The uncanny and the psychological terror in United States Literature

Abstract

This article explores psychological terror in United States literature, focusing on the concept of “the uncanny” and its relationship with space. It analyzes how authors Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, and H.P. Lovecraft utilizes the configuration of physical and symbolic spaces –ranging from decaying architecture to inhospitable landscapes–, their oppressive atmospheres, and the fragility of the human mind to generate a sense of unease and fear in the reader. The perspectives of Gaston Bachelard on the poetics of space and Sigmund Freud on the uncanny are examined to understand how psychological horror literature explores repressed emotions and desires in the unconscious. The article analyzes three representative works: Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu, showing how each author employs space and the uncanny to create an atmosphere of psychological terror.