‘The Haunted House’ by Virginia Woolf – Short Story Analysis

I bring you a ‘Read of the Day,’ a short horror story, so that we can indulge in the joy of reading. You can visit my site to check a short story for analysis and participate in the discussion in the comments.

Read of the Day 

Today, we will read The Haunted House by Virginia Woolf.

You can read the story here: Haunted House Virgina Woolf pdf

About Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was a famous English novelist, essayist, and trailblazer in modern literature. Her most accomplished works include novels like Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the essay A Room of One’s Own (1929). The Haunted House, originally published in 1921 was produced later by her husband in The Haunted House and Other Short Stories (1944) after her death.

The Haunted House by Virginia Woolf Analysis

If I have describe the story in one word, I’d say ‘The Haunted House by Virginia Woolf is a tease.

But first, I know how hard it is to write horror because you need to dance with your words and sentences with deftness to invoke grim excitement, fear, and intrigue in your readers.

In the same breath, it’s also equally a lot of fun to scare people off their knickers. Somehow, Woolf ends up doing just that in the most mischievous, unexpected, endearing way. Quite the unbeaten path in horror, I must say.

Woolf builds anticipation in the reader with her wizardry of words, a sketchy but luscious narrative, blurred characterization, in this genre-bender story. 

The story starts with the opening line—

“Whatever hour you woke there was a door shutting.”

A brilliant way to start a horror story.

‘You’ is a vague character that could point out to the living house, inmates, a couple in this case, or you, the reader. I’ll go with the easiest and most obvious answer: a living couple in an ancient haunted house.

The opening phrase ‘Whatever hour’ plays upon the eternal question of humankind: Do ghosts really exist or are they a figment of our imagination? It also preys upon our perpetual fear of all things spirits and the otherworldly. 

Soon, we discover there’s a potential ghost couple who’s frantically searching for something in and around the house. We hear fragmented pieces of their conversations, elevating our confusion about the reality of ghosts, and curiosity for the treasure they’re desperately seeking. 

Then, we hear cozy talk of sweet nothings and everythings between them. Who would have thought!

“Here we slept,” she says. And he adds, “Kisses without number.”
“Waking in the morning—” “Silver between the trees—” “Upstairs—” “In the garden—” “When summer came—” “In winter
snowtime—” The doors go shutting far in the distance, gently
knocking like the pulse of a heart.

There’s a lot happening inside the haunted house. Yes, the house brims with action and Woolf uses her pioneering ‘stream of consciousness’ technique in characterization for the readers to fully gripped in the story.

But there’s a sweet catch! Woolf’s ‘The Haunted House’ has a surprisingly tad too cozy and pleasant ambience unlike conventional horror stories that grip its readers through sombre settings.

“the wood pigeons bubbling with content and the hum of the threshing machine from the farm.”

It’s Virginia Woolf’s ingeniousness to take a story, topple it completely, and turn it into something else altogether. I particularly loved the beginning and the conclusion of the story. Sheer genius in my opinion!

Woolf’s poetic language lends the story about a haunted house a delicate touch. When you come to a conclusion like the one in the story, everything ties neatly to make perfect sense.

My takeaway?

The house is definitely haunted. But more so by the memories of the ghosts’ lived experiences in the house than the ghosts per se. The light is symbolic of the love shared between them and how it got extinguished with the woman’s death. The ghosts searched for the love they shared once upon a time in this sacred space — their house. And found it and they all lived happily ever after!  

A horror story with a love story ending. Whodathunk!