Disclaimer : I am scared of horror movies. I find jump scares terrifying. I panic when the eerie background music starts playing in the movie. I just can’t take it. But it’s only during the movies, I am not scared in real life. I am not scared of the dark either.

So I took a challenge to read the scariest book ever. And I did. 

Now I am also scared of horror books. 

I did 5 minutes of research on the scariest book available on google and all fingers pointed to the “House of Leaves”. I crossed my heart and went for it. 

House of Leaves

“This is not for you”

• The books dedication page

If the book says that on the first page, I will take their word for it. In retrospect, I should have. 

This book is terrifying. It is not something you read and forget, it stays with you. You don’t read this book, you experience it. Before I bore you let me tell you why. 

It is written using Ergodic Literature style. 

It has unconventional

formats,

fonts,

sizes,

styles.

One cannot simply just read through it. 

It is filled with hidden codes, cyphers and selzzup. I had to make an effort to get through the book. It will challenge the way you view conventional literature. It will s  t  r  e  t  c  h your reading capabilities. 

Each and every style chosen is meticulously thought to make the reader feel what the main character was going through. One can feel claustrophobic, anxious, creeped out due to the way the book is presented. 

This book is about letters about a film about a house that is a maze. An ever expanding maze. The Inception’s script feels like a kindergarten book in comparison.

It

is

extremely

complicated. 

The writer wrote this book with tonnes of real life references about people and events that already have occurred. To completely understand this book, re-reading it is a must and also discussing it with others about their opinions. 

This book took 10 years in the making and it shows. Mark Z. Danielewski created a masterpiece.

If you are just looking for a horror book because you enjoy getting spooked this book will do the job. 

Frankly typing, a review cannot do this book justice.

I

am

still

processing

what

I

just

experienced.