The horror of The Haunting of Hill House springs not only from the creepy house but from the psychology of its main character. Why does Eleanor succumb to the power of the house? How does Eleanor’s position at the beginning of the story connect to her possession? In what way does Eleanor’s relationship with her mother play a part in her connection to the house? How does the house manipulate Eleanor? How do these text details support the themes of The Dangers of the Human Mind and The Fragility of Identity?

Teaching Suggestion: After discussing this prompt, you might follow up by guiding students to connect Eleanor’s possession to the earlier personal connection they made to the sense of belonging. In what way does this text portray an alienated character? Students might also connect this to how, when in vulnerable positions, people are often coerced to join powerful and oppressive systems. The following resources may be useful in connection with these possible follow-up discussions:

• “Who Joins Cults, and Why?”
• Preventing Exploitation: Why People Join Gangs

Differentiation Suggestion: Some students may benefit from starting this activity with a partner to brainstorm plot and character details from the text in a graphic organizer, a bulleted list, or a table with columns and headers.