Przestrzenie grozy w zbiorach opowiadań Teatro Grottesco i Pieśni umarłego marzyciela Thomasa Ligottiego

This article analyzes selected spaces presented in two collections of short stories by Thomas Ligotti published in Poland: Teatro Grottesco and Songs of a Dead Dreamer. Focusing on the figures of dangerous houses, ruined neighbourhoods and a city located below the northern border, the author argues that in Ligotti’s work Ligotti’s work, the most important and meaningful elements are precisely the spaces and places in which the action takes place. In his opinion, the function of space presented in Ligotti’s stories cannot be reduced solely to the aspect of creating horror. Categories such as numinosum, ‘aesthetics of decay’ and Ruinenlust, which allow space to be linked to the psychophysical condition of the characters.