22 pages 44 minutes read

Virginia Woolf

A Haunted House

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1921

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

Doors

Doors symbolize the uneasy boundary between dreams and reality in the text. They frequently open and close, and it is never clear who has moved them or whether they move on their own. A “door shutting” is the first concrete image in the story, creating a haunting sound that awakens the narrator and immediately brings into question whether they are asleep or fully awake. This is followed by two references to doors being open. Since doors allows people through a boundary, these open doors highlight the ghosts and the narrator’s ability to traverse subjective and objective reality and dwell in their own experiences even while surrounded by the materiality of the house. Doors slam shut again near the end when the ghosts find the sleeping couple and reminisce on the happy times in their life, echoing the sense that these times in their lives are over. However, they stand in the “doorway” of the bedroom while watching the sleeping couple, suggesting that they stand on the threshold of dreams and reality and hold onto their hope of reliving their love.

Related Titles

By Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary

logo

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories

Virginia Woolf

A Haunted House and Other Short Stories

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

Between The Acts

Virginia Woolf

Between The Acts

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

How Should One Read a Book?

Virginia Woolf

How Should One Read a Book?

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary

logo

Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf

Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

Kew Gardens

Virginia Woolf

Kew Gardens

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

Modern Fiction

Virginia Woolf

Modern Fiction

Virginia Woolf

Plot Summary

logo

Moments of Being

Virginia Woolf

Moments of Being

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown

Virginia Woolf

Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The Death of the Moth

Virginia Woolf

The Death of the Moth

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The Duchess and the Jeweller

Virginia Woolf

The Duchess and the Jeweller

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The Lady in the Looking Glass

Virginia Woolf

The Lady in the Looking Glass

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The Mark on the Wall

Virginia Woolf

The Mark on the Wall

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The Voyage Out

Virginia Woolf

The Voyage Out

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

The Waves

Virginia Woolf

The Waves

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

Three Guineas

Virginia Woolf

Three Guineas

Virginia Woolf

Study Guide

logo

To the Lighthouse

Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse

Virginia Woolf