The words that feed me

Trigger warning for mentions of suicide and some derogatory words

The only way I can find satisfaction is by listening to others through these thin walls. Depending on the tone, words, and emotion I could feel full and satisfied for days. I would wait for a long time often to hear such mouth-watering words. Until the new residents moved in. 

The new house owners, a pair of siblings, a brother, and a sister, seem to be much happier than the last couple that kept me fed.

“I can’t believe we got this place for so cheap.” This was something almost everyone often said when first moving in.

“A stigmatized house is considerably cheaper when there have been so many deaths in it.” The brother spoke with little to no emotion in their voice. It was rather boring since there was no actual emotion behind the words.

“Kind of creepy though how so many people died here. It makes the house like a haunted house.” It was an interesting comment  “maybe we can turn this into a famous haunted house and those ghost hunters on tv will come here!” an interesting proposition.

The brother laughed, setting some heavy objects down now with a grunt “ever the optimist Jean. Let’s just try to stay low for a while like we promised.” The conversation was sickenly cheerful, full of optimistic and carefree words.

“Maybe we can decorate it to be a bit more cheerful.” The sister said with pure optimism. 

This was by far the most boring conversation I listened to yet, so I stopped listening for a while. After a bit though the conversations turned more negative as they always did eventually with time. This meant I could finally feel full again.

“We can’t just keep working for that good-for-nothing boss! My pay was cut and I was sent home early. For apparently being Bitchy!” the sister yelled her voice full of anger.

“Relax Jean we just need to hold out a bit longer, he is a piece of shit but we have worked for guys like that our whole life.” In comparison, the brother was relaxed and lacked any emotions. I hate this man. 

“Arg! This is so retarded! Why did we choose this group anyway? Everyone said it wasn’t worth it but here we are suffering because of how stubborn you are Luke!” Ah yes, placing the blame was a common thing when people were angry. Suddenly the conversation wasn’t so boring.

The brother sighed and spoke with a pensive tone “regretting our decisions now is worthless. We need to focus on the now, and working with them is our only option after the stunt we pulled with our old group.” The words were not specific but it was easy to tell they were in on some sketchy stuff. I absolutely can’t wait to hear more from that woman.

After that, the conversation turned boring again with hopeful words and reassurance passed between the two. I stopped listening again, deciding to wait till it got interesting again. It didn’t take long though because in a short time there was yelling and screaming now accompanied by the crashing of objects. 

“Fuck! That motherfucker will pay!” This time the only voice was the sisters. The wall separating me and her was being pounded with objects threatening to break with every crashing object. The smile that spread on my face was one that I hadn’t had in a while. Eventually, the sounds stopped though now replaced with weeping. It was boring once again so I stopped listening. This time it took a while for any words to be worth it to listen in on, but it was worth the wait.

The sister seems to be talking on the phone with another person this time. “I only agreed to your stupid fucking terms cause it would help me and my brother out. Like hell, I am listening to you now bastard!” The words were full of visceral anger, maybe because of betrayal or possibly grief?

“I quit! Fuck you!” Silence followed for a solid minute before the incessant sound of a phone ringing echoed through the house never stopping until a loud crunch was heard. At least now it seemed like more interesting things were going to happen. 

The frequency of the conversations over the phone and regular screams of anger was increasing. While pleasant to listen to at first it was getting boring now, because I could only hear her side of it all. So when another voice was heard I immediately listened hoping for something good.

“Come in” a door closed and heavy footsteps entered the house.

“Your place is rather small” the voice was gruff and deep, insinuating clear disdain for the house.

“You aren’t here to comment on the house, you are here to work for me,” Jean said authoritatively. Normally she was just yelling or complaining this was new. 

“Fine but just so you know if anything happens that is outside of the agreed terms I will require more payment.” The man was incredibly cold sounding much like the brothers but somehow more menacing. It was words filled with cunning malice, words I happily consumed.

“Oh I know, I have been fucked over too many times to not be aware of that fact. I just learned too late.” Jean cleared her throat “now you just make sure the boss is at the location as planned in two weeks.” So I had to wait two weeks to hear the conclusion of this plan? Well, not that time really mattered in these walls.

“Yes it will be done as planned and my pay better be there when he is dead.” So it was a coup d'etat. How fun and delicious!

“Great, now that we understand each other let's get the guns.” In the next moment, The sound of footsteps getting fainter than the door opening and shutting left the house in silence once again. Oh how the silence was grating, I desperately hope she comes back soon.

I had no idea how much time passed but she was out of the house more, so I was left with the silence for longer. It was boring but the feeling of relief would be stronger when I heard the results of her plan eventually. One day the sound of a door slamming shut and heavy panting made me intrigued so I listened.

“God Dammit why!” Sounds like it didn’t go according to plan.

The sound of gunshots was loud, surprising me a bit, it has been a while since I got to listen to a full-on gunfight. “Fuck!” Jean said, sounding panicked, a voice I savored more than any other she spoke. 

A gun cocked as the door was seemingly destroyed and multiple voices yelled words of anger towards Jean. “It’s your fault he died! You will pay!” I expected gunshots but instead, I heard the sound of someone choking as a man's voice spoke now “you really expect me to die as easily as your weak brother did? How sad, I took you two in and this is how you repay me.” 

Jean could hardly speak. I concurred as no words came from her and only desperate gasps for breath. “I was thinking you looked pretty enough to keep around but I can’t let your actions go without punishment.” The next moment a heavy thud proceeded with a loud cracking sound accompanied by cheers for the man.

The wall that separated me and the residence of the house for decades now had a small hole in it exposing me. At first, the cheers were loud and covered the noise of any damage done to the house. 

“A shitty house for a shitty pair of siblings.” The man said with no remorse, the words were incredibly intoxicating. They left after that leaving the place in silence, I couldn’t wait to hear the juicy words I would hear in the aftermath of all this. 

Tragedy once again in the Kapes house

By Katherin Crane  Dec. 12, 2019

A house famous for its reputation for being cursed and haunted with demons once again has had a tragic event happen in its walls. The double suicide before was not the end of the misfortune surrounding this house. A gunfight that took place ended with one woman, Jean Lane a 24-year-old woman, dead. She moved in with her brother Luke Lane, however, we cannot find any information on his whereabouts. The police have reported this as gang violence but everyone who lives on the street says it is the house. 

The history of its cursed reputation starts 30 years ago when a man went missing after saying there was someone in the walls. After that everyone that moved in later died at most a year later and often found saying there was a weird sound in their walls. After the police searched every nook and cranny of the house for drugs they only found a skeleton in the wall revealed thanks to the damage to the wall during the fight. They could not identify the skeleton but nearly everyone I have interviewed is convinced it is the bones of the demon that resides in the Kapes house.

If this is indeed the case the rumors that the house is cursed with some demon that resides in the walls sounds plausible. Perhaps the requests from some residents in the neighborhood to have the Kapes house demolished will be granted this time.