The Odd Family's Book of Bedtime Stories

The Perfect Home

Tyson and Anna had worked hard to buy their new house. It wasn't much, just a two bedroom fixer upper on a tiny bit of land, but it was theirs. They had started with nothing and were able to work and save to buy something that they could call and make their own. All of the repairs were cosmetic too, things like wallpaper and fixtures that needed to be replaced. The carpet was thick with grime but hid beautiful hardwood floors beneath it. The kitchen window was broken but it had a beautiful view of the small back yard. Tyson called the house a diamond in the rough and Anna hoped a diamond would be involved when the repairs were done.

Their friends and family helped too, often pitching in to haul out heavy rolls of carpet or to hold up cabinets so they could be attached to the wall. Anna's dad cleaned up the cluttered yard and beat back the jungle of weeds while Tyson's father patched the roof. It was the perfect home.

With the carpet gone and the major repairs finished, it was time for Anna to start in on the wallpaper. It was a thick monstrosity, stained varying shades of tan, yellow, and brown probably from years of cigarette smoke. Nothing could be saved, not that Anna would have tried as it was just ugly. She hoped that there was only one layer as she started in on it, beginning in the corner of the living room.

Much to her relief, there were no layers beneath the top one and the wallpaper came off surprisingly easily. She peeled back one long strip after the other, taking joy when large pieces came off all at once. It was incredibly satisfying to watch the walls reveal themselves and she spent most of her time thinking about paint colors.

Like the hidden hardwood, Anna found a surprise hidden under the wallpaper as well. On each wall there was a different name and a date. At first she thought they were family members or the people who had put up the paper in the first place but quickly realized that wasn't plausible. None of them shared a last name or a date and the dates spanned over years. The most recent date was only seven years prior when the house had officially been foreclosed on.

Dying of curiosity, Anna gave up on the wallpaper and got out her laptop. She began to search the names and dates, hoping to find answers. She didn't expect to find missing persons reports. Each name and date coincided with the date they had disappeared. None of them had been found and all of the cases were still open. There were cases from three and four states away, and the more she searched, the more Anna became worried. Tyson told her she worried too much and needed to stop watching so many true crime shows.

In the end, Anna chose to call the police. She decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and she wanted to know if maybe they had some answers that she didn't. It was possible that the person who owned the home before them had been a true crime nut or just a nut in general. It took forever for the police to come but when they did they quickly multiplied.

The first officer seemed unconcerned and strolled slowly through the house, listening to Anna explain to him what she'd found. Tyson waited on the porch with his partner, chatting and talking about the work that had been done. It was very disappointing and anticlimactic until the officer saw the pile of wallpaper on the living room floor. He asked a few questions and then called his partner who then called other officers. Those officers called more officers and eventually the police were lined down their driveway and along the sidewalk. They crowded the hallway.

The communication had stopped then. Tyson and Anna were no longer allowed in their own home while the police searched every room and examined the wallpaper- both on the walls and in the floor. Tyson had stopped talking, watching the situation unfold in front of them. It was clear that Anna had been right to sound the alarm. Something was definitely wrong, they just couldn't tell what it was.

Unable to take it anymore, Anna slipped over to a group of detectives that had gathered on the porch to talk. She moved slowly and quietly, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. It seemed that these particular men were in charge and she was hoping to find out something by listening in. There were so many people milling around that they didn't pay attention to Anna.

"...So he was right?" She heard the oldest detective ask. He shook his head and then glanced to the house. "All of them? Every single room? And they thought it was wallpaper?" Anna frowned. It seemed insane that the police would be going crazy over her wallcovering and if it wasn't wallpaper, what was it?

"That's right." Another said. He shuddered. This one seemed a little pale and clammy. Whatever it was had shook him to his core. He followed his partner's unnerving stare. "It's all skin. On the floor, on the walls... all of it."

"What kind of sicko decorates their home with human remains?" The third one whispered.