Chapter 32: The Party, the Revelation, and the Failed Escape

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

At Evelyn's house, Bela's parents drink heavily and host an impromptu dance party. Daddo drunkenly jokes about "Other Mommy," causing laughter that borders on hysterical. The narrator overhears a private conversation between Grandma Ruth and Evelyn, where Evelyn cautions Ruth to let the parents handle the haunting themselves. After the party, everyone sleeps in the yellow bedroom. Bela wakes needing to pee but cannot rouse her parents. She enters a hallway bathroom, thinking she sees Evelyn behind the shower curtain, but when she pulls it aside, there is only black paint. While using the toilet, Bela feels legs beneath her: Other Mommy is there, faceless, holding her face in her hands. Evelyn and Grandma hear Bela's screams. Evelyn's mind changes—she becomes terrified and orders the family out. As they flee, Other Mommy spreads across the ceiling of the yellow room. The family escapes in the car, leaving Evelyn behind. Driving home, they acknowledge that the entity has followed them. They tried to escape the haunted house, but the house is not the problem—they are the ones haunted.

Key Events

Intoxicated party — Daddo and Mommy drink heavily, dancing with Bela. Daddo imitates "Other Daddo," joking about the entity to lighten the mood.
Drunken jokes about the entity — Daddo says Other Mommy is welcome to sit down and have a drink, and calls her "Other Mother." Mommy laughs, then worries they have gone too far.
Evelyn and Grandma confess — Bela hears Grandma tell Evelyn she believes in the haunting, but Evelyn warns Ruth not to immediately accept it and to let the parents manage the crisis.
Bela's bathroom visit — Unable to wake her parents, Bela ventures to the bathroom. She sees what appears to be Evelyn behind the shower curtain, but it is just painted black.
The entity attacks — While peeing, Bela feels Other Mommy's legs beneath her. Other Mommy has no face; her face is in her hands. She emerges from the bathroom.
Evelyn's scream — Evelyn discovers the entity, screams, and orders the family to leave. Her mind becomes "different," and she refuses to abandon her home.
Escape — The family flees under Other Mommy's spread form and drives away. Evelyn remains on the porch, screaming for them to take the entity with them.
The haunting is not the house — As they drive, Mommy realizes they cannot leave the entity behind because it has attached itself to them, not the house.

Character Development

Bela shows growing independence (going to the bathroom alone) and bravery, but also vulnerability. Her internal voice mimics Kelvin's encouragement to cope with fear.
Daddo uses alcohol to suppress fear; his drunken humor reveals a desperate need to reclaim control. His line "it feels good to be brave again" shows he recognizes his own cowardice.
Mommy struggles between wanting to escape and accepting the grim truth: the entity is part of their family. She drives recklessly, then slows down for Bela.
Grandma Ruth now fully believes. She worriedly monitors Bela, and at the end, her mind also seems changed by the sight of the faceless entity.
Evelyn transforms from a welcoming, rational friend to a terrified, changed person whose mind is "different." Her entire hospitality evaporates in one scream.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Drunkenness as escape — The parents drink to forget the haunting, but alcohol only lowers inhibitions, leading to dangerous jokes and eventual paralysis when Bela needs them.
The face/mask — Other Mommy carries her face in her hands, symbolizing the entity's ability to hide its true identity. The facelessness strips away any semblance of humanity.
Home vs. house — The family flees Evelyn's house, only to realize the haunting travels with them. The theme inverts: the house is not haunted; the family is.
Change of mind — Evelyn's mind is "different" after seeing Other Mommy. This motif (used also for Grandma) suggests psychic or emotional injury from direct exposure.
Fish imagery — Bela compares Other Mommy's legs to rows of dead fish in a grocery store, evoking cold, uncanny, lifeless horror.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 32 is a turning point. It disproves the family's hope that leaving their own house would end the haunting. The party and the failing attempt to be "normal" underscore how alcoholism and denial fail as coping mechanisms. The direct confrontation in the bathroom is the most visceral the entity has been: physically touching Bela, faceless, grossly present. Evelyn's permanent change and the family's flight back home lock them into a desperate trajectory. The chapter ends with the devastating realization: "We are haunted."

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Daddo's joke about "Other Mommy" seem more desperate than funny? Daddo is drunk and trying to transform the terror into comedy. He calls himself "Other Daddo" and offers the entity a drink, attempting to reclaim power through mockery. But Mommy's hesitation shows that the joke is too close to reality. Daddo's line "it feels good to be brave again" reveals that he knows he is not truly brave; he is using alcohol to simulate courage.

2. What does the bathroom scene reveal about the nature of Other Mommy? Other Mommy can appear anywhere, not just in closets or at home. She is physically solid enough to be felt (legs beneath Bela) yet can contort into a flat balloon on the ceiling. She carries her face in her hands, suggesting she is not required to wear it—she can choose to confront the family without any human expression. The entity is both intimate (sitting in a bathtub) and monstrous (faceless, fish-like).

3. Why does Evelyn's mind change by the end of the chapter? Evelyn witnesses the entity directly—first in the bathroom, then in the hallway and bedroom. The shock of seeing a faceless being that materialized in her house, combined with touching or near-contact, breaks her rational worldview. She immediately banishes the family, trying to push the horror away. Her "different" mind foreshadows the psychological damage that others, like Grandma, may also suffer.