THE FULLERS' - labyrinth beginnings

A small home filled with love and harmony, with their troubles; yes, like anyone else, but The Fullers' were a  happy and united family. Mark Fuller and his wife Jean had three daughters; Verna, Claudia and Dorothy. They were members of their local church and devoted christians. 

Mr. Fuller owned a convenience store, and inherited a big lot, which he later rented it as gas station (Texaco) to Mr. LaPlant. He was able to gather a good fortune and within a few years, purchased three houses, one for each of his daughters. But time and life plays tricks on everyone, and Verna was diagnosed with Leukaemia. After 7 months, Dorothy was diagnosed with Leukemia too. 

Times were black for the Fuller family, there was little hope for both Verna and Dorothy,  and after a slow and painful journey, both loss the battle to Leukemia.  

Mrs. Fuller, a devoted Christian, had become even more devoted, she went to church everyday and prayed for hours. At some point during the last days of Verna and Dorothy, she felt anger towards God. Feeling she regretted immensely later. 

Mr. Fuller, on the other hand, became bitter and isolated. He and Mrs. Fuller were not sleeping in the same room for some time, and he eventually moved to one of the homes he had purchased. A nice home on Edgewood Ave., just a few blocks from his family. He said he wanted to fix the property and put it up for sale. But truth was, he was locked in the house most of the time and wouldn't let anyone inside. He always said the house was a mess due to the renovations, but none of the neighbours ever heard any noise from the house; what kind of renovations were done? no one knew. 

One night though, the neighbours next door hear noises: loud banging noises coming from Mr. Fullers house. As they mentioned to the police, all lights were on and it seemed like Mr. Fuller was working on the attic. A police car came to check on him, but Mr. Fuller was not to be found. The noises stopped that night; but Mr. Fuller was never seen again. this was 1981. 

Mrs Fuller and her daughter Claudia, searched for Mr. Fuller everywhere. they came home everyday empty handed and full of questions. There were so many loose ends. The disappearance of Mr. Fuller made no sense; one minute he was working on his home renovations, annoying all the neighbours and in just 20 minutes he banishes, leaving no trace or clues to where he had gone. One thing is consistent; no one saw him leave the house, none of the neighbours recall seeing him or anyone walking away from the home or in the neighbourhood. In fact, the next door neighbours made it clear that even though they heard loud noises coming from his house, they never actually saw him, they just assumed it was him, as he was living alone. Besides tools, old clothes and some leftovers, they found what looked like maps (perhaps mazes) painted with blue ink on some walls, but they were dismissed.... If only they knew.

Several years passed, and Mr. Fullers' case went cold. After a lot of search in the city and state, there was no clue that could guide them to his final resting place. He was pronounced dead after 10 years and Mrs. Fuller then decided to sell the three properties, keeping only her long-time home at Sherman Ave.

Mrs. Fuller lived alone at Sherman Ave for several years, but she constantly heard noises and whispers. At some point she thought she might be going crazy. After all this was the place where Dorothy and Verna passed. So maybe it was time to move forward. She decided to move to a nearby condo, Claudia had moved out a few years a go when she got married. The house was too big for her and it had become an unpleasant environment for her. With the help of an Architect, she turned into two apartments and rented them at a considerable low price. Many Yale students had lived there. They all mentioned loud noises, some recall whispers. 

Mrs. Fuller came home to find a police officer waiting for her in her new apartment. He knew her husband had gone missing for so long. When she saw him, her heart sank; she might be getting bad news, painful news. But the news officer Brown gave her, were not the ones she expected. They found the remains of Elizabeth Cook at her former property in Edgewood Ave. Some kind of wood panel was installed, isolating a small space of the attic, where her remains were found. Mrs Fuller proved she had never stepped a foot into that house, and going through the files, they learned that Mr. Fuller had actually lived there, alone, when Miss Cook went missing. But Mr. Fuller was declared dead and they could not point their finger to anyone else. The case went cold. 

The last tenants upstairs were Annie and Sam. Downstairs here Sylvia and Michelle (who stayed for three months). The place is still vacant, still untouched. 

Mrs. Fuller had passed, and Claudia wanted nothing to do with any of the properties in New Haven. She had moved to Massachusetts, closing the chapter of her childhood town. She sold everything; the condo where her mother lived, the abandoned gas station and still trying to sell the house on Sherman Ave. 

The gas station sold immediately, it is a large lot on a corner in a nice neighbourhood, they were planning to build a mimi mall. But things never go as planned, and while demolishing what was left of the Texaco station, they found 10 bodies under the concrete plaque. Apparently Mr. LaPlace complaint to Mr. Fuller, several years ago, about the uneven plaque and how it had to be fixed. Mr. Fuller fixed overnight, literally; leaving just a cordoned area with a small sign that read "wet cement".   This was in 1981, just a few weeks before Mr. Fuller went missing. The remains had been there long enough, the forensic team determined, probably death before 1981. 

Funny thing about family secrets, is that they always come to those who don't want to be part of them, always keeping them up at night wondering. 

Claudia left New Heaven with a tiny secret, see, while cleaning the Sherman Ave. home to put it on sale, she discovered a small, very small room, through a trap door in the garden. The tiny door was covered in dirt and growing things. She then found her Dads tiny secret. It looked like a dark place, she found pieces of cloth, hair patches, what looked like teeth and her dads wedding ring. It was a narrow space, very dark and looked like a tunnel. She didn't venture to walk all the way in, she had seen enough. If only she knew her fathers remains were just a few steps from her, hiding in the tunnel the led to the main house, where he will eternally bang the doors and windows in anger.