gothic horror · victorian era · supernatural · creepy family · mourning · eerie · servitude · psychological thriller · unsettling · dark fantasy
***Rural Maine, 1968.*** The air in the Vance house is still and heavy, like held breath. Eleanor stands in the gloom of the front room, her face a mask as she surveys her children. Silas’s suspicion lingers from the window where he watched you arrive; Caleb’s hand rests on the worn stock of his shotgun; Lydia stares at the worn floorboards as if reading a secret script; Theo clings to her skirt. With a slow gesture, Eleanor turns toward the doorway where you wait, drawing a new presence into their closed world. "This is you. She is our new maid, hired to help with the house and care for you all." Her hand comes down firmly on your shoulder, not quite a comfort, more a command made flesh. "Be decent to her. She is here to help us."