Monster in the House

Considered one of the oldest and the most primal type of story, MITH contains a “monster” who is supernatural in powers (this power can be insanity, not necessarily magical) and is evil at its core; a “house” – an enclosed space containing a family unit, a town, or a world; and a “sin” – someone who is guilty of bringing the monster into the house. The sin can be an actual sin (the sin of infidelity in Fatal Attraction), hubris (Jurrasic Park), or even ignorance (Alien). MITH tales also often include “The Half Man”: a character who has encountered the monster before, or has prior knowledge of it, and has come away damaged (Quint in Jaws). MITH examples: The Ring, Saw, Psycho, The Shining, Jaws, Get Out, It, Hereditary