: Re: How do I hide Chekhov's Gun? If there is a gun on the mantelpiece in the Act 1, then in Act 2, that gun must be fired. Background I'm a big believer in Chekhov's Gun. I try not to

@Angie602

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Don't over-Chekhov
Some things appear in the narrative only to set the scene - there can be a gun on the mantelpiece which is never fired if we are going to draw some inference from it. If you're going to take out every reference to every object or decor which doesn't materially return in the plot, then you've picked a very sparse mode with little atmosphere.
Consider the opening of Jane Eyre - it is set in a house to which we don't return, and she sits by a window which never later matters, and looks at pictures which never later change the course of events. The details set the scene, they don't define the later plot.
Chekhov mentions a gun because a gun is a significant thing, so there being a gun is a thing to notice. It's not Chekhov's pantry, or Chekhov's curtain.
The reader fills in detail as they're given it

Nick pushed open the shabby front door, ancient hinges protesting, and peered into the house beyond. A picture of faded colours and decay met his eyes, and a musty scent invaded his nose.

Nick is walking into a house, which we guess from the 'front door' reference, and it's a house he doesn't know, which we guess from his tentativeness and noticing the colours and smell. I have not described the roof, nor the rooms, nor anything else, but we infer normality unless otherwise told.
Let your narrative narrate
If your MC was telling you the story, how would they tell it? When would they mention the basement?

I wandered through from the kitchen past the basement door which I was never allowed to open for some reason, another of Jake's little rules.

Jen might mention the basement door in the context of moving about, or of chatting about Jake's foibles, or just of describing the house in detail when we first meet it. Or not at all until something happens and we need to know about it:

A scraping sound from the corner of the kitchen jolted Jen from her thoughts, and she realised it was coming from behind the basement door. She had never been allowed to open it, and Jake had put some padlock on it so she had never been able to investigate it. Occasionally she had wondered what nerdy collection he might be hoarding down there, but had never seen him go near it.
The scraping sound came a second time, and the hairs stood up on her neck. She put down the sandwich and eyed the padlock.

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