The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red

2001 novel by Ridley Pearson

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red is a 2001 novel by Ridley Pearson focusing on the life of the fictional John and Ellen Rimbauer and the construction of their mansion, Rose Red, in the early 20th century. Built on an old Indian burial ground, Rose Red is considered haunted and mysterious tragedies occur throughout the mansion's history. The novel is written in the form of a diary by Ellen Rimbauer, and annotated by the fictional professor of paranormal activity, Joyce Reardon. The novel also presents a fictional afterword by Ellen Rimbauer's grandson, Steven.

The novel's genesis came as part of a $200,000 promotional marketing campaign for Stephen King's Rose Red television miniseries. Marketing of the film presented the movie as based on actual events. The novel presented itself as nonfiction, and claimed to be the actual diary of Ellen Rimbauer (wife of the builder of Rose Red). The work was originally intended to be an architectural book featuring photos and drawings of the fictional Rose Red house with the supernatural elements subtly woven into the text and photos, but Pearson (building on several references to a diary in King's script for the miniseries) wrote it as Ellen Rimbauer's diary instead. Inspired by the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, King came up with the idea of presenting the novel as a real one by having "Dr. Joyce Reardon" edit the "diary." To help promote the miniseries and further blur the line between reality and fiction, the book contained a link to a fictional "Beaumont University" Web site where "Dr. Joyce Reardon" was alleged to have taught. The site contains in universe promotional material as well as an easter egg page with diary entries that were "censored" from the main book. A mockumentary was released by ABC a few weeks prior to the miniseries' release entitled Unlocking Rose Red:The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer. The special utilized actors who only vaguely resembled the ones within the miniseries for Steven Rimbauer and Joyce Reardon to speak about the happenings at Rose Red whilst promoting the upcoming miniseries by Stephen King which was seemingly referred to as a production heavily based on a true story. Excerpts from the novel were read out by an actress for the mockumentary, while a narrator and various interviewees discussed some of the events that had happened within the novel. Footage from the flashback sequences in the miniseries were also used in the mockumentary. Both the diary and the miniseries were teased further when the mockumentary explained how Reardon had edited the diary for release with Hyperion Books, while a brief snippet of an interview with King himself was shown. The mockumentary seemingly pokes fun at its metafictional existence as it ends by acknowledging that Reardon and Steven Rimbauer are only about to conduct their expedition into the house while also stating that the miniseries will focus on what they expect to encounter within (as most of the miniseries focuses on their scientific expedition within the house, even though at the time the "documentary" was made, the expedition hadn't even been conducted yet). Intended to be a promotional item rather than a stand alone work, its popularity spawned a 2003 prequel television miniseries to Rose Red, titled The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer.

The novel relates the building of the Rimbauer house (which is eventually named "Rose Red") in 1906 by John Rimbauer for his new wife, Ellen, as a wedding present. John Rimbauer owned an oil company, and used much of his wealth to build the mansion, which was in the Tudor Gothic style and situated on of woodland in the heart of Seattle, Washington, in the United States. The site was a Native American burial ground (a common motif in early works by author Stephen King). The house appeared cursed even as it was being constructed: Three construction workers were killed on the site, and a construction foreman was murdered by a co worker. The novel portrays Ellen Rimbauer as a victim of sexual repression and Victorian morality.

The diary reveals how, while vacationing in Africa during the construction of her home, Ellen Rimbauer fell deathly ill and made the acquaintance of Sukeena, a local tribeswoman who nursed her back to health. Ellen and Sukeena became close, and Sukeena accompanied the Rimbauers back to the United States to work full time at the now completed Rose Red. The Rimbauers had a son, Adam, and a daughter, April (born with a withered left arm). Bizarre deaths and unresolved disappearances began to occur at the house. Many servants disappeared and one of John Rimbauer's friends died in the solarium from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. John Rimbauer's business partner (whom Rimbauer had cheated out of his part of their oil fortune) hanged himself in the parlor in front of the Rimbauer children. Six year old April also disappeared in the house, never to be seen again. Sukeena was the last person to see April alive before she vanished and was tortured by the local police after being suspected of April's murder. After April's disappearance, eight year old Adam was sent to a boarding school and kept away from Rose Red. Soon thereafter, John Rimbauer (whom his wife suspected of adultery) committed suicide by throwing himself through a stained glass window in the mansion's tower (an event which the reader later learns was actually murder, committed by Ellen and Sukeena). According to Ellen, the house telepathically spoke to her and told her what it wanted constructed. Ellen did what the house wanted because the house promised to return April if she did. Mysterious disappearances continued: Deanna Petrie, a glamorous actress and friend of Ellen's (who was also rumored to have had a sexual relationship with her) vanished within the house while attending a party in the 1940s. A few years after, Sukeena disappeared and only Ellen and a few servants occupied the property.

The companion novel was a hit, rising high on several bestseller lists. and in the #15 slot on The New York Times''' best selling fiction list. It rose to #1 on the Publishers Weekly best selling fiction list for the week ending February 16, 2002. The book was not widely reviewed. USA Today called the book "clever, beautifully detailed fiction." But the Christian Science Monitor'' gave it an "Unfavorable Review" rating, unhappy with the book's violence and explicit depictions of sexuality.