The family room is crowded full of teenagers decked out in full costumes. They spill out into the hallway, and graze the table in the dining room—laid out with an assortment of Halloween themed snacks, approved by Bethany ahead of time. She insisted everything be perfect when we finally agreed to let her host her…

I look back at the white salt lines in horror but before I can think of a response, a guttural scream pierces the air from the master bedroom above us. Charlie clutches Bryce’s leg, a tear streaking down his face. Bethany puts a hand over Harlow’s upturned ear, pressing her tighter against her shoulder in…

The weekend trip to the city was exactly what we needed. A reset after what felt like several long weeks in the new house. No strange voices followed us there. No mysterious movements of Harlow’s new doll. Just the laughter of our children as they experienced things for the first time. Like the fountains around…

“Someone has to have access to her iTunes account,” Bryce insists. He flips the covers back on the bed and throws himself down, one arm coming to rest against his forehead as he continues to stare at the screen of his own phone. It’s been three days since he got the bizarre text that sent…

The silence that follows is mindnumbing. I gasp for air as the sound of my thumping heart echoes off the wooden walls of the foyer. My mouth opens but no sound comes out. It isn’t until my daughter’s borrowed voice calls my name again from upstairs that I find the courage to speak. “Hello?” I…

Bryce’s eyes follow my shaking finger to the wall, his expression remaining even as he tilts his head—first to one side and then the other. I hold my breath, waiting for his reaction but the silence stretches on for so long that I drop my hand back to my side and take a step closer…

The room tilts—time itself standing still. I am simultaneously watching Harlow fall, the splintered railing suspended midair right in front of me, and also watching her stumble back from that same railing, a look of confusion painted across her ethereal face. The cherry wood perfectly unsplit.  Charlie blinks heavily beside me, a stunned expression on…

The engine whines and chokes, struggling against the steepening inclines of the winding Ozark roads. Red and gold leaves scatter across the asphalt as if placed there by a confetti cannon, swirling up behind the car as it slowly climbs through the twisting hollows.  In the rearview, Bethany slumps against the door, an index finger…