THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS

by Craig Houk

Supernatural Thriller/Dark Comedy • 2 Female, 2 Male • Two-Act/Full Length • ~110 Mins

Desperate to overcome a crippling creative drought, celebrated horror novelist Evelyn Wray retreats to the long-abandoned keeper’s quarters of a historic Maine lighthouse she has impulsively purchased. Hoping to write one final great novel, Evelyn clashes with her sharp-tongued literary agent Nora over money, legacy, and...

Supernatural Thriller/Dark Comedy • 2 Female, 2 Male • Two-Act/Full Length • ~110 Mins

Desperate to overcome a crippling creative drought, celebrated horror novelist Evelyn Wray retreats to the long-abandoned keeper’s quarters of a historic Maine lighthouse she has impulsively purchased. Hoping to write one final great novel, Evelyn clashes with her sharp-tongued literary agent Nora over money, legacy, and relevance, while forming an uneasy rapport with Thomas, the local cable technician, and Deputy Sam Chadborn, a devoted fan who shares the lighthouse’s grim legend of a keeper and his wife whose fatal fall from the tower may not have been an accident. As strange occurrences multiply, locked doors, shifting objects, unexplained lights, dizzy spells, missing time, and a mysterious clockwork crank tied to the old story, Evelyn begins to lose her grip on the boundaries between memory, performance, authorship, and haunting. In a space built to cast light into darkness, she confronts the possibility that the terror she has spent decades writing about is no longer confined to the page, and that creating one final great work may require a far more devastating sacrifice than she ever imagined.

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THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS

Recommended by

  • Donald Loftus: THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS by Craig Houk
    “

    THE KEEPER’S QUARTERS is a haunting, beautifully constructed psychological thriller that blends gothic suspense with an emotionally resonant exploration of artistic obsession, isolation, and memory. Craig Houk has created a chilling, elegant, and highly producible new play. The sharp and intelligent dialogue will be a blast for the actors to perform.

    THE KEEPER’S QUARTERS is a haunting, beautifully constructed psychological thriller that blends gothic suspense with an emotionally resonant exploration of artistic obsession, isolation, and memory. Craig Houk has created a chilling, elegant, and highly producible new play. The sharp and intelligent dialogue will be a blast for the actors to perform.

    ”
  • Ken Love: THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS by Craig Houk
    “

    Yes, Hitchcock, Stephen King, John Millington Synge's "Riders to the Sea" all come to mind, as well as any engaging detective story. It's also one of the most - if not the most - original ghost stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I say "ghost" story, but could it be something closer to a psychological thriller? In any event, Craig Houk has crafted something quite unique with "The Keeper's Quarters". This is a truly fascinating tale which merits many productions. Nice!!!

    Yes, Hitchcock, Stephen King, John Millington Synge's "Riders to the Sea" all come to mind, as well as any engaging detective story. It's also one of the most - if not the most - original ghost stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I say "ghost" story, but could it be something closer to a psychological thriller? In any event, Craig Houk has crafted something quite unique with "The Keeper's Quarters". This is a truly fascinating tale which merits many productions. Nice!!!

    ”
  • Donald E. Baker: THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS by Craig Houk
    “

    In the gloomy world of Craig Houk's lighthouse, currently occupied by Evelyn, a popular novelist, we don't know who is malevolent and who is just quirky. We don't know whether the mysterious and frightening goings-on are the result of the past and present interacting or whether things are happening in real life, or in Evelyn's head as she writes her latest book, or as a result of actual paranormal activity. Audiences will be debating those questions long after the final blackout. Nicely done!

    In the gloomy world of Craig Houk's lighthouse, currently occupied by Evelyn, a popular novelist, we don't know who is malevolent and who is just quirky. We don't know whether the mysterious and frightening goings-on are the result of the past and present interacting or whether things are happening in real life, or in Evelyn's head as she writes her latest book, or as a result of actual paranormal activity. Audiences will be debating those questions long after the final blackout. Nicely done!

    ”
View all 7 recommendations
EVELYN “EVY” WRAY (40s), a well-established novelist, can be played by any race.
Also plays ALMA FRICHET, married to Warner Frichet, an emerging painter.
THOMAS “TOM” MCKAY (30s), a cable technician, can be played by any race.
Also plays FREDERICK “FREDDIE” BOOTHBY, a local art dealer.
NORA COLLINS (50s), Evelyn’s literary agent, can be played by any race.
Also plays ENID PHILBRICK, a respected art collector and curator.
SAMUEL “SAM” CHADBORN (40s), a local deputy sheriff, can be played by any race.
Also plays WARNER FRICHET, a dedicated but short-sighted lighthouse keeper.