We Live Here Now

Hopper’s diary recounts treating a man with severe burns. Before he died, the man revealed the secret of Larkin Lodge to him. In the years that followed, Hopper purchased the burnt-out ruins of Larkin Lodge and had them rebuilt just as his patient had described. The diary describes Hopper’s disillusionment with his wife, Hannah, as she had revealed an unforgiving streak and did not share his dream of building a missionary hospital overseas. Once the renovations of Larkin Lodge were complete, he hoped she would be more amenable.

The diary reveals how Hopper experimented on a test case before killing his wife. He invited an old friend, James Masterson, to stay with him, whose likeable attributes had gradually been eroded by alcohol addiction and a tendency toward aggression. Spiking Masterson’s brandy with laudanum, Hopper took his old friend upstairs and suffocated him with a pillow. Afterward, he dragged Masterson’s body into the primary suite.

The next morning, Hopper found Masterson cheerfully making breakfast with no memory of his murder. Masterson’s worst traits had been eradicated, and he had reverted to the pleasant personality of his youth. However, when Hopper burned a collection of Masterson’s personal items, his friend’s aggressive traits returned.