The Other House
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-Transcript-
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Beyond the sea of green covering wavy mountainscapes of southern inland Appalachia. Situated atop a rocky peak clearing the tips of trees. One will find the odd outlier of a lone house. Notwithstanding its location, the house is, by all means, ordinary in appearance. Sporting an unassuming look plucked straight from suburban neighborhoods, its two-story cottage house aesthetics wouldn’t warrant a second glance. That is until one notices how it sits precariously perched over a thinning slice of almost cartoonish cliffside. Or how it’s the only house within 80 miles of dense backwoods. Or even how the porch lights are on and sprinklers water the front yard twice a day, despite no amenities being connected. The black ridge society has dubbed this inexplicable place; the other house.
Agents Pike and Robin arrived at the other house July 22nd of 2019. On account of its anomalous nature, strict protocols were in place for their safety. Forbidden from staying in the house past sundown, the Agents would take a two-hour commute from a local town at the base of the mountain. Additionally, they were made to keep journals of their findings and experiences as well as subjected to nightly telephone check-ins. Initially, both Agents reported that even with its bizarre location, the house was painfully boring. Its gabled roof unweathered; its gutters empty. Painted in a bland pallet of grays and blues. It was quite unremarkable.
Inside the house was as plain as the outside. Uninspired interior decorating, furnished with common brands. Its surfaces clean though somewhat cluttered with various decorative knick-knacks. Drawers and closets filled to the brim with clothes and junk. Exploring the house felt almost voyeuristic as if they were intruding into somebody’s home. Even framed pictures lined the walls, although eerily each had a photo of its own distinct family. All the photos were taken in or around the house, and none showed all these individuals together. While the people in them were smiling, their eyes portrayed a deep sadness.
As the days passed, the investigation began unearthing a plethora of fascinating details. Hidden to the naked eye, the rooms of the house were built with impossible dimensions. Hallways stretched for lengths greater than the total length outside. Rooms had enormous closets that made no indent in the room next to it. The stairs measured shorter going up than they did going back down. And the basement had foundations poured well beyond the drop in the cliff. Each time the agents collected data they’d catalog wildly varying lengths, almost as if the house were in constant flux.
It was towards the end of the week when the Agents began to feel unwelcome. They claim that along with a sensation of ire floating in the air, physical manifestations would begin testing their patience. Doors to rooms would close and jam shut, just to be found open hours later. Equipment used in testing would turn itself on and off, sometimes showing spikes in dangerous atmosphericals likes carbon monoxide or radiation. And cameras set up to monitor rooms vanish from their spots just to appear scattered across the front lawn.
Unfortunately, due to a lapse in judgment from command, they were not withdrawn from the field immediately. Yet, as if knowing its prey had been gearing to leave, the house exercised its will to an extent the Blackridge Society was not prepared for. In their journaled reports, unbeknownst to one another, Agents Pike and Robin experienced the same dream, on the same night, with no prior discussion.
The following is taken from Agent Robin’s journal:
“I was falling asleep when suddenly the sound of shattering glass rang out. Upon opening my eyes, I found myself outside, standing before the Other House, naked and alone. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t yell. I simply stood there facing the front door. The once plain features of the house were replaced by human-like expressions of anger. Its gutters slanted over its windows. Its doorway had flipped sideways, bowing downwards like a frown. And the entire structure leaned in towards me, towering menacingly. In addition to its physical features, the house was surrounded with a permeating red aura, radiating around it like a halo. There was an innate feeling of terror present. A feeling that logic couldn’t explain. Something deep within me warned me not to enter that house again. It felt less like a dream, and more like a harbinger.”
The next morning Agents Pike and Robin both expressed in their journals feelings of apprehensive about returning to the house. Unfortunately, a lack of communication caused them both to ignore their instincts. It was that very afternoon the Agents went dark.
All subsequent information has been pieced together through post-interviews.
The morning started as all the previous ones did. The Agents left their base of operations and headed to the other house. Upon arriving they collected their camera equipment from the lawn and proceeded to log measurements. They chipped samples of paint from the walls as well as shaved fibers off the linens, took reference photography, and reset the cameras. Making short work of it they prepared things for departure once more.
No red flags, just an uneasy stillness. The house was playing dead. It wasn’t until the front door handle was turned that it decided to pounce.
The following is from an interview done with Agent Robin after her return.
“We awoke in the master bedroom of the other house. I knew something was wrong but couldn’t articulate it. I didn’t remember dressing in a nightgown and going to bed in that place. Somehow, it all felt normal. And while I’ve only known Agent Pike on a professional basis, in that instance of waking next to him, he felt like a lover. As time passed any uneasiness was replaced with what I could be only described as routine compliance. It became obvious to me that Agent Pike was my husband, and it felt as if we’d been married for years. Whenever my mind struggled against the idea, whenever rationality screamed at me to snap out of it, the house would present us with new evidence of our matrimony. Pictures on the walls showed our faces together. Wedding rings materialized on the nightstand. Even one of the rooms transformed into a nursery. All the evidence of a happy marriage was there, just not the memories.”
Thus, the strange masquerade began. The two Agents would wake up every morning and follow a routine they had no input on. Agent Robin would get dressed in clothes not her own and hurry downstairs into the kitchen. There she’d prepare breakfast and lunch for Agent Pike, who meanwhile himself was up and about completing minor house maintenance. Around 8am Agent Robin would hand Agent Pike a briefcase and lunch bag, ushering him out the door. Afterward, she’d find herself dusting and cleaning around the house for hours, before going back into the kitchen and cooking dinner. Around 4pm the table was set, and Agent Pike would enter the front door, hanging his hat and putting away his things. The two would eat, make small talk, and then retire to the master bedroom. Just to have the routine begin anew the next morning.
Though seemingly harmless, the routine takes on a darker tone with more context. During Agent Pike’s interviews. When asked where he went after leaving the house for work. He stated the following:
“Every day we were trapped in that place, I’d leave through that front door with a briefcase at hand, just to circle the house and stand inches away from the edge of that fucking cliff. Eight hours, every single day, I fought with all my strength against an unknown force compelling me to jump.”
During Agent Robin’s interviews. When asked if she had experienced any suicidal thoughts of her own, she stated the following:
“Suicide? No. But I did have an ungodly nagging compulsion to end Agent Pike’s life. I was consumed with resentment, it felt like he did me wrong. I wanted to do it with anything, in any way. Poison his food, drop a dryer into his bath, even suffocate him with a pillow as he slept. These thoughts, they weren’t mine. The memories for these thoughts weren’t there. But the emotions themselves were so real. So vivid. It was a struggle to suppress them as long as we did.”
Additional agents were dispatched immediately after the first missed check-in. Though Agents Pike and Robin claimed they followed this routine for weeks. During which bitterness began slowly bubbling to the surface. Starting as calm arguments regarding non-existent problems; bills, house repairs, future plans. Things escalated quickly, devolving to dishes being thrown against walls and doors slamming. In post-interviews, the Agents expressed remorse for their actions but made it clear they were not masters of their domain. Likened to watching a movie, it was like they were viewing their actions unfold through their eyes, powerless to prevent them.
When asked if they ever felt back in control of their bodies, Agent Pike stated the following:
“Several nights I awoke at exactly as the clock turned to 3am. It was during these rare moments that I regained some control over my body and thoughts. At first, I’d attempt to wake Agent Robin, but no matter how I pushed and prodded, she’d lay there like a corpse, completely unresponsive. Next, I’d stand and make my way towards the door. I couldn’t run, instead, I lumbered towards it like one would to a restroom at night. That’s when the shadows came. They’d appear out of the corner of my eye, some darting between rooms, others hovering against the wall. I couldn’t react, only having partial control over my body, instead, I trudged onward trying to flee the house. Though, when I’d reach the front door, a field of radiating energy pushed back against my body, preventing me from reaching the handle. I’d strain with all my strength until finally waking up in the morning, exhausted and drenched in sweat.”
Time passes differently in the other house. What constitutes as an hour is far more ethereal, harder to gauge. The cumulative actions Agents Pike and Robin experienced in that house without question lasted longer than the twelve hours it took for support to arrive. In that window, they’d been subjected to galling tortures that tested their will to live. Everything boiled to a fever pitch when, as if sensing its time to tease its prey was nearing an end, the other house once again shifted in a desperate attempt to consume them.
Lastly, I’d like to share an excerpt from Agent Robin’s interview regarding their final moments in the house.
“I awoke at 3am. A familiar stillness fell over the house. I was able to control my body, but with what felt like input-delay between my thoughts and actions. Agent Pike was not in bed next to me. Though through the closed hallway door poured in a red glow outlining its frame. Lead hit my stomach as I willed myself towards the light. Opening the door bathed the room in a neon-bloodish hue. The air was pulsating, beating in time with my heart. I pushed forward through the oppressive dread, walking down the stairs. On the first floor, the basement door hung wide open. I didn’t want to go down there but knew Agent Pike’s life was in danger. Determined to leave this together, I ventured deeper into the bowels of that beast.
There on the cold cement floor stood Agent Pike bathed in a violent red gleam with a knife at hand. He had been facing me, his head hung downward. I took a step hesitant forward and noticed the shadow lurching over him. It hovered feet above the ground and from its black billowy torso fell thin strands of smoky string that wrapped itself around Agent Pike’s limbs. Like a puppeteer, the shadow tugged at its tendrils making his puppet move, forcing Agent Pike to lunge at me with a speed of an animal. The weight of his body collided with mine, knocking me against the wall. He hovered over me like the shadow did him. Pinning me to the wall with one hand, bearing the glimmering steal with the other.
We met each other’s eyes. I could tell he’d been fighting it with his entire being. If it wasn’t for his inner strength, I would have surely been dead by now. It was then we dark entity spoke. Its voice low and wet. Aggravated. “Give hers to me” it gargled furiously. Agent Pike’s muscles tightened, his teeth audibly grit. Flames began to burst from the walls around us. “Give me hers and I will let you keep yours.” The thing demanded with a roar that shook the mountains underneath.
Then Pike’s face softened. His grip loosened. The words “I love you” slipped from his lips. And with that whisper, the shadow vanished, its grip no longer over us. I helped my partner to his feet, and we escaped as flames engulfed the house. We stood watching that fucking house burn to the ground. A few hours later you showed up.”
It’s to note, that only twelve hours had passed since they went dark. We evacuated Agent Pikes and Agent Robin and they made a full recovery at the local hospital. The next day the other house stood once more unburned and untarnished.
Strangely the two agents married shortly after their return, And they remain happily married to this day.
