The term "world-building" tends to conjure images of maps and manuals and sprawling, fantastical lands. But the worlds that interest me most are usually enclosed by four walls.
I've always been fascinated by houses, both in reality (I'm shamefully prone to peering through neighbors' lit windows after dark) and in fiction, from Green Gables to Hill House. My own first story for young readers -- the story that eventually turned into The Books of Elsewhere -- was inspired by a house in my hometown: a once-grand Victorian that now sagged over a lawn full of fantastical wind-powered machines.
Why do I find houses so endlessly fascinating? I think it's because a house is a world.
A house has its own climate and atmosphere. It has its own inhabitants and culture, its particular food and art and rituals. A house has its own history, its own rules or ethics or powers-that-be. And (like another beloved fictional structure), houses are bigger on the inside -- big enough to contain most or all of the action of an entire novel.
Inch open the door, creep up to the windowsill, and peep inside these masterfully built worlds.
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hawthorne's tale is all about atmosphere; one of the house's inhabitants describes it as "a rusty, crazy, creaky, dry-rotted, damp-rotted, dingy, dark, and miserable old dungeon." Add a witch trial, mesmerism, and a family curse, and you've got what may be the greatest of American gothics.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Hill House is so unpleasant, so unexpected, so wrong in its construction that it actually makes visitors sick. Maybe it even drives them insane. Or maybe everything they experience is real. We never learn what it is that walks Hill House--only that it walks alone. And this is terrifying enough.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The estate of Bly is rambling, isolated, and inhabited by characters who don't seem to deserve the reader's trust--the perfect setting for a deliciously subtle horror story.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Misselthwaite Manor is a lonely, barren mansion echoing with an invisible child's sobs until another child brings it and its enclosed garden back to life. This is a story that doesn't need any supernatural powers to feel rich with magic.
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
In this sequel to Howl's Moving Castle (another piece of wondrous house-sized world building), each time young house-sitter Charmain opens a door, it leads her to a different place: a filthy kitchen, a study full of magical books, a frozen bathroom. Watching her muddle through the house's mysteries is half the book's fun.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The internal culture of stately Manderley nearly crushes the new Mrs. DeWinter, who is compelled by housekeeper Mrs. Danvers to walk more and more closely in the former mistress's footsteps. Rebecca herself is gone, but the DeWinters aren't free of her -- not as long as Manderley stands.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
A chilly stone farmhouse on the wild, wind-blasted Yorkshire moors... The story of Heathcliff and Catherine wouldn't--or couldn't--have unfolded in the same way anywhere else.
Little, Big by John Crowley
Edgewood, the ancestral estate of the Drinkwater family, can't be found on any map, and its appearance seems to change from every angle--one façade is gothic, another Victorian, another modern. Edgewood is truly many houses in one, just like the Drinkwaters are many wildly varied beings in one family, and Little, Big is a novel made up of generations of twisting, multifaceted tales.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jay Gatsby's West Egg mansion could practically be a stand-in for Gatsby himself. The house gives an initial impression of glamor, wealth, and raucous fun. But as both reader and narrator grow to know Gatsby better, it's revealed to be an enormous, eerily empty place--enviable on the outside, hollow within.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.