The September House

Margaret reflects that another rule in their home was that Hal refrain from hurting Katherine and he spare her the brunt of his anger. While he did occasionally lose his temper at his daughter, he did not subject her to physical violence like he did Margaret. However, there was one particularly problematic incident. One day, Margaret came home from the grocery store to find Hal screaming at Katherine and accusing her of sleeping with the boy who had just dropped Katherine off at the house. Katherine was a teenager at this point. Because Margaret already knew that her daughter was gay, she understood that there was no way that Katherine was having sex with this boy or any boy. However, Hal disapproved of all other men, and even Margaret was never allowed to speak to any men, ever. Margaret found Hal backing Katherine into a corner and screaming obscenities at her. Margaret knocked Hal down and told Katherine to run, then screamed that Hal was never, ever to hurt their daughter. He seemed to understand, but he hit her so hard that she lay on the floor for hours, unable to get up. Once she finally could lift her phone, she called her sister Noelle to come and get Katherine, determining that her daughter would live with Noelle from now on because it was not safe for her in their home.

The narrative returns to the present. After Katherine finishes her phone call, she comes downstairs and asks Margaret a series of questions in order to determine whether her mother is connected to reality. Margaret is unable to correctly tell her what day of the week or month it is. She cannot count backwards from 50 by fives, and when Katherine writes down a sentence in a small notebook, Margaret is unable to read it and repeat it back to her.

Meanwhile, Margaret is distracted by the pranksters who have gathered in the room and are chanting “He’s down there!” Margaret is confused because Katherine also keeps repeating “He’s down there,” and Margaret sees that phrase written in her daughter’s notebook.

When Margaret vomits a large quantity of dead flies, Katherine insists that the two go to the hospital. However, they are interrupted by a phone call. The police have discovered something but will not say what, and they want Katherine to come to the station immediately. Reluctantly, she leaves her mother alone in the house.

Margaret knows that she must work quickly. She digs up the bones of Elias’s mother in order to calm him down. She brings the bones back to the house. The pranksters are still chanting “He’s down there!” The basement door opens on its own, unleashing a foul stench. Margaret repeatedly tries to shut the door, but it opens itself each time. Margaret knows that she must get Father Cyrus to perform another exorcism, so she calls for him at St. Dymphna’s. She finds out that he has died, but she also learns that he had been performing unauthorized rites and rituals. The young priest to whom she speaks confesses that Father Cyrus had gotten “senile.” He apologizes for Cyrus’s behavior. Margaret is panic-stricken. It is clear that this young priest does not believe that there is evil in her house and will not come to exorcise it.

Katherine returns to find her mother covered in mud and sitting in the kitchen. Upset, she asks Margaret what’s going on. Margaret is unable to explain the situation to Katherine and asks what she found out at the police station. Katherine tells her that the police were able to interview more of the motel’s employees and determined that Hal had taken a cab on the night he disappeared. They tracked down the cab driver, who reported driving Hal back to the house.

The police question Margaret about Hal. She learns that on the night he was driven back to their house, he was carrying two large containers of what smelled like gasoline. They ask her what happened leading up to the day Hal left. Margaret knows that she cannot truly explain the house, so she just tells them that Hal didn’t want to live there anymore. They exchange glances and ask her about the furniture that has been moved around, the objects in strange places, the smell of bleach and the rubbed-away places on the walls where someone has been scrubbing. Fredricka has been moving objects around, but Margaret knows that she cannot tell them this fact either; they will not believe her. She recalls that on the day Hal left, he pleaded with her to leave and threatened to burn the house down. One of the officers interrupts her thoughts to ask about the basement. She tries to keep them out of there, but they head downstairs anyway. She recalls Hal returning with the gas cans and remembers the smell of gasoline in the house. Again, her thoughts are interrupted when the officer comes back upstairs and says, “He’s down there.” Hal’s body has been discovered in the basement, and the officers stare questioningly at Margaret. They ask her to explain what happened, and she tells them all about the ghosts and Master Vale. Master Vale, she tells them, finally killed Hal. She explains about Father Cyrus, and the police tell her that they received many calls about him, that he’d been unwell and was obsessed with the supernatural. She responds that the supernatural is real and tells them about the flies. The flies, they explain, are in the house because of Hal’s dead body.

The police tell Margaret that she has been struggling with her mental health and seeing things that aren’t there. Slowly, the pranksters fade from Margaret’s vision. She wonders if they were ever truly in the house. She asks the police if it is possible that she moved all of the objects around, that it was she and not Elias who caused her injuries, or if she could have killed Hal. They tell her that they think this is exactly what happened and that although they have to arrest her, she will get the help that she needs. They also say that abusive partners often prey on people who struggle with mental health, and that nothing that happened in her marriage was her fault. Suddenly, Edie appears on the porch. Margaret begins talking with her, but Edie reveals that she too is part of Margaret’s mental health condition. Like so much of what Margaret has seen, Edie is not real. Margaret agrees to be taken to the police station. However, after the police handcuff her, the pranksters return, and the house begins bleeding and screaming. One by one, the house kills the police officers. There is a loud howling and a strong wind in the house. When the officers in the room are all dead, the last officer (Officer Jones), returns from outside. She is horrified by the scene and looks past Margaret. Margaret follows her gaze and sees Master Vale with his arms around Katherine. As Katherine screams, he drags her into the basement.

Margaret races into the basement. Officer Jones tries to stop her, but her body is thrown upwards and slammed into the ceiling. Downstairs, Master Vale has Katherine pinned down in the corner. Margaret begins screaming at him, and the pranksters appear, one by one. Together, they manage to fight Master Vale. There are flies and blood everywhere. Master Vale is driven from the home, and Margaret and Katherine go back upstairs. Margaret admits that the house was haunted, but that she thinks they vanquished the evil. Edie appears and commends Margaret on her hard work. The pranksters go their separate ways, and Margaret reflects that even the ghosts who seemed malevolent were helpful in the end. Katherine apologizes for trying to have her mother sent to a psychiatric facility, but Margaret forgives her. Fredricka kindly offers to make Margaret a cup of tea, and Margaret accepts.