I'm Home Full Treatment

Day 1: A school bus arrives outside the Redding house. The house is a two-story Gothic house with spikes and razor wire topping an ivy-covered brick wall that surrounds it. The rest of the neighborhood's houses are more modest.

James, a preteen Black boy gets off the bus and goes through the gate to the house. A strange house that doesn't quite make sense, visually. He runs up the steps and goes inside. Something scutters across a shadowy part of the roof.

Inside, James yells out his daily "I'm home!" to let his parents know he's there. Andy, James' father, walks in from the living room and gives him a hug. Jessie, James' wife, comes downstairs. New at school, James met three kids who share his admiration for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Jessie hugs James. She asks about his teachers, but James shrugs and goes upstairs.

James is unpacking and decorating his room. He finishes the last box and his bookshelves are filled with complete series of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and similar series. He doesn't have a ton of toys, but he has some TMNT stuff. He mostly has sports equipment and a giant LeBron James Lakers poster.

Once he's done, he picks up a walkie-talkie and uses it to send a message to one of his toys. He's lonely. The top corner from the LeBron poster peels down. He puts it back and leaves the room. It peels down again.

In the living room, Andy watches Lakers basketball on a huge TV in his recliner. James watches from the couch. While watching, Andy teaches about the game and why James was named after the superstar. James asks if Andy played like LeBron. Andy says he played point guard and was good at passing, but he wasn't much of a scorer. He played college ball for the Bearcats. Andy tells James that he's got to plan ahead if he wants to succeed.

James pulls out his new library card, but is afraid to show it to his athletic father. Andy spots it and asks him about it. James sheepishly reveals the card. Andy tells James to get something to write on and suggests three books: “Dear Martin,” by Nic Stone; “When You Look Like Us,” by Pamela N. Harris; and “Black Enough,” by Ibi Zoboi.

That night, his parents tuck James in. He likes the big house and his parents explain that they got a good deal. James says he likes it here. His parents do, too.

Day 2: James gets off the school bus, reading “Monster: A Graphic Novel,” by Walter Dean Myers and Guy A. Sims. He marks his page and goes inside as a large group of Old White People gather near the gate.

Inside, James yells to his parents that there are a bunch of Old White People outside and they come to see what's happening. They step out on the porch and Andy asks if he can help them. The Old White People are there to see them. To meet them. They say they are the neighborhood. But they say they would never live in THIS house. Jessie takes James inside. Andy tells the Old White Pople to leave and not come on his property again. They go reluctantly.

James says that the school library didn't have any of the books his dad recommended, but he shows him "Monster." Andy is familiar with it and asks James to let him read it when he's done. James is proud of himself. Jessie walks in and tells them dinner is ready. Andy's surprised she cooked as she was working. Jessie said she needed a break, so she cooked early.

Later, Jessie talks on the phone to her mother. She says they'll invite her down once they settle in. Jessie tells her mom that the place is nice and it came furnished. She hangs up as James bounces into the dining room. It's "story time," a game that James and Jessie play an improv storytelling game. They play it a lot and it has complex rules. James is smart and his mother is encouraging his imagination.

Later, James is asleep and something skitters across the room. It's followed by several more. They crawl up on the bed and they are severed hands that walk around like spiders. Hand-spiders. They move towards James, but something invisible blocks them and they go away.

Day 3: James gets off the bus and hurries inside, yelling "I'm home" once he's inside. His parents walk into the foyer and hug him. He asks why they're home every day instead of going to work. Andy doesn't start until next month. Jessie is writing her new book, which is a horror novel. James says he'll finish his homework early since they're having pizza for dinner.

James watches Home Alone on TV. Andy has never heard of it. On paper, the movie sounds horrible to him. They tuck him in and he goes to sleep.

Later that night, in the master bedroom, Andy goes to the bedroom, but the lights won't turn on. Three hand-spiders converge on the bathroom and they do something to him after they shut the door.

Day 4: The bus drops of James, who is reading a new book, "Ghosts of New England." He rushes inside and yells "I'm home" when he gets inside. Andy greets him and asks him if he needs anything. James wants a snack and Andy tells him to get whatever he wants, his mom is deep in book territory and won't be available until dinner time.

In the kitchen, James gets a snack. He hears a disembodied voice say "join us," and he traces it to the door to the basement. He opens the door and looks inside. It's pitch black and he says "nope," shuts it and walks away. In his room, he starts reading from the "Ghosts" book, but finds it boring until he comes across the entry for "poltergeist." The LeBron poster peels down again. He fixes it, but it peels down again. He puts the pin in a different spot and this time it stays.

In the living room, James is reading "Haunted Houses Across America" while Andy watches TV. James doesn't like the book. Jessie is working on her laptop and she asks what's wrong. He complains that the school library doesn't have any good books. Andy complains about "school board politics." Jessie tells James about the public library. She already went to the library while researching her latest book and she got James a library card. He is super excited.

Day 5: James gets off the bus, he was reading “When You Look Like Us,” by Pamela N. Harris. He goes inside and yells "I'm home." His dad greets him.

In his room, James sees that the LeBron poster has been torn to shreds. Some of it still hangs on the wall while the tatters lie on the bed and floor. He goes to clean the trash up and the remains of the poster touch his ear and freak him out. He tears the rest of the poster on the wall and cleans up all of the trash. He yanks the bag from the trash can, ties it up and throws it out his window. It lands near the trash cans outside.

James notices that there is a pull-down ladder with access to the attic in the corner of his bedroom. He climbs into the attic and looks around. It's dark and black mold is everywhere. The attic is filled with boxes and furniture. In the center of the room is a table with a child's tea party set up with various stuffed animals. The fourth chair is empty.

He finds a Swiss Army Knife stuck in a stuffed bear's hand. He puts it in his pocket. A stuffed dog holds a book, it's a book on traps and tricks. Resting in the stuffed giraffe's arms, he finds an object wrapped in a dirty cloth. He takes it to the window for more light and finds out it is a dagger.

James tries to open the shutter and accidentally opens the window, too. The light reveals that the dagger is bloody and James drops it out the window. It lands precariously on the ledge. He tries to get a better look at it and knocks over a stack of comic books. On the cover of one is "The Broken Lady," a beautiful woman whose jaw has been ripped from her head. She's still alive and trying to grab her next victim.

James turns around and the Broken Lady stands in the attic, trying to grab HIM. He runs, but she has the angle and cuts him off. He dives under her arms and gets past her, but when he tries to get back up, she grabs his foot and he falls. She moves closer, dripping blood on his shoe. He jumps forward and falls through the floor and into his room. He tries to break his fall with the ladder, but misses and lands on his back in pain. The Broken Lady appears in the hold and starts to follow him. He smashes the ladder into her head and she falls away. He closes the attic door, runs and jumps in bed. He grabs a baseball bat, pulls the covers over his body and waits.

Day 6: James walks through the gate, carrying “Tobin’s Spirit Guide.” He yells "I'm home" once he's inside, but no one answers. He goes to his bedroom.

He pulls things out of his backpack and sets them on the desk: his library card, a business card from the librarian Cicely Leachman, and three books: Tobin's, “Black Enough,” by Ibi Zoboi and “Haunted Houses for Dummies.” He checks out the Dummies book and quickly finds that it's of no value. He checks out “Black Enough” and sets it by his bed to read later. He digs into the Spirit Guide.

Later, James is watching the Lakers game, but Andy isn't there. He walks in, his head shaven, which shocks James. Andy ignores him at first, but finally responds. He's spaced out. James is worried about him.

Day 7: James gets off the bus. He's been reading “Dear Martin,” by Nic Stone. He yells "I'm home" once he's inside, but no one answers. James goes into the living room to see Andy watching the TV, but the TV is turned off. James tries to get his attention, but he has trouble. James tells his dad about meeting a new friend, Cicely, the librarian. James goes upstairs to take a nap.

James lays on his bed and the hand-spiders come out. One climbs onto the bed and stands face-to-face with a sleeping James. He opens his eyes and grabs the Swiss Army Knife. He cuts the hand-spider, but it doesn't bleed. It jumps off the bed and disappears. Jessie comes in, having heard the commotion. He covers by saying he fell off the bed. She rushes to check on him, but he says he's okay. James goes to pick up the knife, which he dropped on the far side of the bed, but it's gone.

Later, James calls Cicely. He calls her to continue their discussion about "manifestations." She has done some research but needs more. She says she found that they likely feed off of fear, and that's probably why his parents are acting weird. James asks if HE is in danger and she says not yet. Andy walks in the room and stares at James and he hangs up. She says there's more to tell him, but he says not right now. Andy keeps staring at him and James leaves the room.

Day 8: James arrives home and announces "I'm home," but no one answers. He peeks into the living room, but Andy isn't there. Later, Andy absent-mindedly watches the TV, which is off. James tries to snap him out of it, but it doesn't work. He goes and tells Jessie that Andy is acting strange. She tells him to go to bed and she'll check on Andy. She acts weird, too, and he runs upstairs and goes to bed.

Day 9: James arrives home from school and yells out "I'm home," but no one answers. He's disappointed, but he goes upstairs.

James watches the Lakers game, but he's alone. He half-heartedly pumps a fist when they win. He touches the arm of his dad's chair. He goes into the kitchen to find his mom absent-mindedly staring into the fridge. He pulls on her bathrobe and she responds briefly, but then drifts off.

Back in his room, James hides on his bed, scared in the dark. The shadows start moving. He sees his baseball bat and something skitters on the floor near the bed. He reaches out to grab the bat and sees a hand-spider. It crawls towards the bed. He swings the bat and smacks it with the bat. It crashes into the wall with a squeal. He tries to find the other hand-spiders, but they're hiding. He reaches to turn on the light, but the hand-spiders move in the dark. He tries to use the bat to turn on the light, but falls on the floor and snaps the bat.

Underneath the bed is the Sideways Man, a flat, squat creature of pure evil. It rushes towards him and the hand-spiders converge on him, but he is able to flip on the light. Everything has disappeared and he's alone. He cries.

Day 10: The bus drops James off. He carries a new hockey stick inside. Jessie says they're in the living room and James goes in to show them the stick. His mom is puzzled, but he bought it with his own allowance. He tells them he's going to learn to play street hockey, but his mom is skeptical. He runs out of the room, pretending to play, but totally holding the stick the wrong way.

Later, Jessie tucks James in alone. The hockey stick leans against the night stand. Jessie tells him that Andy isn't feeling well and that they don't have time for a story tonight. She tells him to go to sleep even though it's too early. He argues, but she doesn't negotiate. He almost tells her about the things he's seen, but he doesn't think she'll listen. She turns of the light and closes the door as she leaves. He grabs the hockey stick and camps out, wide awake.

Day 11: James walk into the foyer and calls out "I'm home," but no one answers. He peeks into the living room, but Andy isn't there.

James calls Cicely on the phone. She tells him that his house has only ever been rented/sold to Black people but the neighborhood has historically been red-lined only for white people. She has more to tell him, but he has to go. She warns him to maybe stay outside after school to avoid the house.

James reads an article from “1,001 Traps, Tricks and Survival Skills” about how to fall without getting hurt. He learns a tuck and roll through repeated practice.

Later, he's sleeping. The hand-spiders are back. They climb up on the bed and come to the point where they were blocked before. They aren't blocked anymore. The first crawls onto James' leg. Once it reaches his hand, he bolts awake. He flicks the hand-spider against the wall. He rolls of the bed and grabs his hockey stick. Three hand-spiders come at him, but he slap shots the first one against the wall, killing it.

He swings at the second hand-spider, but misses. It climbs up his leg and he falls backwards. It climbs up to his chest and latches onto his hand. It starts to squeeze him and cause pain, but he can't shake it loose. He swats the third hand-spider away, but it is unharmed. It rushes back at him and he stomps it to death. He runs at his bookshelf and smashes the hand-spider that grips his hand into the side, killing the last hand-spider.

He runs and gets a trash bag, gathers up the dead hand-spiders and tosses the bag out the window. He lays down and rests.

Day 12: James walks into the foyer and announces "I'm home." No one answers. He says he's going to play outside, but no one responds.

James walks to the back yard and finds a swing set. He touches it to see if anything happens, but it doesn't. He sits on it carefully and starts swinging. As the swing goes higher and higher, he's no longer in control. He tries to stop, but the swing grows taller as he swings higher. The swing almost gets parallel with the ground, he's about to fall out and he decides to jump. He lands and does the tuck and roll he practiced and the swing keeps going until it fully wraps around the crossbar.

Day 13: James walks downstairs and asks if anyone is home. His mother walks in. Her hair freshly shorn. She walks right past him and into the living room.

James wanders through the backyard, carrying his hockey stick. He stays far away from the swing set and wanders towards a garden, which is substantial. He kneels down to grab a strawberry. He takes a bit and the juices run red with blood. He throws it down and wipes the blood from his face. Potatoes start shooting from the dirt like missiles, knocking him over. Vines grab his leg. A pepper squirts juice in his eyes and he screams. He rips free from the vines, stomping plants as he stumbles from the garden. Potatoes batter him, but he stumbles away and goes inside.

He goes in the kitchen and pours milk in his eyes to counter the pepper juice. He goes in his room and shuts the door. He abandons the "stay outside" philosophy and starts reading instead.

Day 14: James climbs out of bed to get a glass of water. He goes into the hallway and towards the staircase. As he does, the hallway stretches away from hi and the stairs are unreachable. He turns and goes back towards his bedroom door and the hallway stretches away from him. He turns back towards the stairs, but they are gone and replaced by a door. He turns back towards his room and now that part of the hallway also ends in a door. He goes through that door and finds himself in an empty room with a door in the center of each wall. Something thumps heavily into the door behind him.

He opens the door and peers into the hall only to see the Sideways Man rushing at him. He tries to slam the door shut, but can't. He tries to close the door on the Sideways Man, but he isn't strong enough. James pulls the door away and then slams it into the Sideways Man who howls in pain. James runs across the room and goes through the door.

James finds himself in a hallway with doors at either end. He runs towards the far end as the hallway stretches. He's fast enough, though, and makes it to the door. He steps through and is back in the empty room. He runs across the room and reaches to open the door, but he hears the Sideways Man on the other side and changes his mind. He goes through the door on his right instead.

Back in the hallway, he runs towards the far and and it contracts as he goes. He opens the door, walks through and he's in the same hallway. He steps back through the door he came through and finds himself in the empty room. The Sideways Man thumps against the door to his left. He goes through the door on the opposite wall.

Back in the hallway, he runs to the end and opens the door. The Sideways Man is there. He slams the door on its face and he runs the other way. The hallway stretches and the Sideways Man starts to catch up. James stumbles, but he makes it to the door. He goes through and slams it behind him. He's back in his room. He falls on the bed. Many hours have passed and it's dark outside.

Day 15: James slips inside and quietly closes the door. He still says "I'm home," but says it softly enough, no one hears him. He tip toes up to his room.

Later, he calls Cicely on the phone. He tells her he has to talk quietly. She's found more via inter-library loan. The manifestations could inhabit any thing or person in the house. The manifestations are weak against children because they still have imagination. The force behind the manifestations has a short power supply then has to recharge, but it grows more powerful the more people it takes over. It has already taken over James' parents. If they are removed from the property, the force might kill them. She has a book, the Halagartha that has spells that can be used to fight back, but she has to translate them. She put one such spell on the hockey stick, making it powerful against manifestations. There is a spell to save his parents, but she has to show him in person. Jessie walks in and tells him to hang up, it's time for him to take a bath. He goes.

Later, James reclines in a bubble bath. The bathroom is luxurious. His parents take this stuff seriously. James closes his eyes and relaxes and something moves in the water. He opens his eyes, but doesn't see anything. He closes his eyes again and there's enough movement this time for the water to slosh. He sees something moving and tries to move the bubbles to get a better look. A tentacle bursts from the water and grabs him around the wrist. He screams and pulls free. It lunges for him, but he dodges it. It blindly searches for him, but he stays out of its way. He starts to panic and looks around for something to help him. He slowly uses his foot to flip the drain lever and the water starts draining from the tub. James sneezes and the tentacle almost gets him. he grabs it and finds it unattached to anything. He throws it against the wall and it falls into the now water-free tub. James leaps out of the tub, covered in bubbles. He looks back in the tub and the tentacle is gone.

Day 16: James gets off the bus carrying his hockey stick. He stops before he goes inside and tells himself to be brave. He goes in and tip toes up the stairs so his parents don't hear. He takes his backpack to his room and comes back down with the hockey stick. He goes into the kitchen and down into the basement. He steps inside, expecting something to happen. Nothing. He takes the first step and the staircase turns into a slide and he slides down to the floor.

He's caught in spider webs. He tries to get out, only to get more tangled. Something starts to move in the shadows. A hand-spider runs past him. James sees a toolbox under a bench.

A real spider the size of a house cat runs at him. He struggles to get to the toolbox. The spider leaps on his legs just as he grabs a screwdriver. He kicks the spider off and he stabs it with the screwdriver.

He goes to put the screwdriver back in the toolbox and the Sideways Man is there. James stabs it over and over again with the screwdriver and crawls away. It screams in pain and follows him. He kicks the wounded creature several times then scrambles up the stairs. The Sideways Man bites down on his show, but kicks it off, taking the shoe with it. James makes his way to the top of the steps and out of the basement. He slams the door behind him and braces for impact, but it doesn't come.

Day 17: James sneaks inside, seeing if anyone notices him. They don't. He goes into the kitchen for a drink and a snack.

Outside, Cicely rings the bell. She carries the Halagartha. Inside, James doesn't hear the doorbell, the house keeps it from him. Cicely knocks on the door, but James can't hear that, either. Cicely calls out, but no one answers. She tries the knob and it turns. She walks into the foyer and James still doesn't hear anything. Cicely hears a sound from the living room, but she can't hear James in the kitchen. She walks towards the living room and the Sideways Man rushes towards her. She runs from him and smashes into the Broken Lady. Cicely falls to the floor and drops the Halagartha, which slides through the doorway and into the dining room.

James walks into the dining room and sees the Halagartha slide into view. He stares at it, but can't hear any sound from the foyer, where the Sideways Man and the Broken Lady start feasting on Cicely. Her screams case. James walks into the foyer carrying the Halagartha. He sees Cicely's body, but the Sideways Man and the Broken Lady are gone. He rejects what he sees and runs upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Day 18: James walks into the foyer and hears a door slam upstairs. He goes straight to his room.

He sits on his bed, back against the wall, hockey stick at his right hand. He opens the Halagartha to a bookmarked page. Cicely's sticky notes are still there and it reveals that a ceremony using the dagger Bloodthrawn creates a banishment spell that will get rid of the manifestations. Bloodthrawn is the dagger than currently rests on a ledge on the roof.

James goes into the dining room with his hockey stick. Around the table, the stuffed animals from the attic sit. Along with the Broken Lady. She pours blood from a tea pot into her cup. She reaches for him and the stuffed animals turn to chase him. He runs.

At the top of the stairs, James turns and attacks. The giraffe is the first to reach the top of the stairs and James slap shots him through the window next to the front door. Next is a stuffed bear and James kicks it into the front door. James loses balance on the kick and drops the hockey stick. The Broken Lady gives chase. The stuffed dog lays a paw on James' foot. He kicks the dog into the Broken Lady's face and she stumbles. He turns to run, trips over the hockey stick and falls. He gets a concussion and temporarily passes out.

He comes to seconds later and the Broken Lady is almost upon him. He uses the hockey stick to struggle to his feet. The Broken Lady is upon him. She reaches for him and he pushes her arms away with the hockey stick. He holds her off with the stick, but she's stronger than he is. She keeps pushing, he falters. He makes a quick decision, drops down, and uses her force to flip her over. She smashes into the wall and he runs into his bedroom while she recovers.

He slams the door and jams his chair under the knob. The Broken Lady scratches the door, trying to get through. He waits.

Later, she seems to be gone. He puts his ear to the door and listens. Nothing. He checks the door and chair to make sure they are sturdy. He gets into bed and quickly falls asleep.

Day 19: James tip toes into the foyer, hoping that no one hears him. He goes into his room and straight for the attic, bringing his backpack with him.

He empties the spell components from his backpack, along with the Halagartha. Now he has to get the dagger. He climbs out onto the roof carefully, testing his weight. It's good. He moves towards the ledge when he hears the Broken Lady behind him and she's now on the roof. She comes for him, he carefully moves towards the dagger. She gets closer. He reaches for the dagger with his foot, but almost slips. He falls onto his but and starts to slide down the roof. The Broken Lady is closer. James steadies himself and he can reach the dagger now. He tries to pull it closer as the Broken Lady moves closer.

He moves the dagger closer and grabs it just as the Broken Lady reaches him. She's off-balance, though and he scrambles past her towards the window. As he slips past her, he cuts the tendons on her ankle. He gets up and kicks her as hard as he can and she falls over the side of the roof. James climbs back inside.

Later, James walks outside and sets up a tent OUTSIDE the gate. He closes the gate. Later, he has set the tent up off the property and he goes inside to sleep.

Day 20: James steps out of the tent and takes the dagger towards the front door. He steps on the doormat, but it turns into a trap door and he falls into the crawlspace below. The trap door closes above him and the crawlspace is filled with shadows. There's no way out except a panel that leads to the basement.

James shifts himself for a better look only to see the battered and bleeding Sideways Man. The creature comes at him, but is weaker than before. James crawls away until he hits the brick lattice. He pulls out the dagger and turns to face the Sideways Man. Once it gets close, he stabs it repeatedly in the face until it stops dead.

Later, James emerges from the basement into the kitchen. Inside the attic, James' carefully-prepared set of spell components has been wrecked. He does what he can to gather components from what's left, but it's not enough molasses. He's defeated until he has an idea. He runs back downstairs and into the kitchen.

He grabs a bottle of syrup that contains molasses. He runs outside and grabs some charcoal briquettes from the grill. James takes the guano baggie into the bathroom and slams the door behind him. He emerges a few second later with fresh guano in the baggie, which is now wrapped in a heavy layer of toilet paper. He goes back to the attic and puts his components in a bowl. His parents try to break into his room, so he goes faster. His parents break down he bedroom door. Andy's head pops up through the hole in the floor as he almost makes it into the attic.

James finishes the spell and a large jagged crack appears in the floor. Andy's in the attic and Jessie's about to follow. The crack in the floor grows into a gaping maw with giant teeth. His parents can't get to him past the mouth. The floor near James starts to slant down towards the mouth and James has to hold himself up with the window sill. The giant teeth snap at him and he leans away. He holds his hand over the bowl and cuts his hand with the dagger. Blood drips into the bowl and nothing happens. He starts to slip and the dagger comes down into the bowl. When it makes contact a flash of intense white light burst from the bowl and engulfs the room.

Later, James wakes up and the attic is back to normal. His parents are back to normal and have no memory of what happened.

That night, James' parents tuck him into bed. Their hair is starting to grow back. James said their hair was how he knew they weren't themselves. Jessie says it'll take time to fix their hair. The family hugs.

Day 21: James comes down first and movement outside catches his eyes. He runs and gets his parents. They come down and Jessie looks out the window, nothing that "they" are back.

Outside, all the Old White People from the neighborhood stand there. They are surprised that the family is still here and that the House didn't get them. Jessie tells them to leave. They don't, but Andy and Jessie go down the steps and physically push them out the gate and shut it, telling the Old White People that they're gonna have to get used to them, they aren't leaving.

Jessie turns to them and says "we're home!"