‘Real’ attic from Housemaid book revealed as fans complain about movie

The author of the thriller The Housemaid has opened up about the real-life inspiration for an important location in the story.

A movie adaptation of the book was released this year starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried.

The story follows a woman who is hired as a housemaid by a rich family, only for dark secrets to start emerging.

There's one location which is central to the plot, but some fans have complained that the way the movie portrays it is different from how it was imagined in the book.

Now, author Freida McFadden has opened up about her inspiration for the location, and many fans are saying the same thing.

And a fair warning, there are some spoilers for the story here.

Sydney Sweeney in the The Housemaid (Lionsgate)

This is the attic, where both the maid and the wife are locked by the abusive husband at various parts of the story.

Freida shared a picture on social media, saying in the caption that this was the inspiration for the attic in the thriller.

"I loved the attic in the movie, but this was my real life inspiration for the Housemaid attic," she wrote.

"Pretty sure there was a bat living up there, and I’m not even joking."

The attic in the movie is a lot fancier and more comfortable than the one Freida shared.

While the maid's room is essentially a full bedroom in the film, the picture Freida shared showed essentially an unconverted loft, with one bare lightbulb and even some insulation still visible in the space.

The attic in The Housemaid movie (Lionsgate)

That's not the most hospitable-looking attic (Instagram/@‌fmcfaddenauthor)

This is a long way from the full bedroom in the film, and fans took to the comments to share their thoughts on this difference.

"Well this is exactly what I imagined," one wrote. "It’s way too pretty in the movie preview."

Another complimented the author on her ability to paint a picture in her writing, commenting: "Exactly how I pictured it you are truly incredible at making us visualize."

Meanwhile, someone commented: "Exactly how I pictured it reading your book!!"

But another thought that the movie was actually a close realisation of how they had imagined the room.

Certainly looks creepy (Instagram/@fmcfaddenauthor)

"The attic in the movie and stairs leading up were exactly how I pictured it," they wrote.

Discrepancies in attic rooms aside, the film has gone down a storm with critics, with 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers called it 'diabolically entertaining' and 'glorious, angry, hilarious, nail-biting fun'.

If you want to check it out for yourself, it's playing in cinemas now.