The House of the Devil (2009) with Adrienne Celt

Seeking some extra cash to pay for her new off-campus apartment, college sophomore Samantha answers an ad for a babysitting job. Her friend Megan suspects something weird is going on and insists on joining Samantha for the evening. On the night of a total lunar eclipse, the two drive to a grand Victorian on the outskirts of town and meet the Ulmans, an older couple going out for the evening – but there’s a catch. There’s no child. Instead, Mrs. Ulman’s mother is upstairs, and Samantha is asked to hang out in the house, in case anything should happen to Mother. Initially reluctant to take the job, Samantha is able to wring 400 bucks out of the couple, and settles in for an evening alone in a dark, dark house, on a dark, dark night. Intro, Math Club, and Debate Society (spoiler-free) 0:00-27:42 Honor Roll and Detention (spoiler-heavy) 27:43-54:41 Superlatives (so. many. spoilers.)  54:42-1:10:23 Director Ti West Screenplay Ti West Featuring AJ Bowen, Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Dee Wallace, Mary Woronov Adrienne Celt is the author of the novels “End of the World House” (Simon & Schuster 2022); “Invitation to a Bonfire” (Bloomsbury 2018), which was an Indie Next Pick, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and is currently being adapted into a TV show for AMC; and “The Daughters” (Norton/Liveright) which won the 2015 PEN Southwest Book Award for Fiction and was named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, as well as a collection of comics: “Apocalypse How? An Existential Bestiary” (DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press 2016). Her writing has been recognized by an O. Henry Prize, the Glenna Luschei Award, and residencies at Jentel, Ragdale, and the Willapa Bay AiR. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Esquire, Zyzzyva, Strange Horizons, Ecotone, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, and Electric Lit, among other places, and her comics and essays can be found in Catapult, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Rumpus, the Tin House Open Bar, The Millions, and elsewhere. She publishes a webcomic (most) every Wednesday at loveamongthelampreys.com. Our theme music is by Sir Cubworth, with embellishments by Edward Elgar.  Music from “The House of the Devil” by Jeff Grace. To read Adrienne’s New York Times article that brought her love of horror to Eric & Bradford’s attention, click here.       For more information on this film, the pod, essays from your hosts, and other assorted bric-a-brac, visit our website, scareupod.com. Please subscribe to this podcast via Apple or Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.  If you like what you hear, please leave us a 5-star rating.         Join our Facebook group. Follow us on Instagram.