Behind the Veil: Making Chapter 16 — “The Last Light in the Hall”

Joshua Bish
Dec 28, 2025
3 min read

Teaser For Chapter 16

Some men are not meant to witness horror. They are meant to tend it. And when they finally look directly at it, they do not scream. They forgive.

Quick recap (light spoilers)

Chapter 16 follows Jonas Griggs, Concord’s first caretaker, a widower and grieving father who arrives on the hill not to investigate, but to keep order. He fixes stairs. He salts the perimeter. He writes carefully in a journal meant for weather and repairs.

What he records instead is the slow realization that the school is not haunted.

It is inhabited.

Through knocks, footprints, mirrors that refuse to obey, and a bell that rings without a clapper, Jonas comes to understand the truth: Room 316 is not the problem. The building itself has become a body. And he is standing inside its chest.

He does not leave.

Why this chapter matters (themes & tone)

The horror of the gentle witness. Jonas is not curious, arrogant, or reckless. He is careful. Faithful. Kind. Which makes his fate worse. This chapter asks what happens when horror chooses someone who is not looking for it.

Grief as vulnerability. Jonas has already buried his family. The Lady does not need to break him — she recognizes him. Loss makes him porous. Memory becomes a doorway.

Maintenance vs. ministry. Caretaking, prayer, and ritual blur. Fixing nails becomes liturgy. Salt becomes sacrament. The bell becomes a mouth.

Forgiveness as damnation. Jonas’s final words are not defiance. They are confessing. In this world, forgiveness is not salvation. It is surrender.

Historical lens (grounding the horror)

Caretakers, Watchmen, and Rural Institutions

In the late 19th century, rural Appalachian institutions often employed solitary caretakers who lived on site. These men were expected to be laborers, guards, and moral anchors. Loneliness was common. Journaling was not unusual — especially among religious men who viewed writing as a form of testimony.

Jonas’s journal structure mirrors actual maintenance logs of the period, which often mixed repairs with personal notes, weather observations, and prayers.

Southern West Virginia Superstition (1890s)

The region was thick with folk belief long before Concord’s hill was built upon:

Salt lines were widely used to ward off snakes, spirits, and sickness.
Three knocks were often associated with death warnings or spiritual mockery of the Trinity.
Mirrors were believed to reveal spiritual impostors or reflect the soul imperfectly at night.
Footprints where none should be were interpreted as signs of restless dead or “haints.”
Buildings as living things were a common belief in mountain folklore — homes were said to “settle,” “sweat,” or “hold grudges.”

This chapter does not invent superstition. It respects it.

Lore connections & escalation

The school as a body. Jonas names it outright: the walls are flesh, the bell is a mouth. This reframes everything before and after. Room 316 is an organ, not an origin.
The Bell evolves. It no longer needs a rope or clapper. It responds to hunger. It is now tied directly to Jonas’s disappearance.
The Mimic learns. The thing wearing Jonas’s younger face marks the first clear suggestion that the entity is studying humanity, not merely feeding on it.
Prayer corrupted. “I think it’s learning to pray” is not a metaphor. It is prophecy.

Behind the scenes (craft & intent)

Structural choice. The chapter is built almost entirely around the journal. This slows time, compresses dread, and lets horror arrive through routine disruption instead of spectacle.

Language control. Early entries are plain and domestic. As fear grows, sentences shorten. Grammar fractures. Faith language increases. The voice tightens until it snaps.

Why no body. Jonas does not die on the page because his disappearance is more disturbing than death. The warm lantern is the point of horror — not blood, but interruption.

Why forgiveness. The final wall inscription is not “help me” or “it’s here.” It is regret. Jonas believes the sin was not building the school, but ignoring what the land tried to say.

Favorite line

“The bell is her mouth. She rings when she is hungry.”

This is the moment the myth locks into place. Everything else becomes inevitable.

Content warnings

Psychological deterioration, religious distress, implied supernatural impersonation, existential dread, disappearance without resolution.

Question for the comments

Do you think Jonas was chosen because of his faith — or in spite of it?

Call to action

If Jonas Griggs stayed with you, share this post with someone who loves slow-burn historical horror rooted in folklore and grief. And if you’ve ever worked alone in a quiet building at night, ask yourself honestly:

Did it ever feel like it was listening back?