Labyrinths of Fear: Textuality, Space, and the Uncanny in House of Leaves

House of Leaves (2000) redefines horror by transforming the act of reading into a
destabilizing psychological experience. Unlike conventional horror narratives that
rely on visual monstrosity, the novel constructs terror through fragmented narration,
typographical experimentation, and the manipulation of space. This paper examines
the novel through the lens of postmodern horror, Jacques Derrida’s theory of
deconstruction, and Sigmund Freud’s concept of the uncanny. It argues that the
novel’s horror emerges from the collapse of stable meaning, the unreliability of
narrative authority, and the uncanny expansion of space within the Navidson house.
The labyrinthine structure of the text mirrors the infinite corridors of the house,
producing a recursive experience of disorientation for the reader. By analyzing textual
fragmentation, spatial instability, and psychological descent, this study demonstrates
how Danielewski constructs a uniquely postmodern form of horror that resides not
only within the narrative but within the structure of the text itself. The novel
ultimately reveals that fear is generated through the impossibility of interpretation
and the dissolution of boundaries between text, space, and consciousness.