This narrative poem uses a series of photographs of an apartment that the reader can click on certain parts to navigate or explore with the pointer. The use of parallax scrolling, atmospheric background sounds, and the images themselves create an immersive experience for the readers, who have slightly over 2 minutes to explore these spaces perhaps with the hope of “winning.” Running out of time leads to a ghostly ending and the opportunity to “re-enter the flat,” which you’ll get three times before being redirected to Campbell’s main site, Dreaming Methods, a kind of “game over” convention from video games. This game aspect, in addition to the mystery of this flat’s history, help draw readers in to deeper, faster explorations of the spaces in this work, seeking narrative and game closure.
As a poem, closure and story completion aren’t as important as the lyric exploration of a mood, as evoked by this space and its language. The fading lines associated with each image don’t just tell the story, but help to create a character out of you as a witness and explorer of these spaces. Campbell also uses lines, spacing, and scheduling to tell its enigmatic story paratactically and creating language as richly textured as its images and sounds.
To maximize the atmosphere of this poem, place your browser on fullscreen, wear headphones (or use your computer’s speakers), dim the lights, and try to avoid interruptions. Then enter this haunted space and see if you can find a happy ending…
Featured in Dreaming Methods. ELMCIP Anthology of European Electronic Literature
