Monday, August 17, 2026

The Yellow Wallpaper [Short Story Review]

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It was published in 1892. Apparently this story is fairly well-known. It has gained a bit of popularity lately because of all the "Backrooms" stuff. I had not heard of it, but I feel like I might have seen a movie or something about it at one point.

The story here is that the female narrator temporarily moves into a house. She is given a room with some dreadful yellow wallpaper that she completely obsesses over. A good portion of her writing is about this wallpaper and what's wrong with it. As the story proceeds, it slowly becomes clear that this house may actually be haunted, and the ghost has set its target on the narrator.

The interesting thing about this narrative is that she seems to be making it as the event is taking place. This is incredibly immersive. As she gets oppressed by what very well may be a demon, she is writing it all down while under that influence. So you do not just see what happens, you experience it psychologically through her.

This is a very good horror story, and I did not want to entirely spoil it. I recommend that you find a copy of this. As old as it is, it is easy to see its influence on a lot of things that came later such as "Silent Hill." Good stuff!

This blog was written on July 23, 2026.

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4 comments:

  1. Thank you for not spoiling. Interesting premise... especially since it may have inspired the psychological horror in the mainstream I very much like.

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    1. Hey, no problem! This one turned out to be significant in the modern day.

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  2. Obsession can lead to oppression, because one's focus becomes a means of channeling energy. Beings that are beyond the mortal ken will use such things against us. That which seems to be innocuous could actually be dangerous.

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    1. It still kind of leaves it unclear if this is a real demonic thing or someone going insane, but that is probably a good way to do it.

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