I don’t whether to laugh or D:

Poor Sandra and Greg!

Haha

“Like an overweight trapeze artist”

Excellent

Now that’s an opening line. Nice setup for sequels.

That might be the best simile I’ve ever seen.

You’re a bit too wordy in the Carl paragraph. For example, the line “Carl had grown to hate carpets over five years on the job.” could just be “Carl had grown to hate carpets”. Don’t include character backstory unless you absolutely need to. Also, there’s a couple of syntax things that bothered me: “Almost, he thought, it resembled a face” just doesn’t read right. The thought is fine, the words just aren’t in a natural order.

Also, the five year jump didn’t really seem to add to the story. I get that Sandra and Greg moved into a house where some sort of death happened, but so what? I would have preferred a clearer ending to the Carl story, or a stronger bridge between the two.

Man, it is surprising to see your name and the name of your best friend and former roommate pop up together in a (ghost?) story.

I think the ending could be tied a little more into the beginning, even if just to say that it was still there, buried underneath tacky wallpaper. It would help to make the story better able to stand alone.

Some of the adjectives jar your cadence. I agree that the Carl paragraph could stand to be less wordy.

The plot and the concept are great, but I think the prose needs a thorough edit.

I really don’t know what to think about the ending, but in a good way.