This House Is Haunted by John Boyne

This House Is Haunted is sort of like Jane Eyre meets Turn of the Screw.

The author John Boyne writes 19th century sensibilities with the absolute authority of a waistcoat-wearing, mutton chopped Victorian. So much so, I was surprised to see his other books include The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. In fact, these two works are so different, I actually researched the author on Wikipedia! I thought there might be two John Boyne writers. Don’t laugh; there are two Deb Atwood authors. (As well as a very popular real estate broker.)

When newly orphaned Eliza Caine travels to Norfolk to assume her post as governess, she is dismayed to find more questions than answers. Where are the parents of her young students Isabella and Eustace? Why does Isabella speak in an adult tone—at times helpful, at times hostile? Why do otherwise gentle townspeople turn away upon hearing Eliza is the new governess at Gaudlin Hall? That’s just the beginning of puzzles Eliza must decipher. Soon things begin to go bump in the night, for Eliza is facing a furious, jealous ghost.

All the props and symbols you have come to expect from Gothic novels are present. Flickering candles, dark corridors, hidden staircases. (A part of me wonders if the author wasn’t having some fun here.) Impressionable young governess? Check. Precocious pupils? Check. Decaying mansion? Check? Dark, eerie English fog? Check. Suppressed sexual awakening? Check, check.

Author John Boyne has thought of and researched every detail to bring an authentic feel to this work. Even the names Eliza and Isabella work as twinned opposites. Eliza means oath of God; Isabella means oath of Baal (translation: false god). Okay, I have a thing for names. Blame it on Mrs. Penn from seventh grade who first told me names can be symbolic. We were reading Lilies of the Field, and the protagonist’s name was Homer Smith. Mrs. Penn focused on Smith as Everyman. I’m less subtle. I’d be all over Homer.

Only one part of This House Is Haunted does not feel authentic to me. I don’t think the title serves this sub-genre well. A title more in fitting with the Gothic subject matter would be Gaudlin Hall. For me, This House Is Haunted conjures images of gaudy slasher flicks on the order of Friday the 13th, which this book is definitely not. Rather, This House Is Haunted is a meticulously researched Victorian-era gem that I highly recommend for anyone with a hankering to get her Gothic on.