Welcome to the House of Terror

Welcome to the House of Terror is a Haruhi Suzumiya Manga chapter in volume 13. It takes place concurrently with the latter part of Editor in Chief, Straight Ahead!. The character Miyokichi, who was introduced in that story, is given more development in this chapter.

"Welcome to the House of Terror" is unique among Haruhi Suzumiya stories in that, apart from one-panel cameos by Yuki Nagato and Mikuru Asahina, the only members of the SOS Brigade who appear in it are the two leads, Haruhi and Kyon.

Japanese

 * February 26, 2011
 * ISBN 978-404715-656-2

English

 * August 21, 2012
 * ISBN 978-031620-949-6

Summary
The afternoon before publishing the organ (collection of literature) to save the Literature Club, Taniguchi has yet to even start the "fascinating slice-of-life essay" he was assigned, so Haruhi orders him to work on it that evening at Kyon's house, under her supervision. She explains to Kyon that the clubroom is too messy at present, and orders him to work on the binding. He notices that she is still working on her own piece.

Kyon's sister has Miyokichi over at the house, and they drop in to ask Kyon for a favor: Miyokichi wants to visit a large abandoned house where a family is rumored to have been murdered. Her parents wouldn't let her go and she is too afraid to go alone. She shows them photos of the house in her scrapbook of horror-themed mementos. Intrigued, Haruhi decides to take her there immediately. Kyon and Taniguchi come along, but Kyon's sister stays behind, protesting that she and Kyon aren't allowed to go there. On the way, Miyokichi notes that the land has been zoned for development, and every building in it has been demolished except for the spooky house itself.

They enter the house, and inside find a large number of award certificates for a kid named Eiji Tsukada, arranged in a pentagram. They find his room, holding a diary. Overruling Taniguchi's concerns about privacy, Haruhi and Kyon read it. The diary expresses a strong desire to escape from the academic expectations of the author's parents. The group is interrupted by the arrival of a film crew headed by movie director Eiji Tsukada, now an adult. Miyokichi gushes over him with fangirl enthusiasm, telling him she loves his early movies. He is pleased to learn that there are children still discovering his older films. Kyon is baffled that Miyokichi keeps including him in her professions of enthusiasm for Tsukada's films; she explains that the movie she went to see with him was a revival of one of Tsukada's earlier works.

Tsukada is making a documentary about his life. His family had left the house, but Tsukada hasn't sold the place. He finds it depressing, but that got him into escaping into movies, and revisiting it reminds him of his past and keeps him pushing forward. Taniguchi sees this as good material for his essay. Miyokichi takes pictures of the house for her scrapbook. She tells Kyon she wants to someday show it to her parents and make them understand her passion for movies, and hopes she can show the same courage as Tsukada in expressing herself.

The organ is finished the next day. The two hundred copies they made are all gone within a day, and Tsuruya's contribution is especially popular. Kyon notices that Haruhi's writeup on time travel resembles the pattern of Tsukada's awards.

Kyon buys a DVD of the movie he and Miyokichi saw so he can rewatch it, but finds his opinion of it has not improved despite his meeting the director. He contemplates giving the DVD to Miyokichi as a present if she ever shows her parents the scrapbook.