Transformations In Horror Story : House Taken Over By Julio Cortazar

by Julio Cortazar so unique? Is it the characters who do the same thing repeatedly over and over again daily? Or is it the house that was considerably enormous? Maybe the creeks in the house that add scares to the story?

The short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar are two well known works of literature that encompass unique literary styles. Poe utilizes Gothic literature in his story, a style of writing that incorporates elements of darkness, gloom, drama, and intense descriptions. On the other hand, Cortazar uses Magical Realism and its realistic characters, setting, and fantastic and unusual events to tell his tale. Despite the two being completely different genres, they share many similar traits, specifically relating to fear.

Fear is among one of the most universal human emotions that everyone is interconnected at one point or another during their lifetime. In the gothic stories, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “House Taken Over” written by Edgar Allan Poe and Julio Cortazar respectively. Edgar Allen Poe writes about how the character Mr. Usher, who because of his mental illness and delusions, cannot come to terms with his reality. Cortazar writes about the relationship between a brother and sister who have normal everyday lives and have strange and odd nightmare that haunts them. The

“It wouldn’t do to have some poor devil decide to go in and rob the house, at that hour and with the house taken over.” (Cortazar 42). Fantasy elements like this one are widely utilized and encompassed in the short story called "House Taken Over" by author, Julio Cortazar. Cortazar incorporates fantasy in this magical realism selection into the setting and details incorporated, the way the characters act, main events and the unimpressed tone also expresses a magical vibe. He entangles this magical theme into the aspect of realism. Within “House Taken Over’” there is a balanced amount of realistic and mystical events and features.

Being in scary situations, “ can be a real self-esteem boost”(92). For example, if you are in a scary maze and feel you can not get through it but do, it gives a self appreciation. Individuals can get, “high from the flight-or-flight response,”(91) which shapes individuals to be more alert and stronger. Julio Cortazar’s short story, “House Taken Over,” helps secure individual's safety by having a normal house. The narrator and the sister, Irene, live in a house together unmarried and have a family business farming. The siblings hear voices coming from the back of the house. The narrator talks to Irene saying, “I had to shut the door to the passage. They’ve taken over the back part”(40). Even though they are scared they still continue living in the house. This meaning it is obvious it is just their imagination. In the night time, it is hard for them to sleep because of the noises, but in the day they act as if there is no “they.” The setting in this story contributes to transformation by having a normal house changed by an imagination of voices.

Throughout the story, the mood becomes more suspenseful. As Janet walks out of the strong spring storm and enters her cold damp house, she is overcome by feelings of isolation and loneliness. Her husband is not there; there are dead plants

People develop multiple reasons to why they like to receive these odd and fear emotions, which now in society we call insanity. In the “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King, whose main argument is that we watch horror movies to satisfy our curiosity. In the “How Tabloid Train Wrecks Reinventing Gothic Literature” by Carina Chocano, whose main argument is to prove how gothic literature is very similar to gossip; for example, gossiping makes people turn into ghosts, unnatural. It’s tempting to see Gothic tales as escapism, but these stories will sum up during times of trouble. Fascination with fear or Gothic stories satisfies some emotional need of individuals and of society by making people feed on their inner childhood that is inconstantly needed of satisfaction. People can do that by watching horror movies or reading tabloids and that is why they enjoy scaring themselves.

Creeeeek...BANG! The door slammed again. Grace turns around to see the closed door. Once more, she walks over and reopens it, scared of being separated from the rest of the house. She watches the door, anxious, expecting it to slam again. Terrified, she just stares through the doorway, into the hall, feeling her heart beat out of control. She was petrified, afraid of the unknown, afraid of what was happening in her very bedroom. Authors use this and many other techniques in literature meant to invoke fear. One is through alteration, or change. Transformation plays a key role in stories meant to scare us through transforming something we know and love into something to be feared, surprising us, and fear of the unknown.

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.

In modern society, people tend to enjoy terrifying and horrific films and novels because of the anticipation and thrill of the character’s fear, in which they are not aware of. One of these common and popular genres is known as Gothic Horror. Although this entertainment is common in our society today, in past time periods, it was written during a mass transition. The age’s in which there are religious, cultural, and technological advances and changes, is a particular time when novels in this genre come to light. People are typically not comfortable with change, which is why these transitional times can cause anxiety, in which causes novels in this genre to be written. The short story, The Judges House, written by Bram Stoker is properly categorized

Both “Knocking” by Rick Hautala and “The Road Virus Heads North” by Stephen King are masterfully crafted horror stories that lead readers on a psychological rollercoaster. The authors are able to generate such a detailed and in-depth atmosphere that it causes readers to picture themselves in the terrifying situations that they have devised for those reading. Through the evolution of “monsters”, point-of-view and atmospheric conditions which help to create a mood that engulfs readers both King and Hautala are able to write brilliant horror stories.

Countless works of literature have sentimentalized the house as a space of sanctuary; however, in time the house came to incorporate the mysterious also, as haunted houses allowed the supernatural to dwell alongside the living. Fictional narratives have long since utilized the house as a venue for character and situation to develop, dispersing opportunities for authors to bring symbolism and metaphor to their works. Julio Cortázar drew upon the house setting in his short stories “Bestiary” and “House Taken Over”, not just as a venue for his tales to play out, but as places that echoed the themes, character, and structure for the unusual could enter and abide. Cortázar’s treatment of the bizarre as a part of the natural family life of the house,

Have you ever thought about what makes you become scared when reading scary stories? Gothic writing developed in the late eighteenth century and it was mainly a style of writing where abnormal or ghostly experiences were portrayed. In the stories Castle of Otranto, “Sir Bertrand,” and Romance of the Forest, terror is illustrated by emphasizing the architectural environments that are encountered. The architectural environments in Gothic literature, engage readers and immerse them into the story so that supernatural events can be imaginable, by using common features such as darkness, intricate or secret passages, and abandoned or isolated buildings.

“What you fear most of all - is fear itself” - Reamus Lupin. Transformation in stories causes fear and, fear is what we are known to be afraid of. What exactly is transformation? Transformation in scary stories is what changes the story to create fear. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by a certain pain or threat. This all happens in Gothic Literature and Magic Realism. Gothic literature is one of the beginning genres of scary stories. It was formed around 1760 and is still used today. One person in history that commonly used Gothic Literature is Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many pieces of Gothic Literature such as “Fall of The House of Usher” and “Telltale Heart.” This essay will be about transformation used in Gothic Literature.

The author Edgar Allan Poe created a beautiful writing piece called “Tell Tale Heart”, which included literal elements such as mood, tone, and point of view. The story included a tremulous mood for the reader to be able to feel the excitement of the story. According to the text “Tell Tale Heart”, it states “And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror.” This illustrates that the details of the story create a terrifying atmosphere. When the author describes that an old house with complete silence and nobody awake, it shows that nobody is there to protect you. Anything could jump up and harm you in any sort of way, so it’s terrifying for the reader to be in that situation.