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28th Feb '13 2:48:23 PM Xtifr

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A fantasy/horror novel by Creator/WilliamHopeHodgson, who also created ''Literature/CarnackiTheGhostFinder'' and ''TheNightLand''. It was first published in 1908. Creator/HPLovecraft said "but for a few touches of commonplace sentimentality [it] would be a classic of the first water."

Some friends visiting Ireland find the curious ruins of the eponymous house, and an old diary of the man who was presumably the last inhabitant of it. The majority of the story is the contents of the diary.

[[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10002 Here's a link to an online version of the entire novel at Project Gutenberg]]. It comes in several formats, including HTML, EPUB, Kindle, and TXT.

Was adapted in TheNoughties as a one-volume GraphicNovel by VertigoComics, with Richard Corben on drawing duties.
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!!This story includes examples of:
* AllThereInTheManual: 
** A possible explanation for who the Swine Things were [[spoiler:and what they wanted]] can be found in Hodgson's ''Carnacki'' story, ''The Hog''. It really depends on whether they're set in the same continuity or if Hodgson was simply reusing a concept. That said, the MindScrew doesn't completely go away because ''The Hog'' does nothing to explain the House itself [[spoiler:or its green doppleganger]].
** The name of the framing story's narrator ("Mr. Bereggnogg") isn't revealed anywhere in the book except the title page, which a lot of readers would typically skip.
* ApocalypticLog: The diary.
* ApocalypseHow
* ABoyAndHisX: A man and his dog.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Incestual context was added to the graphic novel, which displeased some fans of the original book.
* CoolOldGuy: The Recluse, at least when he's [[spoiler:protecting the house and driving away the Swine Things]]
* CosmicHorrorStory: A precursor, in any case.
* EldritchLocation
* EvilDetectingDog
* FramingDevice
* GenreShift: Subverted. It starts out as Cosmic Horror, then quickly turns into a mix between Action-Horror and Mystery but ''then'' goes right back to Cosmic Horror in the second half.
* HauntedHouse
* HeroicDog: Pepper.
* MindScrew
* [[spoiler: NoEnding - Yes, in the sense that 1. we never get any explanations on the Swine Things or any of the other supernatural stuff, and 2. we aren't given the details about what actually became of the Recluse and his sister. [[SubvertedTrope However]], the FramingDevice's epilogue ''does'' give the horrifying broadstrokes of what ultimately happened after the diary's narrative is cut off (while leaving the particulars to the imagination).]]
* NoNameGiven: Everyone from the main story except Pepper the dog.
* [[PigMan Pig Men]]
* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:The Recluse's lover.]]
* ThematicSeries: This book is the second installment of what [[WordOfGod Hodgson]] referred to as a trilogy. None of the three books share the same characters, and it's debatable on whether they're even supposed to be in the same continuity. In terms of plot and setting, the first and third books in this trilogy - ''The Boats of the "Glen Carrig"'' and ''The Ghost Pirates'', respectively - don't have all that much in common with each other and have even less in common with ''House''.
* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight
* UnreliableNarrator: It's possible to [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness intepret everything as delusions]] brought on by the Recluse's excessive grief and possible dementia (his sister seeming to not be aware of any of the supernatural stuff certainly supports this notion). [[spoiler:That viewpoint holds up until the epilogue when Tonnison and Bereggnogg discover that the events in the diary probably ''did'' happen]].
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19th Oct '12 11:48:30 PM MisterMyst

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19th Sep '12 8:16:52 PM PaulA

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11th Aug '12 5:10:58 PM KayiRowling

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