On Writing The House in the Middle of the Street by Jennifer Sklias-Gahan

Jennifer Sklias-Gahan is a lifelong storyteller. Her onscreen work includes roles in The Louise Log, Good Friday, and FBI: Most Wanted. She has written and produced for Demivoula Studios and co-founded 18 Bleecker Films, creating projects that merge myth, memory, and the uncanny. Her literary debut, The House in the Middle of the Street is out now.

When I work on a character for an acting role I make time to walk around New York City, where  I live, and think about the script and my role. 

I meander about, feeling out the relationships, feelings and thoughts I have about the people and places in my character’s world. The rhythm of my walking somehow finds its way into my mind, opening it up, revealing pieces about the story I didn’t automatically notice. 

On one particular day a couple of years ago, as I was on a walk like that, I brought myself into one of my favorite book shops in the city, Rizzoli’s on Broadway near the corner of W26th st. I always LOVE Rizzoli’s window display. If I have the time, its interesting and beautiful presentation pulls me in. And on this day, I went in to wander and explore the shop and its books. 

I came across a book in the New York section called The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cohen. The title and the book cover drew me in. I began reading it and before long I made my way from leaning on the bookshelves to sliding down to use their display table as a seat. As I finished the first chapter in the aisle, the book clerk cleverly asked me how I liked to read, we talked about it and I bought the book. This 1836  New York City story ignited my imagination and I began to create a storyline that mixed some of my personal experiences and observations into the historic 19th century domain of Helen Jewett and her world of characters, places and protocol in downtown Manhattan.  

At that time, I wrote in screenplay form seeing this narrative cinematically. From that written  world, I created a short film called “Matilda- An Urban Ghost Story,” which I produced and acted in. I left the majority of the story in my writing files and moved on.

On the encouragement of my agent and a few creative collaborators, I went back to my previous screenplay and re-engaged with the story. I was inspired and carved aside time each day from about 5:30am to 10/11am to write each morning. 

What grew on the page became The House in the Middle of the Street. It is my cautionary fairy tale about a house, its occupants and the yearly visit from a boy and girl, who knock and knock on the door asking to be let in. This house originally belonged to Minvera Atreus, who we are introduced to at the opening of this winter ghost story. 

Minerva is one of the leading characters in my original screenplay inspired by the book I found at Rizzoli’s the day I wandered in. It was so fun and creatively fulfilling to narrate my story and  put together its audio sound design with the talented Adrain Hierholtzer. And to have Rare Bird  publishing pick it up to publish a beautiful hardcover along with an exclusive vinyl version was  a dream come true. 

It is amazing to share this story in a few ways, for someone who likes to curl up with a book or to listen and hear the narration with the sounds and mystery of being in the house and with the wild winds that come to tell you the story of this place, on this street, and in this house. I hope my readers and listeners enjoy it as much as I have created it. 

Now that the saga has begun, I didn’t want to stop. I will release a series of Gothic Tales that  follow the storyline linking back to Minerva and her family’s history set in New York’s mid to late  19th century. It is an enormously rich and decadent place where historic fiction meets magic  and myth.  

I am excited to share this series of dark tales, beginning with The House in the Middle of the  Street which is available now in hardcover, vinyl, and audio. The stories are cinematic and I will  return them to where they were originally born, in a screenplay, and bring them to life on the  screen. 

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The House in the Middle of the Street

In The House in the Middle of the Street, Jennifer Sklias-Gahan conjures a haunting modern fairy tale of inheritance, secrets, and the creatures we invite into our lives.

When Rebecca and her husband inherit a stately old home, they imagine it as the perfect place to build their family. But as the seasons turn, shadowy visitors begin to arrive—children who are not what they seem, guests with appetites beyond bread. Bound by ancestral debts and ancient instructions, Rebecca and her descendants are drawn into a chilling cycle of desire, duty, and haunting.

With prose that shimmers like a spell and imagery as vivid as a fever dream, Sklias-Gahan offers a dark winter tale that recalls the cautionary power of the Brothers Grimm while speaking directly to the anxieties of our time.

The House in the Middle of the Street is a gothic exploration of legacy, survival, and the perilous cost of letting others in.

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Jennifer Sklias-Gahan grew up in New York City in a Greek-American household rich with folklore, myths, and oral traditions. Encouraged by her librarian as a child to retell her favorite stories, she discovered a lifelong passion for the transformative power of storytelling. She has since built a career as a writer, actor, and producer, and is the founder of Demivoula Studios and co-founder of 18 Bleecker Films. The House in the Middle of the Street is her debut work of fiction. She lives in New York with her husband and their two children.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing