Synaesthetic Specters: Haunting Hill House on the Silver Screen

Abstract

International audienceThrough a combination of film and sound techniques, Robert Wise captures the invisible, unspeakable nature of the supernatural in his 1963 film, The Haunting, based on Shirley Jackson’s novel. His approach is simultaneously synaesthetic, intertextual and grotesque, effectively situating the spectator’s terror in his reception of the film.Dans The Haunting, un film de 1963 adapté du roman de Shirley Jackson, Robert Wise capture l’invisible, l’indicible nature du surnaturel en combinant techniques cinématographiques et sonores. Par une approche synesthésique, intertextuelle et grotesque, il fait naître la terreur du spectateur de sa seule réception du film