a co-actor invisible to the celluloid protagonist and leaving behind no lasting impression on the film. Once the viewer steps out of the light, the film runs on, repeating itself infinitely as if the connection had never been established. Nothing follows; the surface of the footage is not even scratched. What remains is the impression in the viewer's mind, irritating enough to disrupt what was seen on the screen. Reviews of Shirley Jackson's novel repeatedly admired the way almost all the phenomenal occurrences in the haunted house also permitted a rational explanation. Our movement through the installation space thus enables us to elucidate the story being recounted. But we cannot help the protagonist, even if the many camera angles enable us to see more, and more clearly, than she does. On the level of the set, our advantage is demonstrated when the camera pans through a wall into another room: when we are shown the hidden package, whose presence in the wall Eleanore can only guess at, or at most probe with her fingertips. We also see the consequences of her passage through the house, the changes made and subsequently revoked when she leaves. The sheet of paper and the clothes

point to past occurrences beyond recall. The only thing not blotted out is the footprint.

Reference systems