as it seems, and the sense of unease lingers beyond the last page. For all its creepiness though, it is a gripping read. I would however, advise reading with the light on. 🏚

I opted to listen to the audiobook while reading along to We Used to Live Here. This left me with so many unanswered questions. I didn’t hate the book, it definitely kept me listening and turning the pages. It also left me wanting to know what happened next. But at the end I was still confused. I wanted more clarity, more answers. But it still had me hooked the whole way through.

I couldn’t wait to read this one, and it didn’t disappoint. As an investigator (in real life) I was all over this. I enjoyed the hidden clues, hidden messages, and relevant stories thrown in at the end of the chapters. This book had me working lol. For example: The Morse Codes message, map, website, the messages I had to translate from Norwegian to English, and symbols we had to decipher using a keyboard.

So what is this story about. It’s about a complicated network of passages that spreads across space and time. It traps people in a maze of never-ending terror. I believe it’s levels to it depending on how long you have entered into it. I think If you’re just a “Host” or “Trespasser”, you can make it out of it. But if you’re there for longer than a month, you can never leave. The longer you’re there, you can earn titles such as, Guest, Guide, Tourists, and Anchor (which is a demon). Or maybe I’m completely wrong and it’s just a variation of Capgras syndrome like Dr. Bjorn Erikson said (who apparently never worked at Hvit Fjell University) 🤷🏾‍♂️

There are a bunch or unanswered questions here which I love. Gives the readers opportunities to discuss.

One of my questions would be this. According to Elijah Faust’s obituary. He married Vera Krauss and they had one child together, Alison Faust.

So where did Thomas Faust come from? He’s claiming that he and Alison are siblings?

Anyway, I can go on and on. I’m giving this a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Hopefully this turns into a movie or something.

Update, it’s been two days since I’ve finished this book. I can’t stop thinking about it and for that reason, I have edited the ranking from 4 stars to a solid 5. I absolutely loved this book!

We Used to Live Here gives House of Leaves vibes, but not nearly as chaotic. If you need your books to follow a logical trajectory and don't like being left in the dark – don't read this book. What starts off as more of a psychological thriller quickly turns into more of an existential horror novel. I can't discuss much without delving into spoiler territory, and I honestly recommend going into this cold. I'd seen a few people discuss it, but picked it up without reading the blurb or any reviews and feel like that's the way to go.

I did enjoy following Eve's story. I've seen some people say they don't find her believable, but as someone who has had severe anxiety I found her immensely relatable. I wish we had gotten more time with Charlie because it was difficult to connect to their relationship and I really only felt invested in Eve.

I liked the little breadcrumbs of clues we were fed throughout the novel. Having to keep a morse code translator and google translate pulled up on my phone definitely gave me an interesting reading experience. My only complaint is that the morse code got a little messed up on the kindle version – both on my phone and the kindle itself. Anytime there were 3 dots in a row, they turned into an ellipsis.

After consulting with someone who had already read the book (because my translations were coming out as gibberish and I couldn't tell whether it was supposed to be a puzzle or not), I realized what was happening and was able to translate more accurately for future words. The only exception being one long word where I could not figure out where to break up the dots. If I hadn't had someone to ask, I probably would have completely missed out on this aspect until looking it up after finishing – which would be a shame, because I did feel like it added to the experience.

I did find myself creeped out to the extent that at one point I did have to stop reading at night so I could finish during daylight instead. It really didn't help that I was home alone. I don't think everyone would find this scary, but I definitely did. It so tracks for me that this started on r/NoSleep, it absolutely feels like the kind of story you would follow through a stranger's postings online, wondering what was real and what wasn't.

I did feel like the ending was a little abrupt, but then again I think that's part of the point. We're told no one ever escapes -- so why would Eve be the exception? I'm really intrigued to see how this translates to the screen! Part of me thinks it would be better adapted as a mini-series (wouldn't it be fun to delve more into the asides?), but I hope the movie is good.

We Used to Live Here – 4.5 Stars

A great debut that takes a familiar setup but avoids classic horror tricks, delivering a fresh, imaginative, and unsettling story. There are genuinely scary and anxiety-inducing moments, making it an engaging experience.

The writing felt a little bumpy, and the pacing uneven in the first half, but once the story found its rhythm, the second half was incredibly smooth and gripping—I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook.

Looking forward to seeing what this author does next!

Ah, my first 5-star review of the year. Let me tell you, I was supposed to be writing a review for another book today but no. No, this book is stuck in my brain and it refuses to leave. We Used to Live Here started out as a regular haunted house book, and then it evolved into something more. Something sinister and fascinating. I'm not over this, and so I'm going to review it for you. I beg your pardon for rambling, in advance.

After Eve decides to let a random family who “used to live here” into her house for a tour, everything goes sideways. Now if you're asking yourself why on Earth she would do that? Same. I know, I know, it's a typical horror story setup. Our narrator has to make a few bad decisions or there won't be a story to follow. Kliewer is at least kind enough to set up our girl Eve as a hardcore people pleaser, so she has motive. Rest assured though, I did yell at the book and therefore, by default, her.

As I said above, the story does start out as your typical haunted house novel. Mysterious noises, dark shadows in corners, and really REALLY eerie interactions with the family who has invaded Eve's house. The book does an excellent job of building a deep sense of unease. I was unsure of whether Eve was even a reliable narrator. Was she seeing things? Was she losing her mind? That, my friends, is my favorite kind of horror story feeling. There's nothing better than feeling like you can't quite get your footing, and that a twist might be around any corner.

And oh, OH twists there were. I absolutely will not spoil this for you. You have to dive into this book yourself, and let the madness take you. What started out feeling pretty cookie cutter, soon turned into something that I really wasn't prepared for. I was sending updates to my sister as I was reading this and I think one of them was simply, “Things just got WEIRD.” and yup, that about sums it up. Kliewer opens up the trap door to the depths of this house's lore, and you just fall straight into the darkness with Eve.

Now I will warn that this book doesn't exactly wrap things up neatly. I know a lot of readers out there like everything explained, and hate ending a book with vague unknowns. We Used to Live Here doesn't care about that at all and honestly I was okay with that. I truly believe it actually added to the whole vibe of the story. If you embrace this fact, I promise that you'll have a good time. Also if you're asking yourself, is this a scary book? Well, I'm a bad judge of that because I read a LOT of horror and I'm pretty desensitized to a lot of things. In my opinion it was definitely unsettling, and very creepy. Your mileage may vary.

I think the author had some good ideas but didn't know how to collect them well. Felt a bit unsatisfied at the end, I like theorising and don't need every little thing completely explained but there was just too much unanswered. By then it came off feeling a bit more like a creepypasta than a fully fleshed out story. It was really, really tense and scary though for the majority of the book so points for that. 

DNF

This is one of those books where I did like the build up of the story and thought it was going in a really interesting direction for like the first 80-90% and then just found its last bit kinda boring.

I just finished We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, and it delivered chills in ways I didn't expect. From the beginning, Kliewer sets a haunting tone, especially with Eve's growing paranoia in that eerie, isolated house. As someone who loves psychological horror, I found the book unsettling, with a sense of dread that builds at just the right pace. The addition of mixed media was a clever touch, adding depth and mystery to the plot. While some might find the ending frustrating, I think it works—it leaves enough unanswered to keep me thinking about what really happened in that house. Perfect for a late-night read!

Horror thriller following Charlie and Eve who recently moved into an old house in the mountains. One day, as Eve is alone, a stranger and his family asks to come inside the house that was his childhood home. 
I really liked this debut novel, there are some true creepy moments though it didn't felt super scary to me .  I loved the main character, her anxious and people pleasing personality made the tension higher as I didn't know how she would react. 
The world building was super interesting, I loved the lore being slowly built through interviews, codes, forum posts and news articles. Sometimes though I feel something was missing, like there were some elements I wished the author would delve into, with several loose threads.   The pacing felt a bit off especially at the beginning which dragged and I felt the ending a bit abrupt (though I didn't dislike what the author went for). 
Overall a very good debut novel and I'm looking forward to the next work by this new author. 

Wtf did I just read? Lol mindfucked throughout. Which version of reality is real? I have no freaking idea. If that was the goal, then the author did a helluva job.

This book reminded me if you combined Dark, Shutter Island, and Severance into a book with a creepy house. 

It was a journey I didn't want to end. Honestly it was much more psychological thriller than horror to me but it was definitely an eerie vibe the whole time reading it. 

I loved the format floating between different documents and the stories. It really was a unique approach. 

It definitely does leave a lot of questions at the end, though I actually liked the ending. These type of stories are impossible to pick an end and if they try and explain everything it just ends up like Lost and a mess. I'm glad a lot was left to the imagination. And honestly it's not supposed to make sense, a lot of weird things and stories don't. 

I can't say much without ruining the book but I really enjoyed this a lot! It will definitely be a story that sticks with me. 

Not what I expected but definitely kept me interested and spooked me in a few parts. I think there are too many questions left unanswered for me to really love it, but it was a good read!

Excuse me while I proceed to pick my jaw up off the floor. This book was AMAZING. From the first paragraph, I felt a general sense of unease and trepidation that only increased the more I read. And I felt all the emotions from fear, anxiety, grief, confusion, and absolute shock.

Additionally, the atmosphere Kliwer created was full of dread and unease and provided immaculate spooky season vibes. The mixed media elements also added to the sense of foreboding that something just wasn't right.

Also, the pacing was superb there wasn't a single moment that felt stagnant or dull. It was full throttle from start to finish. And that ending! What a mindfuck and so trippy!! I know it leaves a ton of unanswered questions but I felt it was perfection considering how events played out.

This book met and exceeded my expectations. What a helluva first book well done Kliewer looking forward to the next one!

Check out my full review on my blog: https://www.kathleenhaagenson.com/we-used-to-live-here-by-marcus-kliewer/

The basement scenes were a nightmare and I loved them. A little disappointed with the ending, but not enough to change my rating.

It was suspenseful and gripping and I was eager to learn more but that twist and ending I'm not sure i am a fan. Glad I got this from the library this is a one and done for me.

We used to live here by Marcus Kliewer was heavily recommended in my horror book group on FB and I was like.. DANG I gotta try this book! Lucky for me, libby had an audio version with virtually no wait time... GAME ON

So we are introduced to Charlie and her girlfriend Eve and the house they just bought to flip. What they don't expect is for a family turning up on their doorstep asking to have a look around as Thomas, the father, used to live in the house as a child... Eve lets them in but it doesn't take long for her to wish she never opened the front door...

Things get weird when Eve lets them in, seeing things that aren;t there and they don't seem to get the hint it's time to go. Eve has issues and when Charlie goes missing.... She can't hold onto her grip on reality...

The book comes from the story of Eve and the house and cuts into old police reports and podcasts that cover Mandela effects and things changing on people with no explanations. I usually hate not knowing the why at the end of the book or what was real and what wasn't but this book... It worked for me. Not knowing if it was supernatural or if Eve lost her grip on reality.

I was creeped the F out and it was one heck of a mind F!!!! The book had such sinister undertones and the audio really took it to another level for me.

5 stars!!!

What a mindfuck of a book. So well executed. Fast paced, not a single second was boring. I could have never predicted that plot twist! It's also confusing and open ended enough to make me think about it and draw my own conclusions too.

This book made me so anxious for Eve while reading it I had to put it down. It was so good. I was trying to figure out what was real and what was generated by the evil entity Thomas. I know everything. I liked that it had real life psychiatric issues like the Mandela effect and Capgras syndrome (where you think someone you know like your family or someone you're really close to has been replaced by a doppelganger). I felt so bad for Eve “Emma” implied “Alison”. The only thing that bugged me just a little was how much effort was put into verifying her claims. Like a forensic team being sent out or her parents being asked if she was their daughter. Still very good IMO. Read this book if you want to become a little paranoid. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

this was so good, i love lesbian horror. the plot twist kinda got me scared that it was going in a certain way but thank god it didn't

Decent atmosphere, trash ending. 

I've always been drawn to horror, whether in movies or books. I think part of the curiosity is trying to understand what I'd do in the same situation. But a big fat ‘nope' to putting myself through what happens in this book! I absolutely loved this and couldn't get enough. But that ‘couldn't get enough' part is also a slight knock on this review as there were so many unanswered questions at the end. Maybe that ending was intentional to keep everything open, but I need some answers