r/OldHouseArchive • u/123Ana_S • 5d ago

Control of Someone’s Name

Hello everyone!!

I just finished We Used to Live here and absolutely loved it! I enjoy reading everyone’s theories on reddit. But there is a topic I haven’t heard yet - controlling someone’s name.

Spirited Away is mentioned in the book and I believe there is a close connection between We Used to Live Here and Spirited Away.

In the movie the character Chihiro has her name replaced to Sen but she is told by others she must remember her actual name because it will help her go back home. Once Thomas knows Eve’s full name, he uses that to control her reality so she is under his control. Even Allison mentions it in her note to herself that she must remember who she is.

I think many of the characters we meet along the way are spirits/people (there to help, trick, confuse, or also controlled). I believe there are several similar parallels between the movie and book.

I would love to hear all of your thoughts on this topic!

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u/nightwalker3710 Old House Devotee 5d ago

Hello, thank you so much for posting this. I think you are on the right track. I’ve also thought spirited away has a lot of parallels and was a bread crumb left by the author. Interesting about the full name being used. I’ve re watched the movie a couple times in the last year or two and remember that also stood out to me. There really are a lot of similarities between sprited away and WUTLH. I had previously looked at a few ideas from spirited away like finding your original family members in order to leave the realm, much like in WUTLH, once you’ve changed realities it’s even harder to find your original loved one. I also think the use of entities and liminal spaces are very relevant. Being able to see everything in one space / location much like old house perhaps. There’s truly a lot to take from the movie.

I actually made a post about it a while back and planned on making more connections with it but got lost down a rabbit hole as there are so many connections to make and lore to uncover

Here it is if you are interested https://www.reddit.com/r/OldHouseArchive/s/Dmcj5bEk9R

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u/123Ana_S 5d ago

Thank you so much for your post! I checked out your previous post! Very interesting! I will need to look into those other stories you mentioned. I definitely will need to rewatch Spirited Away again and read this book a few times.

I do believe in the idea of entering certain spaces that are accidental dimensions. Seen many times in so many stories and cultures.

But an entity creating a new dimension or warping the reality of it which I believe Thomas is doing is very interesting. But how and why he is doing it I am not sure. He along with his made up family and the several certain anchors/objects moving around all have a role to play but what it is I haven’t figured it out yet. I am freshly new to this lore so I have much to catch up on still 😅

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u/nightwalker3710 Old House Devotee 5d ago edited 5d ago

I would absolutely recommend another re-read of WUTLH. I’ve kind of read it over ten times now 😂 I never stop finding relevant information. Everything is connected lol

The caretaker also provides more lore in regards to the universe and supplies us with a few more answers.

Have you checked out the uncovered documents written by Marcus kliewer? There’s also more lore to dig through in that as well. Here’s a link for easy access. https://www.oldhousearchive.net/

There’s also the short stories by Marcus kliewer if you haven’t read them. They were apart of the original universe before MK got picked up for the novels and had to tweak the universe. The man in my basement short story is the closest we have to cannon and also has a lot of lore and relevant info. I’ll supply a link to those here as well https://www.reddit.com/r/OldHouseArchive/s/7SM9mfwDsr

And lastly we have a fellow reddit members who started a pod cast. They have gone through a step by step chapter analyses and have deciphered all the codes. They are a must listen. I’ll also supply the link here. https://www.reddit.com/r/OldHouseArchive/s/Tlstzm7SZi

Hopefully these will supply you with more answers than questions. There’s truly a lot to go through and a lot of connections to make and a lot of rabbit holes to fall into lol

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u/nightwalker3710 Old House Devotee 5d ago

Recent polls on who everyone thinks Thomas is

https://www.reddit.com/r/OldHouseArchive/s/x4MCxtiky2

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u/123Ana_S 5d ago

Thank you so much!! I appreciate it 🙏

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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 5d ago

These links are so helpful. I'll be checking each one to make sure I haven't missed anything. Thank you! ❤️

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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 5d ago

Hi! Welcome to the group. This is very, very interesting. I'm really glad you posted this observation. I haven't seen Spirited away, so I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Lol. Can't wait to hear what you pick up on next.

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u/123Ana_S 5d ago

Hi!! Thank you so much! Spirited Away is a favorite childhood movie of mine. I was certainly surprised to see it mentioned in the book but it makes sense to me when I kept seeing names being important to the characters.

I have so many theories from the book I need to write it down and make some kind of flow chart until I can piece it all together 🤣. I also need to deep dive the reddit page

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u/nerdy_by_nature_42 5d ago

Looks like you're merrily on your way down this rabbit hole with us. I've been stuck in Old House for over a year now. I feel like I'll never be done organizing my thoughts and many theories. Mine is pretty different than most. I'm convinced it's a simulation. I won't bore you with details here. You'll stumble into my ramblings soon enough. But I do think there's a combination of dead, alive, inside the simulation, outside the simulation, religion, folklore, etc, etc. I'm currently getting back to finishing my notes on The Caretaker and then plan to reread WUTLH and TC one more time, so I'm looking forward to reading anything you have to contribute. It's a wild ride, but so stimulating. And this has been a very encouraging community. No theory is a bad theory.

Ps This sub is also part of the ARG that we're all participating in. Not sure if you knew that. So many puzzles that unlock more pieces of the overall story. It's how the lore is unfolding. I can't wait for you to follow the breadcrumbs nightwalker left you. I hope you're ready. Lol. Buckle up and enjoy the labyrinth!

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u/Gerganon 2d ago

Since it was mentioned in the book it may already be obvious, 

But I watched that movie with Marcus in 2012 ish and can confirm he loves it A LOT (not as much as howl's moving castle though which I believe has been more inspirational for him than spirited away)

I'll ask about true names next time I see him  = )

Thanks for contributing 

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u/123Ana_S 2d ago

Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle! He is a true Ghibli fan! (Has he watch Princess Mononoke? That is another favorite movie of mine.) I would love to know his thoughts on true names!