“This is not for you” is, if you think about it, a very odd way to start a book. Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves begins with this anti-epigraph, which functions as a sort of warning. The novel’s warning takes on a special significance given the narrative: it is suggested that if you read House of Leaves, you will become hunted by a sinister presence. At the same time, however, Danielewski’s direct address of the reader also encourages the reader to engage in a particularly