АНАТОМИЈА КУЋЕ: ИЗМЕЂУ КЛЕТВЕ, КРИВИЦЕ И ПОРОДИЧНОГ НАСЛЕЂА
ANATOMY OF A HOUSE: BETWEEN CURSE, GUILT AND FAMILY HERITAGE

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes the motif of the haunted house and its contextualization in Serbian literature, with particular focus on the short story “The Unclean House” by Mileta Jakšić and the novel The Eter­nal Ho­u­se by Mladen Milosavljević, within the broader framework of European and world horror tradition. Drawing on folkloric, mythological, and ethnological foundations, the study shows that the house is conceived as a liminal space between worlds, a bearer of family history, guilt, and inherited curse. In Jakšić’s short story, the haunting arises from a parental curse, disrupted family relationships, and the misuse of magical practices, leading to the extinction of the entire lineage and the destruction of the space by fire as an act of purification. In Milosavljević’s novel, the curse is more complex, connected to historical injustices, building taboos, the magical power of words, and family conflicts transmitted across generations. The comparative analysis demonstrates that, regardless of the presence of the supernatural, the human being remains the key source of haunting: personal choices, actions, and moral decline shape the house as a place of enduring guilt and the impossibility of redemption. Both works testify to the house as a symbol of inner darkness, family tragedy, and the collision of past, present, and future.

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