The Haunted House
John C. Whittier's The Haunted House is a classic ghost story set in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts. The story follows the adventures of a young man named John who moves into a mysterious old house that is said to be haunted. As John settles into his new home, he begins to experience strange and supernatural occurrences. He soon discovers that the house is inhabited by a family of ghosts, and he must confront them in order to find out the truth about the house and its secrets. Along the way, John learns about the history of Salem and the dark secrets that lurk beneath its surface. In the end, John must face his fears and confront the ghosts in order to save himself and the town of Salem.
By John Greenleaf Whittier · First published 1859 · Genre: Horror, Mystery, Fantasy · 4,417 words
First lines
The beautiful river, which retains its Indian name of Merrimack, winds through a country of almost romantic beauty. The last twenty miles of its course in particular, are unsurpassed in quiet and rich scenery, by any river in the United States. There are indeed, no bold and ragged cliffs, like the Highlands of the Hudson, to cast their grim shadows on the water--no blue and lofty mountains, piercing into the thin atmosphere, and wrapping about their rocky proportions the mists of valley and river--but there are luxuriant fields and pleasant villages, and white church-spires, gleaming through the green foliage of oak and elm--and wide forests of Nature's richest coloring, and green hills sloping smoothly and gracefully to the margin of the clear, bright stream, which moves onward to the Ocean, as lightly and gracefully as the moving of a cloud at sunset, when the light wind which propels the trial voyager is unfelt on earth.
What this Textopian page supports
The Haunted House is listed on Textopian as a novel by John Greenleaf Whittier, dated 1859 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: John Greenleaf Whittier
- Date: 1859 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Horror, Mystery, Fantasy, Thriller
- Length: 4,417 words
- Structure: 1 section, 142 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Haunted House by John Greenleaf Whittier
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Haunted House?
- How does this novel by John Greenleaf Whittier fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Horror first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- The Haunted Cove by George Norman Douglas
- The Bat by Stephen Vincent Benet
- The Thing In The Upper Room by Arthur Morrison
- A Psychical Invasion by Algernon Blackwood
- Across The Moors by William Fryer Harvey
- Ghosts by Arthur Gask
Genres
- Horror — The title of the book implies a supernatural element, suggesting a horror genre.
- Mystery — The title of the book implies a sense of suspense and intrigue, suggesting a mystery genre.
- Fantasy — The supernatural element of the book implies a fantasy genre.
- Thriller — The suspenseful nature of the book implies a thriller genre.
Tags
haunted · ghosts · supernatural · mystery · suspense · fear · atmospheric · gothic · literary · narrative · American literature · Whittier