The Voices in the Walls

Prologue: The First Scratch

Property Inspection Report - 114 Sycamore Lane

"Minor settling cracks in drywall. Unexplained copper wiring found inside walls (possible early radio experiment?). Strong recommendation: DO NOT REMOVE WALLPAPER IN MASTER BEDROOM." [last line heavily redacted]

The scratching began our first night. Not random, but deliberate—three quick rasps, two slow, like Morse code. The baby monitor amplified it:

Scritch-scritch-scritch... scrape... scrape...

Then at 3:17 AM, the whispering started.

"Miiiike," hissed a voice like wet newspaper tearing. "We've been waiting SO long."

The nursery thermometer plunged to 45°F.

And our six-month-old daughter—who'd never made a sound beyond cooing—began screaming in perfect sync with the scratches.

Chapter 1: The House's Hidden Blueprint

Historical Society Archives - Builder's Notes (1926)

*"Per Mr. Lyman's specifications:

Walls constructed at 11° angles to create 'acoustic resonance chambers'

Subfloor cavities lined with copper sheeting

'Listening Room' added between pantry and nursery

NOTE: Foreman resigned after hearing 'choir of damned' during final inspection."*

The previous owners had died violently:

Elias Lyman - Found hanged with piano wire, his ears stuffed with wax

Martha Lyman - Entombed herself behind the pantry wall, her lips sewn shut

Infant Rose - Official cause: stillbirth. Coroner's private notes: "Eardrums ruptured. Tongue missing."

Old Mrs. Donovan pressed a bone crucifix into my palm. "Elias wasn't just an inventor. He built this house to listen for something. And by God, it found him."

That night, the scratching migrated to the pantry.

And the baby monitor picked up a new sound—something chewing wetly.

Chapter 2: The Infrasound Phenomenon

Audio Analysis Report - MIT Paranormal Research Lab

*"Recording exhibits:

9Hz infrasound (induces dread/paranoia)

Reverse-masked Latin phrases (likely 14th century death rites)

Biological component: Matches vocal patterns of human* tongue without larynx"

By week three, we developed symptoms:

Jess: Nosebleeds, hair loss in unnatural spiral patterns

Me: Burst eardrums, teeth loosening (molars fell out painlessly)

Sophie (6mo): Began humming along with the walls in perfect pitch

The worst was the physical evidence:

Handprints swelling from the wallpaper like blisters

Copper wires pushing through drywall like veins

Our wedding photo reforming to include a fourth figure—a gaunt man whispering into my ear

Then we found the listening horn.

Chapter 3: The Resonance Chamber

Elias Lyman's Journal (Final Entry)

"The angles were correct but the sacrifice was too small. Martha refuses to understand—the voices demand a conductor made of flesh. Tonight we test Rose's... [illegible bloodstain]

P.S. They promise to show me where the singers dwell."

The sledgehammer shook the house as I broke through the pantry wall.

The hidden room was a perfect hexagon, its copper-plated walls etched with musical notation. At the center stood a chair with leather restraints, its seat blackened by old blood.

Beneath it:

A wax cylinder labeled "Rose's First Communion"

A straight razor crusted with rust (or was it rust?)

A horn device shaped like a human ear canal

When I lifted the horn, the house shuddered.

And from the nursery came Sophie's voice—but not Sophie's words:

"Daddy's home," she giggled in Elias's baritone.

Chapter 4: The Choir

Forensic Report - Lyman Case (1933)

*"Autopsy reveals Mrs. Lyman's throat contained:

37 feet of copper wire

Six teeth not her own

Living fungal growth matching descriptions of 'angel's breath' mycotoxin"*

The horn burned with unnatural cold.

When I pressed it to the wall, the voices became a choir:

A child singing "London Bridge" (missing every third word)

A woman weeping in reverse

A man chanting "Cut the angles, feed the singers"

The drywall breathed inward, revealing:

Hundreds of human tongues wired to the copper plating

Each vibrating like violin strings

Each still bleeding

And from the nursery, Sophie began conducting them.

Epilogue: The New Conductor

Zillow Listing - 114 Sycamore Lane

"Price reduced! Quirky historic home with custom acoustics. Perfect for musicians!"

The new family moved in yesterday.

The wife mentioned their toddler "loves singing to the walls."

The husband—a sound engineer—can't stop raving about the "incredible resonance."

If you walk by at night, you'll see:

Shadows moving in perfect rhythm behind the curtains

Copper wires glinting in the moonlight like spiderwebs

And sometimes, just sometimes...

A gaunt figure conducting the house itself from the nursery window.

His lips moving in sync with YOUR footsteps.

Waiting.

Listening.

Composing.