Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 342-358).

The 'haunted home' has enjoyed a long-standing position as a motif within society, crossing a span of narratives, from anecdotal local stories shared informally between family and friendship networks, to the established Gothic traditions of literature and film. This project uniquely examines the ways in which people who believe their homes to be haunted negotiate the experience of co-habiting with ghosts. It is a qualitative study which has applied a mix of creative methodologies to a number of in-depth case studies in England and Wales. Geographers and researchers in related disciplines have recently expressed interest in the idea of ghosts or haunting, but have tended to focus upon public metropolitan spaces, and to employ the ghost as a metaphor or social figure. In contrast, this project contributes to a growing literature on the material and immaterial geographies of the home, the intangible and affective aspects of everyday life within the particular context of the domestic interior. The project explores the insights uncanny events experienced within this space reveal about people's embodied, emotional, spatial and temporal relationships with 'home' as both physical place and as a set of ideals. It studies the way in which people negotiate experiences which appear to lack rational or natural explanation, and the interpretative narratives employed to explain them. It suggests ways in which different forms of belief influence interpretations of uncanny events. It also suggests ways in which inhabitants of haunted homes negotiate the co-habitation with ghosts through a number of strategies which reinforce their own subjectivity in the face of potential encroachment into their private space.

Houses in literature are an important signifier, and for Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, places and especially houses were deeply meaningful. This study explores the portrayal of houses and homes in a selection of L.M. Montgomery’s novels: Anne of Green Gables (1908), Anne of Avonlea (1909), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne’s House of Dreams (1917), Emily of New Moon (1923), The Blue Castle (1926), Emily Climbs (1927), Emily’s Quest (1928), A Tangled Web (1931), Pat of Silver Bush (1933), Mistress Pat (1935), Anne of Windy Willows (1936), and Jane of Lantern Hill (1937). Montgomery’s own attachment to houses and places is evident from The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery, Volumes 1-5 (1985-2004), Mary Rubio’s biography, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings (2008) and Montgomery’s letters, My Dear Mr. M: Letters to G.B. MacMillan from L.M. Montgomery (1980). This study argues that, given Montgomery’s emphasis on the physical environment of her own life, the environment which surrounds the characters of her novels is equally important for deciphering meanings conveyed in her books. Therefore, the study attempts to ascertain what houses in Montgomery’s fiction communicate, drawing on theories of place attachment and emotional relationships with places to explain the significance of the houses in these novels and Montgomery’s depiction of them and their relation to the characters. Research on place attachment and the meaning of home helps to clarify the significance of houses in these novels. Prior analysis of Montgomery’s novels is also taken into account, as well as studies on the house in other fiction. The study shows that the houses in Montgomery’s fiction often function as a symbol for the self. They also facilitate or prevent actions or events which involve the characters, and fulfil the needs of the characters, whether these needs be physical or emotional. I use these functions as an interpretive lens through which I attempt to illuminate aspects of Montgomery’s depiction of houses in these novels as dream houses, haunted houses, houses of nostalgia or escape. Montgomery uses houses to situate the characters in her novels, both physically and emotionally. Close analysis of the passages relating to houses in these novels reveals the depth of detail, the imagery and symbolism, and Montgomery’s careful selection of words and phrases. / Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2017. / English / MA (English) / Unrestricted

No description available.

Scare acting has always been the unsung villains of the entertainment industry. For three months of the year, for about five minutes of a haunted house, they get attention. However, the work scare actors do to is way more than just a five second “boo.” Scare actors have been at the beginning of theatre and continue to influence modern entertainment. Even though the patrons may be the ones feeling the danger, scare actors may be even more in danger than them. Each scare actor is unique from their looks to their moves. It might be take a lot of nerve to go into a haunted house, but it takes a lot more to work it.