If The Witcher was my first introduction to nonlinear storytelling, The Haunting of Hill House was my first immersion into nonlinear storytelling.
Horror has never been my chosen genre.
I've never enjoyed scaring myself. I've just started dipping my toes into the pool of the horror genre. I've watched a few horroresque movies and shows since, but none of them touched me like The Haunting of Hill House.
I didn't realize how much I needed this story.
The theme of The Haunting of Hill House is grief. Its characters represented the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
I thought I understood grief, but I hadn't experienced loss for myself.
That all changed this summer.
One of the most interesting elements of the Haunting series is that ghosts are rarely just ghosts.
"Ghosts are guilt. Ghosts are secrets. Ghosts are regrets and failings. But most times, most times, a ghost is a wish." —Stephen Crain, The Haunting of Hill House
As a writer, I dabble in a lot of genres. So, I wasn't really surprised when one of my stories took a darker turn. I asked myself why is something scary.
Exploring horror took me to a lot of different books, TV shows, and movies. I started with Coraline and Paranorman. I built up to Fear Street and The Conjuring series.
Coraline and Paranorman were really the only ones that resonated with me.
To be honest, I didn't really get Fear Street or The Conjuring. I didn't find the gore and violence scary.
Mike Flannagan explained that The Haunting of Hill House is gothic horror while The Haunting of Bly Manor is gothic romanticism.
According to The New York Public Library, the most simple definition of gothic horror is a genre that deals with “the battle between humanity and unnatural forces of evil (sometimes man-made, sometimes supernatural) within an oppressive, inescapable, and bleak landscape.”
But what's the difference between horror and gothic horror?
Horror is a feeling that is caused by something frightening and shocking. Great Gothic horror, to me, is shocking and unexpected. It makes the reader fear, cower and be put in the moment in a piece of literature.
The keyword here is unexpected.
Because what's actually scary?
It's not violence and gore.
It's not necessarily the unknown and unexpected.
What's really scary is when something that we think we know and understand doesn't fit into our mental box.
One of my favorite examples of this is Coraline.
Because as a reader and a viewer, I know and understand buttons. I've even had dolls with buttons for eyes.
But Coraline twisted my expectation into something unexpected.
And it was scary!
Similarly, The Haunting of Hill House twisted my expectation into something unexpected.
What did I know? What did I expect?
I knew it was about a ghost, so I expected a ghost story.
But The Haunting of Hill House wasn't just a ghost story. Instead, it was about family and grief.
So, let's meet the family: Hugh and Olivia Crain (the parents), Stephen and Shirley (the oldest children), Theodora (the middle child), Nell and Luke (the twins).
The kids represent the five stages of grief.
So, who are they grieving?
Their mother.
This is when nonlinear storytelling comes into play because the truth of what happened to Olivia Crain is told in fragments.
So, why does The Haunting of Hill House's use of nonlinear storytelling work when The Witcher's use of nonlinear storytelling didn't work?
According to The Art of Narrative, "Use nonlinear narrative to highlight characterization and theme. The nonlinear narrative has been used to highlight character growth by drawing a contrast between multiple characters. This is usually in the service of a broad theme."
The Haunting of Hill House's use of nonlinear storytelling worked because it highlighted characterization and theme. Its theme was guilt. Its characters represented the five stages of grief. By telling the story out of order, it highlighted how the different characters grieved.
Stephen grieved through denial; Shirley grieved through anger; Theodora grieved through bargaining; Luke grieved through depression; and Nell grieved through acceptance.
I'll be honest I didn't really understand the five stages of grief, but I hadn't lost anyone. This summer, I lost my grandpa. I struggled to process my grief, and I didn't understand what I was feeling. And then I watched my own emotions play out through The Haunting of Hill House.
I felt Stephen's denial. I felt Shirley's anger. I felt Theodora's bargaining. I felt Luke's depression. And I felt Nell's acceptance.
I fell in love with these flawed characters because I could relate.
Grief hurts.
When you're grieving, you're hurting so much that you hurt those around you.
I learned that the five stages of grief aren't linear. I felt multiple stages at once. I moved on to the next stage only to backslide to the previous stage. I didn't understand what I was feeling, and I didn't know how to process my grief.
The Haunting of Hill House brought grief alive. It was no longer a concept. It was a story with characters.
I'm a writer I've always processed my feelings through writing, but sometimes, writers need stories too.
The Haunting of Hill House wasn't perfect, but I didn't need a perfect story. I needed a story where the characters were hurting as badly as I was. I needed a story that reminded things that even at our darkest there's still love.
Because grief is love.
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What is your favorite book/tv show/movie in the horror genre?