Creepy Old Ladies and Creepy Young Girls

I think Felipe is kind of dumb. He sees an ad and checks it out, like any normal person would do. However, unlike a normal sane person, when he starts noticing just how odd the entirety of the job is, he decides to stay. He sees burning cats and thinks nothing of it. He notices a fourth place set when there are only three people, and he does not think it is that odd.

Magical realism presented in this novella makes the protagonist seem a little thick-headed and oblivious to signs of the supernatural. It draws the reader in emotionally. The reader mentally shouts at the protagonist, telling them things like "Run!" or "dude, she's creepy. what are you doing?". I found myself doing that a bunch of times. A magical realistic horror story would be truly terrifying because we, the reader/viewer, would watch on helplessly as the narrator progresses, denying every supernatural event, brushing off every creepy bit, until the very last moment, when all of it comes together in his or her mind.