Strawberry Hill House — the dream that birthed the horror novel

London · United Kingdom · Historic building

One June morning in 1764 Horace Walpole woke from a dream of a giant armoured hand resting on his own staircase.

The white Gothic villa at Twickenham was built by Horace Walpole from 1749 to create what he called "gloomth" — a deliberate blend of shadow and warmth. One June morning in 1764 he woke feverish from a dream in which a huge armoured hand rested on the banister of his hall. Out of that nightmare he wrote The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel, and with it laid the foundation of the entire horror genre. The house does not seem to have let go. A nightwatchman reported in 2014 that a man in a stiff collar walked straight through an upstairs wall, and the following year a cleaner saw a woman dressed in 1920s clothes step into a disused kitchen that proved to be empty. Walpole's own figure is said to reappear in the banqueting room whenever the house is being prepared for a party.

FAQ

Where is Strawberry Hill House — the dream that birthed the horror novel located?

Strawberry Hill House — the dream that birthed the horror novel is in London, United Kingdom.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Chiswick Chap / CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons