Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis focuses on haunting house tales - fictions which depict an active and malevolent house - through the lens of postmodernism. Using the theories of Brian McHale and Linda Hutcheon, the...Show moreThis thesis focuses on haunting house tales - fictions which depict an active and malevolent house - through the lens of postmodernism. Using the theories of Brian McHale and Linda Hutcheon, the thesis analyzes three American haunting house novels: Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," King's "The Shining," and Danielewski's "House of Leaves." Especially the notions of history, knowledge, and science are of relevance in this context. As is claimed, the haunting house does away with the idea that knowledge about the house and its past is empowering, since the supernatural events are not caused by a gruesome crime of the past.Show less