Marcus Kliewer > Quotes

“Even when the event was completely out of her control, even when the other party was blatantly overstepping her bounds, she always found a way to blame herself. Always felt this nagging sense of guilt for everything, as if her very existence was a violation of some stone-etched decree.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“When things felt right, it only meant there was so much more that could go wrong.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Yet, like all totally not haunted houses in the middle of nowhere, it was listed at a killer deal.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Imagine if several times a day, all at once, every single thing around you became impossible to ignore.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Her core memories began to change. People she’d known all her life became strangers, and strangers became… familiar.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Those people in your house… that’s not what they look like,” he said, talking more to the trees than to her.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Yet, like all childhood monsters, it was only replaced by the mundane, and arguably worse, terrors of adulthood: credit card debt, car accidents, funerals. Things that sometimes made Eve think back to imaginary ghouls with rosy nostalgia.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“please, kindly, shut the fuck up,”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“the simplest explanation was usually correct.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Of course, a well-adjusted individual would’ve simply told him no. But self-destructive people-pleasing was another of Eve’s plentiful idiosyncrasies. She had a crippling fear of disappointing anyone, even complete strangers—even people she disliked.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Charlie often joked that there were “less than zero photos” of her in existence. And, believe it or not, it was almost true. Aside from driver’s licenses and the blurry backgrounds of parties and family get-togethers, Eve had somehow managed to avoid most cameras since her early twenties.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“In times of stress, take mental notes of your environment, your senses. Stay focused on the present moment.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Every memory she ever had, good or bad, it didn't matter - it all drowned in the suffocating present.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Don’t understand something? Witchcraft.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Wait,” she called out, almost reflexively. The father stopped in his tracks and looked back over his shoulder. Eve cleared her throat. “Fifteen minutes?” He nodded. “Tops.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“She turned to face Charlie and— She isn’t her, a voice in Eve’s head whispered. This wasn’t the voice of Mo; this was the voice of something different, something far worse. Something all-knowing and ancient. A mouthless, eyeless presence leeching off the chemical fear that poured out of her amygdala. This isn’t your Charlie. The notion was so sudden, so improbable, Eve almost laughed, but…”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“her skin was autopsy pale, drained of any life—”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Capgras syndrome, aka Capgras delusion, is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which a person believes that a close family member, friend, or even themself has been replaced by an imposter, double, or replica. It is named after the French psychiatrist Joseph Capgras, who first brought the condition to light in 1923.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Of course, a well-adjusted individual would’ve simply told him no. But self-destructive people-pleasing was another of Eve’s plentiful idiosyncrasies.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Despite having no evidence of outright malice, she didn’t trust this family, not one bit.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Earlier, when I went to the h-house, I never—I’m still here. Whoever’s with you, she isn’t me— And the dog, it isn’t Shylo. Shylo is…” She trailed off.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Charlie had this uncanny ability to doze off in seconds. Didn’t matter the time or the circumstance. Earthshaking construction next door? No sweat. Plane full of crying babies? Who cared. Girlfriend freaking out about a shadow person on the basement stairs? Good fucking night.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“She had a crippling fear of disappointing anyone, even complete strangers—even people she disliked.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Thomas meandered closer, taking one last look around. “Must be nice, huh?” Eve looked up. “Hm?” He stopped at the threshold between the kitchen and living room. “Moving into a new place, fixing it up, settling in.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Of the two parents, it was clear Paige was the stricter—a role she seemed to both embrace and resent. And judging by her silver cross necklace, she was more devout too. But there were contradictions in Paige’s actions, her body language. She had a timid, almost docile demeanor that would slip away when she had to break up a fight between the kids or make a sly comment toward her husband. Eve sensed a great deal of suppressed anger simmering beneath Paige’s surface. A tick-tick-ticking time bomb.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“head,”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“6”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“something was off. The same feeling she used to get during morning commutes—a nagging suspicion that something important had been left behind. Keys? Wallet? Then it hit her. It was what Thomas had said, right before he was about to leave the first time: “Have you ever noticed anything…” … strange? Was that the word he didn’t get a chance to say? More than the question itself, his look of suppressed embarrassment stood out. Eve had assumed he was about to tell her a ghost story or something paranormal. The fact he was reluctant, if not ashamed to do so, made it all the more compelling.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“That was when Eve finally saw it. On “Charlie’s” left hand: her tattoo, the black triangle on her left index finger, was completely absent…”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here

“Shylo followed too, but at a safe distance. Stranger danger.”
― Marcus Kliewer, We Used to Live Here