Chapter Text
Silence crept through the halls and greeted Jay as he opened the front door. Light streamed through the stained-glass windows. The wood creaked as he stepped inside, and the smell of mahogany permeated the air. Hill House loomed over him, just as intimidating as it had been the first time he stayed there. It had been a few months since then, and he was relieved he would have company this time. The house was too big and too empty for him to comfortably inhabit.
Grabbing the handles of his suitcase and duffel bag, he made his way upstairs to the master bedroom where he would settle in. Though he’d gotten acquainted with the property, he still stared in wonder at the thought that this place was his now. It still felt surreal, a sentiment that hadn’t left him since he first learned this enormous house was in his name.
The whole shooting of Marble Hornets was a surreal experience in and of itself. Jay still wasn’t sure he knew what the film was about by the time they shot the bong scene. Honestly, this scene probably made him more confused. Plus, there was the added discomfort of whatever the hell this sweater Alex put him in was made of. It took all his willpower not to constantly itch, and if Seth’s snickering off-camera was anything to go by, then Jay’s discontent was clear.
When Alex finally called a break, Jay all but threw the offending garment off. Alex watched him breathe a sigh of relief before offering, “You know, I can always give you something else to wear if it’s bothering you that much.”
Jay shook his head. “No, it’s alright. We’ve already filmed me in it, and we wouldn’t want any continuity errors.”
Brian laughed from the kitchen, likely reminded of the absolute disaster that was the coffee scene. They started reviewing the footage last week, and Jay could feel part of his soul die watching Brian switch shirts twice or Tim pull up with the passenger seat empty. Seth and Jay fought off their own smiles at the shared inside joke as Alex looked between them, confused.
For the remainder of the break, they actually did what they should be doing – Seth checking the camera, Jay reviewing the script, and Alex going over his own notes for the scene. Brian made it back to the living room just in time to continue filming. Alex went over the shot composition with Seth while Jay put the sweater back on, shaking his arms out to try and ward off some of the itch.
“You’re a real trooper, Jay,” Brian said from the couch next to him. He patted Jay’s shoulder then felt the material between his fingers. "Oh, this is unbearable, actually.” He turned to Alex who was still behind the camera. “Alex! Maybe get him something that doesn’t feel like sandpaper?”
Alex shrugged. “I tried, but he said it’s fine.” He stepped around the tripod to return to his place on the couch. “Ready to go, Seth?”
“Rolling,” came Seth’s reply.
Before Alex could tell Brian where to start, Jay’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He retrieved it to see his mother’s caller ID. His brow furrowed. That’s odd…
“Sorry, I gotta take this,” Jay stated as he stood.
“That’s okay,” Alex said and checked his watch. “We can spare a couple minutes.”
Jay turned the corner into the kitchen, pressing the green call button. “Hello?”
“Hi, honey, how’s school going? I hope I didn’t get you during class.”
“Uh, no, not in class. I’m kind of in the middle of shooting something for Alex, though. What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
His mother laughed a little. “Oh, no, nothing so serious. We got a call today, and I think they’re sending some sort of formal notice in the mail, but long story short there’s a lawyer in Massachusetts telling us you’ve inherited a property up there.”
“What? How did I inherit a property?” Jay paced and briefly made eye contact with Alex over the kitchen counter, his friend wearing a similarly bewildered expression.
“Well, we do have some distant family in the state, so it’s not impossible.” Before Jay could ask about that, she continued. “Look, our lawyer is handling everything, and if it’s legitimate, then you’ll have some decisions to make. From what I hear, it’s a rather extravagant house-”
“Mom, this doesn’t make any sense. Why would a distant relative leave anything to me?”
She sighed. “I don’t know, Jay. His trustee isn’t even family, so maybe it’s just a mix-up. Just let me know when you have some time, and we can talk about this more, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks for the heads up, I guess. I’ll talk to you soon.”
They exchanged their goodbyes, and Jay shuffled back into the living room, staring at the phone in his hand as if it could answer any of his questions.
Seth was the first to see him come around the corner. “So, what was that about?”
Jay pocketed his phone as he looked up, unsure how to explain it. “Um, I maybe possibly inherited a house?”
The others’ eyes widened, and Alex repeated back, “A house?”
He nodded. “An extravagant one, supposedly. They haven’t reviewed everything yet, though, so it might be for someone else.”
Brian chimed in, “I don’t think Jay Merrick is that common of a name. Sounds to me like you got lucky, man.”
Jay laughed him off, and they got back to work. By evening, they had finished the scene and packed everything away. In the midst of deciding what to grab for dinner, Jay’s phone buzzed again. Texts from his mother popped up in his inbox.
Lawyer got back to us
Its yours!!!
She followed up with an address and ‘Tell me when you can talk.’
“Hey, Alex, can I borrow your laptop for a minute?” Jay asked.
Alex produced it from his bag and handed it over.
Jay pulled up the Internet browser and did a search for the address. The results showed a massive property on a huge amount of land. It was a little rundown but livable, and Jay’s jaw dropped as he scrolled through the listing information.
Over his shoulder, Alex remarked, “Wow. You weren’t kidding when you said ‘extravagant.’ That’s, like, almost a mansion.”
“Is that Jay’s new house?” Brian called from the hall. He walked over to them, peering over Jay’s other shoulder to see the screen. “Damn, Alex is right. You said you inherited this?”
“Apparently,” Jay confirmed with a shrug.
Seth glanced over as he moved the camera equipment out of the room, eyebrows raising. “Think you’re gonna live there?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet. Maybe I should – I don’t know – just visit the place first or something? Appearances can be deceiving. It could be rotting away on the inside.”
Alex nodded. “Good call. Well,” he continued as he reached to take his laptop back, “if you ever get lonely in that big old house, I’m sure we’d all be glad to join you.”
Brian and Seth nodded as Jay laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jay would go on to talk with this lawyer in Massachusetts, and he arranged to come to the house during the upcoming winter break. Whoever this family member was, his estate paid off the mortgage and the trustee turned out to be one of the groundskeepers, so Jay was in a really good position to keep the property. Not to mention he had also inherited some amount of the trust itself. The groundskeepers wouldn’t be there during his first visit - something about them not working as many hours in the winter - but he would meet the trustee to get the house key.
Pulling up to the driveway, the house towered higher than he imagined, its walls climbing into the sky. As Jay stepped out of his car, he noted the building appeared to be in good shape. He had done a little bit of research and wasn’t sure what to expect when he read it was nearly a century old. Fortunately, its age didn’t show, at least on the outside. Grabbing his bag, he made his way up to the front door and knocked. He noticed another car parked on the opposite side of the driveway.
The house’s door opened to a woman with straight blonde hair. Jay quickly faced her. “Are you the trustee?”
She smiled. “That’s right, and I’m guessing you’re Jay Merrick.”
He nodded, and she held out a hand.
“Amy Walters.” He shook her hand, and she opened the door a bit wider. “Come on in. I’ll show you around and get you the keys.” She moved back to let him in, and he stared in awe at the interior.
Once he took a few steps inside, he could see how well-maintained it was. The place was nearly spotless. An ornate staircase stood in front of him, floor to ceiling stained-glass windows were placed at the landing, and beautiful woodwork made up most of the house. It looked like something out of a movie.
Amy’s lips quirked up as she looked around with him. “Impressive, right? I’m not used to it myself sometimes. The other groundskeepers have been working with this house for years, so they’ve lost some of the appreciation for it.”
“You’re new then?”
“Not quite new, but I haven’t been here nearly as long as them.” She turned to look up at Jay. “If you want to know anything about the last owner, I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell. He kept to himself a lot, and I’m not even sure why he named me trustee instead of one of the others.”
Jay pursed his lips for a moment in thought. “Maybe it’s because of your reverence for the house? He might have trusted you more to make sure it got passed on.”
She hummed. “Maybe.” She suddenly clapped her hands together, stepping in front of Jay. “Let’s get to business. Follow me. I’ll get you familiar with the layout of the house then leave you be for the week.”
For the next hour or so, Amy led Jay around. Much of the time was spent on the first floor, which held a lot of rooms. Jay found himself most interested in the gallery and the library. The gallery was lined with marble statues, all of people and intricately crafted. Jay felt oddly comfortable around them, like being among company. The library, meanwhile, had a spiral staircase that went up to the third floor. Amy didn’t get to bring him up there that day, but he was sure he would venture there on his own. The second floor was mainly inhabited by bedrooms, one master and five others. Amy informed him there was a second master on the third floor as well, and Jay mentally took stock of how many people he could eventually invite out here. He was up to six, and that honestly pretty much covered his entire friend group.
Amy finished the tour back at the staircase, handing Jay the house keys. “These should open any room in the house, but if anything is locked, just let us know. I left our contact information by the landline in the kitchen. There’s a little notepad next to it for you to jot down anything you notice that might need tidying up. I know it’s a little lonely out here, so if you need anything at all just call us.”
Jay smiled and thanked her, wishing her a safe drive as she left.
Now alone in the house with evening fast approaching, it felt emptier than it had before.
Over the next few days, Jay discovered a few things about the location. First, cell phone service was almost nonexistent. Jay realized this when he stepped out to drive into town and suddenly received a barrage of texts and missed calls from the first couple days of his trip. Most of them were from his parents and Alex, a couple coming from Tim or Brian. They were all checking in to see if he got there okay, so he made sure to return their messages while he was out. The second realization came the first night when he found himself restless. Unable to sleep, he chose instead to wander the halls. His prior curiosity about the marble statues now turned into unease as he faced them at night. Rather than comfort, they filled him with a sense of dread. He couldn’t kick the feeling like he was being watched. He returned to bed soon after.
The rest of the trip passed without incident, and Jay almost felt reluctant to leave. Despite the creepy statues and lack of service, the house was perfect. He got all the way to his driver’s seat when he got an idea and pulled out his phone to call Amy. Peeling out of the driveway, he stopped the car briefly as he looked out at the tree line. If he peered close enough, it almost looked like someone was standing there.
“Hello? Jay?”
Jay jumped at the sound of Amy’s voice, shaking his head and seeing nothing when he checked the tree line again. Brushing it off, he answered. “Amy, hey, I wanted to ask you something about the house. Do you think I could have some people over for the summer?”
Now, the first week of summer had arrived, and Jay made his way downstairs to find the groundskeepers. He was told they had done regular maintenance throughout the spring, so the house remained well-kept. Jay finally found them out back in the yard. One of them, a taller blonde man, gesticulated while he talked and the other, a shorter ginger man with glasses and a beard, listened.
Jay jogged up, stopping a few feet short of where they stood before initiating conversation. “Hi there.”
They turned to him, and the shorter one wore a friendly smile. “Well, hello! You must be Jay. I’m David, nice to meet you.” He shook Jay’s hand before gesturing to his partner. “I’m sure Amy mentioned there were a couple other groundskeepers. That would be myself and Adam.”
Adam waved and looked Jay over. “Good to meet you."
Jay nodded to him with an awkward smile.
David spoke again, turning to Adam. “Can you go check the office and make sure everything was cleared? I’ll handle the debriefing.” Adam sauntered back to the house, David turning his attention to Jay. “I believe you know we won’t be here on weekends.”
“Right, Amy did mention something about that.”
“Good, then you also know we won’t be here at night.”
Fiddling with his sleeve, Jay affirmed. “Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. Is that like a policy?”
David crossed his arms. “I guess you could call it a personal policy. We just don’t like being on the property at night. Plus, we live right in town, so we really have no need to stay past evening.”
Jay scrunched his nose. “Is there a reason you don’t like being here at night?”
“Everything changes in the dark. You stayed here during the winter, I’m sure you know what I mean.”
Jay thought back to the change in atmosphere when the house got dark, how things that once seemed warm suddenly felt sinister, and realized he did know what David meant. “That makes sense, I guess. But, I mean, it’s just a house.”
David shifted his hands to his hips with a sigh. “I suppose so. Listen, Adam and I have a few things to check up on before your guests get here, then we’ll just do routine maintenance. Assuming no complications arise, we’ll mostly be out of your hair.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, you won’t bother us. I’d rather know everything’s working than make you stay out of our way or whatever.”
“I’ll remember you said that.” David passed Jay to head back toward the house, stopping to turn. “I know you said it’s just a house, but if you start feeling like the night is getting to you, you come let me know. All right?”
Taken aback, Jay blinked. “All right.”
With a nod and a wave, David walked off.