Whatever walked there, walked alone: the evolution of the haunted house trope

Manderley. The Overlook Hotel. The Bly Estate. The Marsten House. These are just some of the most (in)famous haunted houses in literary history.

As one of the most common tropes in the horror genre, the haunted house can either play a central role in the story or be a key character in and of itself, often anchoring the narrative and framing unfolding events.

Just as literature has evolved alongside changing societal norms, historical eras, political views, and attitudes, so has the haunted house trope. Today, we look at how the role and attributes of the haunted house trope have changed over time.

The Victorian era (late 18th and early 19th century)

The haunted house is hardly a new concept. Stories featuring this theme can be traced back to 112 AD, for example. But it wouldn't be until the Victorian era that the trope became popular among audiences through literary works such as Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) -which is, incidentally, often quoted as the quintessential haunted house tale-, or Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (1898). Arguably, the modern understanding and visual style of the haunted house began in Victorian literature.

The trope evolved with the Victorian era itself. Before the Industrial Revolution took hold, haunted houses were usually depicted as ancient medieval places of decrepitude and decay, such as castles and monasteries (Otranto, for example), where ancient evil dwelled among the old ruins and the stones. As the era progressed and industrialization spread, the haunted house concept shifted to a more urban setting. Narrow, labyrinthine, smog-choked cityscapes, for example, where evil was no longer represented by ghosts or malevolent spirits, but rather by the internal physical and psychological decay of bloodlines (the Usher family, for instance) and a more immediate, familiar, and ambiguous type of evil, as presented in The Turn of the Screw.

Early to mid 20th century

It can hardly be denied that the 20th century was a violent, conflict-filled era that brought about profound and long-lasting geopolitical changes. Two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the breakup of Yugoslavia, and many other localized armed struggles brought bloodshed and widespread trauma and animosity to the world.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, writers reflected that sense of active violence in their work. Whereas ghosts and supernatural entities haunted houses, castles, monasteries, and other such buildings during the Victorian era, 20th-century writers turned the houses themselves into sentient beings that exerted evil and unnatural influence on those living within. 1959's The Haunting of Hill House, by American writer Shirley Jackson, is perhaps the best-known example, along with H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shunned House (1924).

In these works, the houses actively seek out the vulnerable and prey upon their fears or desires, turning people into vessels of evil, misdeeds, or unnatural lust. In other words, the houses act with a premeditated predatory instinct, often amplifying the psychological predisposition of those living inside. For example, in Stephen King's The Shining (1977), the Overlook Hotel preys on Jack Torrance's alcoholism and tendency towards violence, which he acts upon under the building's influence.

Late 20th century and early 21st century

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Rapid, dramatic life-changing technological advancements marked the closing decades of the 20th century. Computers, consumer electronics, and the internet quickly became part of everyday life for millions. Writers took notice, of course, and turned entire skyscrapers and other high-rise buildings into techno-menaces. 1973's Demon Seed, by Dean Koontz, or 1995's Gridiron, by British author Philip Kerr, for example. These two works spearheaded a new literary subgenre: the techno-thriller.

The late 80s also saw the emergence of a sub-subgenre, the 'house built on top of a burial ground'. Popular titles such as 1977's The Amityville Horror and 1982's Poltergeist are prime examples.

The haunted house trope shifted yet again during the first decade of the 21st century. In this era, the hauntings combine the supernatural with manifestations of guilt, neglect, or grief, with the houses acting as conduits for those feelings. In James Herbert's The Haunting of Crickley Hall (2006), for instance, a family moves into a remote country manor following their young son’s mysterious disappearance, only to confront a malevolent supernatural presence at their new residence.

In later works, such as Silvia-Moreno García’s Mexican Gothic (2020), the horror of the High Place manor derives from a corrupted lineage and the legacy of past deeds. And in Nothing but Blackened Teeth, by Cassandra Khaw, published in 2021, an old Japanese mansion feeds on the negative emotions of a group of people gathered to celebrate a wedding there.

Conclusion

Literature closely follows and mirrors societal changes and shifting cultural trends. While the haunted house trope remains as popular and versatile today as in past eras, it has evolved and adapted to contemporary times in terms of themes, visual style, setting, character development, and narrative form.

Authors have approached the trope from multiple angles. Feminism, repressed sexuality, body horror, psychological horror, supernatural hauntings, and many more. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence and other technological advancements are likely to influence the haunted house trope in years to come, though that’s a story for another time.