The Haunted Psyche: An Exploration of Trauma, Guilt, and the Supernatural in That Night

Abstract

This paper examines Nidhi Upadhyay’s That Night as a psychological study of haunting where trauma, guilt, and the supernatural are not separate themes but interconnected forces. Using a psychoanalytic lens, the study explores how the past continues to shape the lives of five women connected by a haunting past. The scary parts in the story are more about what’s going on inside the characters than about real ghosts. By analyzing the characters’ psychological responses such as dissociation and projection, the paper argues that haunting becomes a way of remembering what society forces us to forget. What seems like a haunting is really struggling with buried emotions.