Introduction: a secret history

Foundations: California, 1916-1933

The demon in the mind: Rochester, 1933-1937

Intentions charged with power: Brooklyn, 1919-1937

S & S: Syracuse, 1937-1940

The mad bohemians: New York, New Hampshire, Syracuse, 1940-1942

Garlic in fiction: New York, 1942-1945

Sidestreet, U.S.A.: Bennington, The road through the wall, 1945-1948

A classic in some category: "The Lottery," 1948

Notes on a modern book of witchcraft: The Lottery: or, The Adventures of James Harris, 1948-1949

The Lovely House: Westport, Hangsaman, 1950-1951

Cabbages and Savages: Bennington, Life Among the Savages, 1951-1953

Dr. Write: The Bird's Nest, 1953-1954

Domestic disturbances: Raising Demons, 1954-1957

What is this world?: The Sundial, 1957-1958

The heart of the house: The Haunting of Hill House, 1958-1959

Steady against the world: We Have Always Lived in the Castle, 1960-1962

Writing is the way out: 1962-1964

Last words: Come Along with Me, 1964-1965.