How writing horror fiction helps Marcus Kliewer quell his own anxiety
The Vancouver writer spoke to The Next Chapter’s Antonio Michael Downing about his first novel We Used to Live
At some point in your life, you've probably encountered the awkward question of what to do when guests overstay their welcome. Now, imagine this is your worst nightmare and a family of strangers shows up on your doorstep with no intention of ever leaving. This is the creepy conundrum that foregrounds Marcus Kliewer's first horror novel We Used to Live Here.
Kliewer is a Vancouver-based writer and stop-motion animator. His first novel, We Used to Live Here originated on the "NoSleep" forum on Reddit and was then acquired by Simon & Schuster as a novel and sought after by Netflix for a film adaptation.
We Used to Live Here follows a young couple of house flippers, Charlie and Eve, who have just bought a beautiful old house. When a man stops by randomly with his family, claiming to have lived there when he was younger, he asks if he can show his family around.
The moment the mysterious Faust family crosses the threshold, ghostly and odd things begin to happen around the house. As the family refuses to leave and people begin to go missing Eve questions her own imagination in this suspenseful horror novel.
Kliewer spoke to The Next Chapter's Antonio Michael Downing about the way anxiety manifested in the characters of We Used to Live Here.
The couple, Eve and Charlie, are settling into their new house and they plan to sell it and then the Faust family turns up on their doorstep … They almost seem like a normal family. Tell us a bit about the Faust family.
I think when it comes to scaring me or scaring others there's a really tricky balance in making things feel either creepy or not creepy enough. The more I write and the more I get feedback from readers, it's usually the times I'm not trying to creep people out that I creep them out the most.
It's one little detail that's off, it's like it's something that dad says, it's an expression on the mother's face and then putting these little seeds of doubt in the reader's mind.
There's a really tricky balance in making things feel either creepy or not creepy enough.- Marcus Kliewer
I call it a pebble in the shoe … They might not even know it's there and then as the story progresses, that pebble turns into something much, much bigger.
That's kind of the principle I took with this family without spoiling too much.
One of the first challenges that Eve faces early on is, "How do I get this family to leave?" Which is much easier said than done because she's a bit of an introvert who hates conflict and is constantly relying on her braver, more outspoken girlfriend Charlie to bail her out. I want to ask you to describe sort of the dynamic between the two of them, but I also want to ask you which one do you identify with the most?
It's very much a partnership where one person has trouble setting boundaries, has troubles expressing what they're saying – a people pleaser, and the other is confident in setting boundaries and has no problem expressing when somebody's overstepped a boundary.
I think that dynamic provided a nice counterbalance for the readers because some people are going to relate more to Eve, some people are going to be incredibly frustrated by her, especially if they are themselves good at setting boundaries right and so Charlie provided a voice for those readers.
As for myself, I'm definitely more of an Eve; there's a lot of myself in that character, a lot of my own paranoias, a lot of my own flaws.
I felt that with Eve because her anxiety is such a crucial part. Is Charlie a manifestation for you of what you'd who you'd like to be while Eve is who you are?
I would say in a way they're both voices in my head that are battling because there's benefits and detriments to both of those types. Obviously you want to stand up for your boundaries and all that, but there's also something to be said for consideration of others, kindness and that.
And so I think there's a balance between those two. When you're a people pleaser, it's really hard to tell. Am I doing this out of kindness or am I doing this out of obligation or is that to my own detriment?
Mo the monkey is a very creepy character! I always loved the character that's not really consequential, but is important. Like the fool in King Lear is the only one that actually speaks the truth. So what is Mo the monkey the voice of?
I think the wording is everything that can go wrong, will go wrong and as someone who myself deals with pretty intense anxiety I have that voice going all the time. It was actually a counselor of mine that had suggested kind of giving it a name or making it something silly. I don't have a Mo in my life but that advice always stuck with me and I think it's actually quite helpful advice.
But in Eve's case, her paranoia is so extreme, this childhood toy of hers is a talking monkey that represents her paranoia and will come up with the most insane theories. Even if Eve is aware of how insane these theories sound, maybe it is real. There's always that nagging voice and Mo is a representation of that and just a fun way to toy around with her inner monologue.
As someone who myself deals with pretty intense anxiety I have that voice going all the time- Marcus Kliewer
It seems right now we're in a period of peak horror in books and movies. Clearly people love it, why do you think it's having such a moment right now?
I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I've always found it strangely cathartic and strangely therapeutic, which for people that don't enjoy horror, probably sounds a little insane, for lack of a better word. But I think with all the anxiety in the world and all the instability, there's something relatable about seeing that reflected in a screen and seeing it in a controllable form.
When there's horrible things happening in your own life, as especially during COVID, a lot of us can relate, there was something about taking my fears and my anxieties and channeling them into something I could control, which was words on a page.
I've had a lot of readers reach out to me and say that it's helped them through panic attacks.- Marcus Kliewer
I've had a lot of readers reach out to me and say that it's helped them through panic attacks and [for] some people it's caused panic attacks.
I think there's something cathartic and relatable and it's obviously not for everyone, but for those that it does help, great!
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
