House of Leaves Is the Moby-Dick of Horror According To Stephen King

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Stephen King Infront of Horror Book Covers

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No writer in history is associated with the genre of horror as much as Stephen King. With adaptations of King's works like The Long Walk, Welcome to Derry, and The Life of Chuck still earning acclaim, the master horror author is still a cultural powerhouse. So when King recommends a horror book, fans should listen.

In a 2013 profile of King and his family in the New York Times, Stephen King spoke with his son, fellow horror author Joe Hill, about what they considered the "Moby-Dick of horror." Eventually, they settled on "that one with the footnotes" and specifically named Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves.

Stephen King Praises House of Leaves as a Literary Masterpiece

Published in 2000, House of Leaves is a boundary-breaking novel that ranks among the best horror books of all time.

The novel is, ostensibly, about a man named Will Navidson who buys a house for his family to live in. Over time, however, Navidson comes to realize that the house is slightly bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

Spiritually, House of Leaves feels like a modern take on the classic haunted house genre of horror. Instead of the unquiet dead being the source of tension and scares, however, it is the titular house itself. In Danielewski's text, the house is almost a Lovecraftian being, an eldritch entity capable of snapping reality in two.

What makes the horror of House of Leaves so visceral and affecting isn't just the writing itself; it is the structure of the novel. Much like how Navidson's house becomes an incomprehensible labyrinth, so too does the novel.

As King and Hill reference, House of Leaves uses footnotes and annotations as important parts of its story. The result is a book that twists in on itself in frightening and unnatural ways.

House of Leaves Truly Earns Its Status As the Moby-Dick of Horror

The whale approaches the ship in Moby Dick

Given King's status among the greatest horror writers, his praise of House of Leaves obviously means something. Calling it specifically the Moby-Dick of horror, though, is certainly an interesting comparison, and one that fits quite well.

Much like Moby-Dick, House of Leaves was an absolute game-changer when it dropped. Far from just good books, both Melville's and Danielewski's novels pushed the medium of novel writing forward with their great prose and deep symbolism.

For House of Leaves' part, the novel has proved wildly influential. Obviously, it's influenced horror novels, but the bigger influence is on internet horror.

House of Leaves almost reads like a proto-Creepy Pasta. With its meta elements and focus on bending reality, the novel has more than a little in common with internet horror's best works, like Candle Cove.

Though House of Leaves might be a tough read in places, it is ultimately a rewarding one. Not every Stephen King fan will probably connect with House of Leaves, but those who do will find themselves lost in one of the most important horror novels of the past three decades.