--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is a house that tries to be haunted." description: "\"“Art is a house that tries to be haunted.”\" — Emily Dickinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg" --- # Art is a house that tries to be haunted. ![“Art is a house that tries to be haunted.” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg) > ““Art is a house that tries to be haunted.”” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art seeks to evoke lingering presence, making spaces feel alive and mysterious. **In simple terms:** Art tries to make places feel haunted. Key Takeaway Create works that linger in memory. Themes art haunting creativity perception Mood moody evocative Type artistic literary When to use this quote - gallery installations - theatre set design - architectural spaces - writing - music composition Key Concepts aesthetics psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does a haunting atmosphere affect viewers? - What balance between comfort and eeriness works? A Different Perspective Not all audiences appreciate unsettling art, limiting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) ## Related quotes > [Nature is a haunted house--but Art--is a house that tries to be haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/nature-is-a-haunted-house-but-art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I love the art house, and when I say the art house, I don't just mean little, independent movies but movies that really aim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-love-the-art-house-and-when-i-say-the-art-house-i-don-t-just-mean/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [If you're in the mood for a blushing art house romance, you'll fall for it, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-onstad/if-you-re-in-the-mood-for-a-blushing-art-house-romance-you-ll-fall/) [Katrina Onstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-onstad/) > [If I can work with Shyam Benegal and Yash Chopra together, who are the kings of art house and commercial cinema and win awards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/if-i-can-work-with-shyam-benegal-and-yash-chopra-together-who-are-the/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [Let's put it this way: art house theaters are vanishing. 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I was myopic about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsters/it-would-have-to-be-connected-with-performance-art-somehow-either-in/) [James Marsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsters/) > [I was an art house guy, making little, not-much-happening films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/i-was-an-art-house-guy-making-little-not-much-happening-films/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) > [All the art that's in my house is my own, which is nice because I never have to worry about buying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-chaikin/all-the-art-that-s-in-my-house-is-my-own-which-is-nice-because-i/) [Carly Chaikin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-chaikin/) > [You don't have to be Pope Julius to have great art in your house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-resnick/you-don-t-have-to-be-pope-julius-to-have-great-art-in-your-house/) [Lynda Resnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-resnick/) > [You don't have to be a house to be haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-house-to-be-haunted/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“One need not be a chamber to be haunted, One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing Material place. Far safer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-need-not-be-a-chamber-to-be-haunted-one-need-not-be-a-house-the-2/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One need not be a chamber to be haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-need-not-be-a-chamber-to-be-haunted/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted— One need not be a House— The Brain — has Corridors — surpassing Material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-need-not-be-a-chamber-to-be-haunted-one-need-not-be-a-house-the/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I keep all my clothes on in House on Haunted Hill, Mary Jane's Last Dance, and The Way of the Gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taye-diggs/i-keep-all-my-clothes-on-in-house-on-haunted-hill-mary-jane-s-last/) [Taye Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taye-diggs/) ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. 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Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Art is a house that tries to be haunted.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Dickinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/emily-dickinson-310_art_art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted_2355584.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is a house that tries to be haunted.” — Emily Dickinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Dickinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Art is a house that tries...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/art-is-a-house-that-tries-to-be-haunted/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```