A Haunted House

“[…] a ghostly couple.”

The use of an adjective to describe the couple is an indication that the ghost story is not a conventional one. Instead of writing “a couple of ghosts,” which would clearly define the type of character of the story, Virginia Woolf uses the term “ghostly,” which provides the ghost characters with an ethereal, unreal trait.

“But it wasn’t that you woke us.”

The use of “us” in this sentence adds a layer to the point of view of the story. It reflects the ambiguity of the narrative: It is unclear whether the narrator is talking to the reader, as in Quotation 1, or mentally addressing the ghosts.

“My hands were empty.”

This is another instance in which the points of view of the story change. Woolf does not use “us” anymore, indicating more than one narrator; instead, she returns to a first-person singular and from then on, the narrator assumes the singular.

“But they have found it in the drawing-room.”

The treasure the ghostly couple is looking for is initially designated only as “it.” The mystery of what it can be is revealed only in the very last line of the story by the narrator, who finally understands the reasons for the wandering of the ghost couple. This creates a mysterious undercurrent in the story and puts the focus on the narrator’s impressions of the scene instead of the thing being searched for.

“Safe, safe, safe.”

This is the first of three instances in which the house itself seems to speak, and this mantra becomes a motif. The house is telling the ghosts—and the narrator—that the long lost treasure they seek is safe inside it. The personification of the house by granting it a heart that beats is another device of ghost story narratives.

“Death was the glass.”

The glass filters the light that comes from the gardens into the house. It also changes the images by blurring them or intensifying colors. The narrator connects death to the glass because it prevents connection and underscores the text’s sense of loss.

“Death was among us.”

Returning the point of view to an “us,” the narrator senses the presence of the ghosts, here identified with death; that is, two dead beings that come back to “haunt” the house they once lived in seeking a treasure that had been lost.

“‘Here we slept,’ he says. And he adds, ‘Kisses without number.’”

This speech by the male ghost translates the melancholy he feels in remembering a joyful past. This sentences foreshadow the contents of the treasure the ghostly couple seeks to find.

“Nearer they come; cease at the doorway.”

The living couple that is sleeping in a room seems to be inside the abandoned house. Woolf does not specify whether this is true or only some dream of the narrator, as they will wake up later in the story. Their hovering at the doorway reflects the blurring of dreams and reality in the story.

“Sound asleep. Love upon their lips.”

The discovery of the sleeping couple by the ghostly couple directs the story to its ending. The ghostly couple identifies love as the treasure they were seeking, underscoring Love as the Reason for Life.

“Long they pause. The wind drives straightly; the flame stoops slightly.”

Nature mimics the ghostly couple’s expectation of finding the treasure they sought. There is an exchange of behavior; before reaching this point, nature was thundering, rain was falling, and the wind was fierce against the windows.

“Again you found me.”

The ghostly couple finally finds the treasure. This is the joyful life they shared together centuries ago, when happiness predominated in the now gloomy house. This similarly underscores Love as the Reason for Life.

“Stooping, their light lifts the lids upon my eyes.”

The ghosts cast the light of a lamp they are carrying upon the faces of the sleeping couple. Used for the third time in this paragraph, the word “stoop” connotes a reverence to the love the ghostly couple finds in the sleeping couple.