The Blueprint of Deep Wells

The Blueprint of Deep Wells

There are numerous ways that one may perceive the month of October, specifically the days closely surrounding Halloween. Some will lean more toward the “cutesy” decorations of scarecrows accompanied by happily painted pumpkins on the front lawn, while adversely, there are those who affiliate themselves with the dark, grotesque side of Halloween, those that strive to scare children in such ways that turning on the light will fail to suffice. It is characteristics such as these that allow one to see the depths of someone’s personality, the side of them that divulges a smile at the sight and sound of humans cringing and screeching in fear.

The creator of the Deep Wells Haunted House leaves evidence in every trace of his work that prior to beginning the project, he possessed a particular vision; he had meticulously analyzed the exact level and means of terror he wanted the guests to leave with and exactly how he would conquer that emotion. The process of creating a haunted house works similarly to an author creating a novel or a director generating a movie in that in both scenarios, from beginning to end, there is a plot waiting to be unfolded at where all focal points seamlessly connect to one another.

The designer of Deep Wells first begins with decayed and decrepit scenery as one walks up to the house, consisting of cobwebs and the groans of wooden steps weakly holding the trembling guests standing above. Both are accompanied by viciously shattered glass windows and the flickering of dim porch lights, embedding a sense of trepidation prior to even setting foot in the building.

Upon entering the decomposed construction, hidden machines profusely pump frigid, thick fog into the air, barricading one’s view. While this is occurring, a lurid siren reverberates through every inch of the house, resulting in a temporary and mild loss of hearing. A sudden loss of any, let alone two, of the five senses never fails to initiate panic and anxiety, particularly in occasions where an unanticipated, gruesome face stands just inches away from the guest’s upon the fog clearing up, all while being imprisoned in a dark corner with nowhere to turn.

While fiercely struggling from being confined, the visitants are then subjected to the convoluted hallways that lurk yet another cryptic creature behind each sharp turn, awaiting its next cue to pop out in the faces of approaching guests, further surrounding them. The turns force two possible effects upon the visitors, both ending with the same result: on one hand, there are guests who remain entirely clueless and unaware of the creature standing just inches away from them as their focus remains on the creatures already making visible attacks, more drastically enhancing their fright upon being aroused for the second time; on the other hand are those who are able to anticipate something more to jump out at them, raising their anxiety immensely. The guests’ expectations of being scared and lack of knowledge as to when it will occur creates an uneasy feeling that entirely takes hold of them, thus resulting in the same outcome of those who maintained no knowledge of the creatures’ presence.

Lining the hallways are multiple white, luminescent beams with black centers set up in pairs, resembling human eyes in that they contain motion sensors, allowing them to move along with and follow the movements of the guests. Though one may see them as lights merely guiding the way to prevent injury, they may also be seen as such additional features whose purpose is to generate certain sagacity amongst the guests that they are being watched.

Each cause is connected to an effect, and for every action, there is one that follows. Each aspect of the house contains its own individual outcome, working together to instill multifarious effects of anxiety, tension, and terror. The design and architecture of Deep Wells was thoughtfully planned out from the wide apertures in the building itself to every detail lying in the house. The scenery, the intricate turns, the lambent lights"they all add up to create the most horrific of experiences, producing one that will not be forgotten.

Author's Note

Another assignment for my Writing for College course. The assignment was a Spatial Interpretation, and I chose to do mine on a haunted house. This was the end result, and the grade was a 100%.

Reviews

[E.V. Black]

When reading a story, it is sometimes very hard to get into it. Sometimes one knows what to expect in the story. Reading this story, I found the topic to be very original. Who would ever think to write about the construction of a haunted house? To me, it was extremely entertaining to hear about every single detail that went into the house's completion. On a side note, I will say that I loved the cleanness of the entire piece. Usually, I would have detected a few mistakes by now. Fortunately, there were none. You used lovely and perfectly descriptive language for this piece. This is a first-rate piece that I would most certainly expect to find among published literature.
You should definitely attempt to publish this in a literary magazine. It has potential!