House of Leaves — Glossary
Clear, spoiler-light definitions for names, entities, layout terms, and study jargon used across our guides. Use this with How to read, Layout & typography, Themes, and Characters.
How to use this glossary
Tip: When annotating, write the code for a term in the margin (e.g.,
MED for “Media, truth, and evidence”; LBR for “Labyrinth”). See study legend.
Links: Proper nouns point to deeper pages (entities, characters, themes). Layout terms jump to reading tactics.
A–Z index
A
- Ash Tree Lane
- Street where the house is located; the domestic starting point for space that does not add up. See The House (LBR, HOM).
- Appendices & exhibits
- Back-matter documents (transcripts, images, diagrams) that reframe earlier chapters. Read after the main text. See reading order (MED, UNR).
E
- Evidence (types)
- Claims are supported (or troubled) by camera footage, measurements, transcripts, and citations. Weigh what is shown versus what is said. See Media, truth, and evidence (MED).
- Ergodic literature
- Fiction that requires non-trivial effort to traverse (rotations, diagrams, footnotes). Layout is part of meaning. See layout & typography.
- Exhibit
- A document (photo, transcript, chart) embedded or cited as proof within the book’s layers (MED).
F
- Footnote chain
- Linked notes that branch to other notes. Finish a chain before returning to the main line; keep two bookmarks. See how to read (UNR, MED).
- Framing device
- Narrative layer that presents/filters another text (e.g., manuscript, documentary). Track who frames whom (UNR).
H
- The House
- Entity-like interior whose dimensions shift. Primary site of the labyrinth motif. See entity page (LBR).
- Home, intimacy, alienation
- Theme tracking domestic distance versus closeness. See theme page (HOM).
J
- Johnny Truant
- Compiler/commentator whose notes form a parallel story. See character page (UNR, HOM).
L
- Labyrinth
- Corridor networks, turns, centers that recede. Reading cue for distance and disorientation. See theme page (LBR).
- Layout / page geometry
- Arrangement of lines/columns/boxes that directs pace and orientation. See layout & typography.
M
- Media, truth, and evidence
- Theme concerned with authenticity, editing, and proof. See theme page (MED).
- Minotaur
- Mythic echo associated with a watcher/center. Functions as a reading pressure rather than a simple monster (LBR).
- Marginalia
- Reader’s notes in the margins (glosses, codes, page refs). See annotation guide.
- Metafiction
- Fiction that foregrounds its own making, edits, and commentary (UNR).
N
- Photojournalist who documents the house. See character page (LBR, HOM).
- In-universe documentary that the manuscript analyzes. See entity page (MED).
P
- Pelafina
- Author of the letters collected in The Whalestoe Letters. See character page (HOM, UNR).
R
- Rotated text
- Blocks set at 90°/180° to mirror orientation or motion. Rotate the book; follow arrows/flow (LBR).
S
- [sic]
- Signals an error is reproduced as found; often used to mark contested sources (MED, UNR).
- Sparse spread
- Pages with very few words/lines that force slow pacing or distance (LBR, HOM).
- Strikethrough
- Visible deletion indicating suppression, debate, or variant wording. Record both readings (UNR).
T
- Transcript
- Typed rendering of speech/video used as evidence. Check who produced it and when (MED, UNR).
- Thread (Ariadne’s)
- Metaphor for guidance through the labyrinth—tabs, cross-links, or a method that lets you return (LBR).
W
- The Whalestoe Letters
- Epistolary section best read after appendices. Adds history and emotional context. See guide (HOM, UNR).
Z
- Zampanò
- Blind scholar whose manuscript analyzes the documentary. See character page (MED, UNR).
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