Dynamics of Haunted Spaces

By Angella Elza John

Guide: Ar. Ankur Bardhan

Abstract:

If architecture is the formation of material and geometry experienced through our bodily
sensations and psychoanalysis the exploration of the inner psyche, one would wonder what these
two disciplines might contribute to one another. As such, buildings do not merely provide
physical shelter and protection; they also provide a mental mediation between the world and our
consciousness, articulating both physical and existential space. We spend our lives inside
buildings, our thoughts shaped by their walls. Nevertheless, theres surprisingly little research
on the psychological implications of architecture. This paper therefore attempts to study the
relationship between architecture and psychology in terms of how architecture induces fear and
how such induced fear can be further contained or elevated.

Introduction
The built environment is the result of a
series of conscious and subconscious efforts
to make the physical environment more
comfortable
for
the
humankind.
Architecture is the art which combines
utilitas, firmitas and venustas i.e. human
behaviour, technology and beauty. These
words of Vitruvius prove that architecture is
not simply a structure put together rather it
is the mental mediation between the world
and our conscious i.e. the articulation of
both physical and existential space.
We spend our lives inside buildings and our
thoughts practically shaped by them. But
little study has been conducted on the
psychological implications of architecture.
Psychology and architecture, and their corelations in itself is a vast subject. Therefore
this dissertation focuses on just one element
of the human behaviour or in this case of the
human emotion i.e. fears and how it relates
to architecture and vice versa. This
dissertation aims to study about the ways in
which the built environment i.e. architecture
is shaped by our societys preoccupation
with fear and how the built environment

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itself shapes and moulds the behaviour and

experience of its users.
Need for the study
Fear has been described as the feeling of
uncertainty or an impending danger. The
first physical shelter was built due to the fear
of natural forces. Throughout the time
mankind has constructed spaces, fear has
been the driving force behind the (re-)
organization of the public and private
spaces, (Maheswari Tanvi, 2006). It is also
well known that physical space helps in
remembering a particular event that could be
pleasant or simply unpleasant. Fear can be
the feeling of uncertainty and anxiety in
specific places such as badly lighted alleys,
empty and open spaces, or even the crowded
and enclosed spaces. Fear can also be in
terms of entering the outside world leaving
the building in a comfortable zone. Even
isolation caused by architectural elements
also leads to fear and anxiety. The feelings
of anxiety are often linked to spatial issues
therefore the relationship between fear and
space need to be more explored with clarity.
As architects and designers, we need to view

the issues of fear and abandonment caused

by architectural structures from a new lens.

Content analysis: Analyzing the literary

works and thesis regarding the study of
the physical space and how it induce fear
or the feeling of haunting.

Observational studies / meta-analysis:

By understanding the definition and
factors which influence and trigger the
feeling of fear.

Hypothesis/ proposal: Propose the

various methods by which fear can be
controlled or promoted in architectural
spaces.

Research Question/ Hypothesis

How architecture and fear are related.

Fear as the driving force behind the

organization and reorganization of
public and privates spaces.

The feeling of insecurity is often linked

to spatial issues therefore the
relationship between fear and space need
to be explored with more clarity.

The extent to which fear is influenced

and to an extent catalyzed by the nature
of the space and the nature of the
observer.

A brief explanation to an extent for the

so called haunted spaces in terms of
architecture.

To architecturally counter the feeling of

fear to an extent.

Aim
To study the relationship between
psychology and architectural built spaces to
counter fear and anxiety and invoke a sense
of comfort and stable mental state.

Scope and Limitation

Studying fear as an emotion induced by a
perceived threat, and the perception of
threat is dependent on many things
including, but not limited to, gender, age,
sex, race, neighborhood cohesion,
confidence in police, personal experience
of victimization, levels of local incivility
and financial conditions.
The study is limited to architecture, fear
and paranoia. Though a few examples of
mass hysteria will be cited, it does not
deal with it in depth.
The study is limited to fear caused by
architectural spaces and thus to an extent
architecture affecting the psychology of
the observer.

Proposed Methodology
Literature review

Archival research: Studying the various

architectural elements that can induce
fear such as light, shade, colour,
textures, depth, heights, edges, forms,
etc.
Case Studies: Studying the various cases
of people and spaces and analyze why
some places are haunted.

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The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the

Modern Unhomely by Anthony Vidler.
In the history of representation of the
uncanny and its psychological analysis,
the buildings and spaces that have acted
as the sites for uncanny experiences have
been
invested
with
recognizable
characteristics. The typical and common

qualities i.e. attributes of haunted houses

in Gothic romances are the most well
known.
Haunting spaces (a thesis) by Anna
Simpson.
This research aims to enhance fear, on a
site known to be haunted due legend or
folklore. Artists will live and work in an
isolated
and
supposedly
haunted
environment son Devils Island, in the
Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia. Imposing
new spaces that distort the protective
normality of the home may create a
tension between traditional haunting in
folklore, and the spaces that haunt us
because of their inherent and/or uncanny
nature. It may also enhance the existing
circumstance, finding a place for haunted
architecture in the contemporary world.
The simulacrum model will represent
haunting from the story in a tangible
form. It will then generate new forms by
distorting representations of our existing
notions of home and space.
The Haunted House in Mid-to-Late
Victorian Gothic Fiction by Ilse Marie
Bussing.
This thesis addresses the central role of
the haunted house in mid-to-late
Victorian Gothic texts. It argues that
haunting in fiction derives from distinct
architectural and spatial traits that the
middle-class Victorian home possessed.
These design qualities both reflected and
reinforced current social norms, and
anxiety about the latter surfaced in
Gothic texts. Here iconic Crystal Palace
is studied alongside the Victorian house
and the Gothic house to better understand
the haunting process in architecture.

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Panopticism & Gaze in Spaces: Spatial

Psychological Devices ( a dissertation )
by Aarti Dhandra
Architecture and built environment are
heavily implicated in making the users in
a space behave differently. Architecture
is referred to as a tool which the architect
uses to carve out the entire narrative that
he constructs. This research paper
describes how human mind is affected by
constant gaze. The extent to which the
microscopic scrutinizing effect of gaze
influences the human mind is clearly
depicted in the example of Panopticon.
The constant scrutiny instilled fear and
discipline in the inmates; individualizing
the inmates and dis-individualising
power.
Urban Culture: The Sound of Haunted
places ( an article) by Mortan Breinbjerg.
Haunted spaces are the only ones people
can live in. michael de Certeau writes in
The Practice of Everyday Life and he
continues; This inverts the schema of
the Panopticon. By haunted places de
Ceretau refers to the history of places,
traces or memories of what used to be.
Such places are containers of knowledge.
Proximate physical cues to fear of crime (
an article ) by Jack L. Nasar, Bonnie
Fisher and Margaret Geannis.
Fear of crime is a serious problem on
university and college campuses.
Although fear has many causes, one
potential source of fear may arise from
the dasign of the physical environment.
In areas having a climate of fear ( from
neivilitee or other factors ), proximate
cues in the surroundings may affect the
feeling of saftey. In theory, concealment,
blocked prospect into the concealment

and blocked escape contribute to fear.

Following one study that tested this
theory in a highly atypical building, the
present study extended the task to a more
typical campus outdoor space. Fear maps
elicited from students were compared
with physical indices of concealment,
blocked prospect and escape. As
predicted by the model, fear related to the
presence of trees, shrubs and wall which
provided concealment, limited prospect
and blocked escape. The results highlight
the importance of the role of uncertainity
in enviromental response and suggest that
reductions in fear and opportunities for
crime on campus may be achieved
through changes in the character of
campus outdoor spaces.
Bibliography
1. Maheshwari, Tanvi Fear and the Urban
Form" ,Urban Fringe , the Berkeley
planning journal ( February 18, 2014) ,
accessed
April
7,
2014.
url:http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org
/tools_citationguide.html
2. Fear & Architecture in a Collapsing
Society, May 5, 2011, accessed April 7,
2014.
3. Bryan Lawson, The Language of space,
(Architectural Press: Reed Educational
and Professional Publishing Ltd, 2001).
4. Bert De Muynck, Fear and Space: View
of designers in the Netherlands, NIA
Publishers (2004).
5. Ana Suznjevic, Fantasy and Reality:
Design for Dementia, (March diss.
Unitec Institute of Technology, 2013).
6. Nan Ellin, Fear and City Building,
Architecture
of
Fear,(
Princeton
Press,1997)
7. Christopher Day, Spirit and Place,
(Architectural Press: An imprint of
Elsevier, 2002).

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