The Haunting of Hill House: A Book Review 

Robert Wise's film is a cinematic masterpiece of horror

This book had a profound effect on me. Shirley Jackson became one of my favorite writers, and 'The Haunting', as well as the wonderful 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle', are some of my favorite books. Some of her short stories have become classic - 'The Lottery' is one - and many are extremely sharp-eyed looks at women's 'role' in mid 20th cent. America. And some, I think, some are very frightening. I include this book as one of the best written 'ghost stories' of all time.

Yeah, I agree with you. I was so bored and can't believe I finished it.

Having seen the Netflix show, this is another perfect example of a book and movie being so different theyre almost not even the same story. Crazy! Thanks for your content, PJ.

Elanor has no life skills outside of being a caregiver. She owns nothing, not her home, not the car, not even a resume. She has nothing to fall back on... except the escapism that Hill House offers. The 90's movie did many things wrong, but it absolutely NAILED how badly off Elanor was at the beginning of the story. The arrival of the 'new person' to avoid spoilers, I think, was to be deliberately disruptive. She broke the illusion, brought reality back into the equation, and THAT was was send Elanor down her spiral. There is no surprise in Elanor's fate at the end of the book, just a sense of inevitability. She was always going to end up in that car looking at that tree. Her mother ruined her for any other fate.

*slight spoilers (more than in the video but not too specific) below* Thank you so much for this review! Ive been scouring the internet for reviews since reading a month ago and there are precious few. I also did the opposite of you--Hill House first, THEN Turn of the Screw, Usher, Frankenstein, Dracula, and Cthulu, and I have a thought about you saying maybe it wasnt the right time...* First, your impression of Luke is spot on. It's intentional! Casual #playboy-esque heir with not much going on. He's The Guy Inheriting The House. He has wealth and agency; hes never needed a personality, too. Eleanor and Theo seem to almost be in to each other but then go on to compete for Luke's attention. It's a comment on expectations and roles, and Eleanor herself even explicitly says shes surprised how utterly boring he is when they talk 1:1 Ditto Mrs. Montague. She throws everything off. She's ridiculous, and an example of the opposite approach to the unknown as everyone else in the house, comes across like a shitty overbearing mom, and yet she still gets (but doesnt understand) a relevant message. She stops the action, but increases the tension with how frustrating she is. She and Arthur = the strongest example of "traditional gender roles" in the book, too (ironically lol) - you know, the thing that destroyed Eleanor and that queer Theodora and unmarried Luke arent following either *"maybe I didnt read it at the right time" I know you meant in your own life/reading journey, but consider when it was written, too. When Shirley herself was born and died. Her relationship with her mother. Eleanor's pain. There dont need to be ghosts: your past is its own ghost. Your inability to overcome it haunts your future. Etc Hill House was terrifying for me as a queer woman with complicated mom feelings who struggles with depression and motivation. The scariest part about all of it is how happy she is to give in. Her madness isnt cold and isolating, its warm and comforting, right up until it's too late Happy Halloween! Please sit with this one. The more you reflect the better it gets

I agree, I enjoyed Eleanor as the narrator and the descent into madness, but it wasn't in the least bit scary. I'm also not totally clear on what to take away from it all, although I thought it was interesting to treat Eleanor as an unreliable narrator. Are the others lying or is it actually just in her head? And I believe the house is supposed to represent her searching somewhere to feel like she belongs. The way the house reels them in is the way Eleanor attempts to form bonds

The house wanted Eleanor from the start and took her in at the end, and the bullying from the insufferable Luke and Theo paired with the mental detoriation the house brought down on her freaked me out.

Great review as always. The thing about being first is that people take your formula and use it as a jumping off point to do something better. You can really see how this impacted Stephen King with things like Salem’s Lot’s Marston House, The Shining’s Overlook and the hotel room in 1602. Just because you’re first and have a huge influence, doesn’t mean you did it best. It’s like Dracula, it’s Genesis for vampire fiction but the formula’s been taken and improved on. Personally I thought The Haunting of Hill House was fine. Not terrible, not too long, didn’t get bored, atmospheric without being scary. It was fine. Went down well with a cup of tea. Looking forward to your ranking. I’ll have to do my own and compare.

Winchester

Keep up the great work!

Hill House have strong influence over Eleanor becuse she is like empty vessel, without any lack of identity. So not only house have influence on her, but men in the house as well: doctor and Theodor. The Haunting of Hill House have strong feminism theme under gothic horror genre. If you like "The Haunting of Hill House" you should also read Richard Matheson's "Hell House".

I've heard some say this book was a disappointment. You drive it home. Have you read WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE? It really is cool. You deserve this in your November reading, CODE RED!!! See my review I released today, I did a shout out to you!

I love this book. What a great way to cap off your tour of classic horror. So many people have tried to recapture what this story accomplishes so deftly. Shirley Jackson is one of the best horror authors to ever exist, because she takes what should be very simple and mundane and makes it terrifying with one sentence or on brief paragraph. If you haven't read, "We Have Always Lived in the Castle," it'll make your skin crawl. Also, I don't think you're an idiot. 🙂

Scary movie