Melinda hated driving at night . She did her best to avoid it . Short trips to the store if she just realized she ran out of tampons or had nothing for dinner after getting home - that sort of thing happened now and then . But she did her best not to go out after dark unless someone was coming to pick her up . As so many unpleasant things in her life , this was her father 's fault . She hadn 't seen or spoken to the bastard in fifteen years , but just after falling asleep tonight . . . no , that was wrong . It would be yesterday by this time . Out of the blue , her phone rang , and his voice was on the other end . The old ass was probably drunk , but he 'd never called her before - not since she was a child and he was still trying to convince her mother to take him back . It felt like she had been dreaming - waking up to hear his voice again after all these years . It sounded like he was crying . His voice sounded just the same as the last time she 'd heard it . As though in a dream , she had risen , dressed , and gotten in the car . She was well out of town and halfway to his old place before realizing that she had no way of knowing if he even still lived there . She received updates from her mother from time to time over the years about where he was . The last time she heard from her mother about him was seven years ago . Had he ever stayed in one place that long ? Not to her recollection . She had been seven when her mother finally had enough and showed him the door . Prior to that , a move had come every few months . The house they had been living in was their longest stay in one place ; a full sixteen months . It turned into two years after that , and then the next house had been the one she left when she moved out on her own . In all that time , she heard from him sporadically at best , and had finally decided it was best to simply forget about him . She had found out after a two - hour drive that she had been right to wonder if he was still in the same place . His last known address was a sketchy apartment in a low - income area of the town she had grown up in . Had he been number 24 or number 42 ? Maybe he was 14 . It definitely had a four . It didn 't matter . His name wasn 't on any of the buzzers . The next thing she knew , she was on this lonely stretch of road . Cars were sparse , but she took some comfort in the fact that she would pass one every half - hour or so . Her dashboard clock now read 2 : 27 AM . She had been driving for more than five hours since leaving her house . At night . Every five minutes or so , she checked her cell phone . Ever since realizing she was lost , she had checked her phone and found no bars at all . She even stopped at a gas station ( closed , of course ) , just sure there should be some service around here somewhere , but nothing . Take stock of your life , Mellie , she thought . You 're over thirty , you hate your job , you and your mother don 't get along , you haven 't seen or spoken to your father in just under half your life , you have no time for your friends or a relationship thanks to the aforementioned job you hate , and now here you are , trapped on a road you 've never been on before , at night , and you can 't even so much as call AMA let alone check Google Maps . Smart lady you are . She briefly considered stopping and flagging down the next car that passed . She quickly realized the futility of that plan . Any car on this road would also have no service . So there was nothing for it . She 'd have to drive until she saw a house . She 'd feel bad for waking someone up , but there was no choice . She needed to find her way back to the main highway . But so far , all that she could see on either side was trees . Mile after mile of trees . No lights shining through the boughs . No sign that anyone had ever been here before except that there was a road and people were obviously still driving on it . There weren 't even any road signs other than the mile markers . Had she really found the middle of nowhere ? She was just in the middle of this thought when her headlights illuminated something just up the road ; a square , wooden sign - obviously made by someone other than the government . This wasn 't a gas / food / lodging sign , or a mile marker , or a distance - to sign . This looked like the kind of signs advertising a private business was nearby . She slowed down to read it . Her heart sped up . She certainly wasn 't interested in spending a night at Granny Royce 's , but every business had a phone . At the very least , she 'd have a map , or know the way back to the highway . She decided she would stop there . She almost missed the turn . Granny Royce 's Road House was buried at the back of a long , dirt driveway , secluded amid the trees . She was almost past the little dirt " road " that led back to it before realizing it was there . She skidded to a stop and turned in . The little house lay ahead . It was two stories and looked to have about eight to ten rooms . Big for a home but small for anything announcing room and board . She got closer and looked for a vacancy sign . Nothing . It wasn 't that the sign wasn 't lit ; there was no sign . The porch light was on and the front of the building was illuminated by that light and by her headlights . No signs of any kind . She paused in the driveway and took out her cell again . Still no service . She did a quick search for any available wireless signals . To her complete lack of surprise , there were none . Not even any secured . At this point , she wouldn 't be surprised to find the house empty as well . But the light was on and this was supposed to be a road house . Someone would be manning the front desk . She got out of the car and headed for the front porch . As she turned around to make sure the lights flashed when she hit the lock button on her fob , she thought she could see a flash of movement in the trees . Something human - shaped . She stopped and looked again . Nothing . She decided she imagined it . At the front door , she hesitated . If it really was a road house then she should be able to just go on in . But what if she got the wrong house ? If she tried the door and just walked in , she could find herself arrested out here in Buttfuck , Nowhere . Cautiously , she tried the knob . It turned . She pressed gently on the door . It opened . Relief flooded through her when she saw that she was in a small , but tastefully decorated foyer that had obviously been repurposed as an admissions area . A quaint desk with an honest - to - god guest book had been placed in the far right corner and some chairs had been set out , along with magazines on a table . She read the titles briefly - Mademoiselle , Blue Book , The New Country Life , Arts & Architecture - before turning her attention to the little desk . There wasn 't a computer . That was a cute touch . It was like the house was from a past era . Perhaps old Granny Royce really didn 't like modern technology . There was , however , a little bell , just like there would have been in 1929 . It wasn 't even the round silver kind you slapped to ring ; it was a little porcelain hand - bell . This place was starting to out - cute her . For a while , nothing happened . Then she saw a light come on in the back room and the shadow of an old woman sprang up on the wall . The shadow moved toward her and within a few seconds , she saw its owner : Granny Royce , who perhaps looked like every grandmother in every storybook ever . " Well , goodness me , " she said . " My lands . Good morning deary . Pardon my tardiness but it 's been a while since we got guests at this hour . Can I take your name , honey ? " Granny Royce was smallish , her grey hair tied in a neat bun behind her head , a dress that would have looked like it belonged to a senior citizen in the twenties , and a faded pink sweater . Melinda thought that she looked just like she would have wanted her own grandmother to look like , but her mother 's mother had died when she was young , and she 'd never met her father 's mother . It almost hurt to deny this sweet little woman her business , but nevertheless , she had to get home . " Actually , I 'm sorry , " she began . " But the fact is I 'm lost . I 'm not even sure where I am in the direction of . . . " " Oh , you poor thing , " said Granny Royce . " You just sit down and let me fix you some tea , or something . You must be cold . " " Really , thank you , but I 'm okay , " Melinda said gently . " I just need to use the phone , if I could , or if you 've got a map , even that would be lovely . I really only live a couple of hours from here . . . " " Oh dear , " said the little woman sadly . " I 'm sorry , honey , but the phone lines are down . As for a map , well . . . I used to have one , and if I look I still might , but it 's probably quite out of date by now . The highway moved since then , I know that much . " Melinda 's heart sank . How could her luck get any worse ? No phone , cell or land line , and no map . What could she do ? She had to get back home . She was expected to work at 8 AM tomorrow . And why were the phone lines down ? The weather was coldish but clear . Were they fixing a line nearby ? " No , doesn 't ring a bell . I 'm sorry . But I could not say which direction it 's in . Why don 't you stay the night , sweetie . I 'll give you a discount for your trouble . " " Thank you . That 's very kind of you . But I have work tomorrow and I need to get back home . I 'm not even sure why I 'm out tonight . The only reason I had doesn 't seem to matter anymore . " " Honey , I wouldn 't advise trying to drive back that far tonight , " Granny Royce said . " Why , it 's almost three in the morning , and you 've not had any sleep . Maybe the lines will be up in the morning , and you can call your work and let them know you 'll be late . " " That won 't work , either , " she replied . " I 'm the opener . No one will be there . No , I 'm sorry , I 've really got to leave . I 'll head in the other direction until I find the road I was on . " At that , Granny Royce 's expression , already one of kind concern , seemed to shift somewhat - to one of fear . She paused , looking at Melinda as though she wanted to say something else to keep her inside . Finally she said , reluctantly , " Alright , honey , if you 're sure . Just you be careful , now . Don 't speak to nobody until you 're back on the road . " That last warning seemed a little silly . After all , what was Melinda , a little girl ? She thanked Granny Royce for her kindness and headed back to the car . About halfway to the car she remembered thinking she saw something moving in the trees . Her eyes scanned both sides of the secluded little cleared area she was in , looking for anything that appeared to be moving on its own rather than being blown by the slight wind . She saw nothing . Satisfied , she headed for her car . All four tires were flat . She stopped and let the reality sink in . She wasn 't going anywhere tonight . She had no choice now ; she had to stay the night here until morning , when hopefully the phone lines would be up and she could call someone from work to ask them to go in for her , and then AMA to get her tires dealt with . She sighed and walked back in the house . She could hear Granny Royce as she was walking back to her room . She had already turned off the lights . Resigned to her fate , Melinda rang the little bell again . " Yes , it 's me , " she answered . " Sorry to be a bother . My name is Melinda Orton . Sorry I never mentioned it before . I guess I will take a room for the night , if the offer 's still good . " " Oh , of course it is , deary , " said Granny Royce , re - entering the room and turning the lights back on . " Melinda . Oh , that 's such a pretty name , honey . Well . Let 's get you situated . You put your name and arrival time in the book there and I 'll get you a key . All the boarding rooms are on the second floor , and there 's only a couple left . " " Oh , yes , Miss Melinda . " Granny was puttering around in the adjacent room . " Mr . Norris , young Calvin , there 's a few of us here . " She came back out with a key in her hand . " Just out of curiosity , what made you change your mind ? " She led Melinda up the darkened staircase into an empty , quiet hall . Or perhaps not so quiet . From one end of the hall came the muffled sound of someone crying . Whoever it was was crying softly - not with anger or petulance or fear , but with deep sadness . It sounded as if crying was something this person was used to , but they were still unable to stop . " Oh , pay that no mind , honey , " said Granny . " That 's just Mr . Norris . He 's been like that a while . Older man , you understand . Not all there . " She tapped her temple . Granny started at this , looking up with an almost guilty expression . " Oh , well , " she said . " That kind of thing is the business of the guests . I don 't ask about such things . " She turned the key in the lock of the room she had led Melinda to , and opened the door . Turning on the light , she showed Melinda the quaint little room . Melinda thought it looked like stepping into the past . She could swear this room would have looked modern in the early fifties , at the earliest . Come to think of it , so could the rest of this place , she thought . No wireless service , no computer , that old bell . And those magazines , they looked new , but . . . " Now , the bathroom is down the hallway there . You 'll be sharing with the whole floor , so please bare that in mind if you have to go . There 's a shower schedule on the door , as well . First come , first serve . You just add your name to the first available line and that 's the order the showers are in . I wouldn 't worry about that if I were you , though . I 'm sure you 'll be first in line . I get up at 6 AM sharp every morning and start breakfast , but you come on down whenever you 're ready and I 'll whip something up for you . " Oh , and one last thing , my dear . I would strongly advise you not to leave the house until sun - up . You just never know what could happen out there . In the dark . " After a few moments , she was alone . Alone , without anything to wear to bed , and nothing to shower , brush her teeth , or hair with in the morning . She sat on the bed and looked out the window , which faced front . Her car still sat where she had left it , the only thing for miles that seemed like part of her world . Despite the homeyness of the room , she felt an unwillingness to rise and shut off the light . Somehow the thought of going to sleep in this backward little room seemed unthinkable . So instead , she continued to sit and stare out the window . A figure in black detached itself from the shadows of the trees and made its way to her car . The figure was tall , and seemed to be wearing a cloak made of night . She saw as its arm extended . In its hand was a long , jagged dagger . It dragged the dagger across the side of her car , leaving a long gash - mark in the paint and metal . The figure kept dragging the dagger . She reached for the window to open it . It wouldn 't budge . She looked for a lock , but couldn 't see one . This time the figure raised its head . She could see the glint of two eyes under the hood . The figure raised the dagger , slowly , determinedly . It pointed it straight at her face . She leaped away from the window and ran for the door . A noise on the other side stopped her . Footsteps . Dragging , shambling footsteps . And crying . The sound of a person for whom deep , longing sadness is a way of life . She waited . Somehow , she just felt that she should let the old man pass before she opened the door . Before he got very far , however , she heard other footsteps - these much quicker and lighter - run up the stairs and stop near the door of her room . " Stop it ! " hissed Granny Royce . " Go back in your room right now ! You know better . She can 't see you yet . Hopefully she won 't have to at all . Now you go back in there . You 've got no business being out at this hour anyway . " How could that sweet old woman talk to another human that way , let alone an old man with a foggy mind ? She almost opened the door right then , but somehow her hand stopped , and waited until the shuffling , crying man had made his way back down the hallway . She heard his door open . She opened her own door just in time to see his foot , shod in a well - worn house - shoe , slide into his room . The door closed softly after him . But now she was determined to find out what was going on . The punk outside in the Halloween costume slashing up her car followed by Granny yelling at an old man made her begin to understand that not all was well here . She went back down to the front desk area , which was completely unlit except for the moonlight and porch light coming through the window . There was , however , a light on near the back room that Granny Royce had emerged from before . Melinda paused to take a look outside the front window . The maniac with the dagger was nowhere to be seen for the moment , but she was now determined that it was he that she had seen moving through the trees . Instead , she found Granny sitting with a young man of about twenty . He had dark hair and a scruff of stubble and was wearing a dark brown corduroy shirt and khaki 's , along with a pork - pie hat . He looked like he was ready to go sell newspapers on a street - corner in the thirties . He was quietly sipping tea while Granny was admonishing him from the other end of the table . " That 's a laugh , talking about my age , " muttered the young man with a sneer . " And just how old are you ? Do you even remember ? " " Calvin Davidson , you are trouble , young man , " she hissed back . Neither had noticed Melinda yet . " One of these days you 're going to say something you 'll regret . " " Oh , come on , Granny , what could I possibly say that will make things worse than they already are ? " demanded Calvin . " I mean , look at old Mr . Norris up there ! Both of us are ol . . . um , hullo , miss . I didn 't know we had anyone else here . " He had just seen Melinda . She had the feeling she 'd walked in on an old argument the two of them had had many times , and that did not concern her . Her fear and anger were forgotten for the moment . Calvin had been talking to Granny like a sullen kid , but something about what they were saying seemed . . . wrong . That brought her back . " No , " she said . " The room is fine . But nothing else is ! I mean , what on Earth do you even have a road house out here where it seems like no one ever stops ? Why are most of the rooms full even though mine is the only car out there ? Why did I hear you talking to Mr . Norris like he was a dog ? And why would you want to make sure I didn 't see him ? " " Good lord , she 's not even been here a night and she can see it . Why did you even let her in , Granny ? Why don 't you just bolt the door ? Hell , if I could go take down that sign don 't you think I would have , by now ? Lord love a duck . " " And besides that , there 's someone out there ! He 's the freak who slashed my tires and he 's been out there messing up my car since then ! And you can 't even call the police ! Are you gonna tell me you 've never had vandals out here before ? " There was a long pause in the room . Neither Granny nor Calvin seemed willing to break it . Calvin scratched at his neck . For the first time , Melinda noticed a red slash at his throat , half - hidden by his collar . It looked like either a very fresh scar or a slightly healed wound . Melina did not like how he said that . She also didn 't like the way his tone had switched from sullen child to serious adult . He looked several years her junior but he was talking to her like he was her uncle , or her boss . He swallowed a sip of tea and sighed . " I worked in a textile mill , " he said . " The mill was shut down by the time I got here . Most businesses were . So I struck out on my own ; a drifter looking for what work I could find . And I stopped here . Forever . " " This place was new then , " said Granny . " My man and I had just opened it . And young Mr . Calvin was a sweet young lad of sixteen . I offered to take him on as hired help over my husband 's objections . Well , my husband was a well - meaning man , but he knew how to pinch a penny . T ' was a year after I took Calvin on that Mr . Royce died . Calvin and I have been here ever since . And every few years or so , someone joins us . " " Yep , " Calvin broke in . " Miss Tillie was first ; she was a woman of ill repute who ran here , pregnant and scared that the man who 'd run her trade up in New York was gonna find her and kill her . She and that baby . . . " " Mr . Norris got here in ' 69 , " said Calvin . " His story is probably the worst . He was a . . . well , he was a bank - robber , you see . Carried a pistol . And he didn 't like learning how long we 'd all been here . " He paused , stood and walked to the kitchen window . " He tried to leave on his own , you see . He ain 't the first to try it . That was me , actually . I warned him not to try , but he wouldn 't listen . But when he got outside . . . and he met him . . . " " She 's not going to wait until morning , " said Calvin with some remorse in his voice . " No one ever waits until morning . The fact that she came down here is proof enough of that . Besides , what good would that have really done her ? Her car is useless . We have no phones here . There was no phone when this place went up and there won 't never be a phone here . You know that . " " Okay , everyone , stop ! " Melinda shouted . " That 's enough ! Now , you can 't keep me prisoner here and I have no intention of staying any longer . Only that knife - wielding maniac out there is keeping me from running up the road this minute ! Now , I need to know what 's really going on here and I need to know it now ! " " We 've been telling you , " Calvin said . " Granny may not want you to know everything , but you need to . Because you won 't be leaving . Oh , we 're not trying to keep you prisoner . I don 't even care if you run out that door right now . But you 'll never leave this house again afterward . " " Listen , child ! " said Granny , rising from her spot at the table . " Listen , please ! None of us mean you harm , my dear , not even Mr . Norris . There 's scant he can do anymore , and he knows it . That 's why he 's up there crying all the time . But we 're stuck here , all of us . I hoped there was a chance for you to run for it in the morning , but Calvin 's right . There 's no guarantee you 'd be safe in the morning , anyhow . " " It was about a month after Mr . Royce died , " said Calvin . " When he came . He was wearing that long , black robe and carrying that ridiculous dagger . I saw him when I was trimming the hedges in the back . I told him he needed to get out of here , because I didn 't like his look . He . . . he moved so fast I never saw it coming . And he got me , from here . . . " Calvin touched his neck . " . . . to here . " He touched his lower abdomen on the opposite side from the neck slash . He began to undo his shirt . Melinda almost vomited . Under his shirt was a long , ugly slash that went deep . . . and was still seeping blood . She could see bone , muscle and intestines wriggling within that mangled ruin . " I died that night , " said Calvin . " But then I didn 't . The next thing I knew , I was being dragged into the house by Granny , and when I woke up , I nearly scared her to death . She was sure that I was gone . The thing is , I was . But I was awake . I could talk , walk , do anything I could while alive . Well , except take any enjoyment or nourishment from food or drink anymore . I still drink that tea because it keeps my skin from turning ash - grey . I learned that about fifty years ago . " " He didn 't go away , though , " Granny broke in . " I went out to deal with him , carrying my axe . He took my axe and buried it in my back . I won 't show you the wound , honey . Calvin shouldn 't have shown you his , either . No one should have to see it . " " But that 's how he works , Melinda , " continued Calvin . " He 's got that knife , but if you try to use a weapon on him , he just . . . moves like he does and takes it from you . You never stand a chance . He 'll use whatever weapon you try to take him down with to end you . Mr . Norris learned that the hard way . " " This . . . this is not happening ! " Melinda was ready to break down . She had to hold it together . She had to get out of here , somehow . Nothing about this was right . Nothing about it could be real . It was all a dream ; too much didn 't make sense . Her father calling her out of the blue . Her leaving to go to him without a second thought . Getting lost so quickly , and so irreversibly . No cell phone service anywhere on this road . This place , everything about it ! She was dreaming ; that had to be it . But if so , she was going to survive this dream . She turned and ran for the stairs . Her purse was still in her room , but she was going to grab it and go . She 'd had enough . Protesting voices began babbling behind her ; she cared not one whit . Mr . Norris was waiting at the top of the stairs . Contrary to Granny Royce 's description of him , he was not old at all . No more than about forty . But she saw instantly what she meant by " not all there " . The top half of Mr . Norris 's head looked normal , like a reasonably attractive man with dark hair peppered with grey here and there . His eyes , a clear green , were moist with fresh tears . The lower half of his face was a ruin of bone fragments , shredded muscle and blood . So much blood . His left side was similarly destroyed . His arm hung on a few hanging strings of muscle , his hip was just as much a mess of bone and blood as his face was . He kept his one good hand on the bannister as he shuffled toward her . Behind him stood a young woman in a bra and a pair of panties . Her stomach was cut open , and looking out of the wound with bright , intelligent eyes was the mangled remains of a baby . " They 're not going to hurt you , " he said quickly . " But he will . If you step out for so much as a moment , he will kill you , and it will hurt . And it will go on hurting . Forever . After a while you learn to function with the pain , but it never goes away . " " We don 't know , " said Granny , from behind Calvin . " He just . . . came here , and he won 't go away . He likes to watch us , and do things to incite us to come out again . As soon as someone does , he hurts them more . But no matter how many times he kills us , we don 't die . Believe me when I say , we all wish we could . " Melinda had had enough of this . She pushed Calvin away and threw open the door . He was standing on the porch . The knife was held out in front of him , just at face - level . Melinda ran into him at a rush , the knife puncturing her right eye and its tip sliding on through , out the other side . She just managed to see the grinning , pure - white face of her killer , before everything went black .