The Deserted House (German: Das öde Haus) is a short story by E. T. A. Hoffmann which first appeared in 1817 in the second part of his Nachtstücke collection.

[4] The narrator, a man called Theodor who is recounting the story to a group of friends, describes an event which took place during his stay in ***n. As he was walking down the main street, he noticed an old run-down house situated between two much larger and grander buildings.

He buys a pocket mirror from an Italian tobacconist, with which he can view the barren house from a bench facing the opposite side of the street.

Theodor tries again to break into the deserted house and encounters a mad woman, who rages at him and can only be subdued by force; the caretaker appears and whips her.

Angelika claims that Graf von S. came to her house, and they had sex; the product of their affair was the child brought to Gabriele.

The Deserted House utilises a frame story; the tale is recounted by Theodor in the context of a conversation with his friends.

[2] There are similarities between this text and Ludwig Tieck's Liebeszauber [de], and comparisons can be made between The Deserted House and Greek mythology; the myth of Narcissus, for instance, is evoked by the protagonist's falling in love by usage of a mirror.

[2] The Deserted House shares many themes with Hoffmann's much more popular tale, The Sandman, such as the focus on eyes and vision, characters falling violently in love with women who do not exist.