Home (House)
"A notable characteristic of Wally is his house named Home. Home is regarded as the ninth neighbor, but seemingly cannot speak. [...] It is implied that Home is the most lively house within the neighborhood, as none of the other houses seem to have eyes."- from Wally Darling's character card.
Home is Wally's house, and due to his sentience, he is also considered the ninth neighbor. They are unable to speak in the traditional sense, so instead they communicate in various onomatopoeias, such as the rattling of a door or the creaking of a window shutter. Despite the fact that they are the only other neighbor besides Wally to communicate with you, and the fact that many of the oddities found throughout Welcome Home's prologue revolve around them just as much as they do Wally, they remain one of the most mysterious characters thus far.
For a full image gallery of this character, please click here.
Table of Contents
Profile
Background
Similarly to Wally, there is currently no indication that Home has ever existed anywhere except the town of the same name. It is said that during the show’s run, the movement of his eyes were controlled via a hand crank that was operated offscreen, although its doors and chimney were also very animated. Home is assumed to be the only sentient building in town.
Appearance
Home is a simple red house with a blue roof, a yellow door with blue trim, a yellow chimney with a red scalloped trim at its base, and two arched windows with yellow frames. The bottom of each window has a blue scalloped trim made to resemble eyelashes. To the left and right of Home are two small, neatly trimmed hedges. The windows seem to act as eyes, which are almost always moving. A heart is painted on their bottom, presumably to match with Wally.
Personality
Home appears to be one of the town’s most expressive and opinionated residents, frequently bantering with other neighbors in his own language and making itself almost perfectly understood, despite their lack of a “voice” as we understand it. In the handful of times we see them in Wally’s company (and yours) throughout the website, they are rather terse, although it is unknown if this is indicative of any specific feelings they may have towards you or Wally.
Plot
Much like their inhabitant Wally, Home is either near or at the center of many secrets hidden throughout the site from the very beginning, and is heavily implied to be active alongside him. This is later confirmed on January 14th, 2023, through the secret page yxwvoe, in which Home appears to respond favorably to a song Wally sings for him. In one of the hidden records from the July 27th 2023 update, Wally pauses to let Home introduce himself to you, which they do with no hesitation. In both of these instances, they use Morse code to communicate - something they are not seen doing with any other neighbor.
In 14-14-bh, Home is the only character aside from Barnaby to notice Wally’s lack of response. Although it can be assumed that its reaction is one of concern, given that this causes them to abruptly break into squeaking, they do not appear to be using Morse code, making it more difficult to tell.
Home is implied to be the source of the mysterious black substance mentioned in later updates as early as the site’s initial launch, the most damning evidence of which comes in the form of his spot on the neighborhood map being marked by a mysterious black stain, in the center of which lies a small spiral. In subsequent updates, both this stain and the spiral increase in size, becoming more obvious even without zooming out on the page or dragging the map to a separate tab.
Home continues to take a backseat to the more active Wally until March 9th, 2024. In a television transmission allegedly received by W in December, Home is the only other entity present in the void Eddie finds himself in after attending the Homewarming party. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they do not look away from Eddie the entire time he is there. It is unclear if the heartbeat that can be heard in this scene is Eddie's heartbeat or their own. What role they play in this event beyond their presence is also unknown. There is no mention it in the following update on October 18th of the same year. In this update, however, they apparently express an interest in performing in Sally's adaptation of "The Tell-Tale Heart," but are informed that all the roles have already been cast. Luckily for them, however, Poppy drops out upon hearing of the source material, allowing them to take her place while she remains sealed away in her house. Whether any of this was intentional on their part is also unclear.
Relationships
Wally Darling
Wally has always had a tendency to dote on Home, being the first to include it in activities with their other neighbors and taking it upon himself to write for them due to their lack of hands. This has continued to the current day; yxwvoe features Wally singing to Home and asking if they enjoyed it, and in the hidden records, he pauses to let Home introduce himself to you before continuing to speak. Pages such as “So Below” hint at a darker aspect of their relationship, however, drawing parallels between Wally’s affection towards Home and an act of worship or prayer. It is even revealed in the March 9th 2024 update that the holiday Homewarming was founded by Wally as a means of celebrating Home. Home's own feelings towards Wally's doting are a mystery, but they appear to reciprocate it on some level.
In 14-14-bh, Home is the only character aside from Barnaby to notice Wally becoming unresponsive, and does seem to be concerned by this.
You
Home seems to be the only other neighbor aware of your existence in the prologue, and their use of Morse code only when in your presence implies that he is making a conscious effort to “speak” in a way that you will be able to decipher. However, given that their use of Morse code has been rather simple so far, and the fact that Wally is also present whenever they use it, it is unknown what their exact feelings towards you are.
Barnaby B. Beagle
Barnaby hangs out with Home just as much as he does with Wally, likely by nature of Wally and Home being a package deal. The two banter more frequently than one would expect with Home being one of the few neighbors able to get in a few jabs at Barnaby’s expense. Barnaby, meanwhile, is apparently able to discern Home's emotional state with startling accuracy, sometimes even moreso than Wally.
Eddie Dear
Home was the only other entity present in the void Eddie found himself in at the Homewarming party. Their exact role in this event, however, is unknown as of the time of this writing.
Trivia
Note: In order to ensure that this wiki has the most accurate information it can, this list does not cite any posts prior to January 2021.
- “He,” “they,” and “it” are all used interchangeably to refer to Home, both in canon and in posts by Clown. When enquired about his usage of "she" for Home in a post, Clown has said that he imagines Home would be fine with any pronouns. [Source: 1, 2]
- Although it is difficult to determine Home's exact age, he is considered an adult by virtue of being a neighbor, as all neighbors are adults. [Source: 1]
- The exact year that Home was conceptualized is unknown, due to the fact that different posts claim that they were first conceptualized in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Its earliest known concept art dates back to October 14th, 2020. [Sources: 1, 2, 3]
- Home would be friends with Funny from Mickey Mouse Funhouse, although Funny would do all the talking. [Source: 1]
- Home is the best chess player in town, but the worst at hide and seek. [Source: 1]
- Home enjoys a stack of hotcakes on his doorstep. [Source: 1]
- Home is often represented being surrounded by marigolds. These are said to be hand-painted. [Source: 1]
- Home is afraid of insects. [Sources: 1, 2]
- Due to Home being largely immobile, the other neighbors do their best to include him in their activities, each in their own way. [Sources: 1, 2]
- Home cries at weddings. [Source: 1]
- Wally blows kisses to Home every day before he leaves and when he comes back (and a few times in between, for good measure.) Home hugs Wally by squeezing him in between their door and the doorframe. [Sources: 1]
- Home breathes. [Source: 1]
- Home does not eat, on account of being a house. But he would enjoy a bowl of fresh strawberries. [Source: 1, 2]
- In a band, Home would play the chimes, as well as their door frame. [Source: 1]
- In an Alice in Wonderland AU/Adaptation, Home would be Dinah. [Source: 1]
- Home would listen very well if she was ever read to. [Source: 1]
- It is unclear if Home can sneeze. Lead illustrator Huck Bedsole provided a diagram when asked regardless. [Source: 1]
- The character of Home was inspired in part by Clown's own tendency of personifying objects in his daily life, and wondering what it would be like if they could respond. Its personality is described as "a bit saucy, but generally warm to be around." [Source: 1]