There are quite a few ghost stories, and then there is The Haunted House, which is a machine created in some curious theatre. Through The Haunted House, Dickens also uses the typical representations of a haunted house (i.e., self-ringing bells, a “hooded woman with an owl”, a mysteriously absent Master B, etc.) to create an environment that allows him to comment upon the social comedy, psychological traits and eccentricities associated with the Victorian age. In summary, The Haunted House reads as if it were an intimate séance where all parties are revealing their private, but often humorous, truths.
The urban-cynic narrator in Dickens’s is an important part of what makes the collection so lively and dynamic: an intriguing commentator who keeps a catalogue of the various ways that this old manor house and its surroundings decay over time with mundanity (gossip, superstition) while also admitting to the sense of unease and frightfulness that come with early mornings and small domestic spaces that create a vulnerability toward the supernatural.
In addition to frightening readers, the narrator also breaks down (anatomises) what creates this fear: how news of incidents becomes magnified through gossip, the collusion (and admissions) of house staff and other friends through conspiracy to create the illusion of fear in a physical home and how the absence of noise in a home can produce a host of fears when a group of people occupy that space together.
The narrative showcases an effective methodology along with examples of experiments to demonstrate humanity through verbal courage and human deception when they gain comfort from their shared experiences by welcoming “friends to take over the area/space of your home. ”.
This piece has several whimsical curiosities that make it worthwhile. Dickens takes on the then-accepted spiritualist movement and pokes fun at mediums’ “spiritual intercourse” with humour that reads as doubtful and satirical rather than just laughter. The work is published with other noted “Victorian” authors (part of a Christmas collection), providing a small search for an anthology of sorts as you read; who else will add their sense of sadness, humour or mystery? The combination gives this volume some diversity (thanks to many different authors) while still having the unmistakable narrative voice of Dickens.
What makes this little haunted house story relevant today? It exposes Dickens’ lasting gifts: character portraits that come alive; entertaining comedy with morals; and the ability to illustrate the home-life context through careful attention to detail that allows us to connect our modern fears with those of long ago. People know it now because it doesn’t just tell you about ghosts—it reframes haunting as a type of collective/political psychology, i.e., about how our social fears, our collective culpability, and our tendency towards isolation affect the way we live in our homes and within our neighbourhoods.
When you read this story, feel free to chuckle at the playfulness of its small frights; but when you read it as something that sheds light on society TODAY, you’ll see the parallels between the discussion about our fear of being alone, belonging, and performing in everyday life. You can read it as a cautionary tale or as an entertainment experience, and I highly recommend the first one, as the latter is enjoyable as well. If you find humour to elicit jitters, this story is sure to delight you!
