20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
This 25-year-old horror novel captured the terrors of the internet
History is rarely kind to the horror genre. For every work that manages to worm its way into the cultural unconscious — for every 'Alien,' 'Exorcist' or 'Shining,' say — there are a heap of films and novels left to languish unseen or unread.
So, when a work of horror stands the test of time, it's worth pausing and paying attention. Released 25 years ago this month, Mark Z. Danielewski's novel 'House of Leaves' is as hauntingly alive today as it was when it first appeared. The novel's continued success is as improbable as it was inevitable. Improbable because 'House of Leaves' is no straightforward horror story. A work of excellent avant-garde pulp, Danielewski's book delights in metafictional experiments and odd typography. Inevitable because the horror it conveys is still with us. At the heart of 'House of Leaves' are the peculiar terrors and agonies of the internet age.
