In We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart, the main character, Mallory, visits the House of the Seven Gables, a historic landmark in the town of Salem, Massachusetts that inspired a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She does so following a conversation with a character known only as "the woman," with whom she had an affair years earlier, when she was a college student and the woman was married. Mallory mentions Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a book she has gained a newfound fondness for since her affair with the woman, due to its theme of adultery; the woman recommends that Mallory read The House of the Seven Gables, and mentions that the actual house is located in Salem, where the two of them are staying at the time.

The House of the Seven Gables, also known as the Turner-Ingersoll mansion, was constructed in 1668 for Captain John Turner I, who belonged to a prominent New England maritime family. The dwelling stayed with the Turners for three generations before being sold to ...