Classics Corner: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice; Spellbinding Epic Novel About A Family of Witches is Anne Rice’s Best

Classics Corner: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice; Spellbinding Epic Novel About A Family of Witches is Anne Rice’s Best

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: Lestat Who?

Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles is considered her most popular work, but it is far from her best written. At least in this Reader's opinion.

Anne Rice's best work is The Witching Hour, a captivating novel about several generations of a family of witches that is both an epic historical fiction and a spellbinding dark fantasy. Along with Imajica by Clive Barker and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, The Witching Hour is another favorite book that I read this year.




Michael Curry is a 48-year-old house restorer who moved from New Orleans to San Francisco. He survived a near death experience in which he was pulled from the freezing bay by a mysterious woman captaining a yacht. Besides a longing to meet his beautiful rescuer, Michael also has developed psychometry, an ability in which he receives psychic impressions of people by touching their objects. A few times this ability becomes overwhelming as just brushing past objects like clothes, doorknobs, or windows give him these impressions making walking in public areas difficult. Not only that but he is haunted by childhood memories in his native New Orleans in which he walked by a mansion and encountered a creepy ghostly looking gentleman in old-fashioned clothing unseen by his mother. He retreats into alcohol and solitude until he meets his rescuer, Dr. Rowan Mayfair.




Like Michael, Rowan has an interesting ability and a mysterious connection to New Orleans. A neurologist, Rowan has healing powers that have nothing to do with her education and experience as a doctor. She can heal people with a touch but has been known to accidentally kill them as well. She had a couple of victims to her credit including her adopted father.




While Michael's abilities stem from his near-drowning experience, Rowan's abilities appear to be inherited from a family of witches. Even though she is adopted by distant cousins and raised as their daughter, Rowan is the illegitimate daughter of Deirdre Mayfair, a catatonic woman who has been in the care of her domineering aunt, Carlotta.

Oh yes and it is her family manse where Michael encountered the ghostly figure. The Mayfair Family (and a few others) knows about the figure as well. They refer to him as either “The Man” or “Lasher” and he usually appears in the presence of certain specific members as if guarding them and is also seen when said member dies.

Rowan learns about her family at the same time that both her adopted and birth mother die. The deaths send her, Michael, and their new friend Aaron Lightner, a member of the Talamasca, a group that studies paranormal activity, to New Orleans to learn about the history of the mysterious enigmatic Mayfair family.




Rowan and Michael make for a charming couple as they are a study in contrasts. Michael is more emotional and spiritual. He is convinced that he survived his near-death experience because he has to do some good with his abilities. Rowan is more logical and frightened of her abilities wishing they would disappear. Michael has a love of history and a deep connection to the past which is illustrated in his occupation of restoring old houses and his nostalgic feelings for New Orleans. Rowan at first prefers to live in the now, fascinated with medical research and modern living. After she becomes acquainted with Michael and the Mayfairs, Rowan falls in love with this odd family and their history. Michael and Rowan are an excellent team as they become a romantic couple and help each other through their struggles.




The highlight of the book (and the majority of the action) is detailed in a long account that the Talamasca has collected on the Mayfair Family since 17th century Scotland when Petyr Van Abel first met Deborah Mayfair, the daughter of a Scottish woman who was executed as a witch. Petyr helped Deborah escape, and hid her in the Talamasca's Amsterdam headquarters. The lovely Deborah becomes a model for noted Dutch artists like Rembrandt and marries a French count. Petyr meets Deborah again almost twenty years later when she is on trial for witchcraft, accused by her in-laws, and in despair for not only herself but her daughter, Charlotte. Though Peter is unable to save Deborah, he assists Charlotte in her escape and reunites with her years later in Haiti where she heads a plantation and is married to a sickly man. Through Deborah and Charlotte, Peter becomes acquainted with Lasher, a demon who helps the mother and daughter by catering to their needs and continues to be a part of subsequent generations as the family's advisor, lover, familiar, guardian and quite possibly the means of their destruction.




Deborah and Charlotte Mayfair set the pattern of the following generations in which they have extraordinary magical or psychic abilities which are passed from parent to child, mother to daughter mostly (with one exception). The members retain the last name of Mayfair as they travel from France to Haiti ultimately settling in New Orleans in the late 18th century.




The Mayfair Family History is an amazing account as Rice individualizes each member making them brilliant fleshed out characters, an impressive feat considering that she covers nearly 400 years of history. The most intriguing members are the witches: thirteen members that have powerful abilities and are linked by an emerald necklace that they wear on special occasions, their deep connection to Lasher which manifests from infancy, and their designation as the heir to the Mayfair Family legacy. Their strange family legacy of magic and supernatural abilities proves to be a benefit as they become quite powerful because of it but also is destructive as various members fall into unhappy love affairs (some with close family members), violent deaths, and/or self-destructive behaviors.




Among the most interesting of the Mayfair Witches are:

Julien- The only male member with magical abilities, he is active from the mid 19th century to the 1920’s. He is a sophisticated gentleman about town known for his affairs with men and women and his cultural tastes often attending operas and plays. Many of his lovers, especially his male ones, recount his love life which was passionate and stormy as he slept around with just about anyone that moved. He lived to be quite old and died of natural causes.

Mary Beth-One of my favorite characters in the book, Mary Beth, Julien’s niece and possibly daughter, is active from the late 19th century to the 1920’s. She is an ardent businesswoman who increased the Mayfair Family fortune by investing in various companies and technologies. Like Julian, she too has various affairs and dresses like a boy and accompanies Julien to brothels as well as engages in affairs with younger men.

Mary Beth’s savvy business skills brings her family untold wealth and her familial ties, particularly displayed during the family get-togethers that she organizes, allows  th various branches of the Mayfair Family to bond. She too lives to be quite old and dies of cancer.

Stella- Mary Beth's daughter, she is active from the 1910’s to the 1920’s. She is a free-spirited flapper who listens to jazz and flirts with many men including with Stuart Townsend, a member of the Talamasca who disappeared while investigating her. Stella hosts various parties and séances, and brags about her abilities to those outside the family acquiring a reputation as “The Witch of New Orleans”. She also has  a close relationship with her unstable brother, Lionel who during a party shoots  an kills her.

Antha-Stella's daughter, Dierdre's mother, and Rowan's grandmother, she is active from the 1920’s to 1930’s, Antha is more introverted than her mother, Stella and grandmother, Mary Beth. Antha is a romantic budding author who attempts to leave the family legacy behind and settle in New York to begin her writing career. Unfortunately, she is pushed or jumps from a third story window to her death at the Mayfair home.




The other non-magical family members are interesting in their own ways as well from the unstable Lionel, to the secretive Cortland who may be Rowan's biological father, the sweet but mentally disabled, Belle and the ruthless Carlotta who may be responsible for the deaths of various family members. The Mayfairs stand out as individuals and as a unit. It is easy to see why Rowan bonds instantly with the family and despite the scares that she and Michael encounter, is happy to be a part of them.




When the book returns to the present, it drags a bit as Rowan and Michael rebuild the Mayfair house thanks to Rowan inheriting the lot, and Rowan attempts to communicate with Lasher who avoids her until the time is right. However, things begin to pick up when Lasher and Rowan finally meet and the demon reveals his desire to be with her.




Tension and fear develop as the characters’ motives are questioned particularly Lasher's. Is he protecting the family or hurting them? What does he want from them to serve them or to rule over them? Why do the Witches attract him and what is he looking for in them particularly in Rowan? Lasher like the Mayfair Witches builds suspense because even though he fascinates and captivates other characters as well as the Reader, no one knows exactly who he really is and what he wants.

Like the rest of the Mayfairs, Lasher is the type of character that may be fun at a party but only the very foolish would be alone with him.




The story build into a climax as Rowan and Michael learn the reasons for their abilities and why they were called to the Mayfair Home. The conclusion is open-ended as yet another generation is born that will no doubt retain the Mayfair legacy of witchcraft, sexuality, and danger.

Classics Corner: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews; Emotional Moving Gothic Novel Is More Than Its Titillating Controversial Reputation

Classics Corner: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews; Emotional Moving Gothic Novel Is More Than Its Titillating Controversial Reputation

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: If I were to ask people to name one thing about V.C. Andrews's Gothic novel, Flowers in the Attic, it would be “Brother and Sister Incest.” The answer would be “Well yes, technically.”




As though it were the Fifty Shades of its day, the first book in Andrews's Dollanganger Series raunchy reputation precedes itself. Though with E.L. James’ barely disguised Twilight fanfiction (and badly written Twilight fanfiction at that), the reputation is all that it has to offer Readers.

While Flowers in the Attic is attached to controversy and many read the books because of the controversy (I remember many girls in Middle and High School with a copy in their hands), the book is actually better than the reputation it has been given.

At least the writing in the first book. The rest of Andrews's Dollanganger series takes a definite nose dive and foregoes quality, theme, and characterization to introduce plot points in an attempt to provoke the Reader and bring controversy. It almost becomes cartoonish or soap opera-like the way that the sexual themes and melodramatic plot points pile up and repeat themselves in the later books. Characters that were once interesting become caricatures and Cathy Dollanganger, the series’ main protagonist, almost hits Mary Sue proportions by the third or fourth book.

However, the first book in the series, Flowers in the Attic, balances the rest out as a well-written modern Gothic novel about child abuse, survival instincts, religious hypocrisy, and the lengths people go through to get money.




In the beginning, the Dollanganger Family seems like the perfect 1950’s dollhouse family. (A family joke has many people describe the fair-haired siblings Chris, Cathy, Carrie, and Cory as “The Dresden Dolls.”) A father who is a well-to-do businessman, a mother who is very loving towards her husband and children, and four children who are bright and brimming with talent. Eldest son, Chris is a genius and budding medical doctor, middle daughter, Cathy is a future ballerina, while the twins, Carrie and Corey are talented prodigies in music and animal studies respectively.

Everything is perfect in their lives until their father, Christopher is killed in a car accident. The family is left destitute when their mother, Corrine, reveals that they have been living above their means and that she has no marketable or employable skills so she has no choice but to pack the kids to Virginia and live with her estranged parents.




When the Dollanganger Family arrives at Corrine’s childhood home, they are met by a very frosty stern grandmother who orders the children to live inside the third floor bedroom and gives several orders. The orders include that they can only go to the attic, they are to be never heard or seen by anyone, and that their dying grandfather is never to know that the children are in the house or even that they exist.

The reason for all these rules, the Grandmother (as the kids call her “The Grandmother.” There is no love lost in this family.), says is because their parents “lived in sin.”: Their father was their grandfather's half-brother and therefore their mother's half-uncle. Christopher and Corrine eloped, changed their last names from Foxworth to Dollanganger, and raised their children who were none the wiser. The overly religious grandmother keeps the children locked up partly because Corrine's father hasn't forgiven her and she doesn't want him to know any “unholy issue” came from their parent’s marriage. She also doesn't want the children of the same sex lying next to each other or seeing each other dressing for fear that the children will repeat the same pattern as their parent's.




Ironically, the barriers that The Grandmother puts around the children enable them to do the very thing that she was trying to prevent. Flowers in the Attic is a perfect example of a self-fulfilling prophecy like Oedipus Rex in which the character's attempts to stop something plunge them right into the very thing they are trying to stop. The Grandmother is blinded by religious intolerance and her narrow view of sin that she keeps the children locked up for three years deprived of any outside stimulation. Her desire to keep the adolescent Chris and Cathy (who age from 15-18 and 12-15 respectively in their captivity) from any friends or peers their own age, right when their bodies are developing and their sexuality is beginning to be explored, proves to be a detriment. Cathy and Chris are going through biological changes and have heightened drives and no one else with which to explore them. Is it any wonder that two teenage siblings would explore these drives with each other when they are cut off from any other outside stimulation? The incest between the two siblings is less of an attempt at arousal than it becomes an attempt to survive in a claustrophobic environment. Which is more than the later books have. They sacrifice paragraphs that develop the characters that just happened to contain sexual themes for sexy paragraphs that are written solely to titillate the Reader and provide cheap thrills.




Flowers in the Attic is less about sex than it is about survival. Like the passages that describe incest between Chris and Cathy, everything they do is a means of surviving their three year captivity. The two older children act as parents to the younger children becoming better parents than the narcissistic Corrine and unloving Grandmother. When Corey and Carrie first complain that they are bored, Chris and Cathy create various games and activities such as putting on plays and drawing flowers and animals to create a paper garden. They soothe the younger ones’ fears and nurse them through illnesses (which Chris is able to diagnose symptoms because of old medical books left in the Attic). They stand up for Corey in front of their grandmother and mother when he becomes fatally ill. In some of the more heartbreaking moments after the Grandmother starves them for a week, Chris cuts himself and gives the twins his blood to drink. They show deep love and self-sacrifice more than the adults around them.




If Cathy and Chris show love and self-sacrifice then their mother and grandmother show the opposite. Corrine and her mother vary in their motives and means of abusive behavior, but both contribute to the children's deprivation. The Grandmother is practically a character from a Grim fairy tale. She is bound by her interpretation of the Bible and God's retribution over his forgiveness and love. She is hypocritical in her dealings with her daughter and grandchildren constantly taunting them with “God sees everything you do” paying little attention to the abuse that she inflicts.

She is also a master at manipulating the children with emotional abuse. There are a few times when Cathy and Chris manage to sneak out to the roof and in one passage make it as far as the yard, but they are so weakened by The Grandmother's cruel treatment that they don't even attempt to run away. (In fact they don't run away until they realize that their lives are in danger.)




The Grandmother's behavior doesn't surprise Cathy and Chris at all because she hates them from the moment that they walk into her mansion. It's their mother’s behavior that surprises them. A woman who was once very loving and affectionate and visits her children every day decreases her visits and then stops them altogether. Originally, Corrine is forced to reveal marks on her back to show that she too is a victim of her parent's abuse. She claims that she is saving money and attending night school classes so she can leave her parents. She also claims that she has to obey her father so she can win back his love. However, she also appears dressed in fancy clothes, gives them expensive toys (using money that could have funded their get away), and reports going on trips, attending dances, and being courted by handsome rich men. Naturally, the children become suspicious that their mother is less concerned about them than she is about the bling.




It is purposely left unclear whether Corrine was always a narcissistic selfish person and the children were blinded by their youthful naivety and belief that “Mommy and Daddy were always perfect” (Chris certainly favors this as being close to their mother and defending her when she isn't around. Cathy, more cynical and closer to her late father, doesn't agree) or Corrine became that way since moving back in with her parents and succumbing to their views. (The movies like the 1987 film and the 2015 miniseries show earlier scenes of her suspicions and vanity to make her antagonistic character more obvious from the word, “go.”)

But definitely as they are held captive, Corrine cares less and less about them and more about the financial gain she will receive. Corrine's longing for money becomes so obsessive that she commits unthinkable acts towards her children.




Once they realize that their lives are in danger, Cathy and Chris make plans to escape. Though the Dollanganger Children escape their captivity physically, the emotional scars remain. One thing the other books in the series show us is how the abuse stays with the Dollangangers as they continue to have health problems caused by their imprisonment and undernourishment, still retain post-trauma and other disorders, and later exhibit unhealthy behaviors towards significant others and children.




If the writing in the later books could have kept that emotion and retained the thematic elements of abuse, trauma, hypocrisy, and greed the Flowers in the Attic had, The Dollanganger Series could have been very compelling reading. Unfortunately, the others don't measure up and only the original reigns supreme.

Classics Corner: The Turn of The Screw by Henry James; Haunting Gothic Ghost Story is a Suspenseful Psychological Tale That Asks More Questions Than Gives Answers

Classics Corner: The Turn of The Screw by Henry James; Haunting Gothic Ghost Story is a Suspenseful Psychological Tale That Asks More Questions Than Gives Answers

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: I apologize for being late and having so many entries at once, but there was a cold and flu bug going around our house and I had headaches that prevented me from going on the Internet for very long, but I am better and I have a lot to show.
 Henry James knew a thing or two about psychology as well as the supernatural. His brother, William was an eminent philosopher, psychologist, and is considered the Father of Modern American Psychology. He also was a believer in Spiritualism and Mysticism and was the founder of the American Society for Psychical Research. These topics also interested Henry as many of his novels have shown.

Many of Henry James’ novels dissect the motives and means behind his characters particularly his female protagonists. Whether it's Wings of a Dove’s Kate Croy, Washington Square's Catherine Sloper, Daisy Miller's titular character, or (my favorite) Portrait of a Lady’s Isabel Archer, James took his Readers inside the female psyche to show how these characters challenged or surrendered to the world around them. Many of his characters were haunted by past misdeeds, structures that confined them, and expectations and ambitions that they strove to meet but often came up short. In short, many of his protagonists were haunted people.




That's what makes James’ novella, The Turn of the Screw so fascinating. Throughout the book, the Reader is uncertain whether it is the area or the people that are haunted. Are the spirits real or hallucinations? All the Reader knows for sure is whenever haunted people and haunted situations get together, unpleasant things are certain to happen.




The Narrator of James’ story is an unnamed governess who is hired to look after Flora and Miles, a young orphaned brother and sister put in the the custody of their wealthy uncle. The uncle, having no experience with children, is often away leaving the children at boarding school or under the care of servants. (In fact, the uncle is barely in the book no doubt to avoid a Jane Eyre/Rochester romance between him and the governess.) Shortly after the Governess arrives, young Miles is expelled from his school for reasons that are never fully explained but implied was because of some “untoward violation.” He returns to his home to join his sister and the staff.




That's when the Governess starts seeing some strange figures of a man and woman hovering within mirrors, through windows, and often near the children. They have menacing expressions, seem to appear and disappear at will, and no one else acknowledges their presence. The Governess becomes frightened especially after she describes the Ghostly Duo to Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper. Mrs. Grose reveals that they resemble Miss Jessel, the Governess’ predecessor and Peter Quint, the uncle's valet who had a sexual relationship with Miss Jessel. That's all interesting in a gossipy sort of way except um...Quint and Miss Jessel are well you know….dead.

The Governess is determined to protect the children especially when it appears that Flora and Miles see and communicate with the ghosts. What is their intention? Are they planning on harming the children from the other side or killing them and dragging them to Hell? Are they manifestations of some kind of secret guilt that the residents share? Are the ghosts even real or projects of an overactive imagination from an excitable and overwrought governess? James never tells us the answer.




The Turn of the Screw is one of those type of books that leaves the interpretation up to the Reader. While that can be annoying to some, others (such as myself) enjoy this psychological approach of providing their own analytical response to the book.

Many hints are provided that Quint and Jessel were not nice people in life to say the least. Mrs. Grose implied that Quint was “too free with everyone,” and that Miss Jessel often acquiesced to his leadership. Could that have meant that he molested Miles and that he groomed Miss Jessel to molest Flora? It's possible.




Flora and Miles exhibit what could be considered classic signs of being victims of sexual abuse. Flora often keeps to herself and wanders off to unknown locations. Miles acts extremely mature and exhibits knowledge of adult activities beyond his age. Then there's his expulsion, conveniently after Quint's death. Could Miles have exhibited some of his new found knowledge to his fellow students or exhibited some other violent or aggressive tendencies that he learned from Quint? With his superficial charm, secretive nature, and desire to disobey his elders (such as sneaking out of the house at night) just because “he can,” Miles certainly exhibits signs of being a budding sociopath. Are the ghosts then planning to possess the kids to continue their control over them from Beyond?




Then there's the Governess. While she is clearly concerned and protective over the children, she is also prone to fits of hysteria. Many times after she encounters the ghosts, she comes across as a mentally ill person, particularly trying to convince everyone else that the ghosts exist. Her behavior seems to suggest that the ghosts may not be real and are products of her imagination or hallucinations from a repressed, but unhinged mind. (Though if that were true, it would not explain how the Governess would know what Quint and Jessel, two people she had never met before, look like enough for Mrs. Grose to recognize them from her description.)




At times the Governess could be just as unbalanced and just as harmful to the children as her predecessors, even in her determination to save them. In one frightening passage, The Governess’ insane rambling frightens Flora particularly after the girl tells her she doesn't see the ghosts. Ironically in trying to prevent Flora from being taken by the ghosts, the Governess’ behavior isolates Flora and particularly Miles further and puts them right in their paths.




The Turn of the Screw is the type of ghost story that is more than a simple tale involving ghosts. It raises more questions than answers forcing the Readers to make their own conclusions therefore proving that sometimes the scariest ghosts are found inside the human mind.

Classics Corner: We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson; Wonderful Gothic Novel By The Real Master of Horror

Classics Corner: We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson; Wonderful Gothic Novel By The Real Master of Horror
By Julie Sara Porter,
Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Forget Stephen King, Anne Rice, and H.P. Lovecraft. The real Master of Horror in the 20th century is Shirley Jackson (1916-1965).

Jackson was obsessed with witchcraft and the Salem Witch Trials even as a child. She studied Tarot Cards, Ouija boards, and tea leaves, and spun fantasies based on psychic visions. She endured an unhappy childhood with a critical mother and an even more unhappy marriage to editor/literary critic, Stanley Hyman. While Hyman encouraged her proffessionally, he was extremely critical and borderline verbally abusive. patronized  her writing career, kept her on a strict writing schedule, and derided her housekeeping and child care. To cope with her husband's bad treatment, Jackson turned to binge eating, alcohol, and tranqulizers. Jackson reportedly became so agoraphobic that before her death at age 49, she barely left her room.

From this troubled soul came some of the most frightening horror tales.What is particularly memorable about Jackson's works is that the horror does not come from outside sources: ghosts,vampires, or even serial killers. The true horror is found in the characters themselves through their own anxieties, paranoia, repressed frustrations, and adherence to brutal tradition.

Take what is probably Jackson's best known work, the short story "The Lottery." A seemingly peaceful  small town's residents are preparing for a certain ritual, a lottery in which one of the residents receive some sort of honor. It is only until the Reader reaches the end of the story do they learn that the ritual imvolves one resident to be stoned to death. While there are some people saying that they hope so-and-so "doesn't get it" and the supposed Guest of Honor yells that "It's not fair", no real objections are raised. Instead the townspeople are so bound by this tradition that even the victim's children pick up rocks and gleefully hurl them at her.
Another example of Jackson's excellent writing is the novel, The Haunting of Hill House in which a group of people investigate a haunted house. The hauntings become more prominent in the presence of one of the guests, Eleanor Vance. Eleanor becomes a conduit for the supernatural forces because of her hatred for her bullying family members and her repressed urges for a female guest, Theodora. (who rudely tells Eleanor,"Do you always go when you're not wanted?") Finding no affection romantically or from her family and only madness in the house, Eleanor has no choice but to commit suicide.

By far the masterpiece of Jackson's works is We Have Always Lived In The Castle. This insightful wonderful novel gives new light into the Gothic Novel exploring the interior lives of the people who dwell inside those creepy walls.

The book is narrated by Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, the younger daughter of an eccentric family that lives in a dilapidated Gothic mansion with her older sister, Constance and senile Uncle Julian.

Merricat and Constance's back story could earn them a guest spot on the ID show, Deadly Women. Their entire family except Julian, Constance, and Merricat were murdered by poison. Constance was the prime suspect since she often did the cooking. Her trial was made public and even though she was acquitted, the court of public opinion made her a pariah. (Though her family was already held under suspicion by their eccentric ways.) The suspicions, including a catchy jump rope rhyme about the Blackwood Sisters, contribute to Constance's agoraphobia so that she never leaves the house beyond the family garden.

While Merricat goes outside to do the shopping, she is no less bizarre than her sister. Merricat is obsessed with black magic and fetishes and uses them to protect her home and family. She claims to have one eye for day and another for night. When her night eye is open to do dark things, her day eye remains dormant. (Perhaps her "separate eyes" are metaphors for schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder.)

Charles, Julian's nephew and the Sisters' cousin, wanders into their lives and begins to dominate the sisters particularly Constance. He derides the family especially Merricat for hiding valuables and constantly asks persistent questions about the Blackwood's finances leaving no doubt about his true intentions to Merricat anyway. Constance remains in blissful denial....or does she?

Once the truth of the early poisoning and other violent acts throughout the book is revealed, The Reader becomes aware that the Blackwood Sisters could not have accomplished their violent murderous deeds without each other. Merricat is the obvious doer living out her darkest fantasies and impulses but she needed Constance to guide her. In turn, Constance has repressed urges and needs that she could never do without Merricat achieving them for her. The two's obsessions with each other and their home become destructive as they are determined never to leave their home come hellish murder or high fire.

Shirley Jackson exposed the darkness in the human psyche and how it leads to her protagonists to commit dark deeds in a dark world.