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The Dionaea House
Jennifer, friends and family of Mark,
As promised, here are copies of the correspondence I received from Mark over the course of the last month. For the most part, I have merely copied and pasted them from my email application.
As you’ll read, he requested this, in hopes that you’ll better understand why he did what he did.
I made this site because it’s the most efficient way to share Mark’s emails with all of you. I’m not advertising this to anyone. But I do think it would be wise to pass this URL along to anyone who may help with the investigation. As I collect more information, from various sources, I'll update this site to keep it an accurate record. I'll have that link at the end of the series as well.
If you need to speak with me, Jen has my number. Thank you for your patience, and again, I am profoundly sorry.
- Eric
http://www.dionaea-house.com/
As promised, here are copies of the correspondence I received from Mark over the course of the last month. For the most part, I have merely copied and pasted them from my email application.
As you’ll read, he requested this, in hopes that you’ll better understand why he did what he did.
I made this site because it’s the most efficient way to share Mark’s emails with all of you. I’m not advertising this to anyone. But I do think it would be wise to pass this URL along to anyone who may help with the investigation. As I collect more information, from various sources, I'll update this site to keep it an accurate record. I'll have that link at the end of the series as well.
If you need to speak with me, Jen has my number. Thank you for your patience, and again, I am profoundly sorry.
- Eric
http://www.dionaea-house.com/
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First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
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April 25, 2021the vast majority of this has to read through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, here's a link to it for anyone who needs it. however, the last part, Loreen Mathers' livejournal, can't be read through the Wayback Machine, you just need to go to https://loreenmathers.livejournal.com/
like it's a regular site (still read it in order though! you're told in-text which site to go to and when).
like it's a regular site (still read it in order though! you're told in-text which site to go to and when).
December 9, 2024
for a writing that never got finished, this was really fun. it’s a shame it never got its proper ending.
i listened to the CreepCast podcast with Papa Meat & Wendigoon for this one. & my gosh did they make it so much fun. “I want you to eat me like a bug.” 😂
i really enjoyed how interactive this story is also. it might be one of (or even the one) the earliest creepy pastas there is.
the characters were fun. you could see Marks descent into madness, then onto Eric’s. i also loved the LiveJournal input. it brought a different POV & different feel to the story as a whole. usually i would not give such a high rating to a writing that has been unfinished & most likely never will be finished but, it definitely was fun & entertaining.
i listened to the CreepCast podcast with Papa Meat & Wendigoon for this one. & my gosh did they make it so much fun. “I want you to eat me like a bug.” 😂
i really enjoyed how interactive this story is also. it might be one of (or even the one) the earliest creepy pastas there is.
the characters were fun. you could see Marks descent into madness, then onto Eric’s. i also loved the LiveJournal input. it brought a different POV & different feel to the story as a whole. usually i would not give such a high rating to a writing that has been unfinished & most likely never will be finished but, it definitely was fun & entertaining.
April 14, 2023
This was really spooky! I really loved how it was all told through emails and blog posts and AIM chats. Really creative and made it feel believable.
April 9, 2025
Listened to this story via CreepCast. I really like the format of a story being told through emails and internet posts, made it really interesting!
June 29, 2025
eat me like a bug… also i hate warner brothers for cutting this off
August 22, 2025
My first experience with Creepy Pasta proper (mainly because it's such an unpleasant term), and mainly read because of a reference to it on an article about House of Leaves. It's not perfect but it's enjoyably creepy and all the better for being sketched out and in brief. The idea is incredibly strong, as is the delivery, but sometimes the author feels like he's trotting through the narrative too quickly as if he's in a rush. He doesn't ever allow us to stop and worry about the implications and in a story like this it's *all* about the implications
July 4, 2025
3.75/5.0
Another CreepCast story; if I was rating these stories based on bits from the podcast, this would get a 5.0 over the "divorce crash out". This story still is interesting and the idea of this house just being everywhere and all interconnected both in space and in time is incredibly intriguing. I appreciate the varying formats of story telling that you find in this story and just the dread of knowing that the more characters look, the worse its going to get.
Another CreepCast story; if I was rating these stories based on bits from the podcast, this would get a 5.0 over the "divorce crash out". This story still is interesting and the idea of this house just being everywhere and all interconnected both in space and in time is incredibly intriguing. I appreciate the varying formats of story telling that you find in this story and just the dread of knowing that the more characters look, the worse its going to get.
October 20, 2016
Probably one of the first "Creepypastas" I've come across ("horror-related legends that have been spread across the Internet"<--Wikipedia). And now I need to read more. This was completely on accident, I was looking up Halloween stuff/horror master posts on Tumblr, and came across one titled "Creepy Websites". This was one of them, and even though it's technically a fictional work (made up of 'letters' posted on a website, numerous fictional blogs, etc.) I didn't realize it had a place here on Goodreads to rate it xD It was creepy enough, it didn't exactly have a lot of answers by the end though. But I enjoyed it nonetheless, it's a different and unique take on the 'haunted house' trope. The creepiest part in my opinion was one of the last entries of the teen girl's LiveJournal account after she said she would babysit there for one more night...This was a really creative way to publish it too, making some people think it was real, that the blog entries were real and having people have to click on different links to get to different parts of the story. The creator had to go through the work of making multiple accounts and whatnot to make this. Makes me wish I'd done something more like this for my Digital Creative Writing project a couples semesters back. In total, there's the main webpage, which eventually links to two livejournal accounts, a Blogger account, a page of AIM messages, and I think that's it...it's pretty easy to read through.
April 13, 2021
This was one of the first "creepypasta" I read and was blown away. It used very clever storytelling techniques using emails & text messages, then linked web journals to tell a far-reaching story, about a network of the houses that look identical; have a sweet cookie smell, & are MUCH larger on the inside than it looks on the outside. There is a Lovecraftian sense of descent into madness, investigation, lost friends & trying to understand why someone does something out of character. Sadly, the website is no longer active, but some of the journals are around, and copies of the story can be found on the Wikia/Fandom for the story. I copied the story as well, because it was brilliant and worth a revisit. This story drove me to read House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
From the writer of the award winning film Arrival, Lights Out, & Bird Box - Eric Heisserer. I vaguely recall the story was an attempt at a creating a story using unconventional means. I also recall an interview that it was being pitched for a movie idea, and had some interest.
From the writer of the award winning film Arrival, Lights Out, & Bird Box - Eric Heisserer. I vaguely recall the story was an attempt at a creating a story using unconventional means. I also recall an interview that it was being pitched for a movie idea, and had some interest.
November 21, 2023
Entertaining, creepy, and I loved the little puzzle of clicking through different blogs, trying to figure out what happened, who knew stuff, what is the reality.
Many have compared it to House of Leaves(my beloved) and yeh they are all right. It is similar. Still the one thing I wish for is that we got to know the house in this one better. It fits my loved genre of "the house is alive" but it's not as strong a presence in the story as other living houses. And I love the houses. I also do wish there was photographic material, even if just a little bit.
Many have compared it to House of Leaves(my beloved) and yeh they are all right. It is similar. Still the one thing I wish for is that we got to know the house in this one better. It fits my loved genre of "the house is alive" but it's not as strong a presence in the story as other living houses. And I love the houses. I also do wish there was photographic material, even if just a little bit.
November 20, 2023
In the other reviews, many people have already stated what I agree with concerning this piece of work; that its use of the epistolary or ergodic structure lends to its unique feel, connecting it to other great works with a larger scale such as House of Leaves, cementing the online story as a cornerstone of an evolving genre of writing that pushes boundaries more through the years and catches more fans as time goes on. But one detail I never see discussed online is well... how online the story is. The livejourney parts of the story, the expansive email archives, the outside links all are fantastic, but this isn't where the rabbit hole ends.
The Dionaea House - and subsequently many nontraditionally published horror stories and concepts - do not exist in a vacuum, and more importantly, are not subject to copyright laws. Think of Slenderman as an example. What began humbly on the internet as a horror photo editing exercise morphed far beyond the one creator, and even the original platform. The way audiences and communities slowly, and then quickly warped and fed the monster (metaphorically) the more it became a hive mind. Not controlled by a single writer, or maybe a studio, the beast was changed by all who touched it. I see the Dionaea House similarly, though to a lesser extent. In the comment sections of journals, entries, and blogs, the community fought to establish the canon they sought to see. Creative minds struggled to become part of the story, for better or worse. Some claimed to know the exact house, knew the people and places, even in one or two extreme cases used the comment section to display their own writing ability for entirely unrelated stories. (Did anyone else see the wild comment about a man who ate birds, a la Renfield from Dracula??)
For decades and decades of film, television, books, most forms of media, people may comment on them, write in the universe, make fan versions and unsanctioned sequels, but never in the same space as the original. If someone thought that Leia and Han shouldn't have ended up together they couldn't have edited the movie to make their voice heard. Books with fan material won't be republished to reflect a single reader's ideas. But in the internet space, this is a physical reality. Below these livejournal posts are hoards shrieking to be heard. And beyond a few platforms that allow for comments to be turned off, this is an understood reality for many exclusively online pieces of fiction writing.
I would be wildly interested to see someone take this idea and run with it, make multiple accounts to interact in the same space, to tell a seemingly organic story. If this already exists, I hope I'm made aware of it soon. In many ways this is happening in other ways, unlisted YouTube videos come to mind when used in ARGs, secrets hidden in HTML code, the whole nine yards.
The Dionaea House - and subsequently many nontraditionally published horror stories and concepts - do not exist in a vacuum, and more importantly, are not subject to copyright laws. Think of Slenderman as an example. What began humbly on the internet as a horror photo editing exercise morphed far beyond the one creator, and even the original platform. The way audiences and communities slowly, and then quickly warped and fed the monster (metaphorically) the more it became a hive mind. Not controlled by a single writer, or maybe a studio, the beast was changed by all who touched it. I see the Dionaea House similarly, though to a lesser extent. In the comment sections of journals, entries, and blogs, the community fought to establish the canon they sought to see. Creative minds struggled to become part of the story, for better or worse. Some claimed to know the exact house, knew the people and places, even in one or two extreme cases used the comment section to display their own writing ability for entirely unrelated stories. (Did anyone else see the wild comment about a man who ate birds, a la Renfield from Dracula??)
For decades and decades of film, television, books, most forms of media, people may comment on them, write in the universe, make fan versions and unsanctioned sequels, but never in the same space as the original. If someone thought that Leia and Han shouldn't have ended up together they couldn't have edited the movie to make their voice heard. Books with fan material won't be republished to reflect a single reader's ideas. But in the internet space, this is a physical reality. Below these livejournal posts are hoards shrieking to be heard. And beyond a few platforms that allow for comments to be turned off, this is an understood reality for many exclusively online pieces of fiction writing.
I would be wildly interested to see someone take this idea and run with it, make multiple accounts to interact in the same space, to tell a seemingly organic story. If this already exists, I hope I'm made aware of it soon. In many ways this is happening in other ways, unlisted YouTube videos come to mind when used in ARGs, secrets hidden in HTML code, the whole nine yards.
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April 20, 2025Cool little entry into the canon of the internet horror story and the haunted house story, hard to say if it really does anything that original even for the time but I quite liked it. The way that the different points of view give you different perspectives on the house and ways they struggle to grapple with it is compelling and is the kind of thing that would be very cool to see expanded on in a larger story. The switch to Loreen Mathers is particularly cool to me, the switch to someone who actually knows what they're doing and can overcome the challenges that have done the previous protagonists in, so it's a shame that her section is cut tragically short.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2025
All of the stars to the CreepCast narration of this book. I will be forever grateful to this story that introduced me to this awesome channel.
The Dionaea House was a VERY creepy tale, it succeeded in amping up the tension little by little until everything starting tumbling downhill faster than you could comprehend. I was left just a tiny bit unsatisfied by the ending. Maybe it was the intention of the author but I wanted more from the ending.
Overall, a solid little horror story that will give you the creeps.
The Dionaea House was a VERY creepy tale, it succeeded in amping up the tension little by little until everything starting tumbling downhill faster than you could comprehend. I was left just a tiny bit unsatisfied by the ending. Maybe it was the intention of the author but I wanted more from the ending.
Overall, a solid little horror story that will give you the creeps.
November 15, 2024
This was linked in r/horrorlit and as soon as I opened it up, I remembered reading it almost twenty years ago. I actually think the additions (the two livejournals, the AIM log) lessened the impact because they didn't really go anywhere. Reading just through the original story on the wayback archive is the way to go.
The one message, and the email info above it (sender, day and time, subject) above it, gave me literal chills. So good.
The one message, and the email info above it (sender, day and time, subject) above it, gave me literal chills. So good.
March 24, 2025
It didn't really grab me until Loreens part, but what did grab me was really good! Disappointing that it couldn't be continued. I think a continuation of the story may have pulled me in more, but at this time in my life, I'm just not all that interested in haunted houses. Maybe in the future I'll try it again and love it. In the meantime, I can certainly appreciate what it accomplished by being one of the first greats.
September 18, 2022
The Dionaea House was the story that started my interest in non-traditional formatting of stories, and it eventually led me to House of Leaves, which I also adore. It is so incredibly interesting, and I love the way it has multiple POVs to show the effects of the House. I love this story. 9/10 only because some parts can only be read through the Wayback Machine :(
November 26, 2025
4.5/10 stars
I think it was overhyped for me and with its incomplete ending and a lil confusing lay out. I don't see too much merit in it that I don't see in other media like House of Leaves or House.wad and other houses that eat you like a bug. its pretty cool but It moved like a slog for me at the very least.
I think it was overhyped for me and with its incomplete ending and a lil confusing lay out. I don't see too much merit in it that I don't see in other media like House of Leaves or House.wad and other houses that eat you like a bug. its pretty cool but It moved like a slog for me at the very least.
May 24, 2020
Super cool interactive, browser based horror story by the screenwriter of Arrival and lead writer/director of Shadow and Bones. Sadly, some parts of the original site are completely dead. Also seems to have been left unfinished? Or maybe I have to dig more into this.
December 5, 2024
I am so sad that this was never finished! Definitely one of my favorite uses of the epistolary format. I love how all of the details subtly tie the plot and characters together. This is so wonderfully creepy
February 12, 2025
i mean it didn't impress itself upon me. there's nothing objectively wrong with this and it technically did pave the way for horror lit in the online space but idk the prose is quite prosaic. definitely thrives when thought of cinematically in the mind but to read this is banal.
November 15, 2025
Mostly just a note to myself that I read this. The interaction is fun, it reminds me of a lot of early internet ARGs. It's short enough that it's mostly just a fun premise to think about. About half of the characters do not talk like real people.
October 6, 2021
i love epistolary stories, especially when they utilize different mediums. this had big blair witch vibes to me, and is what creepypasta and online horror in general should look up to
April 16, 2022
this was a three hour read so im counting it. delicious. my brain is happy and satisfied
December 4, 2024
Gave Monster House vibes, but the ending was blunt because of Hollywood 🖕 apparently it was supposed to become a movie…so it never got its proper ending. Still super intriguing story though.
December 8, 2024
Really unfortunate it was never completed
February 21, 2025
Theres nothing i love more than a sentient haunted house. Fuck you Warner Brothers for putting this into Hollywood development hell and killing an amazing story that never got the ending it deserved.
March 19, 2025
liked
3 hours
-super cool! the storytelling was gnarly, i had a great time
3 hours
-super cool! the storytelling was gnarly, i had a great time
May 5, 2025
good!
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June 1, 2025STOP. EXPLAINING.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews