If it exists...

Dearest Readers,

I have spent some time looking over the footnotes from the previous chapters.  I have also looked at others' blogs on how to generate a sense of horror.  First, footnotes:

Alright, the first two are not footnotes, but still fun to look into.

The first thing I read in House of Leaves, was the simple phrase "This is not for you."  At first, I figured it was a satirical jab at the idea that books must be dedicated to someone.  Instead, the author informs the reader that no one is to think that this book should resonate with them on some profound level.  This concept actually did facilitate the uneasy ambiance for myself.

Following Truant's introduction, the phrase "Muss es sein?"  Now, many have translated this from German to mean "Must it be?"  A quick Google search will yield "Es muss sein", from the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera, which is translated to "It must be", a declaration of fate for one character.  A detailed analysis of the significance of "Es muss sein" in The Unbearable Lightness of Being from the good folks at shmoop.com here.  However, as for House of  Leaves, I speculate the phrase is used as a question for the reader after the claim "This book is not for you."  The reader is asked if the book must pertain to them on some philosophical level in order to be appreciated.

Daniel Bowler's "Resurrection on Ash Tree Lane: Elvis, Christmas Past, and Other Non-Entities" appears to not exist.  Or perhaps it lies somewhere in the appendices.  The same goes for Lee Sinclair's Degenerate.

Now, there are plenty other footnotes, but these stuck out to me, as they enhance the experience for myself.  A friend of mine brought up the Cottingley Fairies, and how she and her boyfriend were going to include some of the pictures in the appendix in their editions, to enhance the reading experience for whomsoever inherits their books.  It's an interesting idea, and I cannot criticize it as I am in a sense performing the same stunt.  However, I want to focus on the world the Danielewski has created for us.  It is the age of the internet, after all.  If it exists, we can find it.

Speaking of the internet, I found a post that details the necessities of writing an effective horror piece.  It was on a blog by Karen Woodward.  I think it is a good read and encourage everyone to give it a read.

Until next post!

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UPDATE
After a little reading, I find that the typeface for "This book is not for you" is the same that Johnny Truant uses throughout the book (Courier), meaning it must be a message from Mr. Truant.

However, "Muss es sein" is in the typeface of Zampano (Times).  This may be a minute detail, but it is important, as Danielewski  endeavors to provide a somewhat dichotomy between Truant and Zampano.  It has been seen before that Truant does alter some of Zampano's writing, as in chapter II, where Truant adds the word "water" in front of "heater".  However, this seems different.  In the incident involving the "water heater", Truant makes it a point to bitch about his cold water situation while trying to make it look like Zampano's book is mystically affecting his life, which he then admits is demonstrably a prefabricated scheme.