The Last House on Needless Street

The Last House on Needless Street is a horror novel with elements of Gothic literature and a psychological thriller. Horror relies on appeals to pathos to elicit a sense of fear, dread, unease, or even disgust in a reader, often involving the supernatural/paranormal, or the threat of physical/mental harm. Ward believes that “horror is a way for writers and readers to share empathy, particularly regarding our fears. It builds this sustained, empathetic bond between a writer and a reader” (Brown, Jena. “Author Interview: Catriona Ward.” Dark Matter Magazine, 1 March 2022). In The Last House on Needless Street, Ward uses the bond between reader and writer to lull the reader into a false sense of security. Ward constructs a plot that appears to revolve around several frightening scenarios, such as child abduction and murder, but she conceals important and unsettling pieces of information from the reader until near the end of the novel. For example, when Ward finally reveals that Lauren and Olivia are Ted’s personalities, rather than physical individuals, she undermines what the reader believed to be true. Such narrative twists can be used to further shock the reader and leave them with a sense of uncertainty.

The Last House on Needless Street contains instances evocative of ghosts and hauntings that bear similarities to those found in Gothic literature, such as when Ted experiences his deceased mother’s presence and a presence he calls “the green boys in the attic,” that represents boys who have disappeared near the lake where Ted lives. However, these are red herrings, or intentional misdirection by the author. A vivid example of this type of misdirection—and a clue that all is not what it seems—is when Dee sees the “ghost” of a child attempting to enter the house she rents next door to Ted’s. It turns out to be a cat. The “supernatural” elements in the novel are either derived from Ted’s mental condition or manifested from Dee’s repressed guilt for her involvement in her sister’s death. However, they do contribute to the novel’s Gothic elements. Gothic literature and horror typically rely on atmosphere and sensationalism. Dee’s favorite novel, Wuthering Heights, for example, is one of the earliest and most quintessential examples of Gothic literature.

Thriller novels involve narrative elements such as cliffhangers (leaving a scene’s action unresolved to increase suspense), red herrings (intentional misdirection in the narrative), and plot twists (setting up reader expectations for one outcome, then following up with a different, unexpected outcome). Ward weaves clues about Ted’s psychological situation throughout the novel in such a way that it makes him appear as though he is a monstrous serial killer, when, in reality, he is a victim of his mother’s systematic abuse. The novel’s unreliable narrators contribute to the surprise and shock when its major plot twists are revealed, causing the reader to have to rethink characters’ actions and motivations, along with what upon first reading appear to be narrative holes or discrepancies. The setting and genre of The Last House on Needless Street are also derived from the public’s obsession with serial killers. The disappearance of children around the lake in the novel is directly influenced by the real-life serial killer, Ted Bundy, abducting and killing women at Lake Sammamish in Washington in the mid-1970s.