The Man In My Basement Takes One Step Closer Every Week

by Marcus Kliewer, Polterkites

When Brandon Miller moves into his new home, he discovers a list of rules on his doorstep claiming to be the only way to protect himself from the supernatural entity living in his basement.

Genres: Horror, Horror Thriller, Audiobook, Thriller

161 pages, ebook

Published September 14, 2020

About the author

Marcus Kliewer is a writer and stop-motion animator. His debut novel We Used to Live Here began life as a serialized short story on Reddit, where it won the Scariest Story of 2021 award on the NoSleep forum. Film rights were snapped up by Netflix, and it was acquired by Simon & Schuster for publication even before it had been extended into a full-length novel. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Follow him on Instagram @marcus_kliewer for exclusive book updates / writing things / stop motion animation & a lot of pet videos.

Reviews

[Michelle]

When I read Kliewer's debut We Used to Live Here I knew I had met a new favorite author.

When I saw he had another book I hadn't heard of I became curious especially when I wasn't able to find it on Amazon. With the help of Google I discovered this is a story he wrote on Reddit years ago.

And it's a damn good one.

When Brandon moves into his new house he finds a note on his door with "Rules to Follow" in order to appease the supernatural entity living in his basement.

He assumes it's just a prank from a bored neighborhood teen trying to mess with the new guy in town. No biggie.

Until one night when the basement door slowly creeks open...... 😨

For such a short story this one really packed a psychological punch. Creepy, mind bending, and oh so clever. 5 stars!

Link included for anyone that dares to take a peek in the basement:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comm...

[Taylor Seiverd]

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS!!!

oh man. this was SO good. i was hooked from the beginning. our characters were well thought out & intriguing. i genuinely cared about each one in a different way. & contemplated whether i trusted ALL of them throughout the story. there was at one point where i trusted nobody, not even Brandon.

at no point did i know where this story was going. the plot was fantastic & constantly had me guessing & theorizing.

now, is the intruder real? in the story, i believe so. yes. it’s hard not to think he was real due to the circumstances & all the weird coincidences happening throughout. but i think he’s a great analogy of mental health.
& the idea of this story revolving around mental health & the different ways people cope was phenomenal. our characters are all dealing with forms of OCD, mania, paranoia, PTSD & it manifested in different ways for each of them. Brandon showing his way of coping is moving away, moving on, accepting his fate. Mitch’s way to cope for his father is obsessing & never moving on, constantly needing an excuse or an explanation as to why his father is the way he is.

some possible spoilers:

Howie? what the fuck was his deal in all this? Zach? how did he become a victim of all this? was it simply wrong place, wrong time? i find that hard to believe. it’s obvious Paul was compromised by the intruder, but what caused it to come after him? is Brandon actually dead? or was that just another “version” of him that died?
Brandon coming face to face with the bear at the end was a beautiful full circle moment. & the last few sentences… did he mean that by possibly exposing others to the intruder that their life might get better if they live to experience it & learn to move on from it? which is why he is leaving the story posted?

maybe im thinking into it too much but i have so many questions. & we have so many unanswered questions. i love an open ended end to a story, where we can theorize & discuss what we think. this is a 4.5 star story, its only not 5 because it wasn’t as heavy as a hitter as PenPal. but SO good & highly recommended.

I listened to this through the CreepCast podcast with Papa Meat & Wendigoon.

[Sydnie Booze]

Watched a podcast where they read this

[Margaux]

This had me so scared… I have no clue what to think about anyone or anything. A seriously chilling read.

[Jasmine]

“The first time you see me will be in long forgotten memories remembered. Each week one step"

[esther]

who put a coat rack in my basement

[Zack Goad]

I audio booked this on accident from a creepy pasta podcast and it was great. Had no idea this was on Goodreads or that the author also wrote the Caretaker. But good stuff

[Macy Taylor]

This book is an amazing representation of trauma and obsession that I feel is not represented often in the media. Very refreshing and spooky scary! I feel like there were a couple moments that I thought dang he had to make that choice for the horrors to occur but they still felt not like the character. I also feel like the writing got better as the book continued. Definitely worth the read if you're interested in mental illness and how trauma can feel for many people.

[DesanaRose]

I was absolutely hooked with this story. I'm still trying to figure out if I liked the ending or not.

I will say, a story that makes me think about everything that occurred is a plus to me.

[Sabrina Fair]

I enjoyed constantly changing my mind about who was crazier, who was lying, and what the fuck was actually happening. Stories built around that much uncertainty are incredibly easy to ruin with the ending, but the ending actually brought almost everything together.
Unfortunately, there’s a difference between satisfying ambiguity and me still having about 93 questions after everyone has gone home. I would've appreciated a Q&A!

[Emmy]

For a nosleep story with a title that kinda sucks, this was an absolute joy of a horror story! I listened to a reading of this on a podcast - and I couldn't stop listening. Loved how the story unravelled, the characters were very interesting and fun (all bar Mitch who took me out of the story at times). LOVED Howie, his comedic moments really added some charm to the story, but were also weird enough to not diminish the atmosphere. I wish we had a bit more of his involvement explained - but this is really the only loose end I feel could have used some more! The rest of this story was very well connected.

I went into this expecting a derivative classic reddit Creature Story (TM) which have become very exhausting over the years, but was pleasantly surprised about how they went about presenting the horror in this story. Genuinely felt a chill down my spine at one particular reveal towards the end (specifically it was the "coffee, gasoline, burnt hair" line. What a great build-up and reveal, the book equivalent to a jumpscare!

The fact that so much menace is built around a seemingly unassuming object is really commendable. That first time we actually get a glimpse of the creature's body was terrifying.The way that it also didn't even do anything too scary in theory - moving the coat rack - and yet it was absolutely horrifying. I could list everything I liked about this story but it would be miles long LOL.

The only thing that didn't really work for me, was some of the explanatory elements especially towards the end - a common falter of these reddit horror stories - and this is why I feel like Mitch's character wasn't utilised too well. He would feed the main character theories and then refuse to answer any actual questions or explain what's going on. Idk I guess I just didn't understand what he was adding with this. He was simultaneously an ally to the main character but also super secretive and frustrating at times. Whilst I understand his ramble at the end, it did just feel like too much information in one go, so made for a bloated scene. Especially as the bear scene that follows is super cathartic and a culmination of previously mentioned aspects that works really well !! Just wish some of those dialogue elements were polished a bit.

I also LOVE stories that can have multiple interpretations. The reading that this is all a metaphor for not letting mental illness and self-destructive thoughts consume you, even if they don't go away completely, was a really awesome revelation. This story found me at a time where this is a really meaningful and important message to me - so that hit me in an emotional way too. I don't usually like when horror and mental illness metaphors crossover as it is usually very surface level and derivative. However, this felt like something really well thought out and special. Enjoyed this story a lot - and I will be sure to check out the book based on this, and Netflix adaptation that is to come soon.

One step each week ❤️.

[Drew Brown]

The scariest thing that someone could find in their basement is a coatrack.

[Space Quick]

I honestly don't get the hype. Half the dialogue in the story could be summed up by

"Beware the Pee Pee Poo Poo Man!"
"What?"
"I've said too much, I must leave."

- 20 pages later -

"So, about that Pee Pee Poo Poo Man you told me to beware..."
"What? I never told you anything about that. I don't even know what that means. And who are you anyway?"

Sometimes things happen. Except the author can't decide whether he really wants them to happen or not so they also don't happen. Or maybe they do. You decide, dear reader!

The hook of the story is extremely strong, but halfway through a character informs us that the hook actually doesn't really matter. And then for the rest of the story the MC just kind of ignores it which gives us more time to spend on the soap opera that is the main meat of this story. And don't get me wrong, soap operas can be fun. But they require you to care about the characters, and the ones in this story are unreliable and inconsistent. I know that that is the point, but it also makes me not invested in them at all.

But wait! It's actually about trauma! And you should confront it! Like Brandon confronts the bear! Okay, then what about confronting, I don't know, the thing in the basement that the story is based around? Instead of just moving around hoping it doesn't catch you one day? I thought that was meant to be the representation of trauma and not the random bear in the forest that conveniently shows up on the last page because it fits Paul's metaphor? Brandon has learned to stop running. Except from the thing he was originally running from.

[Shannen]

Wow. So I want to start by saying I read this via audio from the podcast Creep cast. This was absolutely terrifying and that was with commentary, I can’t even imagine without how terrifying this would have been. Since I’ve already read a book by this author I knew what to kind of expect so I was really excited. His writing is very psychological. The premise seemed so simple, but god did this take me for an absolute ride. Marcus does such a good job of giving you anxiety filled suspense. And does a great job of doing a suspenseful lead up, and without completely showing the monster. There were so many scary moments without even showing the monster, the scene after he boards up the basement and just hears the screaming I had literal chills. And then in the last chapter, MC is sleeping in a dark room with a fan, and then suddenly stops feeling the fan on him, I was so locked in I could have screamed, and then flashes the light on the fan but doesn’t see anything but still doesn’t feel the fan and then turns on the overhead light and then the fan starts blowing again, omg it was so scary. This is definitely one of the more terrifying things I’ve read. I love this authors writing style, you never truly get all answers. I could have listened for another 3 hours, and I kept imagining what a movie of this would be like and thinking how terrifying it would be. So freaking good 4.5 ⭐️

[Tay Za Tun]

Holy Crap. This one was sooo good. Reminds me of like the bronze age of Creepcasts with titles like Penpal, Borrasca, Left Right Game.
The dialogue and descriptions were witty and can be silly but it somehow never detracted from the horror or the plot.
The ambiguity of our narrator's perspective wasn't inconsequential in a way that loosened tension like in the moon aflame narrative.
Every end of a part, the writing is hype moments. Like they said "DUN DUN DUNNN" in the most effective way.
One of the most creative scares written ever like ever.

One of the most unique ending to the story with how a resolution was achieved. How all the little moments in the story like Paul's instructions on how to survive a bear and his story of the circus contortionist, the flashbacks in different equally unreliable perspectives. The red herrings thrown everywhere. Even seeing our protoganist's final doom.

Spoiler alert: And the ending, in order to get past this representation of trauma is to just keep moving forward, don't built a court case against the axe, recognize how deep it has embedded itself into your trunk and move on, keep growing one step every week. That's powerful.

Hall of famer
8.5/10

[GabbyGetsReading]

This author really has a talent for writing truly bone chilling and heart pumping horror. This was so good! Im not sure how We Used to Live Here was born from this because this had an even creepier and dreadful vibe than that. I never knew what was happening but had to keep reading the parts to know what would happen and what secrets I could unfold. I watched the creep cast podcast read this and it was a fun experience hearing others thoughts during those creepy moments.
This author at this point is an auto read for me because the way his stories are crafted are so eerie and inevitable. This was truly one of the scariest things I've read in a while and made me so uneasy in my house. I kept waiting to turn around and see something frozen standing there. Amazing story?

[Paz]

Lo escuché en audiolibro y me gustó bastante, me encanta el terror basado en reglas y acá lo hacen muy bien.

Lo plantean de una forma que te engancha enseguida y además tiene buenos personajes que le dan cuerpo a la historia.
En varias historias de terror que salieron de Internet parece que no hay motivos para las decisiones que toman los protagonistas más que el autor necesita que pasen ciertas cosas para poder avanzar la historia, pero acá se nota que los personajes tiene voluntad propia. Además son pocos y eso le juega a favor porque cada uno puede tener su espacio, y están todos muy bien definidos.

El final también me pareció 👌🏻 puede ser un poco ambiguo pero para mi funciona muy bien

[Ryan Estrada]

Finding authors who can write such detail so smoothly is tough, but man Kliewer absolutely knows what he's doing. Loving this author more with everything I read by them.

Kliewer's writing makes you forget you're reading a book, because the movie that plays on your head is so vivid. He does something that I learned from the great song writer Pat Pattison: writing vivid sense-bound details that leave just enough room for his words to be filled by our individual experiences. Our mental movies may differ slightly, but the core of his stories is likely to traumatize readers in very similar ways. Good trauma lol. Welcome trauma.

Can't get enough.

[Jacob]

I like just finished this episode and I have to say it's pretty good. Though if you couldn't tell by the fact it's been out for like a month I really wasn't bought in consistently all too well. The ending was probably the best bit and I'm certain this'll go down as a hall of famer Creepcast but for me at least it was difficult to finish. The problem here is certainly myself though. By the end I really lived its brand of surreal and effective horror and its consistent sense of humor. Deserving of all its accolades but not a personal favorite.

[Ariel]

The Entity that lives in Brandon's basement has the anomalous effect of making him use the most trite, cliched writing techniques known to man. He freezes constantly. A chill goes down his spine every two paragraphs. Characters are eternally shrugging. But the ambiguity that runs through the whole story is very cool and well done. Unsurprisingly, a lot of reviewers have a problem with that, because they are babies who need everything explained to them. Someone asked for a Q&A. To what end? You want the author to come to your house and apologize for being vague? Jesus Christ, man.

[Lady Romy]

LOVED.

The way everything tied together so neatly yet somehow remained ambiguous and never lost any of its initial horror is remarkable. Horror writers, THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.

**Full disclosure, I "read" this through Davis Morgan's reading and analysis on YouTube, which was a perfect blend of audiobook and theory crafting. (Please check out this channel if you like horror media and literature; he is genuinely one of the best out there.)

[isaac]

A mind that has made a private deal with what it cannot bear. The point is surrender. The more the protagonist tries to hold something off, the more he belongs to it. What we refuse to know does not vanish. We give it a place, a time. We obey it to feel safe from it. How reasonable the bargain seems from inside. How the cage is built by the one who thinks he is keeping watch.

[hunter]

read via creepcast. i loved kliewer’s the caretaker and i enjoy the way he ends his books. even though this is an internet story, i was hooked the whole time and got excited for the entire 6 hour runtime. i love a good vague ending when the story is written well.

[James Cooper]

Straight up creepin' my cast over here.

I listened to this one over on creep cast, and despite the shenanigans added, the story itself is one of my favorite creepypastas as of late. The horror here is so creative, and the story and characters surrounding it are legitimately captivating.

[Eurydactyl]

The horrific prison of obsession over trauma, and the freedom of working through it and learning to live with it. One step at a time.

[Justus Wise]

How is this so good and we used to live here so bad?

[✮⋆˙☆ payton ☆˙⋆✮]

4.5 ⭐️

This was fun!! I enjoyed it a lot :)

[emely (sunny) perez]

5⭐️, creeped my cast to this exponentially.

[Leonidas]

Broski to bylo dobre

[Mac]

Wait this is on here?? That’s awesome holy this is a legit 4/5 I’m not joking.