> I'm not really smart enough to know what it means - probably something about modern society dissassociating people from the space, but don't know much more.

I think it has something to do with the controlled comfort of modern life. And how even a small disruption can become unsettling.

Like in HoL, the most chilling scene isn't anything that happens beyond the door imo. It's when the book falls because the house changed size ever so slightly. I think the classic haunted house trope is at play there too - home is comfort but those stories frequently involve a move, which is inherently stressful. I remember when I bought my house..every new noise or small change was disturbing. Potentially a hidden horror lurking in the house (like a water leak).