The Dionaea house

[cleolinda]

Y'all have to read this. I can't say if it's real or not--I think I admire it more as a work of fiction, actually. But it's just right for Halloween: the search for a man who disappeared while investigating an old friend who went crazy. Make sure you read the "updates" page once you've finished with the main site--a really interesting LJ is involved. (The LJ is another reason I think it's a work of fiction--it's nicely done, but it's rather convenient that the girl would start the LJ right before the creepy stuff started happening, and it would end within ten entries. A real journal would be--well, it would be someone like you or me, with several months of entries, probably a good number of friends commenting, and then the weird shit starting. But that's way, way involved for someone to just create.) You'll notice that the updates page has updated regularly and it was last updated... yesterday. I have hopes that we might get another update this weekend.


ETA: I've just gotten word that it will be updated soon. Let's not say anything more about that. ;)

Comments

[shoiryu.livejournal.com]

Oh it's definitely fiction, no question, but GOLLY it's a lot of fun, isn't it? :D It's sort of in the same veing as of Leaves... (Which, Cleo-baby, if you haven't read, I'm almost willing to ship you MY copy to get you to. It's that good.)

[shoiryu.livejournal.com]

Yay, typos and unclosed HTML tags!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Ooo, no, I haven't heard of that one. I love this whole psychological Lovecraft/Bierce-type horror stuff, though. As opposed to the blood-spatter type, I mean.

[blue_ant]

You must read it. It is truly awesome. And best read if listening to Poe's CD, Haunted as the book is her brother's and the songs on that CD are, in many ways, inspired by the book.

/fangirl

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, that's really awesome.

[blue_ant]

It is, and really creepy. I was reading the book with the music late at night and scared myself a bit. Totally worth it, though.

[terriem.livejournal.com]

Ooh, creepy. I'm in the house on my own and I've just gone round and shut all the cupboard doors. *shudder*

I'll chime in on the House of Leaves love, it's really original and very scary. Don't read it in the dark. I finished it late at night and wasn't sleeping that well, when I heard a loud bang. The book had fallen from the book shelf where I'd left it under some other books, on to the floor. I freaked out a bit and couldn't sleep until I'd put it in another room in a box...

(Yes, I'm a big wuss, I know.)

[mochajoy13.livejournal.com]

Liek woah. Just read it all, and I'm alone in the house while it's blustery and stormy outside. The wind has been literally battering against my window (which is, coincidentally, right next to the computer) and making me jump. I really hope this is updated soon; perfect horror. The creepy, "omg could this actually happen?" kind.

[lafemmezilla.livejournal.com]

Wow, what an interesting site! If it's real, truly creepy - if not, a good intriguing piece of fiction. The LJ link seems a bit too convenient, but still... interesting!

I just added House of Leaves to my wish list. I've heard of it before as I love love love Poe's Haunted CD, but I had no idea what it was about. Nifty!

[ipomoea.livejournal.com]

It's definitely fake - I'm originally from the Houston area and if there was seriously something like that going on there it would have actually made the news. But it's creative, and whoever's writing it gets points for realistic detail. It's definitely somebody who knows Houston pretty well. The LJ is another big clue, it's trying just a little too hard to sound like a 16 year old girl (and really, what 16 year old girls these days would even know who Nancy Drew is?). I'm curious to see how they're going to end the story, though.

[starr234.livejournal.com]

Gessner and Braeswood? Dude, I used to go to synagogue right near there. Weird.

[dreagonfli.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to think it's just some internet thing as well. I googled the headline of the supposed article about the shooting, and all I got back was the Dionaea House website. Pretty interesting story though. When it got to the part where Mark found Drew's house and it was the exact same as the other house, a chill went up my spine. Great writing.

[arielchan.livejournal.com]

That was kinda the fiction point for me too. Although I started suspecting back when "Eric" told Mark he should bring in "the Feds". Something just felt off there.

[quizzicalsphinx.livejournal.com]

The odd thing is . . . at precisely this same time last year, there was another, very similar website documenting emails, text messages, and journal entries of some friends who were going caving, then got lost (or trapped; I can't remember which) in what appeared to be a haunted cave.

[girlalmighty]

Oh, it's definitely fiction. It's really well done though. The only thing, I'd say, which makes it too obvious is the LJ. It's too stereotypically bad. Besides which, a teenage girl would have her interests listed, have friends back (that's why we get LJs, a lot of the time), and would have icons. She wouldn't bother titling it and not be able to spell half the words; she wouldn't use paragraphs like that (it just doesn't go together with the off spelling); her grammar would be equally bad; and she wouldn't remember "emergency broadcasting system" off to the top of her head. ;)

And the most obvious clue? She's disabled comments. No 16 year old girl, with or without LJ friends, would disable the comments, particularly on such relatively innocuous entries. ^_^ But the site itself is well-done, and I'm curious what happens next . . . The details! Wheeee!

[readykatego.livejournal.com]

Definitely fiction -- all the plot points are carefully laid out -- but wow, an amazing read. That last text message freaked me the hell out.

Thanks for linking!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, I intended Black Ribbon to be a serial running through (and only through) October. October's just a fun month to do that kind of thing.

Can you remember any of the details of the cave thing? Like, first names, or anything? I'm trying to search for it, and more specific details or phrases they use would help.

[kotszok.livejournal.com]

Lol, that is freaky, no matter how fake it seems. You know, reading over all of it, I get the impression that everything was written by one and the same person. Theres no feeling of even the slightest difference between all texts... but still, it's creepy! Makes for some fun reading! Thanks for the link.

[arayuldaiel.livejournal.com]

Whoa, I should not have read the LJ, as I'm babysitting my neighbor's little girl right now. Oy. I'm glad I'm in my own house.

[kotszok.livejournal.com]

*blushes* I'm 19 and I know Nancy Drew... used to be a huuuuge fan. lol

But yeah, apart from me, I don't know anyone who knows ND... :D

[--kali--.livejournal.com]

ooh, how Blair Witch. :) I love stuff like this, particularly at this time of year.

It's fake...

[redscorner.livejournal.com]

This guy is a screenwriter, and this is something he was working on for people to see after it was done.

Here's the link where he drops by a message board and explains it: http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?start=0&submit=Go&t=7533&postdays=0&postorder=asc

[dreambastion.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fiction, but it's oh so very good :) It gives me chills. Thanks for sharing the link.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

I know I'm OLD (23) - but I read the entire original Nancy Drew series when I was growing up.
*grins happy old-books grin and wanders off*

Re: It's fake...

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, I was saying "I can't say if it's true or not" to be generous--you know, let people go in with the benefit of the doubt for a better scare.

I'm really intrigued by what one random guy says--"I almost mentioned that I've seen calls for talented writers to assist with ARG." Because I LOVE this kind of thing, and the letters I put up in front of the Black Ribbon installments on the site were sort of a mild stab at something like that (although not scary, just funny). Some of these games could really, really rock if they got enough writers involved, particularly to get around that "The whole thing seems like it was written by one person" problem.

(Hee, I wonder if the cpip at the top of the thread is the same one who comments here a lot? I bet it is.)