MovieChat Forums > The Haunting (1963) Discussion > All in her head

All in her head

posted 12 years ago by LearningToCrawl
30 replies | jump to latest

The strange trend I've seen with The Haunting that is opposite of almost every other psychological horror film I can think of is that most people take for granted the fact that the house is haunted, or an evil entity in itself, and that it wants Nell. This has always seemed bizarre to me considering the fact that other films such as The Shining or Hour of the Wolf are always analyzed as psychological horror films, and people tend to view those films as more psychological horror films rather than ghost films. Even films such as Rosemary's Baby are analyzed like it is a dream Rosemary is having brought on by her guilt over being a lapsed Catholic, rather than a literal series of events.

I don't often see this with The Haunting. Most people I've seen discuss the film come to the conclusion that the house wants Nell and will do whatever it can to have her. I think, however, that there is a distinct possibility that any "supernatural" events that might be taking place are all in Nell's head, and that it is simply a house, albeit one with a dark past. Nell is simply not a in a good state of mind, even before she visits the house, so I think this is a plausible explanation. I'm sure multiple people have proposed this before, but I don't often see this idea being discussed, so I'm wondering what other people think.

[–] LaPfieffer92 12 years ago

I take the movie as literal, that the house wants her. I think they try to confuse you at first but its clear that other people are witnessing the horrific things happening. the door being pushed real hard, the banging, the docters wife missing, that's not in there heads! that's real stuff happening. so no, why thisn does deal with ealenors sad state of mind, it ties into the whole haunting going on, its not just "in her head".

Realism, Remakes and Unnecessary Sequels are ruining movies!

[–] Bree_33 11 years ago

It reminded me of what I love in Polanski thrillers.

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[–] Suskis 11 years ago

It's not possible that all happens inside her head: too many paranormal stuff that is happening is shared with other people. also, even after her death, those still alive agree on the house wanting her. also, the behaviour of the scientit's wife would have no explanation.
the movie is clearly about a hounted house and this lack of ambiguity is its weakness.

'What has been affirmed without proof can also be denied without proof.' (Euclid)

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[–] Suskis 11 years ago

nope: she DIES a the end. if everything happened in her mind, she would have just died and the movie would have ended. the surviving characters talk about the house wanting her and the wife of the scientist confirms it.

'What has been affirmed without proof can also be denied without proof.' (Euclid)

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[–] Suskis 11 years ago

even dying? a BIT far stretched...

'What has been affirmed without proof can also be denied without proof.' (Euclid)

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[–] snickz 11 years ago

Nobody mentioned how Eleanor's name was the only name written on the wall. This confirms the house wanted her.

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[–] AStrangeOldMan 11 years ago

It could kind of suggest that she was not only imagining the whole thing, but that she put herself at the center of the haunting as the key player (in this analysis.)

"No fate but what we make." -Terminator II

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[–] snickz 10 years ago

It was her name written on the wall, and she didn't write it. Certainly that fact plus some other supernatural things that happened such as the banging on the walls and doors, witnessed by the others prove, it wasn't just her imagination.

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[–] snickz 10 years ago

Sure, I get that part, but the director shouldn't have had the others hear the same noises, at the same time Eleanor did. Also, if it was all in Eleanor's head, then I guess you're suggesting the writing on the wall was done by her!

[–] AStrangeOldMan 10 years ago

There is mention (in the book particularly) that Eleanor has had a few experiences with telekinesis earlier in her life. It leaves the door open to the possibility that she was causing the manifestations that the others experienced herself as a symptom of her own fracturing mind (including the writing on the wall.) The "collapsing house" effect, in fact, was later used in the film Carrie, where the main character, using her telekinetic power, actually did cause the house to fall in around her dying body. That is if you accept the idea that the incidents we see are all part of Eleanor's delusion.

No fate but what we make. -Terminator II

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[–] AStrangeOldMan 10 years ago

It definitely adds another layer to the 'onion'.

No fate but what we make. -Terminator II

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[–] catbookss 10 years ago

This is the first I've heard of it. It is an interesting idea.

In both reading the book and seeing the film, I also always saw the events as being real, and that they were eroding Eleanor's already fragile mental state.

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[–] catbookss 10 years ago

I do remember Nell saying that, now that you've reminded me. That's along the lines of the sorts of clues I was wanting.

[–] catbookss 10 years ago

I've re-read the book and re-watched the film since I read that, and whilst I think it's an interesting idea for me the ghosts are real.

Yesterday I was near the library and decided to check out The Haunting of Hill House. It's been many years since I've read it. Started reading yesterday afternoon, and thought of this thread and your post.

How was reading it for you, after reading Gidding's idea of it all being in her head? I'm having problems with that concept, right from the first paragraph.

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[–] RbSnedlap 10 years ago

I`ve always taken the view that the ending is deliberately ambiguous.
Perhaps it all just going on inside Nell and everyone elses head, on the other hand maybe it wasn`t.

Any plan that involves losing your hat is a BAD plan.

[–] AStrangeOldMan 10 years ago

Eleanor's narration at the end lends to the idea that something supernatural has occurred, however. "...and we who walk here, walk alone."

Exactly how is she narrating?

No fate but what we make. -Terminator II

[–] timolet 10 years ago

When all of you mention the others share the paranormal experiences. They don't. Not in the same way Eleanor does. The house is built in a strange way, as mentioned when they explore the house. There's a good chance the sounds that were heard, the doors opening and closing were all natural occurrences. Since we only hear things from Eleanor's point of view, she exaggerates everything. Amongst the noises she hears voices, but are they really voices? Even early in the film there's a voice down the hallway which she hears, but Theo doesn't seem to notice.

There are ambiguous moments, and you can't simply explain the real truth since it's never explained. That's what makes the movie so great.

[–] thesnowleopard 9 years ago

The banging on the walls and doors is also witnessed by Theo and could not be done by one person, as are other events by the rest of the team. There are also things (like the spiral staircase being treacherous) that Eleanor couldn't have made happened, but that spook the others. And how do you explain the wife's breakdown? Or the ugly history of the house? Or how Eleanor ends up wrecked right at the same spot as the first wife died (not something Eleanor appears to have been aware of). People involved with the house and who had walked its halls firmly believed it was haunted long before Eleanor was even born. The house was cursed in the bones, even though we never find out why.

Even if the poltergeist activity stems from Eleanor's unconscious TK ability, that's still a paranormal cause.

As for The Shining, while there was a large component of psychological horror, it is unambiguously a ghost story--especially in the novel. There is no Scooby Doo element at all.

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[–] Druffmaul 8 years ago

If Nell was the only person in the house who was hearing the unexplained sounds etc. I might agree with you, but the others were experiencing the same things she did, at least some of the time. She definitely did seem to be the most sensitive to it, though.

[–] AStrangeOldMan 8 years ago

It also has to be remembered that Eleanor had a pretty spectacular psychic event occur in her childhood and it's possible that the Hill House experience simply unlocked that dormant telekinesis.
That's a 'scientific' explanation, of course, and I rather prefer the paranormal one.

No fate but what we make. -Terminator II