Evan wants to say that Dead House looks like something right out of a horror movie, but really, it's so much worse than that. Mansion-like in how it rises up to the sky, Dead House feels more like something out of a nightmare. Like something that shouldn't exist. Evan takes one look at the deep crimson red bricks, the black sloping roof, and rows of shuttered windows and knows without a doubt, this house is the most evil thing in Dark Falls. Not just literally dark, from the permanent shade the gnarled dead trees, like hanging, twisted corpses, cast over it, but something beyond that, a kind of darkness that penetrates Evan's soul with cold indifference. Blood has been shed here, he's sure of it. People have died. Innocent families lured to an unimaginable end. The whole place is death, from the rotting that seems to be settling into the house's bones, to the dead leaves that scatter the ground. If houses had souls, surely this building in front of him was a ghost, one with an ugly heart still beating in the basement and an open, but still very much unwelcoming door acting like a mouth for which to consume him.

Evan swears for a moment that he sees some kind of sinister figure leering at him from one of the windows, but it fades just as quickly as it appeared.

"Home sweet home." Evan hears Mr. Dark say. A sinister chuckle follows his words.

It's the inside of the place that surprises Evan the most. He has no idea what it looked like prior to the Dark's arrival, but they've clearly done some renovations. He can smell fresh paint and the furniture is neatly organized, just exact, and there's surprisingly not a sign of dust or cobwebs anywhere. Compared to the outside, it feels like an actual living space, far larger than anything Evan is used to, but it still feels cold to an outsider like him.

The front hallway, draped with a purple carpet covering the wood floor, leads up to a grand staircase, over which hovers a large portrait of the Dark family. Totally not vain at all. It's one of those paintings where the eyes seem to follow you. The artist did a good job, Evan has to admit, Mr. Dark looks just as intimidating on the canvas as he does in real-life, and Lucy just as alluring. Beside Mr. Dark he sees who must be Lucy's mother. They look quite similar, Evan thinks, though Mrs. Dark's face has a feline quality to it, like a fierce green-eyed cat is staring back at him. It reminds Evan of Sarabeth, how that witch had transformed from cat to human before his eyes. He gets a brief chill just thinking about it. Then there's Lucy's brother. Randy, Evan remembers Lucy mentioning his name. He too carries a lot of Lucy's features, from her dark hair and eyes to his deathly pale skin. He looks like some Victorian child.

It's not the only painting in the house, but it's the only one out of the bunch where Evan can actually identify who it's meant to be. Evan thinks one almost looks like a pirate right out of a movie. Captain Ben-something? Evan can't read the inscription from 's an especially odd one just across from it too, of what appears to be a young boy no older than 10 in old-fashioned clothing. The shocking part? The boy has no head on his shoulders. Rather, he has it tucked under his arm like a basketball. Evan wonders if this is some weird Halloween decoration or just a joke on the Dark family's part. Maybe they were all horror nuts like Lucy, or maybe whoever those paintings depicted were here before them.

"Follow me. I can patch up your.. bite." Lucy tells him, hesitant to say the last word, as if she still can't believe what just went down.

Evan complies, walking up the large stairway, gripping the wooden banister for support as he does so. His right leg still feels hard to walk on after he tripped over the tombstone. The staircase splits off in two different directions to rooms on the left and right side of the house, but they eventually intersect if you keep walking far enough.

Lucy leads him to her bedroom, which Evan is shocked to see is full of monsters. Not literal ones, but the whole place is scattered with figurines of gorgons, werewolves, and vampires. That's not to mention the walls. There's more movie posters than there is actual wall space. A large one of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster hangs over Lucy's bed, and even her bed, a queen-sized with a gothic black frame that's just totally Lucy summed up in a nutshell, looks like it costs more than anything Evan owns. Next to Frankie are a bunch of other classic posters, some Evan recognizes from Andy's personal collection, like all the Shock Street flicks and Scream School movies (there were so many sequels to that one, Evan knows, each more gory than the last. Andy loves that about them. Then there's The Cavern of No Return and The Beast with Three Brains (directed by R.B, Faraday, Andy's personal favorite). Others are evidently more obscure, like one Evan sees called REVENGE OF THE LIZARDMAN. The title says it all for that one evidently, as it shows a large reptilian creature chasing a scantily clad woman down a beach, while she's screaming in horror. Evan would scream too if he saw that, he thinks.

"Here. I've got some bandages." Lucy says.

She takes hold of his arm and begins wrapping it tightly like one probably would a mummy. It hurts just a little bit.

"Thanks." Evan says awkwardly and Lucy just nods in response.

"You were really brave back there." She tells him.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just thought I had to do something." Evan replies, but he's kind of smirking on the inside in response to Lucy's compliment.

He wouldn't mind sitting here while she showered him with praise for being a hero. It doesn't happen often, after all. He's more used to insults, especially from Andy. Not that that's always underserved though.

"Do you think they'll come back after us?" Evan asks.

Lucy pauses briefly. "We'll be safe once it reaches daylight. That's why it's best to avoid Dark Falls at night."

Evan thinks about what to say next. What those undead had said is still on his mind, and he's desperate to know more about the Darks.

"Lucy.. why did your family come to this town? What did those guys want with your dad?" He asks.

Lucy stares back intently. He can't tell if she's upset or not.

"My dad is an important person, of course they want something in return from him. I think they think he'll be able to turn them human again, but that's impossible, of course. You can't listen to the things they tell you." Lucy says, avoiding his gaze as she does so.

Make them human? Evan questions the possibility, but ultimately doesn't think he believes it. There's something more going on here, and Lucy's clearly trying to get him on her side. The zombies might have tried to eat him, but surely Mr. Dark isn't completely innocent. Lucy's explanation was far too simple for his liking.

"I see." Evan replies. "You didn't say why you came here though."

Now Lucy seems agitated. "My dad did all he could to fix our old home. We used to live in a town called Timberland Falls. He said improving Dark Falls was a personal mission, and basically forced us to move here. I.. wasn't too thrilled about that."

Evan nods. "Well, he got more than he bargained for, didn't he?"

"You can say that." Lucy replies softly.

As Evan rests his head against a soft pillow containing the visage of Count Dracula, Lucy turns on a large flatscreen TV, which rests above a working fireplace. Playing now is one of those paranormal TV shows, and it's hosted by someone who looks way too young to be having her own television show, probably no older than him. He vaguely tunes in, but his mind is still racing with all kinds of thoughts to pay too much focus.

"You're watching MONSTER REPORT, LIVE WITH COURTNEY KING, taking you across America's spookiest locations from my hometown here in Muddy Creek to the werewolf-infested Fever Swamp in Florida, this is where you can get all your RELIABLE news on all things that go BUMP in the night!" The host, a very talkative blonde girl, begins to say.

"For tonight's special guest, I ask you lovely viewers- what happens when a GHOST saves your life? One boy, Danny Anderson of Greenwood Falls, says that's what happened to him, and you especially won't want to miss tomorrow night's special on BODY SQUEEZERS AND KILLER LAWN GNOMES: AMERICA'S NEXT DEADLY INVASION. Now I've heard everything!" The girl says.

Evan's about to speak again, hoping to interrogate Lucy further, but a set of heavy footsteps interrupts his current train of thoughts.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Evan.. could I speak to you in private?" a booming voice says and Evan turns to see Mr. Dark, looming large in front of the door frame, his shoulders wide enough to touch both corners.

Lucy flashes him a look that seems to read "good luck" and Evan thinks about her comments earlier about Mr. Dark being a harsh critic when it came to the guys Lucy dated. But then again, something tells Evan he wants to talk about something else beyond just Lucy's heart. His stern expression confirms that.

"Of course." Evan replies.

He follows Mr. Dark down the hall to what he assumes must be the man's office. It's far larger than Lucy's room, but just as cluttered with stuff, or rather, artifacts, stuff Evan wonders if Mr. Dark obtained while traveling. They're hardly your typical souvenirs, however. Lurking behind Mr. Dark's desk rests an upright sarcophagus, probably worth a fortune just looking at how shiny and golden it is. Evan wonders if there's an actual mummy inside, one that could spring to life at any time.

Mr. Dark seems to hear his thoughts and chuckles. "Don't worry, there's nothing in there. At least, there shouldn't be. I fear that mummy got up and walked long ago. They tend to do that."

Evan forces a laugh. Is that supposed to be a joke? He doesn't get it if so.

"It once held the great Emperor Pukrah. Did you ever hear about him in history class, Evan?" Mr. Dark asks.

Evan shakes his head no. It's true, the name doesn't ring any bells, not that he ever pays much attention in his classes.

Mr. Dark gives him a strange look. "Just curious. Pukrah was an ancient, powerful ruler of the country of Jekeziah. I like to keep him right next to me as I work as a reminder that like him, I must resolve to be the strongest leader possible, both in business and as a father, for all fathers are like rulers, aren't they? They set an example for future generations."

Evan just nods. He doesn't really know what the hell Mr. Dark is going on about. What benefit is there to taking after some dead guy probably no but he has ever heard of? Evan just pretends to stay interested for now.

"Where did you get it? Evan asks.

Mr. Dark seems to appreciate the interest. "Ah, you could say I'm a collector of such artifacts like that. It's become my life's work. This room is full of interesting stories. I'd be happy to share some, if you like."

Mr. Dark takes a seat and Evan sees on his desk what looks like a shrunken head, its skin green and wrinkled. The dead eyes stare back at Evan grimly, but it's currently being used as nothing more than a paper-weight, so Evan doesn't feel quite as intimidated by the stare. Evan continues to scan the room. There's so much stuff it's hard to focus on just one thing. It's like a museum of the strange, stuff plucked right out of the Twilight Zone or something. Evan almost wants to scoff at the sheer absurdity as his eyes stop at a small blue bottle labeled VAMPIRE BREATH, and every item next to the bottle only tops it in terms of ridiculousness, like a box with a large brown animal skin with the words WEREWOLF SKIN printed on the top, what appears to be the skeletal remains of a very, very large goldfish, and two plaster casts of two massive footprints, one labeled "ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN", and the other "SWAMP MONSTER" in crude sharpie writing.

If Evan didn't know better, he'd assume these were gag items, but if they're in Mr. Dark's collection, they must be genuine. And who knows what kind of terrifying power they have? Then there are items which seem borderline normal, like an old-fashioned looking camera and most interestingly, a large wooden cuckoo clock, currently ticking the seconds down, not missing a beat. Evan kind of wants to see the bird come popping out. That's the best part. He doesn't know why, but he gets closer to it.

"I'd be careful touching that." Mr. Dark warns. "It's very old, made in the black forest of Germany. There are some legends that say bad things will happen if anyone dares mess with it. I'd rather not find out if they're true."

"Sorry." Evan says, and turns away from the clock.

"Don't apologize. You were only curious." Mr. Dark says. "Take a seat, please."

Evan obeys, pulling up a chair in front of his desk. He almost trips in the process, failing to notice a large black case on the ground that's currently open. It looks like something vaguely human-shaped was meant to be stored here, like a doll. Then Evan remembers what Ricky said about speaking with a talking ventriloquist dummy. Had it been part of Mr. Dark's little "antique collection"?

Over his desk, the same Dark family portrait on the staircase can be seen while other areas of the room show more personal family photos, like one showing the Darks tied up in heavy chains. The bottom makes it look like a post-card with the message: "WE SURVIVED TERROR, TOWER, LONDON, ENGLAND" printed beneath it, a sharp contrast from the almost-frightened looking expressions on their faces in the photo. Clearly they were just playing it up, but somehow Evan finds it unnerving.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Evan asks.

"Yes." Mr. Dark replies. "Now I don't want to skirt around the issue or anything, Evan, but we have something serious to discuss. I need your help."

"Help?" Evan responds.

What could Mr. Dark possibly want, and why does he sound so urgent about it?

"I brought you to Dark Falls for a reason, Evan." Mr. Dark says. "Now don't play stupid with me. I want to talk to you about Monster Blood. You're going to help me get some.. Or else I'll hurt you and everyone you love. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm planning to do that anyway!"

The only thing Evan can hear as the blood rushes to his head is Mr. Dark's deep booming laughter.