Though it has a very unique structure and narrative point of view, House of Leaves is heavily influenced by the horror genre. The novel does deal with fear and terror and the supernatural--all hallmarks of horror. In many ways, however, the book doesn't focus on these "traditional" expressions of horror in the same way that say, a slasher movie or a Stephen King novel would. Traditional horror often focuses on events and action, whereas Danielewski's novel treats the events in the house on Ash Tree Lane as a kind of side story, one that often takes a backseat to Zampano's critical analysis and Johnny Truant's tales of sex, drugs, and life in LA.
With this in mind, what creates horror in House of Leaves? What has been the "scariest" part of the narrative for you? Why? Consider other texts (books, short stories, films, tv shows) that you consider to be part of the horror genre. What do these texts have in common? Why do people liked to watch/read/experience fear and how does this relate to the horror in House of Leaves?
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Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of Danielewski’s House of Leaves is the effect the fictional story takes on the characters recording the story. There are essentially three main journalists throughout the book: Will Navidson, Zampano, and Johnny Truant. The one theme that connects each of these characters, despite their lack of personal contact with each other, is isolation. The story starts in the middle of things, namely Zampano’s death and all his possessions being left behind. Zampano represents the future in a sense, whereas Johnny represents the present and Navidson the past. Thus, the reader is exposed to the psychological breakdown of these characters in a backward sequence. That, to me, is the scariest element of the story. The common themes of madness, isolation, and apparent doom are present in the novel only as a backdrop to the events occurring beyond the scope of The Navidson Record. The horror is in the reality of the situations each character is faced with. Anyone can analyze the house on Ash Tree Lane as a metaphor for the decay of Navdison’s relationship with his family and his career. It’s the way he deals with the mysterious hallways that is important, not what the hallways could stand for. Similarly, Johnny’s life was described as bereft of any real meaning and tragic in many ways. Everything he did was for a superficial cause. It’s almost as though he needed something to obsess over before he could find himself. Again, horror is introduced in terms of the reality of the situation. Leading an empty life is scary and can drive people to madness, which is basically what’s happening to Johnny in the story. Traditional horror focuses more on the effects of the supernatural/fantasy. Needless to say, these stories are less believable. Danielewski uses the horror of the supernatural (the hallways, the growl, etc.) to expose the horror of Zampano’s and Johnny’s reality. In an unconventional manner, he has effectively used a traditional horror story to create a contemporary horror story; one in which the monster is one in the same with the characters.
Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves presents horror in a different way than other traditional novels. Danielewski inserts the horror in his story within a first hand personal journal of one of his main characters Johnny as well as within his portrayal of the Navidson Record. The horror in this novel lies within the suspense of the journey Navidson takes through the house and hallways as well as the journey of Johnny’s life as he becomes more and more obsessed with Zampano’s work. The suspense causes the horror because the reader does not know what to expect as these two characters move forward with their life choices. The scariest part of the novel I have read so far was when Johnny was in the storage closet and a supernatural presence attacked him. This was scary for me because that scene was vividly described with how Johnny felt during that experience and I could almost understand and feel his terror. House of Leaves is similar to other horror novels because it adds the presence of the supernatural to create the horror in the story. Danielewski also adds great suspense as a source of horror in his book by structuring it in a way that readers can choose how they want to read the novel. I think that people enjoy horror novels like House of Leaves because they are not able to predict what will happen in the story which produces a sense of suspicion and desire to want to continue to read it to determine what will happen to the main characters.
I love this book for all it’s screwed up reasons. This is the first horror novel that I’ve truly enjoyed, and I think it’s because it’s a different way of expressing this type of horror. The horror in The House of Leaves comes from the unknown. In both The Navidson Record and in Johnny’s story, the unknown is in the form the potential “monster”, the changing in the size of the house/hallway, the lack of knowledge of what’s happening to the characters by other characters and the audience, zampano’s history, and the final fates of the characters. The scariest part for me is in the rescue and escape from the house. The fact that the house starts devouring its contents and falls apart freaked me out in the sense that if it happened that is one of the scariest things imaginable to me. Not knowing what’s going to happen if you didn’t escape, like Tom, gives me anxiety problems just thinking about it. That and the emotional anguish the characters go thru makes those scenes the scariest. Shows like X-Files, which I would consider in a horror genre (aside from sci-fi) has the same type of horror. The unknown is what the whole show is based on. Each time Mulder and Scully face something that wasn’t thought to exist, conceived of, or thought of only as fictional. Bringing the unknown into the knowledge of the characters is what helps resolve the issues and leads to a solution at the end of the show. If the “bad guy” or antagonist were never known, there would be no way to face it or find an approach to solve the issue, therein making it a horror. Books such as Stephen King’s novels and murder mysteries by other authors also use this “terror from the unknown”. If you don’t know who the killer is, or how to avoid him/her, you can’t protect yourself. It’s only when characters know what they face that they can resolve their problems in one way or another. People like to face these terrors to give their lives more resolve. If so many other people can resolve their problems, they can too. Also, people read these to assure themselves that there lives aren’t as bad. That there’s always something “bigger and badder” out there that could ruin their lives or cause them fear.
House of Leaves isn’t your tradition horror story because there really isn’t any straight forward action in it. By that I mean there isn’t any mass murdering or huge war or anything physical going on. I will admit to the shooting and the two men that ended up dead, but other than them there really isn’t any action. The horror in this text is unlike many others because it does not portray itself in any physical way except for the actual house. This horror is sometimes considered worse because it deals with the mentality of the characters and the readers. It makes them question how these things could be happening because they have very little proof to go on and when they think they have prove or they think they have won, the house takes them back. It’s different from say, a slasher movie because in a slasher movie, there is a lot of physical action taking place. There is a lot of blood and guts and chasing the bad guy around. Your brain is not needed to understand what’s going on in a slasher movie. They one thing they do share is their fear, character anxiety and suspense. That’s why people read and watch horror movies to begin with. People like to be taken out of their everyday lives and put into a place of suspension and wonder; something that breaks reality and raises their blood pressure. They don’t want these things to physical happen to them, thus why they enjoy reading or watching them.
When I first began reading House of Leaves, I was quite confused. The story was weird, unorganized, and mysterious, however I couldn’t seem to pinpoint any elements of the horror genre. When I read The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House, it was very evident that these novels fell in the genre of horror. They consisted of haunted houses, ghosts, and other supernatural elements. But I wondered how a documentary could include these elements as well. However, my questions were soon answered. As the mystery of the house on Ash Tree Lane unraveled, I discovered that this house was indeed haunted in some way. Although never clearly stated in the story, the horror of the novel became apparent when Navidson and his team explored the deep, dark, and endless hallways. From our earlier readings in class, we have learned that much of the horror of a story comes from the unknown. What makes House of Leaves so frightening is that the unfathomable hallway is never justified or explained. The characters in the story never find any closure or comfort in terms of the hallway. These unanswered questions evoke a sense of horror in the story. The events that take place in the hallway also support the horror genre. The growls heard in the hallway arouse the explorers and frighten them because the sound is never identified. All of the unknowns throughout the story cause it to fall in the horror genre, causing the readers to fear what can never be explained.
The House of Leaves to me does not feel as scary as some of the previous texts we read in class, or the horror of other media. The horror is different in that it was creepier than jump-out-dark-corridor scary. Traditionally horror comes from surprises that defy the common sense. However this text does not focus on the action with the horror, but it really plays off the mind, darkness, and nothingness. The way the novel is written and the events that seem to happen to Zampano and Johnny show that the two lose their connections to the world. They withdraw and start becoming increasingly insane. Insane in a sense that they shut themselves in start hearing things and feel like these is a creature closing in on them. This loss of themselves and the madness that comes with endless hallways and darkness is where the horror arises. The “scariest” part of the novel most likely is when Navidson is able to actually return to the house that was crushed and killed Tom. It does not make sense, and it suggests that the house crushing itself was all an illusion? Comparing to other media, this horror is most different in that the action is not the focus. However, similar to these other media, it involves a creepy tone and involves a sense of a lost reality. Also another interesting point, it involves a feeling of panic. House of Leaves plays off feelings of panic and desperation. These two effects are also predominately used in other media such as video games and movies. Finally, fear is something that is apart of people. I am not too sure why people like to scare themselves, but maybe it is for some relief from reality that people desire. In a horror novel, that aspect definitely delivers.
In response to general: I see that general response of the horror arises from isolation and madness. However, I noted were the different interpretations of the stories. I see all of the points of view but I would like to say another view point. I feel especially in Johnny and Navidson’s stories; there is a theme of endlessness. For Johnny, it feels like he has no ultimate goal in the future. It is as if his existence will lead to nothingness. Also for Navidson, his inability to know everything about the endless hallway may lead him to nothingness that he fears. Did anyone else maybe see this view point?
House of Leaves continues to leave (bad pun…sorry) me astounded. The novel is so different from anything that I’ve ever read that its layers seem to be endless. Typical horror or slasher novels and movies tend to focus on one or maybe two types of horror, depending on the depth of the novel/movie. The horror also tends to be fairly external in most stories and obvious enough for the average one-time viewer to pick up on. In House of Leaves, the horror is much more multilayered and complex. There is obvious horror in Navidson’s life with a crazy messed up house that has hidden hallways that move around and a possible monster. Our knowledge about Zampano brings a different sort of horror with our knowledge of his death and his life shortly before his death. These circumstances bring a sense of doom for Johnny if he continues on the path of studying these writings. On top of the sense of doom, I would imagine that many people (myself included) get an uneasy sense about Johnny’s life. I’m not sure if you could call it horror, but the way in which he lives and interjects into the novel certainly don’t put a mind at ease.
In response to 'sara':
Your thought of linear psychological breakdown as it applies to the different characters is incredibly interesting. The notion that the characters are breaking down almost in a reverse order with Zampano being the 'completely messed up' character, Johnny being the 'on my way to insanity' character, and Navidson as the 'I have a good life but I'm messing it up' character is very accurate. I feel that Danielewski did this in order to add a further feeling of impending doom and uneasyness to the novel, and although the comparison takes in-depth thinking, I believe that the subconscious message to the mind of all readers provides that horror. The isolation that all of them experience also becomes more pronounced and tangible when the novel is thought of reverse-chronologically in that manner.
House of Leaves is not a traditional horror story at first glance. When all aspects are taken together, Zampano’s dry analysis and false references tend to cancel out what could be a terrifying and fast paced story about a house that swallows its inhabitants alive. For me, the horror in Danielewski’s House of Leaves comes from the unexpected and the unknown. One of the most frightening parts of the story for me was when Navidson is trying to return from his rescue mission and the staircase suddenly expands above him so he is trapped hundreds of miles below. I can imagine the sinking hope and desolation Navidson must have experienced when he finally heard the quarter drop minutes later and knew just how far down he was. This sense of being trapped alone with no way to return is terrifying. As I was reading, I never expected the black void to escape the locked hallway and begin to expand inside the house itself. All of a sudden everyone is running away or trying to rescue others. This sudden rushed chaos and confusion in the middle of a seemingly calm period is unexpected and therefore frightening. Also, the unknown void of the hallway itself adds to the horror of the story. Every time someone enters the hallway or goes down the staircase, the reader knows that they may never come back again. Even those who do enter the hallway become spooked by what they believe is out there but cannot identify.
The most horrifying aspects of books, stories, movies, or TV shows for me is a scary and disturbing twist or event at the end of a seemingly normal or pleasant story. It seems as though this part does not belong in the story, so its placement there is uncomfortable if its nature is horrifying. Especially horrifying is a scary and possible twist in a realistic story and setting. If the horrifying event can potentially take place in the reader’s world, then the horror is amplified. Contemporary horror is including more and more robots or computers taking over the world from humans. This is a much more realistic and unknowable possibility than a supernatural monster. Traditional horror involves the supernatural, which is impossible. This is why old horror movies such as those about Frankenstein and Dracula seem so phoney and fake to us today. These characters could never exist in real life, and so they do not scare us as much as something that could exist or happen in our world.
In response to "kelli covington":
I found it interesting how you found the horror to be in the suspense and wondering what will happen to the characters. I also find this to be a source of horror myself, but doesn't this situation present itself in more than just the horror genre? Even drama TV shows such as "Grey's Anatomy" leave the viewers hanging at the end of each show. Not all ends are tied up and dedicated viewers like to try to predict what will happen to each of the characters next. But, we do not find this show classified as horror and I don't know anyone who finds it "scary" in the traditional sense, though it is very suspenseful. So, suspense and horror could possibly be entwined genres and play off of each other in different situations to produce different effects.
I think House of Leaves emphasizes the nature of horror that arises as a result of too much obsession based around a sole object or story line. For example, both Zampano and Truant are very engrossed in the Navidson Record and both have strange things that happen to them. They start to behave strangely; for example: shutting themselves away from the world and society. But the real horror is what a person can become or do to themselves mentally as a result of such isolation. Zampano ends up dying from a strange death maybe involving claw marks in the ground where he lived. Truant starts to feel that a monster is following him with a growl similar to that described in the Navidson Record. Truant’s life becomes void of anything but the Navidson Record. And also, Holloway in the Navidson Record itself becomes crazy and shoots his colleagues in the House and also ends up committing suicide. Such unnatural is isolation leads to insanity as discussed in previous blogs and lectures. This horror forces these characters to face their own psychological problems and they all seem to crumble before them. The scariest part in the book would be when Navidson gets left behind or when the hallways change in the House because the idea of being alone and lost in a place like that would terrify me if I were him. Dying of course is scary for everyone, but dying alone and starving to death is just cruel. Also, the idea of being targeted by something unseen is very scary as well. The House of Leaves is different from other horror texts in that although it may be slightly fantastical, it is overshadowed by the amount of information that a reader can perceive to be real. For example, although it is stated that the Navidson Record may be completely fiction, and the reader knows that the novel is fiction, there are some footnotes that cite real sources. Usually the horror genre involves pure, straight fiction that the reader knows is fake but can enjoy nonetheless. Here, the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. People like to read these kinds of texts just because they are so suspenseful. The reader wants to know what will happen since the book is not predictable. Also its intriguing to me to see how people react to situations such as those presented in the book.
The way that Danielewski chooses to depict horror is far from the ordinary. Being that it describes personal accounts of life, it lacks a certain amount of suspense that is sometimes prevalent in other facets of horror. This makes for a refreshing approach to the horror genre, leaving the reader with great satisfaction. The fact that House of Leaves doesn’t contain the traditional slasher characteristics can be frightening in itself. The description that Johnny Truant gives of his life can be a bit disturbing at times. It is difficult to comprehend how a person could live such a troubling life. From the drug usage to the random whores, Truant has a very interesting/ nerve-wracking life that could easily be subject to great criticism and debate. To me, it is very interesting the way he goes about his life. The part that left me feeling a little uneasy would have to be when he said he started feeling like he was losing his sight and the world around him was becoming dark… I have had dreams of similar occurrences and felt like I was losing control over my body and it was not a whole lot of fun. If this were to happen in my real life I would be rather frightened. Given, Johnny’s body is subject to a certain amount of narcotic usage and this could have been the reason for his issues, this makes it a little bit more manageable. However, this is still troublesome to say the least.
For me the scariest part of House of Leaves, is the uncertainty, the mystery and the unanswered questions. Horror films generally decline once we see the villain because we know it is fake and can follow it. The same is true for novels, once the creature inciting all the fear in us is established, we aren’t as scared any more because the suspension has ended. We know the secrets of the novel. I am not a fan of horror films and literature because I am a “scary” person. I’m scared of the dark, ghosts, empty spaces…anything that would freak out a 6 year old would probably have an equal effect on me. So when I finish reading this book every night, I am usually freaked out and leave the light on, scared about all the doors and empty spaces in my room. The fact that I don’t know what is the definition of darkness in this novel, scares me. I don’t know the source of the growl and I don’t know what is causing everyone who comes in contact with House of Leaves to go partially insane. People like to experience fear because it is entertaining and distracts them from their daily problems. House of Leaves adds to this distraction, even after you have put the book down you are wondering what the source of all the darkness and craziness is.
I believe the most horrifying part of the novel has actually been the events that occurred on Ash Tree Lane. I think these are events out of the oridnary and although they are not typical with today's "horror" and most slashers movies I find them scary. I think the events in Truant's life are unusual and rather pathetic but they don't horrify me. I believe this has come from the change in society. Sex, drugs, and alcohol have become so expected and typical. Everyday people are arrested for drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution, and things of that nature. However, its not everyday that you hear about a house with an extending hallway. I don't find this scary in the same way I would say a slaher movie that could happen to me because I understand this type of hallway is impossible. Yet the action and intensity involved in the events at Ash Tree Lane are more interesting and scary than those in Truant's Life. When it comes to Zampano, I would find his story scary if there was more to it. If there was an explanation and more detail to get me involved in it I would find it scarier then a simple hey here's a dead guy with some strange claw marks. Just didnt really do it for me. I anjoy the way danielweksi has combined the different types of horror in this story though to keep us all entertained in our own ways.
Horror for me usually arises from the unknown. When a story lets the reader know from the beginning who the ghost of the novel is, the only thing left that can scare the audience is what the ghost will do throughout the novel. However, if what is scaring all the characters is not known to the audience then what makes one fear is not knowing who or what is the ghost and not knowing what the ghost will do. The scariest part of the novel for me would have to be when the house begins to change. The hallways become narrow and begin to shift in ways that one wouldn’t expect. If I were in a similar situation I would be terrified and feel trapped with no way of escaping ones own house. Having the house be one of the things that instills fear is something uncommon which makes it very surprising and unexpected creating more fear. The house of Leaves is different from other novels in the fact that reality and fantasy is not clearly defined. This novels has various footnotes that give references to a lot of places and events that are related to the text. As a reader, in most texts when references are used it means that the novel is backing up his credibility. However at the beginning of the novel it is said that none of the references cited should be taken seriously. This leaves the reader wondering what to believe and what not to believe. The fact that as a reader I am not able to distinguish what is real or not gives me a greater amount of fear, especially since if it happened elsewhere it can happen to me. In comparison to other horror novels, most of the time as a reader I am able to distinguish what is real from what is fantasy due to certain extremities. Most people read horror novels to get adrenaline rushing; the biggest fear is that of the unknown. By blurring the lines of reality and fiction the reader will feel more fear therefore making them want to read more horror novels.
In response to Erin:
I completely agree with the fact that movies/novels that have a lot of fiction in them are less freighting. When things are seen that we known is too much of an extremity to happen we tend to brush it off a just being scarred at that moment for the character but not for ourselves for we know it cant’ happen to us. This also ties in the Kelli’s blog which states that suspense can cause fear. I believe that suspense causes an adrenaline rush similar to the one of fear yet suspense and fear are completely different for suspense is what one feels for a character and fear is what one feels for themselves.
The scariest part(s) of House of Leaves to me is a common element found in most horror mediums: the unknown. For me, and I hope that someone can oddly associate with me, the loss of direction is the most frightening aspect of any situation. I have an extreme keenness of direction at all times, but in a few dreams of mine, the most horrific are when I don’t know where I am, when I turn around and the direction I just departed from has changed. It’s as if the world rotated on more than 360 degrees. Nothing particular has to occur in my dream, just the spatial disorientation and the loss of my physical being, somehow affecting my mind. And when this occurs, I always feel as if anything can appear from anywhere, adding to the frisson. So, the scenes in hallway spark this fear that I’ve only experienced in dreams, something that I would never be able to feel in the real world, just as the camera cannot capture that 3rd dimension. The writing for me, is a comment on how even words cannot accurately describe the Explorations. The feelings themselves can only do justice, which for me elicit horrifying memories of what I find to be similar disorientations.
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