House of Stairs

House of Stairs, written by William Sleator and published in 1974, is a young adult science fiction classic whose title is inspired by M. C. Escher’s famous lithograph print. The novel explores the social and emotional effects of authoritarianism by placing five teenage protagonists in an enclosed location filled only with endless staircases. Prompted by a strange machine, the main characters undergo a psychological experiment that tests the limits of their morality and sense of identity. In addition, the book also explores the themes of The Social Impact of Authoritarianism, Power and Control, and The Importance of Solidarity and Compassion.

This guide refers to the 1991 Scholastics Book Services edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The narrative includes depictions of bullying, physical violence, and psychological abuse. Some of the language used in the novel also reinforces body shaming and fatphobia.

Plot Summary

House of Stairs is narrated in the third person, with each chapter told from a different character’s point of view. The story opens with Peter, a 16-year-old boy who is led, tied up and blindfolded, into a strange place filled with endless stairs and landings. He is left there alone, confused and terrified.

Peter soon meets Lola, another 16-year-old who was also left in the house of stairs without explanation. While Peter is shy and fearful, Lola is more spirited and confident. Together, they realize that on top of being the same age, they are both orphans.

While exploring the endless stairways, Peter and Lola stumble upon another young girl. Also a 16-year-old orphan, Blossom is haughty and cruel. She has found a strange-looking machine that dispenses food every time she sticks her tongue at it, but it does not work for the other two. Soon, the group is joined by Abigail, a sweet, naïve girl, and Oliver, an attractive, confident boy, both of whom are also revealed to be 16-year-old orphans. Peter is struck by Oliver’s resemblance to Jasper, his former best friend and protector.

Together, the five teenagers attempt to understand their situation. They unsuccessfully try to make the food-dispensing machine work and explore the house of stairs until they find a toilet. They theorize that they are either in a prison or that there has been a mistake and someone will come get them soon. Tensions increase in the group, especially between Blossom and Lola. Blossom resents Lola’s attempts to take control of the situation, while Lola finds Blossom unpleasant and manipulative.

As the situation begins to worsen, the teenagers figure out that the machine will give them food only when they complete a specific set of motions together. They learn the necessary choreography through trial and error, but the machine soon starts demanding more and more complex actions. One day, the machine stops responding to the teenagers’ choreography until it unexpectedly provides food after Oliver pulls Abigail’s hair. After a few experiments, Lola realizes that the machine wants them to hurt one another.

Blossom, Oliver, and Abigail are willing to obey the machine’s commands, but Peter and Lola refuse. The group splits up, with the former staying near the machine and the latter taking refuge on a different landing. Lola and Peter make a pact to resist the machine, which means that they will not be rewarded with food anymore. Blossom, Oliver, and Abigail comply with the machine and begin inventing more and more devious ways to hurt one another. They eventually attack Lola and Peter, who are weakened by starvation but refuse to give in.

After a while, Lola realizes that she is on the brink of death and decides to go back to the machine in hopes of getting some food. Peter has grown to accept that supporting Lola is a more meaningful victory than trying to defeat the machine, so he goes with her. As they are about to join the others, however, the teenagers are unexpectedly rescued from the house of stairs. They find out that they have been part of a psychological experiment led by Dr. Lawrence to study the effects of conditioning. Despite being pleased with Blossom’s, Oliver’s, and Abigail’s results, Dr. Lawrence is upset that Peter and Lola defeated the experiment. As a result, the two of them are to be sent out to an island for social misfits, where they hope to live a better life. The other three are left confused and distraught about the long-lasting effects of their conditioning. At the end of the story, they leave the hospital where they were being kept and find themselves at a crossroads. When the green light turns on, just as the machine’s did, Blossom, Oliver, and Abigail immediately start dancing.