We Used to Live Here

A uniquely dynamic character, Thomas Faust initially appears as a suspicious intruder, but the novel eventually reveals that he’s an ancient entity that can manipulate perception and reality, thematically underscoring Perception, Reality, and the Intersecting Lines Between Them. When Thomas and his “family” arrive one night, he insists on looking around what he claims was his childhood home. He’s overly polite and apologetic in the early hours of his arrival and when it serves his needs in the effort to deceive Eve into thinking he’s an innocent albeit odd individual. Eve notices that Thomas has scars all over his face, but these are later exposed as a trick he played to make her believe that Alison attacked him. Thomas knows exactly what to say to placate Eve’s suspicions in key moments and works his way into her home and her life. By the morning after his arrival, Thomas has essentially moved in and settled back into the home. Sensing this, Eve becomes desperate for him and his family to leave.

Thomas is a perpetual liar and deceiver, constantly giving Eve partial truths or entirely fabricated versions of the past. He claims that Alison came to the house out of nowhere after wandering out of the woods; in reality, it was him who came and invaded. Additionally, Thomas claims that Alison lost all sense of reality, when in truth her perceptions were crystal clear and she was correct about everything. Thomas intentionally gaslights and confuses Eve, repeatedly assuring her that the family intends to leave soon and claiming that he was offered a photography job in Minnesota.

Eve’s suspicions become stronger and more justified with each passing hour, as she finds Thomas standing motionless and unresponsive in the basement, sees him screaming and crying outside while “sleepwalking,” and later catches him slapping himself in the face. Thomas and his wife seem distant and more like actors than an actual married couple, and Thomas cares little about his “children.” The novel eventually reveals that his intentions are far more sinister than Eve ever imagined: He proclaims to be an ancient being who was there when life began. Thomas is obsessed with the house and with keeping people trapped within its cycle, and he wants to make Eve a part of that. Eve eventually figures this out and violently attacks Thomas but is unable to kill him. Thomas maintains control over Eve’s life, presumably forever, and toys with her in the story’s conclusion when he hands her Charlie’s locket.

Eve’s partner, Charlie, is her closest ally until a doppelganger (who only resembles the original Charlie) replaces her. The original Charlie is assertive, patient, and skeptical and thus is “Eve’s polar opposite” (48). She’s confident and self-assured, which is why Eve is so reliant on her. When Eve feels panicked or anxious, Charlie calms her down through comfort and logical explanations. In addition, Charlie says whatever is on her mind and isn’t afraid to defend herself and Eve when Paige begins questioning them about their relationship. She spoiled her Uncle Benji’s precious story about the flying demon by explaining that it was an overexposed photo of an owl. This little anecdote hints at the possibility that Eve may be mistaking what she sees, but the novel soon exposes this as a red herring.

Charlie used to love photography and took the only photo known to exist of Eve. She keeps it in a locket around her neck until the doppelganger replaces her the locket appears above the fireplace. Seeing the new locket there signals to Eve that something is horribly wrong because she knows that Charlie would never leave it there and knows that their connection is strong, which contributes to the theme of Knowing and Staying True to Oneself because Eve feels confident in the person she loves and the life she knows they had together. Since Charlie acts as the voice of reason, the person who picks up Eve and takes her to the motel initially seems to be the real Charlie, but Eve’s instincts and a strange phone call signal to her that it isn’t. Eve sets out to try to save Charlie but never sees her again. Meanwhile, Charlie is still in the original reality and still searches for Eve.

A flat character, Paige is defined by her position as Thomas’s “wife,” as the children’s mother, and as an opposition to Thomas’s personality. She wears a cross around her neck, insists upon praying at dinner, and constantly seems annoyed by her husband. A sense that Paige doesn’t care about Thomas or may even despise him characterizes their interactions: She rarely talks to him except to tell him what to do or argue with him. She’s stricter than Thomas and more neurotic and always worries about the children. Paige doesn’t trust anyone, especially Eve, and judges her for being lesbian.

Eve notices that Paige has a tattoo of a faded circle on her neck, indicating that Paige is somehow connected to Thomas’s reality and its many intersections. Unlike Thomas, Paige has no interest in the house and seems eager to leave it as soon as they arrive, but she relents to Thomas’s whims and starts to settle in before long. In the story’s climactic scene, Eve kills Paige, which fuels Thomas’s final attack on Eve and is the violent outburst that results in her placement in a psychiatric hospital, almost as if Thomas intentionally pushed Eve to that point to trap and punish her for not going along with his new reality.