Peace at last: grappling with ghosts and the family structure in The Sixth Sense and The Haunting of Hill House

Abstract

Ghost stories often reflect what haunts the cultural consciousness, and perhaps even which fears define a generation. The Sixth Sense and The Haunting of Hill House reflect very different ideas about what haunts our society, and what the solutions to those hauntings may be. The Sixth Sense advocates for an adherence to the nuclear family structure, insinuating that true horror lies in defying these norms. The Haunting of Hill House, alternatively, proposes that the constraints of antiquated, heteronormative gender roles and the nuclear family structure is exactly what we should fear.