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Surefire Assignment: Haunted Houses

Of the house by the railroad, Edward Hirsch writes, "The house must have done something horrible / To the people who once lived here." Popular culture offers many examples of haunted houses or places. In this assignment, I ask students to describe how memories or ghosts may haunt a place, or why this cultural icon of the haunted house has such a claim on our imaginations. Many students write about the haunted houses they have seen in film, but others describe haunted houses in their own neighborhoods, houses whose occupants have suffered tragic or untimely deaths. One particularly memorable essay began with the scene in Forrest Gump in which Jenny throws rocks at the house where she had suffered her father’s abuse by her father. The student writer went on to describe a similar situation in her own home town; after the family suddenly left town, the house remained vacant and was finally torn down. I have inferred that even in the smallest towns, there is usually a house that harbors sad secrets.

By Martha Kruse at Oct 13 2005 - 5:44pm | Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Place | previous forum topic | next forum topic

Comment from Dan, the IRM author

Later in this chapter, Joel Sternfeld presents seemingly harmless places in haunting, disturbing ways. Just as Hopper’s “House by the Railroad� could be seen in not-so-haunted ways, Sternfeld’s locations could be viewed in a number of ways. After reading Hirsch’s view of Hopper’s painting, it’s hard not to see it his way. While any number of viewpoints are still possible for Sternfeld’s locations, his historical and photographic framing of them will probably continue to color our perceptions of them. What Hirsch and Sternfeld do, then, is make these places seem haunting by shifting our perspective. An additional option for this assignment might be for students to write an essay that offers a different perspective on a place. They can choose the place and the perspective, but the shift in the perspective is what is important—and it shouldn’t be too forced. They might present a seemingly pallid place as vivid (a desert), a creepy place as beautiful (a cemetery), or an innocent place as frightening (Disneyland, anyone?)

By Dan Keller at October 13, 2005 - 5:47pm | login or register to post comments