Steven LaChance Blog

One of the things I get asked all the time is whether the Screaming House haunting really happened the way I wrote it in The Uninvited. It’s not so much that I hate answering the question—it’s just that when it comes up, I know I’m about to have to talk about the haunting again. And imagine having to revisit the worst days of your life over and over. It can bring up some dark emotions. I hope that makes sense.

The answer, of course, is yes—it happened as it’s written. The biggest difference is that in the book, the landlord is a man, but in real life, it was a woman. That was a publisher’s decision for what’s called a legal edit. I fought against it at first, but in the end, the change didn’t really affect the story. Even people who were involved agreed, so I went with it. Other than that, the names throughout the book were changed very deliberately. The Uninvited is told from my perspective, but I wanted to protect the others involved—and also leave the door open in case they ever wanted to tell their own stories. That felt important to me.

Most people don’t realize that many of the names in the book were either chosen or approved by the actual people. Helen, for example, picked her own name. I remember asking her why “Helen,” and she said, “Because it’s close to ‘hellion.’” Seemed fitting enough.

Honestly, when someone asks me this, they’re usually a skeptic, which is completely fine. In fact, I actually enjoy talking to skeptics—it makes for a more interesting conversation. I want to hear their thoughts, their theories. The truth is, none of us really know what these things are, even after all these years. And that’s why I love these discussions—they give me a chance to examine it all from different angles. It’s a learning experience for me every time.