The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics)

Let's start with this: I spent October reading scary stories, and horror is one of my favourite genres; this is the only book to give me the heebie-jeebies for longer than it took me to finish the book. When it was over, I immediately texted my roommate and asked her when she'd be coming home... it was the middle of the day.

The Haunting of Hill House follows our protagonist, Elinor, as she goes to -- you guessed it -- Hill House, where she will be investigating paranormal phenomena with three other people. Jackson, as always, is a master at writing interpersonal relationships, especially when they begin to sour. And the reason that the book is terrifying is that she doesn't succumb to the temptation that so many horror writers face: the terror is never revealed. It's up to your imagination to think of just how terrible it is -- and whether it really is the house that's causing it.

Part supernatural story, part psychological horror, The Haunting of Hill House is my favourite ghost story of the year (so far, at least) -- although I do prefer Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle to this one.

Started: October 23, 2014
Finished: October 26, 2014

Rating: 10/10

This is definitely a psychological piece, as well as supernatural. For fans of the genre who are inclined towards Stephen King or Dean Koontz, this book will probably not deliver; as it is multi-layered and offers up more questions than answers. Like Hill House, there are “rooms within rooms” and so it can be puzzling to find your way around in this story and come out on the “right” end. It requires thinking through, will not spell it out for you nor make things clear. Actually, it puts me in mind of Stephen King’s “Secret Window, Secret Garden,” and “The Shining.” Madness is definitely served up in all three stories. I wanted to address a few things that other readers have mentioned. Firstly, some people feel that everything that happens at Hill House is in the mind of Eleanor, since they say that the story is told from her perspective . . . so, did this or that thing really happen or was it only in her mind that these things took place? It is in Chapter 1 that we get things from the perspective of Dr. Montague and learn why he chose to do his experiment at Hill House in the first place, which was due to what he knew of the history of the house and its occupants. Eleanor is not even introduced until Chapter 2. So, I think it is a bit of both. Hill House, like the hotel in The Shining had issues long before the characters showed up at either place.

The house has something very wrong with it; whether it is because of the previous occupants or something having to do with its very foundation and structure when it was built. And that can be a question. There are questions for the reader throughout the story and even in its ending. I think that is how the author intended it. The house is described as being built in a rather uneven, slanted way and it seems to put the group staying there on tilt, as well as the reader. There is the sense during and after reading it, of having been leaning sideways, first this way, then that way, but never quite straight. The story (the house) draws you in. Whether you like the characters or not, you are inside with them.

People have talked about the childish and strange conversations and behavior of the group, how their actions/reactions didn’t make sense given what they were dealing with, which poses more questions. Did they engage in a certain kind of banter which seemed juvenile as a way of coping with the fear that they were experiencing, escaping, making light of things? After a night of terror, did they awake feeling lighthearted, rested, and in good “spirits” one might say, because the author wasn’t making sense or was it that they were unbeknowingly already seduced by Hill House and not at all themselves? So, that they were not reacting normally. Questions. Did they lose a sense of their own reality? At what point, after encountering Hill House did this happen, did things begin to shift?

IMO, Eleanor was a conduit, but she was not the cause. The house chose her probably because she was more susceptible, being very lonely, guilt-ridden, extremely insecure; always feeling isolated and apart from others, wanting to belong and having really NOTHING to call her own.
It is so interesting to me that this 32 yr. old woman never figured out how to live and so had her first taste of Life in a place, so typically uncomfortable and unwelcoming to the Living. At the end, I have to say that I don’t recall encountering a sadder, more desperate character than Eleanor. I felt deeply sorry for her.

I picked up The Haunting of Hill House for a re-read for a number of reasons:

1. It's one of the books I shove under other people's noses, saying "You must read this!"
2. I couldn't remember when I last read it.
3. It's R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril time, and this was the perfect book to start my personal reading challenge of four books between September 1 and October 31. Ordinarily, reading four books in two months isn't much of a stretch, but one of the books I've pledged to read is an historical novel 642 pages long. In hardcover. (It's 720 pages in trade paper, 909 pages in mass market paper. Yes, I just spent several minutes on the store looking up the page count for the sole purpose of impressing the three people out there reading this review, which thus far hasn't even begun. The review, I mean. So, onward.)

This short novel opens with the single most chilling paragraph I've ever read:

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

In his introduction to this edition, Stephen King parses that paragraph to within an inch of its life. I differ with him in his interpretation that the paragraph means Hill House dreams. I think the house does not dream; therefore, it is not sane. But who am I to disagree with King?

Regardless, with that opening paragraph, Shirley Jackson immediately creates an eerie setting for her four main characters to inhabit. Dr Montague, a scholar interested in psychic phenomena (the field of his doctorate is never mentioned), has rented Hill House and invited a few select individuals to spend a summer with him, exploring its mysteries and helping him gather material for a definitive work. Only two of his invitees accept: Eleanor, the dogsbody of her family and so browbeaten she believes in her own worthlessness, while at the same time she longs to experience a life of freedom, joy, and love; and Theodora, sparkling, confident, independent of spirit and sharp of tongue. The fourth member of their party is Luke, the nephew and heir of the owner of Hill House, young, brash, perhaps a bit of a ne'er-do-well, and a last-minute addition to the group at the insistence of his aunt.

Each brings ghosts of their own to their summer at Hill House, but none more so than Eleanor. And it is to Eleanor, with her diminished spirit, fervent imagination, and yearning for a place to belong, that the house turns its focus, and all the bumps and jolts and noises and quite literally the writing on the walls are aimed at her.

Hill House is a testament to Jackson's skill with words. Each sentence contributes to the looming dread Dr Montague feels, each scene to the mounting fear the group experiences, each knock of unknown origin on the door and heavy footstep in the hall to the exhilaration Eleanor embraces, building and towering and overwhelming, until the final scene when Eleanor makes her violent and perhaps not-entirely-voluntary choice.

Whatever walks in Hill House, walks alone, indeed.

Years ago my BFF recommended reading this book. I did, and after completing it, I vowed I would never read another book of horror again. It was that scary.

I am giving it five stars because THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE did what it was supposed to do: scare the bejesus out of me. What I remember after reading it is wanting the lights on at night. My bedsheets had to cover all of my limbs. Absolutely nothing could be under the bed. And the house needed to be quiet. No groans or settling, hisses or thumps, creaks, pings or knocks. Nothing.

Maybe. Just maybe, I will read it again someday. After all, I am older and wiser. And not quite a chicken.

And that BFF? Well, we grew apart and moved away from each other. But whenever I think of her the first thing that pops into my mind is THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.

This may be pure heresy to admit, but I honestly think the Robert Wise film adaptation of Shirly Jackson's classic haunted house novel actually made several key improvements in terms of plot, specific occurences, and character. However, as a writer -- speaking purely in terms of language here -- Jackson is a master, and the quality of her prose is stunning, poetic, and haunting indeed. But I was surprised that when I finally read Jackson's novel (after having already seen the Wise film a number of times) that I wasn't more chilled by it. Because I happen to be a huge fan of Jackson's short fiction ('The Lottery' and 'The Lovely House' are both coldly glittering gems). Also, the Wise adaptation is, quite honestly, the only film which, to this day, I will simply not watch alone at night. It truly gets under my skin that much. And I won't even begin to dicuss the execrable remake, except to praise its baroquely over-the-top sets. Yet Jackson's novel, in contrast with the Wise film, was surprisingly more old fashioned in its feel, occasionally cliched (e.g. a spirit message written on the wall in dripping blood -- used even more hokily in the re-make -- rather than the much more elegantly disturbing chalk-like substance employed in the original film), and having a completely unnecessary (and annoying) character introduced in the book's final quarter. However, be those quibbles as they may, Jackson's novel still occupies one of the highest pinnacles in the sub-genre of haunted house fiction along with the other two undisputed creations which complete the ghostly triumverate: Stephen King's justifiably inescaple 'The Shining', and my personal pick for the flat-out scariest haunted house novel of them all -- Richard Matheson's unforgettable 'Hell House'. In fact, King himself shares my view on that. (A footnote: Though not a novel, please seek out King's unnervingly scary short story '1408' -- Though also adapted as a not-bad film, it still pales beside the truly unique terrors King so expertly dishes out on the printed page.)

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within... whatever walked there, walked alone.”

This slim volume by Shirley Jackson may not look as scary as many of the more contemporary horror novels, but don't let the cover or the size of the book fool you. This is a CLASSIC horror novel of the first degree. Much more subtle than some of the more popular novelists, Jackson gets into your head slowly and quietly.

The narrator (of sorts) of the book is Eleanor, a 30-ish woman who has spent her entire life caring for other people. Eleanor is not exactly an impartial narrator, but enough of her observations are corroborated by other characters that the reader trusts her reliability, and willingly lets her lead us into the story.

When you first meet Eleanor you can't help but sympathize with the poor, innocent, put-upon woman. As someone who holds the my real and imaginary worlds side by side in my own life, I loved her tendency to fantasize and weave alternate realities for herself.

Hill House itself seems much more friendly than, say, The Overlook Hotel from Stephen King's The Shining. But this, as with so much in the book, is an illusion. Hill House merely holds its secrets closer within. Hill House is particular. It doesn't want the reader, and so the reader rarely feels overtly scared, only vaguely uncomfortable. It's not until the last couple chapters of the book--which gather speed like a freight train headed for a cliff--that we realize exactly who, and what, Hill House wants.

It's only at the end of the book that you as a reader realize Hill House HAS gotten to you, and you might not be able to fall asleep peacefully after all.

Shirley Jackson wastes no time at all in grabbing our attention with The Haunting of Hill House. First, she introduces us to Eleanor who, let's face it, is a little loose upstairs to begin with. Next, the author introduces us to Hill House. Right away the reader is impressed with the very wrongness of this "masterpiece of architectural misdirection". Your very first glimpse of the house as you round the curve in the road stills your very soul, although you cannot exactly explain why. Once inside the place, if your nerve carries you that far, the feeling persists and deepens. Your eyes are drawn to the walls of each room, which somehow seem too long, or too short. Whatever it is, it just feels wrong. And then there is the layout of the house, a veritable labyrinth of rooms that lead into rooms that lead into still more rooms. And what about those doors that refuse to remain open no matter how thoroughly they are propped or blocked? Yes, Shirley Jackson knows how to get our attention, and even more so how to set our nerves humming.

Four guests come to Hill House. Their plan is to spend the summer documenting paranormal activity in a house that has a bad reputation. After only a few days in the old mansion, they get their fill: doors being knocked on in the middle of the night, muttering voices in the next room, scrawled messages on walls, first in chalk, then in what appears to be blood. There is definitely a malevolent spirit in the place, and it seems to have singled out Eleanor, actually calling her out by name. The message "Help Eleanor come home" appears on the walls on two different occasions. Is Eleanor a magnet for the paranormal, or is Hill House some sort of mirror, only reflecting the latent madness of its guests?

Eleanor is our tragic hero. Poor Eleanor who, at the age of 32, has never had a home of her own, or truly felt that she belonged somewhere. She spent several years caring for her mother and blames herself for the old lady's eventual death. Now Eleanor sleeps on a cot in her sister's house. Misfit that she is, Eleanor wants nothing more than to belong somewhere, and sees the invitation to Hill House as her big chance. "Journeys end in lovers meeting." She quotes to herself again and again. Perhaps Hill House will be the dark lover that signals the end of Eleanor's journey.

Bernadette Dunne's narration fit the audiobook very well. The variation in her voices for the characters is subtle, but appropriate. In particular, I liked her characterization of Mrs. Dudley, the housekeeper, whose answer to everything seems to be, "I clear off at six." I also thought Dunne did a fantastic job with Eleanor. Eleanor tries to put up a brave front, but her instability and desperation are always evident. You could hear every bit of that in Dunne's narration.

Shirley Jackson's methods are masterful, always keeping us guessing as to what is really going on at Hill House. Her ending is at once tragic and brilliant; I'll never forget how shocked I was the first time I read it. Listen to this audiobook, if you dare, but leave a light on, and remember that Hill House is watching.

In some ways, thinking about this book and the terrifying possibilities afterwards might be scarier than the actual reading experience. That's not a knock on the book; in fact, it's a compliment. I appreciate a ghost story that slowly creeps up on you and lingers for awhile, and gets into your mind. You may happen to walk by an old house at night and feel a slight shudder, or when you are sleeping you think you hear something, a slight noise, while all else is quiet. Maybe you think you see something out of the corner of your eye, but look and it isn't there. And there are some genuine creepy factors in Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.

Most will be familiar with the plot. Dr. Montague, conducting a study about Hill House, a New England mansion with a dark history, invites several people to help him with this research by staying at the mansion. Out of all the candidates only two show, Eleanor and Theodora. Luke, who is a relative of the owner of Hill House, also joins in with the stay. Once there, after learning of some of the history about Hill House, slowly unexplainable phenomena begins to take place.

What I particularly like is how Jackson presents the plot with ambiguity and subtleness. There is nothing worse than being hit over the head with over-the-top terror that is so "in your face" that it becomes silly . (See the 1999 film adaptation, The Haunting, as a prime example, as it has the subtlety of an oncoming locomotive).There is something to be said to leaving events and mysteries to one's imagination. It is a far scarier place sometimes. When you think about it, there are several explanations, or a combination of factors that might have contributed to what takes place in Hill House.

Seeing events happen from one character's vantage point makes for quite an eerie experience, especially in specific parts where she goes off exploring. There are points where we do not know if this in her imagination or it is really happening. There is a certain level of unreliability in the narrative, and this element helps to keep the suspense building.

If there is one fault, it is the annoying characters, who will grate on your nerves in various different ways. However, somehow Jackson is able to get around this, and make you invested in the story's outcome.

The Haunting of Hill House is a dark tale, one that has as much psychological terror as spooks or frights.

The Haunting Of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson. A true American classic ghost story. It was made into a classic movie called The Haunting (1963), starring Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom, Julie Harris, and Russ Tamblyn and directed by Robert Wise. That black-and-white movie has stood the test of time (just stay away from the awful 1999 remake that butchers Jackson's story and relies on special effects) - great cinematography, atmosphere, lighting, shadows, and plenty of chills. Shirley Jackson knew how to write a good ghost story by utilizing the concept of "what you don't see is scary."

Really, nothing more needs to be said about this classic ghost story by Shirley Jackson. If you're looking for a good read for the Halloween season and beyond, then this classic novel will give you the chilly willies.

Highly recommended.

Dr. Montague is looking for evidence to prove that hauntings do exist. He has rented Hill House for his real life study and invited several individuals to join him in the experiment. He hand selected individuals with prior paranormal experiences and invited them to help him out. Two accepted; Theodora, a free spirited woman, and Elanor Vance, a woman who is unsure of herself or where she belongs in the world. They are also joined by Luke, who will inherit Hill House in the future.

Hill House seems ominous at first site with its odd angles and turrets. However, the first night seems to go by without a hitch. No hauntings appear to have occurred and everyone seems well rested. That is short lived. Soon strange things begin occurring in the house. Noises occur in the hallways, banging on doors, and mysterious writing appears on the walls. It seems Hill House is not happy with its visitors and is out to get them.

This was a good haunting type of story, without any horror. Glad I read it (finally), but not verly impressed. While it was a decent read, I was honestly hoping it would be scarier.

Jackson does a fine job of telling a story where the reader is never quite sure where their own "unsettled" feeling about the story originates. Is it Hill House itself - a house which on the surface is a sturdy, well built house designed to withstand anything the elements throws at it, but, yet, is somehow "all wrong"? Is it the supernatural - does a ghost inhabit Hill House, where, according to Jackson, whatever walks there, walks alone? Is it in the minds of the people staying at Hill House - whatever walks at Hill House may be entirely in the minds of the people staying there?

The reader is never quite sure and as the story unfolds, the hair on the back of your neck stands a little straighter with each turn of the page. Jackson does an excellent job of getting the reader to frighten themselves using their own imagination.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle  was Shirley Jackson's masterpiece and The Haunting of Hill House comes close. In both, the action is centered on a large house, remote from the nearest village or town, and we are party to the actions and thoughts of two young women, one of them in particular. As with Merricat Blackwood in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Eleanor Vance's sister is the only close family member still living, and she has no friends, but there the similarities end; Eleanor is a very different person. Because she has in her past a poltergeic experience, she is chosen by a Dr Montague to take part in an investigative experiment. Theodora, noted for her telepathic powers, but not previously known by Eleanor, also answers Dr Montague's call. Initially at least, Eleanor and Theo get on well together, and form a close alliance. Then, right on cue, things start to go bump in the night.

The end of the tale is shocking and unforeseen, and none the less so when we realise, with hindsight, that we were prepared for it way back. Even then, the mystery of the title of the book endures; who or what is haunted, and by what? Was it the house that was haunted, or its inmates? Was it the house that did the haunting, or was it in fact haunted by those who stayed there? This is a thoroughly enjoyable read as Shirley Jackson expertly leads us through the possibilities. And, as with Shirley Jackson's other work, you are likely to find yourself turning back and re-reading key passages to check again how she set up and developed her scenes. Ultimately, you will re-read much of the book, because virtually all passages are key. Shirley Jackson doesn't do padding.

I first read "The Haunting of Hill House" as a lonely, unpretty, extremely bookish 13-year-old girl, at that time a purchase from the Scholastic Book Club for Teens. The only way I can describe the book's effect on me is to say that it was enormously jolting, and that I have used it as the standard by which I judge the entire horror genre ever since. Needless to say, many, many other works fall far short. I reread "The Haunting" about every other summer, just to recall to myself how that first reading shocked and scared me, but moreover, to climb back inside Eleanor's head for a few hours and truly frighten myself with her enormous loneliness, her mind-bending self-alienation, and her disastrous sense that if she DID belong anywhere in her poor life, if she had any place to call home, or to call her own, it was among the diseased, deceased inhabitants of Hill House.

It wasn't until I read, recently, in the Shirley Jackson biography "Private Demons", her youngest son Barry's comments on "The Haunting of Hill House" that I think I really understood the essence of the book, even after what seems like a hundred readings of it. He says, imagine you see a ghost walk across a room. Now, did you see a ghost, or did you hallucinate the experience? It's totally subjective either way - and to his mother, he says, it made absolutely no difference whatsoever. Seeing a ghost, or imagining seeing a ghost, were equally REAL to Shirley Jackson. When you think about this, you see that to Eleanor, the events which happened to her inside (and outside on the grounds of) Hill House were as REAL to her as they would be to any of us experiencing the same things. Were the hauntings real, then? I say yes, based on Shirley's definition. Did Eleanor herself act as some kind of amplifier of the events, or even engender some of them herself? Well - personally, I think she did. "Maybe you did it yourself", huffs Theodora, after the cozy group finds chalk and then blood writings on the walls, and Eleanor begs one of the others to own up to the "joke". I think Shirley Jackson is saying, "Exactly".

The plot has been covered endlessly in these reviews, so I won't dwell on it. Either, as a reader, you can understand that what you are seeing in Hill House is skewed by the tortured/prejudiced view of Eleanor's stinted mind, and that all events are part of HER reality, since you are basically inside her mind for the whole book--or you aren't interested in her twisted reality, and if not, this book WILL bore you. I think if you were ever, even for a day, an outsider in any way - the last one chosen on a sports team, the child who has most "disappointed" your parents, the "ugly" one, the "dumb" one, the one who hears an inner dialog no one else can hear or understand...you cannot help but identify with Eleanor. You cannot help but be both enchanted by the essences that rule Hill House, and seem to speak directly to YOU, and be shockingly, horrifyingly repelled at the same time.

Exactly how MUCH horror, Shirley Jackson seems to be asking us, comes from inside ourselves? How much of it can we project upon the rest of the world? How about if a little REAL evil helps us along with the task of projecting? Hmmmm....

I will always feel that this book is well worth the reading, and the rereading. There are no big chunks of bloody, gory horror going on, and if that's your bag, there are about a billion "horror" novels you can grab to satisfy that particular fearlust. But if you want your skin to crawl, from ankle to scalp, in a nasty, cold, SMALL way that'll cause you to wake up in the night with palpitations at its memory, here's the read for you. Don't miss this exquisite book.

We were recently discussing this novel in the top reviewers forum. The thread is, "Read a good book lately?" I have had hard copies of this novel since high school when it became my favorite horror novel. If you were raised on modern blood and gore movies and stories, you may no longer have the patience to enjoy Shirley Jackson's writing. If you require a thrill-a-minute, non-stop action story to be entertained, you should probably look elsewhere. However, if the building of tension, the fear of the unknown and your own imagination can frighten you, then you should probably try this classic horror novel.

Psychological horror, that’s what this book is, and is a masterpiece in the terror series.
Eleonora a woman who is already in a fragile psychological state (taking care of her dying mom for years, and then subject to being an add-on to her sister) goes to a possibly haunted house, with a psychic researcher, a young woman, and the heir boy to the family who owns the house.
We see through Eleanor eyes how they experience some of the haunting manifestation, but that is silly compared to the changes in mind that Eleanor goes through.
Her desire to be friends with Theo, as a wish of her wanting to be free of her life back “home”, the sexual-non-sexual tension she not have yet despise with Luke. It is in seeing Eleanor mind going haywire that one gets to be afraid. Afraid because to her those days, even with the scary parts, with the pain she feels when she feels rejected by Theo, those days are for her the hope of happier days.
And the ending, it is really scary once you think the many whys.

Perhaps the best ghost story, or at least haunted house story, I've ever read. The first half of the book was interesting, but built a little slowly for my taste. But about the middle of the book, things changed. It was not a drastic change, not one that occurred in a matter of a few words, but more or a mental/emotional change that comes over the reader, or at least it did in my case. This novel is spooky. I don't mean to imply it's scary, as most modern horror fiction attempts to be, but spooky. There is no overt terror to be found here. There is no bogeyman who jumps out at you. The horror here, the fear, is much, much more subtle. The reader can never tell what is real and what is not, and there's no full revelation, nothing to plant before the reader as an explanation. There are hints. There are suggestions. But nothing is truly unveiled. From my studies, it seems obvious Jackson meant this as a fairly straight-forward haunted house tale, but one of the delights with this novel is that it can be read on so many more levels. Is the house really haunted? If so, who is the ghost? Or is there more than one ghost? If the house is not haunted, then what causes the strangest of the events? Are one or more of the guests in the house actually telekinetic or telepathic without realizing it? Or is one or more of the guests simply going insane? Or were they insane all along?

Fear of loneliness. Fear of the supernatural. The angst in Haunting of Hill House lies at the nexus of psychological horror and supernatural terror. It's this juxtaposition of two forces that elevate this novel to such lofty heights. Eleanor has a simple, yet universal, desire to be cherished. Her life of servitude has deprived her of the basic need of affectionate human contact. She thus attaches great importance to the opportunity to visit Hill House, which she views as her chance to fill the gaping void in her life.

The bohemian Theodora views flirting with Eleanor as a lark, underestimating the depth of Eleanor's infatuation. This sets in motion the events that propel the story forward. Jackson skillfully weaves Eleanor's psychological imbalance with supernatural events. Most, but not all, of the events are witnessed by others...not just Eleanor. This seemingly eliminates the possibility of the events are simply in Eleanor's head. But this is where things get interesting. Eleanor was recruited for the visit to Hill House due to her experiences and/or abilities as a poltergeist.

"'Fear,' the doctor said, 'is the relinquishment of logic, the _willing_ relinquishing of reasonable patterns. We yield to it or we fight it, but we cannot meet it halfway.'"

Gradually, Eleanor attaches her fate to the house, seeing it as the source of her salvation and a union with the house becomes inevitable. Is this union compelled by psychological forces within Eleanor or supernatural forces in the house? Jackson artfully balances these two motives, leaving the reader in doubt to the very end.

I really wanted to like this story. I enjoy a good ghost story that is more on the psychologically spooky side (as opposed to the slasher, gory side), and thought this would fit the bill nicely. But the handling of the characters consistently got in the way of the atmosphere. The problems:

• None of the subjects participating in this expedition to the haunted house seemed to be serious about actually trying to discover its secrets. They moved in, experienced the strange phenomena, but afterwards never even discussed among themselves what had happened or even seemed terribly surprised or concerned. We were told they wrote copious notes, but they never seemed to go anywhere.

• The too-clever, ironic conversations felt contrived and out of place. Perhaps the wry humor was meant to be a sort of whistling-in-the-dark, but it didn't work for me.

• The crazy bangings and door slammings, voices and wall writings are all sensory events that are difficult to convey in writing with the impact they deserve. Perhaps the impact would have been heightened if the characters themselves had seemed to be more viscerally affected. But they all just got over it a few minutes later, looked for the brandy and made more jokes. I have seen the 1963 film version, and found it satisfyingly spooky, largely because the actors were able to convince me that they were scared themselves.

• I found Dr. Montague’s wife to be one of the single most irritating characters I have ever read. Worse, her nearly comical militant spiritualist crusade further weakened Dr. Montague’s already weak character, undermining any pretense of scientific authority he held.

I wish I could recommend this classic, but for me it did not live up to its billing.

So, my criteria for Horror books is the same as it is for Horror movies. For me to actually be scared, the book or movie has to be generally scary. It has to be about the chills, not just the thrills. Which means it just can't be a whole lot of gore, because goriness is not scary. The plot has to be a bit understated. And lastly, the mood has to be set. The Haunting of Hill House follows this criteria and does it magnificently.

You have these four characters who are staying at Hill House, and you start to genuinely care about them. So much, that you don't want anything bad to happen to them. But this is a haunted house story, so some trauma to the characters is kind of expected.

The thing I most loved about this book is that the mood is set from early on. Things don't start going bump in the night as soon as they get to the house. They start slowly unweaving and you start getting this sense of dread everytime the dark approaches. I thought this book wouldn't be that scary. I don't why I thought that, but I just did. So, I started reading it at 12 in the morning. I then put it down an hour later because I started getting too creeped out. Plus, I live in a pretty old house and people say that things have gone bump in the night here. I've never had any experiences, but who knows?

This is just a wonderful book. The writing is excellent and the characters aren't one dimensional. Sure, there isn't any gore, no gratuitous sex, and other things that have become the norm for horror books/movies. But it has what any good horror books should have and that is a level of creepiness. I think this is one I'd re-read again, but maybe closer to Halloween.

Eleanor Vance was a thirty two when she received an invitation from Dr. Montague to join him and others at Hill House to observe its alleged paranormal activities. She was chosen for her notable abilities in experiencing such events. The invitation was a godsend, Eleanor thought. After caring for her invalid mother for years and hating every minute of it, she was now living with her sister, brother-in-law and niece, whom she equally despises. She had no friends, no lovers, no plans and none but one dream--that one day something will come along to free her from her life. She believed that Hill House was that something. Without a second thought, Eleanor left all behind and accepted the invitation. She went to Hill House with a strong conviction that it would free her, and with that the chilling events of this haunting novel start to slowly unravel.

The writer, Shirley Jackson, created a lyrically terrifying story in which the feared is unseen but starkly perceived (i.e. cold spots, banging on doors, writings on walls, blood on cloths, ...etc.) The imagery in the book is so exceptional that it can turn something so innocuous as a picnic into an ominous event all without once describing it that way. Most of the events are told from a character's perspective and what he or she believes they're experiencing. It's almost impossible to know whether the spine-chilling event you just gasped at with terror is actual or imaginary, which adds another layer of uncertainty to the reader's perception of what really is going on. The genius of Jackson's writing is evident from the very first paragraph:

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and some of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

The mood is set from the get-go and we--the readers--are instructed to look at Hill House as a living being and not just an inanimate object.

In addition to diffident Eleanor, Dr. Montague invites two more people to join them for an extended summer stay at Hill House: Theodora and Luke. Theodora is recklessly carefree and provides much needed comic relief throughout the story, and Luke is a liar, a thief and the sole heir to the house. The four have to contend with the house--the living house--and with each other. The result is a gripping story that will keep haunting you for a while.

The book carries within its text many rich subtexts. I won't go into them here and will leave that up to you--the reader--to figure out when you read it. You might come to realize that what makes this book a classic isn't just the simplicity of the story or that it blazed the trail for the horror genre or anything like that. I truly believe that it's Jackson's writing that made this book a classic. Her writing in and of itself is haunted.

"Journeys End in Lovers Meeting" indeed.

The writing was fantastic. The main character, Elenore, was beautifully written and her inner dialogue was brilliant. However, it wasn't as thrilling as I expected it to be. While part of that is my own fault because I had certain expectations when I started, it was just a little too slow for a horror story; if it weren't for the amazing prose, I might not have finished it. Definitely worth reading once, but I wouldn't read it again.

Four disparate individuals come to Hill House to determine whether the ugly, abandoned mansion is haunted; the house's malevolence is evidenced by its troubled past, but turns out to be more subtle and insidious than any of them can imagine. The Haunting of Hill House is one of the most terrifying books I've read, often in the most unexpected ways: It's an unusual haunting, depending on few clichés and even set in summer. Equal focus rests on the socially absurd and the emotionally resonant, the minutiae of daily life and the strange and dreamlike episodes of the supernatural. Eleanor is a uniquely Jackson protagonist, relatable but distinctly drawn; her social awkwardness and intense sensitivity make her an ideal target for Hill House. Despite a romantic, lingering, rambling pace, it's brief and wastes no page. In sum, a poetic, ethereal, and vicious book without contradiction: Hill House haunts, but the way it warps and twists its residents is far more frightening. While not my personal favorite Jackson novel (that's We Have Always Lived in the Castle), The Haunting of Hill House is superb and I recommend it without reservation.

I originally watched the movie "The Haunting" 1963 on DVD some years ago and was terrified! By far the scariest ghost movie ever filmed. I was informed by a few friends that it was based on a book by none other than Shirley "The Lottery" Jackson. I admit I felt silly not knowing this. I downloaded the book via my library in hopes I'd finish it in the two weeks allotted to me; I am a very slow reader by nature. I zipped through this book on three days and that's with strictly reading for a few hours here and there. Jackson masterfully brought each character to life giving us their wants and desires (or lack thereof). Getting into Eleanor's head and reading her thoughts and ideas only bolstered the anticipation of the pending downward spiral she takes. I especially enjoyed the introduction by Laura Miller. Don 't skip over it. It's worth the read. It's because of that intro I downloaded James Joyce "Turn of the Screw".

Forget the unfortunate 1999 remake of "The Haunting." I've been trying to, ever since I made the mistake of watching it. That movie has almost nothing to do with this book, except for the character names and the monologue of creepy old Mrs. Dudley near the beginning ("we couldn't even hear you, in the night .. in the dark ..") The old 1963 black&white movie adaptation was much better, but even it doesn't do justice to the book.

Don't be misled: this is not a "horror" novel. Those of you who were weaned on Stephen King and Clive Barker (and maybe even loved the 1999 movie version) are going to be disappointed because this novel lacks all the blood & guts, quick action and shocking thrills that you are accustomed to. This is not a pulp novel, this is an actual piece of fine Literature that happens to have a haunted house as its setting. The story is about the characters. Hill House is the setting, but also functions as a character which contributes to the plot in its own way. The ghostly phenomena are generally subtle, not flashy or overt, and have an air of authenticity to them (Ms. Jackson seems to have drawn heavily from the recorded details of the TRUE haunting of Borley Rectory, which Dr. Montague actually mentions at one point.) There's very little backstory about Hugh Crain (the eccentric millionaire who built Hill House) and the reason why the house is haunted. Of course the 1999 movie makes all this backstory painfully obvious by injecting a story arc that is both insulting to Shirley Jackson's original creation and to the audience (for assuming we're not grown-up enough to handle a few unanswered questions...) Hill House leaves you wondering, still hanging there with so many questions that continue to haunt you after you've read it. I have an old Penguin edition from 1987 and I've read it several times over the years - each time just as spooky as the last.

I highly recommend this book, if your attention span hasn't been decimated by modern media; if you want to read something scary that isn't vulgar or condescending.

The Haunting Of Hill House By Shirley Jackson

4 Stars

The Haunting Of Hill House is a classic horror story. The story begins with Dr. Montague who is a scholar of the occult wanting to have final evidence of a true haunting. He gathers information looking for the perfect people to help him. He rents Hill House for the summer. A house with a tragic past that the town it sits in won't even discuss. The house sits all alone and began it's life tragically when 80 years prior Hugh Crain built the house for his wife who died moments before even reaching it. The tragedies continue from there and no one that has lived there has for very long. Dr.Montague invites his assistant Theodora, Luke the future heir of the house and Eleanor a complicated young women who has had experience with the occult to stay with him. The story moves quickly and many things happen to it's guests. The house is powerful and it's goal is to keep it's inhabitants off kilter at all times. It builds power and takes what it wants for it's own.

This was a genuinely creepy story. It's one that you really should read sitting in the dark of night. The subtlety of the horror is what I loved most. Horror novels usually do not phase me but this one did. If it touches me and gives me pause then it is definitely good. The characters all had their flaws that were exposed while there. The doctor does not know what he has really done until it's too late. I am glad that I finally picked this up and it will be with me for a long while.

Jackson does a fine job of telling a story where the reader is never quite sure where their own "unsettled" feeling about the story originates. Is it Hill House itself - a house which on the surface is a sturdy, well built house designed to withstand anything the elements throws at it, but, yet, is somehow "all wrong"? Is it the supernatural - does a ghost inhabit Hill House, where, according to Jackson, whatever walks there, walks alone? Is it in the minds of the people staying at Hill House - whatever walks at Hill House may be entirely in the minds of the people staying there?

The reader is never quite sure and as the story unfolds, the hair on the back of your neck stands a little straighter with each turn of the page. Jackson does an excellent job of getting the reader to frighten themselves using their own imagination.

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

That is the chilling opening paragraph to this classic novel by master wordsmith Shirley Jackson. How could that not compel you to read the rest? It sets the mood for what became the premier haunted house story, the novel that inspired a whole new sub-genre of horror. Novels such as Richard Matheson's HELL HOUSE to movies such as Tobe Hooper's POLTERGEIST all pay homage to this masterpiece.

It is not nearly as daring a novel as what you might imagine. It does not explicitly describe gore or violence. In fact the novel is really more of a character portrait for Eleanor ("Nell"), a socially backward woman who had spent her life taking care of her sick mother until she died, and who then found herself in the care of her despising sister. Because of an event in her past in which stones rained on her house for days, perceived by others to be a poltergeist incident, a parapsychologist invited her to spend the night with other subjects in a large old house. As gothic and uninviting as Hill House turned out to be, she felt herself enjoying the notion that she had friends and a place to go that wasn't her mean sister's house. The reader is taken into her head, into her unbalanced psychological state, for the entirety of her stay in the house, because it was her actions in the end that needed to be explained. She killed herself in order to stay with the house. In order to haunt it.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE was adapted into a motion picture twice. The first time was a most successful and faithful adaptation by director Robert Wise, resulting in a black and white horror classic THE HAUNTING in 1963, starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn. Using monologue voice over to substitute Nell's thoughts, the movie wisely captured the spirit of the novel. (Forgive the pun.) They made a few changes in order to move the plot forward, as the novel tends to linger for long periods of time in what appears to be meaningless dialog and chit-chat between the four who stayed in the house. Most of the time it was nervous chatter, small jokes to lighten their anxiety. The house, in turn, did haunt them.

So many others have reviewed the book, using most words and adjectives available. Suffice to say that the book, then the movie "The Haunting" - which was unusually faithful to Shirley Jackson's story - gave me nightmares from the age of 9 to the age of 18. Serious, wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-with-a-feeling-of-dread-and-unseen-horror nightmares.

Probably the best review one can offer is that of famed horror writer Stephen King. It is the greatest and scariest of haunted house stories ever written, according to him, and was the inspiration for his own homages to her tale: 'Salem's Lot, then later Rose Red. That should provide all the incentive one would need to read this book.

The Haunting of Hill House, published in 1959, is considered a classic in the horror genre- and for good reason. Jackson delivers a simple and satisfying tome grounded in reality with just a hint of supernatural. She does an amazing job of building suspense and creating a sense of unease in the pit of the reader’s stomach the entire novel. There are a few jump-out-of-your-skin moments, but the real scares are the ones that hit deep into the emotional psyche and leaves us questioning what is real and what is in our narrator’s mind? The novel is an interesting mix of fun, summer camp vibes and deeply frightening moments. The fact that a lot of the scares are left to the reader’s imagination makes this book a truly interactive experience. The Haunting of Hill House has been adapted into many films, but its best version is in Jackson’s writing. I highly suggest reading this by the pool or at the beach, because otherwise you might not be able to sleep!

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In "The Haunting of Hill House", Shirley Jackson takes the familiar elements of the ghost story and turns them upside down. The reader, perhaps expecting spirits rattling chains or the ghosts of nuns buried alive, is instead confronted with the subtle and psychological terror Jackson is so well-known for. Hill House is certainly no Overlook Hotel (from "The Shining"), however the lack of ghouls or encounters with the supernatural does not diminish this novel's haunting creepiness.

What is really scary about this book is not so much the house itself, but the obsessive love/hate relationship which develops between Eleanor, Theodora and Luke. Eleanor is a woman in her early thirties, suffering from crippling shyness after a decade of caring for her now dead mother. Theodora, it seems, is her mirror opposite: she's talkative, extroverted, out-going. Soon, she draws Eleanor out of her shell, giving her the companionship she was been aching for after years of isolation. As Luke, Hill House's future owner, comes between the two women, Theodora can no longer give Eleanor the attention she needs, with disastrous results. The unvoiced emotions which at first bind these characters together and then drive them apart are really what create tension and suspense in this novel. In the end, fears of abandonment and rejection become more powerful than any ghosts which may be haunting Hill House.

As some other reviewers have mentioned, we see in this novel themes and character types which would re-emerge in Jackson's later works, notably "We Have Always Lived in the Castle". In both, you have an unhealthy family dynamic (Theodora and Eleanor jokingly call themselves cousins), a seemingly ideal community removed from society at large, free-floating guilt, deeply troubled emotions which lead to deadly behavior, and (as mentioned above) profound anxiety related to abandonment. In Shirley Jackson's world, love and affection can quickly become destructive and obsessive as her characters often find less than healthy ways to express their feelings.

In short, this is not your average haunted house story, so don't expect to jump out of your seat at any point while reading this novel. If you're expecting thrills or showdowns with the dead, you may feel disappointed. However, this is still a very disturbing and creepy work sure to get under your skin.

The Haunting of Hill House is a quintessential haunted house story in the style of the classic gothic ghost stories. Written almost 50 years ago it has set the bar for all literary modern day ghost stories and still holds up under the passing years very well.

A doctor of psychic research invites three (3) strangers who have documented psychic predispositions to spend a summer together in a haunted house to record their experiences. The house is more than willing to provide this documentation by exploiting each person's vulnerability and fallibility.

All of Jackson's characters (in Hill House and other stories) are deeply flawed, and none are more flawed or susceptible to the calling of Hill House than Eleanor Vance. An old woman only in her thirties, Eleanor's demons come from a lost youth of caring for her sick mother and her lack of identity. She has no place in the world, no opportunity and nobody to care for her. It are these vulnerabilities that Hill House exploits. Eleanor's decent into madness and her acceptance of the house is more horrifying because she is such a sympathetic and sad character. She needs to feel love so badly that she mistakes the attention of the House for affection. "Journeys end in lovers meeting".

Shirley Jackson creates a tale that is both alive and subdued, and the reader is often left questioning whether the manifestations are real or just the imagination of the characters. The atmosphere is spooky and there are some psychologically frightening moments, even though you never really get introduced to specific physical horror. As with most Shirley Jackson stories, the truth isn't what you see, but what lies lurking just below the surface.

Good stuff and a must read for any horror fan

The Haunting of Hill House has that old black & white (movie) feel to it. It's a classic haunted house tale. Scary? No, but enjoyable just the same.

There is a lot of character building within the first 100 pages of this 246 page novel. Dr. Montague, a paranormal expert, leases Hill House to prove the existence of a haunting. He enlists the help Theodora, Elenore, and Luke on his mission.

Theodora is an artist, outgoing, and maybe even a bit shallow. Luke is the heir to Hill House, and doesn't really take things too seriously. Elenore is an outcast and really has no life since her sick mother died. She really didn't have a life before then either because her life was devoted to taking care of her mother. She doesn't even really have a home to go back to.

After about a week in Hill House, Dr. Montague's wife shows up. This woman drove me crazy. She's annoying, demanding, and I wanted the house to eat her!

All of these different personalities work well together in this novel.

If you are looking for a good, classic haunted house novel, pick up this book. Be forewarned, this novel is very different from the movie.

Isolated, brooding Hill House is reputed to be haunted. One summer, four people gather there to investigate. Dr. Montague wants to prove the existence of hauntings scientifically. Lovely Theodora needs a place to stay for the summer. Luke, the dashing young heir to the house, is supposed to keep an eye on the estate for his aunt. And Eleanor has been waiting all her life for something to happen - something like Hill House.

I'm a big fan of horror novels and ghost stories, and have read more of them than I can count. The Haunting of Hill House is probably my favorite. It's not the flashiest or the scariest (though it certainly has its chilling moments). But somehow, it sticks in my mind, and draws me back again and again. I first read it when I was in elementary school. (It was in the children's section of the public library.) I liked it then, though I didn't love it. As I grew up, I got to appreciate it more and more, and now, thirty years later, I find that I re-read it regularly. Somehow, I always seem to find something new in it.

Is it scary? Yes, but in a quiet way. The horror elements in this book are rather subdued by modern standards. But that makes them even more effective, because they seem more possible. The end of chapter 5 scared me a lot more than any number of Steven Spielberg's skeletons shooting out of the ground at warp 10.

Another reason I enjoy this book is that I've moved to the northeast since I first read it. I don't know if Jackson had an actual town in mind when she wrote this novel, but there are a lot of them like the one she describes. She may have written this 45 years ago, but some things haven't changed much.

Another interesting element in this book: there's a gay character. It's very subtly done, but unmistakable. Okay, it would hardly raise an eyebrow now, but by 1959 standards, it's pretty daring. Beautiful, feminine Theodora is not a stereotypical lesbian, either. She's flawed, as are all the characters, but not a bad person. And she isn't "converted" to heterosexuality at the end of the book.

As for the ending...well, Dean Koontz fans will probably be disappointed, but I thought it was perfect. It's not a very happy ending. And you're left wondering if the house is really haunted, or if it was all in Eleanor's mind. But somehow, it's the right ending for this book.

It's disappointing to see comparisons being made in these reviews to Ms Jackson's excellent novel and the movie adaptations. Robert Wise's 1963 movie came close to capturing the essence of the book, but the 1999 movie was a travesty and doesn't deserve any further mention here - or anywhere else.
This book has "haunted" me for almost 50 years. Hill House itself, that great brooding malevolent presence, is one of the most horrifying characters in literature. The mysteries in this story are part of what makes it as powerful today as it was the day it was published. Shirley Jackson was a brilliant writer who respected the intelligence of her readers. There are no pat answers; there is no tidy conclusion. Is Hill House really haunted, or are its manifestations all just projections of Eleanor's fragile, disintegrating personality? Who (or what) was holding Eleanor's hand? What was pounding on the walls? Who was steering Eleanor's car in the final sequence? Shirley Jackson was too good a writer to spell it all out, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

One more thing - Stephen King has praised this book in particular and Shirley Jackson's writing in general. That's well-deserved praise, but we should resist the tempation to lump the two authors together as writers of horror fiction. They are in totally different leagues.

The book traces the haunting developments of Hill House from Eleanor Vance's skewed perspective and it does it well. It’s almost as if Eleanor herself is the ghost. From the beginning, Eleanor, trapped in arrested development on account of her being forced to care for her invalid mother for many years, yearns for a life of her own. Ghosts to that, don’t they? Little by little, the house takes her over. She insists that she belongs at Hill House. And maybe she does? Haunted houses need their ghosts.

The Haunting of Hill House excels at establishing a mood and setting necessary to bring this haunting tale to life. It accomplishes this with poetic descriptions, tone and character development

An absolutely classic haunted house story that is also an interesting psychological study.

Four disparate people are gathered together to study Hill House. They are Dr. Montague, a researcher; Theodora, a telepath - the pretty girl; Luke - the heir to Hill House; & Eleanora - a sheltered person who has spent most of her life caring for her dying mother. They will live in the house, sleep in the house, take meals in the house, & write about everything they experience there. The house is, of course, the fifth main character. Added into the mix are the house's single-minded caretakers, the Dudleys, Dr. Montague's wife & her sidekick, Arthur, & planchette - the spirit voice Mrs. Montague & Arthur commune with at length.

Much of the terror in the book is hidden, unexplained, minimally described. It is the movement out of the corner of your eye when no one should be near, the rapping on the walls, the slamming of doors, the sense someone might be waiting out there in the night. This is not an ornate, gothic horror - this is spare, minimalist. Events are suggested & implied allowing your imagination to fill in the blanks.

Jackson leaves most questions left unanswered & in its final scene you're left to wonder if anything happened at all.

I initially became interested in this book when I saw it listed among the scariest books in publication. My only prior encounter with Shirley Jackson was her bizarre short story, "The Lottery". Being familiar with Jackson and her style of prose, I was excited by this tale of terror. Regrettably, "scary" might be the last word that I would use to describe this book.

A team of seekers enter Hill House with the intention of tracking or documenting the supernatural activity. Led by Dr. Montague the team encounters "the creature", lots of rattling doors and windows, and event some smeared blood. But the book is not really about the acts of terror or the house, it is unraveling story of the narrator Elanor. She has waited her whole life for something to happen, and the whole story leads to what that is. The house has taken a collection of victims, which the readers knows is destined to continue. The collision course of the house's toll and Elanor's "happening" create a nice build of tension. However, I would classify this more as a work of suspense than horror.

Shirley Jackson is a tremendously gifted writer particularly in her exact usage of words. The only contemporary peers I might suggest she has is Truman Capote. Yet in reading this book, I always felt I was missing something. Even when the "something" happened, I still almost felt a need to wait around for something more to happen.

Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" is a classic tale, brilliantly told. The movie adaptations of the book have brought it some familiarity of the story, particularly the 1963 film directed by Robert Wise. In comparing the book to the film it was based on many times the book is said to be "better" than the movie. In the case of the 1963 "The Haunting" the book and film are so close that one complements the other. When reading the book the sounds the ghostly sounds of the film were much in my mind; they were perfectly translated from book to film.

The four seekers of the supernatural are Eleanor, a lonely and frustrated young woman; Theodora, a lovely and lighthearted woman who is not afraid to speak her mind; Luke, the future heir of Hill House and the possible love interest of Eleanor and Theodora and Dr. Montague, an occult scholar and a pragmatic man.

My wife was surprised to learn that the actual haunting in the book do not begin until page 127 of a 256 page book, seemingly a long time to wait for the ghostly disturbances. But Shirley Jackson builds the tension gradually developing the oppressive nature of the house and its effect on the four researchers. We feel the oppressive atmosphere of the house along with them so when the ghostly encounters arrive the impact is all the more effective.

Into the camaraderie and the unity of the four researchers comes Mrs. Montague and her fellow researcher in the paranormal Arthur. They are as close minded as the four are open minded and Mrs. Montague wastes no time in exerting her authority and making her one-sided opinions known. Where Dr. Montague and company are explorers the doctor's wife believes she has the sure-fire method of understanding Hill House and her husband has no clear idea of what he is doing. Mrs. Montague is a maddening figure. We want to snap her out of her authoritarian attitude into one more humble before the powers of the house, which she does not even consider worthy of deep investigation. Where Hill House so profoundly affects Dr. Montague and his assistants, his wife cannot comprehend the power of the house and is dismissive of the evidence offered by those she considers to be uninitiated into using the plancette.

The book is superbly written with unforgettable creepy episodes that one recalls and compares to other ghost novels or stories. Shirley Jackson weaves her words with maximum effect, precise and descriptive without cheap effect. A brief example from the part when a door is being pushed to bursting, "The shaking stopped, the door was quiet, and a little caressing touch began on the doorknob, feeling intimately and softly and then, because the door was locked, patting and fondling the doorframe, as though wheedling to be let in."

"The Haunting of Hill House" is a book that I enjoy reading fairly often and am never bored by the repitition. Highly recommended.

The Haunting of Hill House is well known as one of the most famous and influential of haunted house tales, later filmed as The Haunting by Robert Wise in 1963.

To begin, I feel I should reproduce here the book's opening paragraph, often quoted (by, among others, Stephen King) as being one of the finest descriptive passages in the English language:

'No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.'

The reader is at once drawn into the world inhabited by Eleanor Vance, an insecure, vaguely mysterious woman whose life has lost most of its meaning and direction. She becomes part of Dr Montague's investigation into paranormal occurrences at a country house, along with Theodora, a rather more flamboyant character, and Luke Sanderson, the wastrel nephew of the house's owner. The book deals as much with the relationships they form (particularly between the women; full of hidden significance and repressed violence), as it does with supernatural happenings. Eleanor finds herself strangely drawn to the house, with a mystifying sense of belonging. Has she in some way returned home? The haunting could be more to do with Eleanor than with the house; and the mystery surrounding her past only adds to this impression.

Jackson's writing style is delightfully sparse, being at once matter-of-fact yet brilliantly evocative, managing to convey so much with so few words. Everyday occurrences are lent heavy significance, and the reader is constantly on edge, wondering when the evil might creep out from the shadows of the seemingly mundane. As a result, when the house strikes, its effect is doubly powerful.

There were several scenes in the book which were genuinely scary. The one which stays with me the most occurred when Eleanor and Theodora were sharing a bedroom, and they held hands in the darkness for reassurance during a disturbance. 'Now, Eleanor thought, perceiving that she was lying sideways on the bed in the black darkness, holding with both hands to Theodora's hand, holding so tight she could feel the fine bones of Theodora's fingers.'

But when the light comes on, Eleanor realises that Theodora had been asleep, and it could not have been Theodora's hand she held; and the reader suddenly wonders just what the 'fine bones' she felt could have been. '"Good God", Eleanor said, flinging herself out of bed and across the room to stand shuddering in a corner, "Good God - whose hand was I holding?"'

Apparently Jackson researched thoroughly before she wrote The Haunting of Hill House, reading all the ghost stories she could, visiting supposedly haunted houses, and the result is something of a study of the horror genre. It must be one of the finest ghost stories ever written.

Listed in "Horror: 100 Best Books"
Listed in Cawthorn and Moorcock's "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books".
Shirley Jackson's novel is not a story of out-and-out supernatural happenings or gory tableaus. It's more of a melancholy tale, a picture of a person lost to despair and gloominess. Eleanor, the timid outsider who has her first taste of belonging at Hill House, plays both heroine and victim in this story. It is told from her viewpoint, allowing us to empathize with her. After living for years confined with her mother, she tries to prove herself and the world she isn't a pitiful thing. And yet, she is so sensitive and self-concious that she stops herself from breaking free from her fears.
Though "The Haunting of Hill House" offers some eerie moments, it isn't horrific (giving you a gut-level scare). It's tone is closer to a fairy tale, specially in the first chapter, where Eleanor is making her way from the city to Hill House. She drives through the forest and finds beautiful spots where she daydreams of living in enchanted cottages or by magical trees. This tone is sustained in the playful dialogue: in one of the following chapters, the main characters do a little of role-playing, calling themselves a pilgrim, a courtesan, a princess and a bullfighter.
My one quip is that the ending does feel a little rushed, but that's just the effect the author wanted to give it. Just as some things seems to rush over and surprise the characters during their stay at Hill House, the ending hurdles towards the readers and brings them a halt. It works not towards a feeling of fear, but of sadness.
Ms. Jackson lays the pathos heavily, so this probably isn't a tale for the horror aficionado who's searching for guts and scares. For any reader who would like a more subtle ghost story, a fable built on parapsycholgical dealings, a modern fairy tale, step in, and be forwarned that whatever walks here, still walks alone.

This is a creepy atmospheric story of people staying in a haunted house, although it's never completely clear whether we're witnessing actual spirits or just troubled human minds. It's a solid story and probably the definitive take on this sort of plot, and although it seems a little derivative today, that's only because it's been so influential since its original publication in 1959.

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, may very well be the most frightening book I have ever read. Flat out, period. The mere basis of this book is somewhat cliche, by today's standards: Four adults are conducting an "experiment" on Hill House's supposed hauntings. Occasionally the characters seem stiff and mechanical, some of the dialogue is forced...The entire premise of the book is generally hard to believe...
Despite these caveats, though, this book is still scary. For best effect, I recommend reading it very late at night, in an absolutely silent house. Just wait.
What makes this book so "scary" is that each character relates to their fears in their own way. One part of the book which still gives me the shivers is when Eleanor and Theodora, the two female protagonists, are in Theodora's room. Eleanor keeps hearing thumps and patters on the wall, while Theodora does not acknowledge anything out of the ordinary. These events only affect Eleanor. Each character is alone with their fears -- rather than all four of them experiencing something "haunting," each character experiences something individual.
Thus, each character is also alone in their fears; their fears are essentially doubled: They fear what they hear or experience, and then also fear they are losing their mental stabilty, as no one else experiences the events. The psychological scariness of this book is what sets it apart from the typical "slash and gore" horror novel: This book is, really, in a genre all its own.

Rather than beat every detail from her subject, author Shirley Jackson performs an astonishing feat by creating a sense of mounting terror not from what is seen, but what might be seen if we could only look around that corner, down that hall, behind that drape. And THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE is her masterpiece.
In an effect not unlike Henry James' famous "The Turn of the Screw," Jackson presents us with Eleanor Vance, a woman who may or may not be already disturbed to the point of madness when the novel begins. Invited to join a group of researchers investigating a reputedly haunted house, Eleanor--stifled by unhappy memories and an unsympathetic family--leaps at the chance for escape from her humdrum life. She wants adventure, romance, a dash of excitement. And at Hill House, a Victorian mansion of truly evil repute, she finds it in abundance.
Is there something--ghost, spirit, or simply mindless evil--at Hill House? Or is it Eleanor herself, empty and hungry for a place where she belongs, who creates the nightmare that swirls about the place? Jackson offers no easy answers in this, the finest American horror novel of the 20th century, a book often imitated but never equaled. It is certainly not a novel for reading alone in the dead of night, but is one that you may wish to read again and again, repeatedly testing the boundaries of reality--and guessing at that which is always just beyond the limits of our vision.

I'm not sure what I expected of this but I found it rather disappointing. I adored We Have Always Lived in the Castle so I thought this one would strike my fancy. I can't put my finger on what exactly disappointed me but I wanted more from this story. I found the eerie nature of the house unsettling until things started happening in the night. I think I would have preferred everything to stay more ambiguous as to whether or not everyone was experiencing the same thing. Still an enjoyable read but not what I expected.

Jackson has created a masterpiece of supernatural literature. It is as close to flawless as any writer may wish. This book is like a well played chess match, every move has a purpose and there are no useless movements. The book is structured so that by the end of the novel all you can say is, "Wow." Jackson has above all mastered the art of using the abscence of stimuli to stimulate our fears. I dare anyone to read Chapter 5 part 4, and not have a shudder run through their entire body at the revelation of the last sentence. However, there are complaints about the book which must be addressed. They aren't that significant so go ahead and order the book now and read them later if you want. All the important stuff has already been said.
The first complaint about the book is that Jackson does not give us anything truly scary, only a couple of eerie messages on walls, banging cannon balls, and voices of doubtful authenticity. Proponents of this complaint are the same people who hated The Blair Witch Project but loved House on Haunted Hill (Geoffery Rush version). It is really not a complaint but a matter of preference, along the lines of red wine or white wine, Elvis or The Beatles, great tasting or less filling, etc. One may wish to see the blood splattered all over the room rather than see a crimson puddle leaking out from under the door while hearing the sound of the chainsaw. It is the approach of two different schools. Splatterpunk or Gothic, it's your choice. The bottom line is that Jackson is the BEST from the school of the New Gothic and if she can't scare you then no one from that school can, a school which includes King and Straub among its visiting pupils.
The second complaint is that the lead character, Eleanor Vance, is a narcissistic, self centered, selfish (to use another adjective describing the same trait), unlikeable individual. One may feel pity for her but there is never any true affinity that the reader feels towards Eleanor. Despite her deepest yearnings, none (at least no one among the living) wants to be Eleanors friend and this sentiment extends beyond the fictional world of Hill House directly to the reader. We simply don't want to be her friend. This, however, is Jacksons intent instead of (as some readers may erronously conclude) a flaw of the novel. It is a part of what King refers to as the "New Gothic," which is populated not by the "innocent" victims (like the "Old" Gothic was, just think of Mina in Dracula) or by dashing heroes (Van Helsing) but by deluded, narcissistic people with numerous faults. In other words, us. Etchison, Siddons, and even King, among others, have dabbled in this school. The Shining is a "New Gothic" masterpiece only surpassed by, of course, Jacksons work. Look at Jack Torrance and Eleanor Vance and you will find striking similarities in their descent to disaster. You may also find that you see your own reflection in these two people. That is just part of the fright of the New Gothic. And that is part of the fright of Hill House.

I love this book, but if you're one of those who needs clear answers and explanations, you won't. This is a psychological thriller/horror story (and not a long one) but it's not "all in her mind": things happen that others see and that can't be dismissed later as maybe someone was just playing tricks on everyone (though some of the incidents could be explained that way, which adds to the uncertainty of who is responsible for what). The book was published in 1959 so I'm not surprised that the reviews here are going into great detail on the plot. But if you're giving this edition to someone else to read, please warn them that the "introduction" is an educationally-oriented book discussion of what happens inside, and if they don't want to know ahead of time, then skip the intro completely and/or read it later.

The late Shirley Jackson, whose unhealthy lifestyle led to her premature death at the age of forty-eight (she died of heart failure during an afternoon nap, and was found by one of her daughters), left behind a legacy of finely written, dreamlike prose and unnerving fictional situations.

This book is her masterpiece, as well as being more frightening than any horror (or "horror") novel I have ever read, and I've read many. Unlike many shockmeisters today, Jackson never shows us what's feeling around the doorknob; what is causing the sickening cold coming from the hallway; what sort of being is writing on the wall; where the blood to write it with came from. Wisely, she leaves that to the reader's imagination, which is far more potent.

Four very different people are brought together to study paranormal phenomena in Hill House, only to find themselves at the mercy of the house itself - a place of contained ill will, as their leader notes. In the same way as a manipulative, abusive partner will cause the total isolation of his/her significant other from healthy relationships, Hill House turns its inhabitants against one another, so that they feel entirely alone. Everything about the house is eerie, from its isolated location to its off-center construction. Nobody CAN feel at home in the house, and that is part of its power.

Jackson created the most powerful, dreamlike opening paragraph in English literature with the opening of the novel:

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years, and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

And it does.

Hill House has stood for nearly 80 years, vacant for the last twenty. With eerie stories of its past residents, what better place for Dr. John Mantague to conduct his study on hauntings. With him are Luke Sanderson, soon to inherit Hill House from his aunt; Eleanor Vance, whose only experience with the supernatural was a poltergeist phenomenon that rained stones upon her house for 3 days; and Theodora, an artist with a bit of ESP.
But, they are not alone. Thanks to Jackson's unique descriptions of the house, Hill House itself becomes a character, with cold spots, shaky metal stairs, the rooms built in concentric circles, and slightly off-kilter measurements (doors not on the jamb, the stairs leaning slightly toward center, a tower that can only be seen from certain angles). It seems to be designed to keep people slightly off-balance.
No one experiences this more than Eleanor. The recent death of her mother seems to be lingering in the air, and maybe the house is picking this up. Of all the characters, she is the only one whose thoughts Jackson allows us to see, and her unease permeates the whole house (and novel).
With a surprise ending, this is one of the creepier haunted house novels, and it doesn't rely on blood and gore. It's very atmospheric and character-driven.

The book, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson is a story of four people who are invited by Dr. Montague to come to a Haunted House. Theodora, an assistant, Eleanor, a person who knows about poltergeists, Luke the future heir to the House, and Dr. Montague are the four people who have to find the secret of the Hill House, and all its powers. I chose this book because to read an Edgar Allen Poe book, but as far as I know he only wrote short stories. When I came across this scary, and horror type book on the shelf from my teacher's selection of books. I noticed haunted house picture on the front cover. It was so interesting that it caught my attention, and I wanted this book. My first impression of the book was based on the cover because it was so mysterious, and I hardly ever read books because most of them seem boring, but whenever I do, I always go for the genre of horror, and mystery because it fascinates me. So when I first started reading this one, I was so into it that I told my parents it was good; it had a couple of interesting points that I didn't quite comprehend. For example, I don't get why the story is narrated from Eleanor's point of view, and it was boring at times to see her view because there wasn't anything interesting until something actually happened in the house. I also enjoyed how Jackson uses a lot of imagery when she introduced the characters, and how well described they were throughout the time they were in the house. Overall I enjoyed this book and would give it 4 stars.

After loving Shirley Jackson's 'We have Always Lived at The Castle', I really didn't find this in the same league.
It starts off very promising, with interoverted Eleanor, who has experienced poltergeist activity as a child, being invited to spend some time in a haunted house - a Professor Montague is doing research. Her mother has just died and she accepts with alacrity, joining the two other young people - exuberant, rather irritating Theodora, and Luke, the heir to the property. And the rather creepy couple who act as caretakers...
But then I felt that although it was only a short book, it seemed to go on forever. Nowhere near as good as Sarah Waters' 'The Little Stranger' which is unputdownable.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE is one of the most subtle yet disturbing ghost stories ever written. Deservedly a true classic of the genre and a fine piece of modern American literature, the genius of Jackson's writing is in her SUBTLETY. Generally I find that readers who don't like or understand the book don't realize that all the while they're under Jackson's spell. (it's a book many people need to read over again) This short novel is one of the RARE FEW which will LINGER in the psyche LONG after it's been read! In the previous reviews, approximately 90% of the readers who were "disappointed" felt there was SOMETHING unique about the book. Eleanor. Eleanor was never "normal" to begin with; in Hill House she was like a kid in a candy store! Unable to relate to people, the house becomes her lover and her best friend; they become as ONE. I have to admit that I would have liked the book to have been longer, but I suspect Jackson's sudden ending was her style of "shock". Shirley Jackson knew what she was doing; this book is a classic witch's brew of symbolism and, boy, does it prey in the hallways of the mind! Forget what the previous scoffers say: read this alone in bed on a stormy night and I GUARANTEE you'll agree that Jackson was a master of her craft!

The Haunting of Hill House was everything I expected it to be. It was spooky, unnerving, unsettling, well, you get the idea.
However, what sets this novel apart from so many horror stories is that it was exceptionally well written. I noticed this early on, and Jackson never falters, crafting a perfect story that oozes atmosphere, and mixes light-hearted laughter with spine-chilling events to create a great haunted house story. Definitely a worthy classic.

I am more than a little surprised at the 3-Star and less reviews of this amazing and classic novel. In just about all of such reviews the reviewer reveals that his/her expectations were not met, expectations of what a 'horror' novel should be.And such expectation are. . . .? obviously overt ghosts and monsters that rip the heads and arms off the characters. . .But the ones that I stand in most amazement at are the reviewers who whine aboub the uncertainty of the events, even the narration, stating that it could all be in Eleanor's mind, and that this made one reviewer 'uncomfortable' and another uncertain about whether this was a novel about a haunted house at all. . . . omg. . .. don't they get it?
THIS IS PRECISELY JACKSON'S POINT!!!!!!!! Oh My Stars. . ... Have we, as a reading public, become so influenced by movies and books that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination, that we are constitutionally incapable of understanding, let alone EVEN REMOTELY appreciating, narratives that play with our expectations, our perceptions; play with them so masterly in the narrative so that we, the readers, actually begin to share in the protagonist's uncertainty. Shirley Jackson did this, in this novel, probably better than anyone else, save Henry James in his Turn of the Screw. Are there ghosts? Really? What everyone tends to forget is Jackson's subtle but absolutely firm opening and topical sentence that affects, actually controls, the entire novel: "No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality;. . . Hill House, NOT SANE, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more." If Hill House is not sane, then, ipso facto, it exists in a condition of Absolute Reality. The characters all think they know reality, ie. themselves and their world, but Hill House does not fit their expectations of reality. What happens does not make sense, and what happens to the group is never absolutely clear as being a 'paranormal' event or not. It could all be in their minds. . . especially Eleanor. . . or not. it's this ambiguity that no one wants to admit IS reality. The group actually journeys from what they all firmly believe at the beginning is "real", to the end of the novel where they all are coming to grips with their experience of something they were completely unprepared for and which, consequently, shatters them. It's the complete dethronement of human self-arrogance, where they have to admit (but never say this; it's revealed in how they interact with one another) that they have been in the presence of something so alien, something so non-human, that they honest-to-god do not know what to make of it. It's this profound uncertainty, and their unwillingness to, together, acknowledge this, that results in tragic consequences, consequences that quite literally force the group to confront their inability to grasp something that they assumed they knew all about. The way Jackson goes about revealing this is thru the classic tropes of the Haunted House, but never, ever, being crystal clear as to whether or not there was a ghost or monster or what. This almost 'cat and mouse' game of something happening to someone, of perceiving something happening to the very walls or hearing something that the others may or may not, this is handled with a deft touch by a master of narrative. The events pile up to the breaking point eventually, and then even at the very end, you wonder. . . this is a roller-coaster ride of chills, but (and this is a really, big 'buy'): the chills are very personal in the characters. There is no ghost in a bathtub that opens its terrible eyes and rises and comes for you (ala King in The Shining, probably one of the most terrifying episodes in that book), no creepy whatever-it-is that gruesomely wipes out the characters one by one. Those types of 'cheap thrills and scares' did not interest Jackson in the least. She was after something bigger, namely getting us to question our very perception of reality and one another: Is it true? Am I perceiving things correctly? Or not. . ..Let's face it. The world is essentially divided into people who can tolerate ambiguity in their lives, and those who can not. For these latter folk, life is basically made up of certainties like family love, the sun coming up ever day, doing work and getting paid a proper wage for this, etc. This group of people tend to fall apart when such certainties are revealed to be not so certain at all. They get depressed and often quite bitter. For the former group, ambiguity and uncertainty are life. People are people, and sometimes good, sometimes not so good and things happen. . . .out of the blue. . .. for no reason. . .. this is the group that recognizes a human being has to be a bit mad in order to survive, to be willing to live with not knowing some things, to be willing to let some things go because they simply don't make sense, and the truth is, there's a lot of life that NEVER makes complete sense, so why worry. . . There are more people who cannot tolerate ambiguity than those who can. if you can, you will LOVE this novel because although it is a classic of the gothic tradition in a modern novel, it raises profound questions about reality itself. But such tones and sounds are far, far above the range of the 3 stars and below. Such people will never, EVER, understand a novel such as this. Don't let these reviewers with such limited mental capabilities stop you from reading this masterpiece. For those interested in follow-up: Stephen King wrote his own Haunted House novel, The Shining, every effective and a marvelous read. He also rewrote Jackson's Hill House into a 4-hour TV 'mini-series' entitled Rose Red. It's the same basic scenario (group of investigators staying the night in a haunted house), only this haunted house, Rose Red has apparently gone to sleep. The lead researcher wants to 'wake it up', and attempts to do so via the members of the group, all of whom have various 'talents'. Stephen King is not known for subtlety, and there's nothing ambiguous with this story. It's fun to watch, and has some very effective chills, but it's not profound, nor was it meant to be. Richard Matheson's great "Hell House" is another version, which is interesting, and a darned good read, but also is not near as deep as Jackson's novel. For such depth you have to go back to Henry James, to his Turn of the Screw. And to take a haunted house story into something else, a house that opens into a different dimension entirely where there are things that seriously want to destroy us, read William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland. Enjoy!

Am I the only one who finished this and immediately began planning a dream bookclub where we'd read this paired with James' Turn of the Screw and then follow with selected excerpts from Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic?

*sound of crickets*

Okay, yeah, just me then.

Jackson knocks it out of the park with this marvelously tight tale of creeping dread and incipient madness, crafting what may be one of the more perfect examples of Gothic fiction. If nothing else, this one's worth picking up just for the opportunity to read one of the greatest opening paragraphs in all of literature. (No, I'm not going to quote it. You're going to have to look for yourself. Go on, now!)

Dr. Montague is an occult scholar who invites three people to be his guest at Hill House in hopes that he may find evidence of the house's notorious hauntings. At First things are just merely spooky and the residents merely laugh it off, until the manifestations take a more sinister turn.
This novel is absolutely spine tingling it has all you need for a heart fluttering good time, a maze of a house, children laughing in the night, even a statue that seems to watch you every move. I have seen the movie, it's actually one of my favorites, but even the movie is dull in comparison. Though I am glad they left Mrs. Montague out of the movie, she only managed to annoy me more than anything. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something that will give you the heebie jeebies in a short time frame, it is only about 200 pages long but Shirley Jackson manages to definitely leave her mark.

Well, this is considered "the" haunted house book, but I found it a little lacking, possibly because I've come across copycats of this book before. The plot is simple enough: Dr. Montague invites four guests to a haunted house to study psychic phenomena. The book is mainly told from Eleanor's perspective, and she may or may not be sane, and therein lies the crux of the book. Is what's happening really going on or only in Eleanor's head? There are hints that clue the reader in, but I don't want to spoil anything. The book wasn't very scary but more interesting watching the way Shirley Jackson manipulates the reader. All in all, recommended for horror fans to study where the original haunted house tale came from, though it's been imitated to death since, which may squash some of its appeal.

"The Haunting of Hill House" and "The Haunting" (the 1963 film adaptation) stimulate differently: In the book Jackson's eccentric, concise style intrigues the reader and provides nuanced intimacy with the main character, Eleanor, whose lonely, personal journey ends upon meeting her bizarre lover, the diabolical Hill House. The book teases us into the shallows of the paranormal as it twists along the path of Eleanor's dementia; however, the disquiet builds gradually via the written word such that fright takes a backseat. The movie, though borrowing heavily from the book's plot and dialogue, makes the most of its graphic advantages to create positively scary atmospheric and paranormal scenes. For example, Mrs. Dudley's baleful "in the night, in the dark" adieu to Nell runs shivers through Nell and the audience, as does the unearthly pounding on Theo's door and the disembodied, insane laughter. Equally chilling scenes followed.

On balance, both the book and film absolutely succeed, each in its own way: one psychologically, the other viscerally. For an intriguing and disquieting experience, read the book. For a good scare, see the movie.

In The Haunting of Hill House, Mrs. Jackson employs one of her most effective tools in the telling: she's chosen to write about a girl who's chasing her heart's desire, a child determined at all costs to fulfill her singular needs. In this case, she's out to prove to her controlling sister that she can live happily, after losing the mother she'd cared for. Toward that end, she answers an add to participate in a para-psychological experiment at dreaded Hill House. What follows is an unauthorized trip via the family car to the remote location, where she meets a kindly man who runs the project; two more participants: a young man and another lady; and the creepy tenants: an irrascible gatekeeper and an odd housekeeper who speaks in Jackson's weird, trademark mono-phraseology. Soon thereafter, the young ghost hunters are subjected to maddening psychological horrors, like rooms that seem to reposition themselves, cold spots, etc. Mrs. Jackson's central character, the yearning girl, is continually placed in jeopardy, as she tries to cope. This whole book is filled with the haunting prose, both spooky and yearning, that seems to me a trademark of Shirley Jackson's work.

I saw the movie a few years back, but I dont remember much of it. But I happened to come across the novel in the library and couldnt help picking it up. Needless to say, I had a few sleepless nights.
Jackson really terrifies us with this novel. It is short, and strait to the point. Although there is not much in the book that is gross or jump out scary, it is the thought of being in Hill house that scares you. It brings back memories of being a kid again and going into "Haunted Houses" that all the other kids talked about. We would scream and run out because we thought we heard something, or saw something, but Jackson makes this real for us, making those noises and visions real.
The ending is a bit dull, leaving you a little hanging. But the way Jackson describes the character Elenore, and her struggles in life, the struggles and hardships she brings to Hill House makes you wonder if people like Elenore feed the house. I think that Jackson wants us to ask these questions in our head.
This is a novel you dont want to read before bed. I was truly scared. If you love horror stories, you will love "The Haunting of Hill House".

Were the ghosts real at the Haunting of Hill House or was it just Eleanor's descent into madness? This is up to the reader to decide upon this thrilling piece of psychological terror.
The Haunting of Hill House does not describe the ghosts. It does not throw the ghosts at the reader. It only describes what the residents experience in the house: the noises, the turning of the door knob, the grasp of a clenched fist. This book makes the reader use his or her imagination what terrible secrets lie within the house. Are they ghosts?
I read this book after I saw the first movie. Do not see the second movie, please! The first movie with Julie Harris is so much better than Lily Taylor was in the second movie. (Lily Taylor is a great actress in her own right--but not in this movie). The first movie, though, clearly captures the essence of the book. But that is not to say the book is not good. I found The Haunting of Hill House to be one best examples of modern horror literature in that it can scare "bejeebers" out of the reader with its nuances of sounds and noises.
Great reading, and beware if you read it late at night.

I read this because I saw it listed in many places as one of the best scary books, and while it didn't hit me with any shocking, hide under the sheets moments, like I expected, it's a story that will leave you ill at ease, and wondering if what you thought happened was really what happened.

It was in fact, eerie and unsettling, but ended up being much more psychological than I had expected for a haunted house story.

If the plot sounds cliche, that's because in a way it is, but only because this is the one that started them all, this is the book that inspired a thousand adaptations. But don't let that dissuade you, 'The Haunting of Hill House' is top-notch, and one I would definitely recommend.

This is not your traditional ghost story but rather a psychological adventure. Told from the third person point of view we mostly see the story through Eleanor’s eyes; which turns out to be a bit of a mind f@#!.

The writing was good, the story intriguing, but I was never fully engaged with this book.

The Haunting of Hill House was pretty much what I expected it to be. I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I didn't think it was something incredible or memorable. It had some very creepy moments in it and an abrupt ending fitting for a classic horror novel, but, in my opinion, not much really happened. I understand that the novel was about building tention and unreality but, for this story, it didn't work as well for me as books like Rosemary's Baby. That is the only book I can compare this one to. Hill House also has that erie dream-like feel to it which makes it difficult to know what is real and what isn't. Again, this seems to be what Shirley Jackson was attempting to do. I definitely want to read more of her books, especially We Have Always Lived In the Castle, but this was just another book for me with my interest mainly being held in the middle rather than the beginning or end.

Four people team up to spend a summer in Hill House, a known haunted house that the rest of the townsfolk avoid after dark. Lots of interesting paranormal events happen and one member of the group feels especially drawn to the Hill House. I've read this book several times and each time I get scared reading it--a testament to how well this book was written. This is simply the best haunted house story I've ever read, and I read a lot. Stephen King also recommends this book!

'The Haunting of Hill House' is a compact jewel of a gothic novel, combining both classic horror with a psychological examination of one very troubled ghost hunter. It indeed is the perfect sort of read for a rainy evening (I read it in one sitting, during Hurricane Frances).

In our story we have a suitably creepy, enormous house with a history of strange happenings. An experience paranormal investigator hires a couple of young ladies to join him in staying at this house for a summer (..no 'hanky panky' intended, and nothing of the sort happened). Yes, some very disturbing events occured during this period. But perhaps more interesting is the gradual demise of one of the ladies who we discover has some personal issues. No spoilers, but the ending is both surprising and appropriately ambiguous ... Shirley Jackson leaves the reader with some unanswered questions, to be answered by the reader's imagination.

Bottom line: the usual Shirley Jackson competence swirled into a fun if somewhat old-fashioned haunted house story. A very worthwhile read.

No doubt about it, Shirley Jackson was a master of her craft! "The Haunting of Hill House" is a work of sheer genius in that it preys on the mind in subtle, subconscious ways. Eleanor is a homeless woman of 32 who spent 11 years caring for her invalid mother; she has had no real life of her own. Dr. Montague is a doctor of philosophy and he has invited Eleanor among two others to an old country estate called Hill House to explore psychic phenomena within it's walls. The opening lines are justly famous among horror story afficianados. Theodora is cheeky and funny, a carefree psychic whose personality contrasts interestingly with Eleanor's. Luke Sanderson is weak and spoiled and Dr. Montague is serious and responsible for the well-being of all concerned during their stay in the creepy New England pile. The novel was written in a magical, dreamy and poetic style which is uniquely Jackson. There is the part where Theo and Eleanor witness a family having a picnic in the daylight when it is in reality night! This novel is enjoying a revival of interest since it's publication in 1959 due to the remake of "The Haunting" and many young people are getting acquainted with this uniquely gifted writer's magical storytelling. Brilliant!

I love this book! This is the best haunting book I have ever read and would have to say, will probably ever read!
Shirley Jackson has created a timeless account of the horrors that can live within' walls and the horrors that we create in our mind. I found this book to be truly enchanting at times, and downright chilling at others.
The movie 'The Haunting', which is loosley based on this novel, is not, in my opinion, a fair representation of this novel. However, I believe the ending does not do justice to the story or the charector of Eleanor. The movie, as corny as it may have been, had an ending which was far more relastic than this. I will not give away the ending to this novel, because that would ruin the whole mystery of it.
So, if you have seen the movie, read this book because I guarantee you, you will enjoy this novel far more than the movie!
Shirley Jackson har created charectors with depth and emotion, within' the novels short span. There are moments in this novel that will leave you breathless and truly entertained!
Five Out Of Five

"Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of HIll House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."
Thus begins Shirley Jackson's classic story. The novella, written in the first half of the last century, has become one of the great literary works of the genre and has remained a favorite amongst fans of horror and the supernatural. But this book does more than tell the story of a haunted house. It is a character study of five people, placed in a situation that stresses their senses and psyche in ways that pushes their acceptance of reality to the limits.
It is the story of Eleanor Vance, an introvert who is resentful of the loss of the many years she spent caring for her sickly mother. Not long after her mother's death, living in servitude with her sister and her sister's husband, she receives an invitation to be a participant in a paranormal study at Hill House from Doctor John Montague, a man fascinated by the paranormal.
She arrives at the house sometime later, and is at first so completely overwhelmed by a sense of dread, feeling that the house is so overtly oppressive, she nearly flees. However, before she is able to run, she is introduced to the other guests who will participate in the study; Theodora, Dr. Montague's assistant, and Luke, the future heir to the house.
It isn't long after they take up residence within the house that each begins to experience different events of horror. Sounds in the night, voices and banging in the hall, apparitions of animals running through the yard, but ultimately, the horrors of this novel take us into the mind of Eleanor herself, and as we see the contortion of her personal reality, we are drawn into the insanity that ultimately leads to the climax of this novel.
The story is simple, linear, and in itself not very imaginative-but it is the characters that draw us in. Each has a complexity to them that is revealed a little at a time. Jackson introduces us to Theodora, whose overtly sexual freedoms indicate a strong inclination to lesbianism, a topic not openly expressed in novels of that era.
This story is gripping and a quick read, and can (and should) be finished in a single sitting. Jackson, whose stories are often used in high school and college literature books, compels us to see something of ourselves in each of her novels, and this one is no exception. Well worth the investment of time. The Haunting of Hill House is sure to thrill, and leave you clammoring for more.
Scott Kolecki

John Montague, a doctor of philosophy, invites Theodora, Eleanor Vance, and Luke Sanderson to assist him in seeking the possibility of psychic disturbances/manifestations in an eighty-odd year-old New England pile known locally as Hill House. Ever since it was initially published in 1959, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE has been Shirley Jackson's gift to countless readers around the world who have relished reading this highly original and exceptionally chilling ghost story - if a there is such a thing as a ghost story receiving cult status - then this ingenious novellette would definitely qualify for first prize! Not the type of terror you'd find in a Stephen King (he was a Jackson fan who dedicated FIRESTARTER to "Shirley Jackson, who never needed to raise her voice") or Dean Koontz novel. Jackson's technique is much more finely grained and subtle: this is literature. There are Freudian aspects to be sure, but the symbolism is amazing; (did anyone catch the meaning of the heading?) thirty years after I first read the book (I was nine) I found new symbolic elements which I had missed priorly. Jackson paints her heroine Eleanor Vance as a rather drab and timid wisp of a thing: a 32 year-old spinster who's "never known a life of her own". As you commence reading the book, you are drawn inside the mind of a schizoid person who desperately needs to be loved, yet cannot relate to people rationally, so she finds a safe friend in Hill House itself. Jackson writes in a poetic and mystical fashion which aids the reader throughout the book. Theodora is a free-spirited psychic who's rather spoiled and cheeky personality gives a much - needed contrast to Eleanor's repressed child-woman thinking. There is a scene in a grove of trees: Theo: "I don't understand. Do you always go where you're not wanted?" Eleanor: "But I've never been wanted ANYWHERE". Tingling aspects rise from little nuances throughout: Nell suggests that they look for nameless graves in the nettle patch when she and Theo become bored, a phantom picnic where there is a vision of sunshine, children and a puppy (at night!), walls with dripping blood reaching out for Eleanor to Come Home; a harp which plays by itself, the "cold spot" in the heart of the house, the cup of stars, the stone lions, the oleanders etc. Eleanor is given a bedroom painted blue, the colour of depression. The men in the novel are more like props, supporting players. It's like a spooky version of Lucy and Ethel getting themselves into another scrape with Ricky and Fred simply there when neccesary. Luke and Montague ask what happened while they were outdoors chasing SOMETHING. Eleanor: "Nothing in particular. Someone knocked on the door with a cannonball, then laughed their fool head off when we wouldn't let them in, but nothing out of the ordinary" There are no real "evil" characters in the book: it is a foray into the mind of someone so desperately longing for understanding, love and companionship that she knows not where she goes.............

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream." Thus begins one of the finest and sparest works of suspense ever written, but make no mistake: The Haunting of Hill House is less a ghost story than a tightly-wound tale of psychological horror. In the hands of a master like Shirley Jackson, the story is much like a nightmare that leaves you paralyzed with cold fright from the accumulation of small and subtle terrors.

The plot is simple enough: a professor of the paranormal invites a list of candidates to spend several weeks at an allegedly haunted mansion in the hopes of documenting evidence of psychic phenomena. The professor is accompanied by a young man who stands to inherit the property, but only two of the invitees accept the offer to come live in Hill House for the summer. That's your first clue.

One is Eleanor, a mousy, lonely young woman unremarkable except for a childhood incident where showers of stones were seen falling on her house for days on end. The other is Theo, an enigmatic and elegant lesbian chosen for her psychic abilities. Jackson's focus on the characters -- including the stuffy and paternal Dr. Montague, and Luke, the vain and shallow heir -- makes heavy use of conversational clues to propel the story along: the breakfast-table talk about the events of the previous night; Theo's responses to Eleanor's unspoken thoughts; Dr. Montague's growing concern about Eleanor's mental state; the corridors of Eleanor's mind as what she says and thinks expose her journey into paranoia, isolation, and warped fantasy.

Despite physical manifestations of the supernatural in Hill House, many of the most frightening occurances reside in the twilight between reality and imagination -- and leave the reader to ponder to what extent they have been conjured forth by the fears of the individual characters. The cold spot in the hall appears to be real, but doesn't register on a thermometer. A strange dog appears, never to be seen again. Eleanor hears Luke and Theo talking about her literally behind her back, but when she turns around, no one is there. It is a testament to Jackson's skill that she can turn scenes of domestic bliss into utter nightmare, as when Eleanor and Theo come upon a family picnic in a sunny meadow with children and puppies -- and the reader realizes this scene is taking place in the middle of the night.

Clearly the most interesting relationship in the book -- outside the one that binds Eleanor to Hill House itself -- is between repressed Eleanor and the alluring Theo. With her mind-reading abilities, Theo is uniquely able to exploit Eleanor's fears and secrets. Is she trying to protect Eleanor by driving her away from a house that will surely destroy her? Is Theo in love with Eleanor ... or does she despise her out of jealousy? Of course, no one exploits Eleanor's fears more than she herself does. Even as the house drives her to the brink of destruction, Eleanor embraces its strange evil because it is the only thing in her life to ever give her attention and a sense of belonging. Like the other house-guests, we can only stand by and watch, helplessly and with growing horror, at the sense that it is too late to keep Eleanor from being swept up by the haunting of Hill House.

Read the book first, then see the original movie with Julie Harris and Claire Booth. Do not -- under any circumstances -- bother with the dreadful 90's remake.

At first glance, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE seems like the typical haunted house story. That is, a group of strangers assembles in a house to study ghostly phenomena. However, this book is much deeper and therefore much more disturbing. The main character is Eleanor Vance, a lonely and dispirited young woman who has never really done much in her life. She jumps at the chance to go to Hill House, and inevitably, she begins to fall under it's spell. The ways in which the house affects her are rather hearbreaking, while also being fairly creepy and scary. Some fans of modern scary stories may be a bit offput by the dialogue - the characters sound like they're from a 50s sitcom. However, it really is a terrific book, and the oppressed 50s style just adds to its claustrophobic feeling.
This novel is the first I've read from Jackson (aside from her famous short-story "The Lottery"), and I look forward to reading more. Highly recommended for fans of psychologically complex ghost stories.

From the bulk of the criticisms I've read here, it appears some expected the book equivalent of "The Haunting" and skimmed looking for it, then got to the end and concluded that "nothing happened" simply because the book was not what they expected and they didn't have the patience to give it a chance. In doing so, they've completely missed the point.

"The Haunting", "The Haunting of Hill House", "The House on Haunted Hill"...none of these films are based on this book, sharing only characters and setting. They all opt for cheap, cliched frights and gore because none of those involved were creative enough to do more. If you want a book that reflects those films you will have to look elsewhere.

This book is a psychological horror story, subtle and intense if you read it for itself rather than reading it while impatiently looking for something else. There is no personification of evil simply because the evil is the house itself, and the horror is in what it does to anyone who stays there. Not with scary things jumping out at you (yes, someone actually complained that this doesn't happen in the book!), or gore (ditto), or demons or Satan (ditto - can you believe it?!). All that is child's play. The house instead takes control of the characters and torments them mentally and emotionally, changing them, turning them against one another and eventually against themselves. Destroying them utterly from the inside out. Far more subtle, more thorough and more frightening than simply knocking someone's head off.

Another frequent "complaint": the characters are irrational and stupid, and their behaviour makes no sense. Yes it does, if you understand what is actually happening. The characters gradually lose control over their own minds and behaviour as the house takes over, and they become almost playthings in an environment bent on destroying them. It is insidious and methodical, and they are powerless to stop it.

I suspect Jackson's book is simply too subtle for a generation raised on in-your-face "horror" which does not require them to use their own imaginations or even to think at all. It's why I hate those pathetic films, they have ruined this book for so many people. If you want a B-grade, demon-infested splatterfest there's a myriad of schlock you can watch. If you want horror on a whole other level, then read this book.

Yes, that's right. I read this book while under the influence of a nasty virus. I couldn't sleep.

I should have whiled away the time with something else.You are hallucinagenic enough when the fever is raging--no need to throw this book on the blaze.

The Haunting of Hill House is a lot like Shirley Jackson's shorter works. It is impressionistic, dancing in parts, dead-on in description and somehow hyper-real amidst all its unreality. It also kind of winds down, rather than concluding.

I realize that this description doesn't help you as a prospective buyer.

Vote me down if you must.

But let me tell you why you should read, if not buy this book:

It, and its author, like the works of Stoker, Tolkien, Verne, Wells, and yes--we must not forget him--Seuss, have spawned a thousand other works. If you want to read modern Horror and psychological fiction, you best include this on your list. It will enrich your reading of what has followed.

Numerous authors and screen-writers have been downright larcenous with Ms Jackson's little book. It would be a stretch to call it a classic, but it is interesting--even worthwhile.

Just don't read it at 2 in the morning when you are not feeling altogehter well.

I recommend this book.

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, is one of the classics of the horror genre. Whereas some writers rely on explicit blood, gore, and violence to get across their message, Shirley Jackson evokes horror and supernatural suspense exactly by not being explicit. She creates terrifying moods and images without being hamhanded about the descriptions.

The story centers around a particular house, Hill House, that has a reputation for being haunted. A professor of paranormal psychology wants to conduct an experiment there, and so invites three other people to spend some time there with him so they can record their experiences. Though they all seem to experience strange events that cannot really be explained, one of the party, Eleanor, seems to attract the supernatural manifestations more than the others, eventually leading to a horrible disaster.

The Haunting of Hill House is a classic representation of the horror genre; however, we must remember that it was released in 1959 when the things that spooked us were quite different from that which scares us today. Think about the old Bela Lugosi Dracula movies and how they differ from the horror movies of today. To read Jackson's mesmerizing novel is to be drawn into a very different world pre-9/11, pre-Bay of Pigs, pre-21st Century warfare. Today, with reality being the scariest of all, we seek more blood, more gore, more overt physical aspects of a good scare. The Haunting of Hill House is more a psychological treatise on that which scares us. I found the novel particularly frightening and disturbing, not for its physical hauntings but for the main character's emotional vulnerability and how this plays out as the novel progresses. (Don't want to give anything away here.)Not everyone can relate to staying in a haunted house and taking part in an experiment relating to the paranormal but we all can wonder what would happen if we lost our tenacious grip on reality and this is the most delicious scare of it all.

Thirty-two-year-old dutiful Eleanor is the first of four persons to arrive at Hill House, 80 years old and frequently uninhabited, for a planned three-month summer stay to experience and observe supernatural phenomena. Each guest arrives separately and is greeted by the caretaker's wife, a no-nonsense, severely serious woman whose primary duty is to provide sustenance for the guests. Others participating in the "experiment" are the likeable Theodora, and Luke, homeowners' nephew and property heir, invited at the owners' insistence. Their host, John Montague, Ph.D. (anthropology), rented the property and chose the invitees. Of the dozen prospective guests contacted by Dr. Montague, only four replied and two accepted. Both have past experience with the paranormal: Eleanor in a childhood experience involving rocks: Theodora in card identification. The two women begin their acquaintance with lighthearted banter after which Luke arrives, followed by the doctor, who explains the situation and his goals. Days later, the doctor's overbearing wife and a friend/headmaster arrive and muddle things up. The social experiment is cut short after a few spooky incidents occur (pounding on doors, clothes getting ruined) and a significant change in the behavior of a guest, who seems to be adversely affected by the house. The expectation from the start [mine, at least] is that something really scary will happen, but nothing does. Although the writing is fabulous, especially in the interactions between the characters, the climax is unclimactic and the plot is barely scary. Better: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, The Lottery [my all time favorite short story] and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson, and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.

I don't understand the hype.

It must be that this book is one of those that everyone pretends to like and understand because they think it makes them look smart and complicated. The book starts off well and is pretty interesting, but the ending is premature and doesn't answer any questions. What I especially don't get, is that it is not even scary.

If you like books that leave a lot for the reader to fill in, this one is for you. I feel however that it is a bit of a copout by an author who dosen't know how to finish what they started.

Yes I know I made the basic error, but I couldn't really avoid it. I was very young when I saw the excellent original black and white film. So I only learned then that it was based on a book.
Somewhat later I got around to reading the book. For one thing it is remarkably similar to the original film screenplay, lines are identical on page as they are on the film, in certain areas. The quality of the book is not in question, it is a remarkable read, full of suspense and drama, but it all depends on whether you prefer your chills and frights from the page or the screen. Only then, to get the full impact of the storyline, can you decide whether to read this book first then watch the film or vice versa. It's upto you.
My own personal choice would be to read this first, then watch the film, but like me, many of you who have already seen the film and not read this book will be left in a quandary. Don't be, this book is a great read, buy it either way.

Jackson's greatest strength was the psychological portraiture of women either on the edge, or over it. Though Hill House is usually taken to be a superior supernatural novel, it is actually far more a study of a woman succumbing to suicidal impulse. The notoriously haunted house has something of a resonant vibration with lonely and unloved spinster Eleanor Vance, who finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into its diseased fabric. Jackson skillfully never discloses whether the ghostly house is itself the cause of Eleanor's ruin, or whether Eleanor's own psyche is simply amplified within its walls to the point that she collapses in upon herself.
The Haunting of Hill House is deservedly a classic, and superbly written. It suffers somewhat by comparison to the superior 1963 film version, which better streamlined Jackson's plot and gave the story an added atmospheric dimension beyond even her own excellent descriptive skills. But the book has unquestionably one of the most famous and well-written opening and closing paragraphs in literature, and is worthy of continued readership.
Whether you're looking for a good, creepy ghost story, or a brilliantly drawn portrait of a woman fighting incipient madness, this book will satisfy in either case, and provide many hours of food for thought.

Jackson’s novel, often hailed as a classic of horror fiction, seems decidedly quaint by current horror standards. While all of the fundamental elements of a haunted house tale feature prominently in this novel—an ill-fated history of death, suicide, and family intrigue, mysterious and unexplained noises, dark passages and an architectural design that appear to defy logic, a remote and isolated locale, strangers assembled to survive in the house cut off from the outside world—the horror (or more precisely, the terror) that occurs in this story is almost too subtle and too muted.

The title of the story might provide some clue regarding the nature of this tale. Note that the title implies that what occurs in this tale is a “haunting”—it does not seem to imply that Hill House *is* haunted but rather that what transpires in the novel is a *haunting.* The main character, Eleanor—an inscrutably lonely romantic prone to imaginative flights of fancy—might very well be the agent of the haunting. That is, rather than the house haunting the characters, in this story, the characters (or rather, the main character) could be haunting the house, as the title implies.

Read this one for the restrained suspense of Jackson’s writing and its value as a cornerstone of the genre, but temper your expectations of spine-tingling frights and sleepless nights.

The woman who wrote The Lottery wrote this dreck? How on Earth did this become a classic? Flat characters, unbelievably bad dialogue ("You can't take the car", "It's half mine", "We need the car", "It's half mine", "You might dent it", "It's half mine"...We get it! It's half yours!), a haunting that never occurs, and one of the worst endings I've ever read.

And to the other reviewers making fun of people giving this literary abortion one star? Please stop. They're right. I know classic horror. I've been reading horror my whole life. Bradbury is scary. Poe is scary. Lovecraft is scary. Matheson is scary. This is not. This is the horror equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes.

I agree the movie might be better but I really liked both. They are one of my all time favorite spooky movies/books. Regarding the movie I'm talking about the 1963 version with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, not the remake from the 90s.
I really like the fact that this is spooky without being really gross, bloody, and overly violent. Can't have a spooky movie or ghost story without some of that but this doesn't go over the top like a lot of current books and movies.
Highly recommend both.

AND, I'm not entirely sure but if you go to Disneyland and go on the Haunted Mansion ride they have doors that move in and out as if someone were pressing against them, just like in the 1963 movie. Hmmm, which came first, the Disneyland ride or the movie? I always found that interesting.

I finally gave in and bought this book against my better judgement because I couldn't escape reading ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE that it was the scariest and best horror novel of all time. I found no horror here. What made this even more bizarre was that when a "ghostly occurrence" or "scary" part would happen, all the characters had the strangest reactions to it. They all laughed hysterically and were giddy the next day, leaving me clueless to comprehend how I was supposed to interpret it.
Ultimately, I gave in and bought the book because I read a review that explained the book was actually scary because Eleanor is an unreliable narrator, and I can dig that. But this device was just too little, too late. Sure, she seemed rather unstable, but Shirley Jackson didn't do too great of a job convincing me if that house had any problems or not, and if it was haunted, did it even matter? She just failed on both sides of the story, as far as I'm concerned.
Richard Matheson's "Hell House" is a beast horror novel in general but especially compared to this one. It's basically the same premise except it's actually a horror novel, and it's actually scary. Much recommended.

I think the problem with most horror novels and movies is that they go for shallow shocks and jolts. Something like "Scream" or any of the other thousands of slasher flicks that have usurped the genre make you jump and look over your shoulder. Sure, that's fun-- I liked "Scream"-- but Shirley Jackson is too great a writer for that. The reviewers who say they missed something are accurate-- this is not a novel of events. It is a novel of psychology. The whole line of the narrative is dependant on Eleanor's state of mind. We watch her neediness and longing for acceptance ultimately consume her. The scariest parts of the book for me were not the banging on the doors or other manifestations (which I will not divulge for those who have not read this yet) but the shifts in Eleanor's mind-- how she changes her attitudes, especially towards Theodora. A subtle psycho is much scarier to me than a raving maniac. This is a novel that reads slowly, and one i cannot imagine as a film (I have not seen the original, and highly doubt that the remake will care more about Eleanor's mind than about CGI effects), but, like Jackson's other stories (the unforgettable "The Lottery" and the great "We Have Always Lived...") this is not merely written for shocks. It is a fabulous piece of writing by a modern master, one that like all great works, cares more about people than events.

Psychological terror. Shirley Jackson introduced the horror genre to numerous themes and concepts (almost like motifs today) that Stephen King has also capitalized on, such as having stones fall on a house (Carrie and Red Rose), an overpowering mother who controls a telekinetic child (Carrie), a large house/hotel isolated in mountains (Shining), a house/hotel that wants a specific person (Shining), use of a scrapbook and/or news clippings to provide historical background (Shining), etc. In this 1959 thriller, Jackson presents the horror of a haunted mansion in the hills that is desperate to claim the life of the heroine. There is no gore or mayhem in this book, but Jackson succeeds in scaring you without it. Typical of Jackson, as in her Lottery story, the ending does not wrap things up cleanly, and leaves the reader's imagination to fill in the details. The first paragraph of this book sets the scene and may be considered one of the best openers in horror fiction. Good stuff.

Several caveats however. Shirley Jackson wrote this book in the 50s. The text has long passages of exposition, is short on dialogue, and frequently delves into the minds of its characters, with viewpoint shifts and tense changes that may confuse the less attentive reader. The book is fairly short, around 50,000 words, as opposed to the 100,000 typical of a King novel. The book is well worth reading, but you will have to work to read and enjoy this story.

Shirley Jackson's classic 1959 novel "The Haunting of Hill House" quite simply is the standard of which all other American haunted house tales will be judged by. It laid the groundwork, inspiring authors from Richard Matheson ("Hell House") and Anne Rice ("The Witching Hour") to Stephen King ("The Shining," "Rose Red").
A brilliant author (her "The Lottery" must rank as one of the most terrifying short stories in history), Jackson's ultimate tale combines elements of our basic fear of isolation with the groundbreaking emotional angst of female spiritual independence in the 20th century. Equally fascinating about "The Haunting of Hill House" is the unnerving fact that perhaps the house is not truly haunted, and the manifestations are being caused only by disturbed female protagonist Eleanor Vance.
Occult scholar John Montague assembles a hodepodge group of psychics to spend their vacation in the isolated New England mansion known as Hill House - reportedly a genuine haunted house "holding darkness within, and whatever walked there, walks alone." Soon this group is experiencing cries in the night, mysterious poundings on the wall and doors opening and closing at will. It soon becomes apparent that the spirits of the house are focusing on Eleanor, a desperately lonely woman, 32 years old, suffering from the trauma of having to care for her dying mother for 11 wasted years.
The emotional, if not heartbreaking angst of Eleanor is the true backbone of this novel. Her sad plight, intensified by the brooding horror of Hill House, eventually becomes the ultimate conflict of Jackson's story. Additionally, Jackson's flowing prose, especially during her descriptions of Hill House, will raise goosebumps on the most hardened of readers. Like Hill House, Eleanor is an isolated soul trapped by a tragic past. In some peculiar way these two entities bond, their link transforming into the darkest of romances.
Jackson was certainly in her element when writing this unparalled haunted house tale. "The Haunting of Hill House" is as much about the human need for companionship as it is about brooding supernatural elements hiding within the dark. Of course, it is also an uncomfortable examination of a woman's struggle with finding her place, if not independence, in an oppressive Eisenhower-era society. This is truly a classic in American literature, if only because the skeletons rattling in the closet may be within our own minds.

Forget the movies, both of them, for only through the book can you properly slip into Eleanor's brightly haunted mind. What a wonder this book must have been when originally published: nowhere on the Donna Reed show or Leave it to Beaver would you have found the likes of our Eleanor: gentle and innocent, yet certainly far more perceptive and often more slyly witty than her sophisticated companions.
Despite clear writing and quick story progression, if you need your ends sewn up then this isn't the novel for you. Consider how the most recent film adaption portrays Theodora. In the movie it's clear that Theo is so satisfied with her bisexuality that she may as well curl up on the rug and lick the milk from her whiskers. But in the book, you never know. You can't even guess. Such is the tone for the entire piece. Your mind jumps with so many maybes: Was Theo ever really as encouraging as she originally seemed? Is sweet Nell actually doing things to get attention? Is this a haunted house or just haunted people? And just who _are_ the normal people here? Soon you are as disturbed as Eleanor, with no idea of how much you've actually experienced (or read) and how much you've told yourself.
This is where the horror lies. The classic haunting is there with its chilly corridors and unseen hammering at the bolted doors, but it's the touches of reality which will keep you awake afterwards.

This classic book revolves around a confused and emotionally vulnerable young woman named Eleanor Vance and her time spent in a Hill House, a mansion possessed with its own terrifying and unrelenting spirit. With no solid place in the world to call her own, Eleanor came to Hill House seeking adventure and a change in her stale, uneventful life. Although the others present experience the events of the haunting, it is Eleanor who receives its full wrath. At the same time, she is strangely attracted to the house and unable to leave, staying on until an irreversible tragedy occurs.
This book is a classic haunting story which does not need to rely on gore or clearly visible demons. It is a psychological thriller which readers will find memorable and satisfying. I would call the story disturbing rather than frightening. Nonetheless, it is an excellent piece of classic horror genre.

In one of her best works, Shirley Jackson introduces us to a haunted, evil house that brings out the worst in the four---later expanded to six--people who agree to gather there. In the interest of science, Professor Montague invites a group of people to participate in a study of the psychological effect of the house. His group is winnowed down to himself; Luke, the flippant young grandson of the present owner of Hill House; the enigmatic, beautiful Theodora; and Eleanor, the repressed, 32 year old spinster who has spent the last 11 years taking care of her mother. Later they are joined by Montague's wife, an ardent spiritualist and ouija board devotee, and her bluff, hearty friend.
With a set of characters like this, Jackson's compact novel cannot fail to intrigue and satisfy. Readers who have seen the 1962 movie will find inevitable differences in plot and emphasis in the book. Jackson's carefully crafted prose will hook you from the first page to the last. Highly recommended.

This book is perfect. A perfect cover, simple yet suiting. A perfect touch, pleasant, like velvet. A perfect story, albeit horrifying...
Shirley Jackson is(was) the perfect writer, whom just couldn't fail at what she does(did) best... She creates her own world, as realistic as ours, with a tragic, cruel, and cursed history for Hill House, the main character, and it's inhabitants. Perfect. All the characters aren't stereotypes; they're human. Eleanor might be an oddball hysteric, but she has a past which has made her that way.
There are only about 4 actual hauntings in this book, but more than enough eerie sections, which are the real creepers... For instance, Eleanor's frolick through the house one night when all the others are sleeping, and her mood swing and sudden revulsion for her new best friend, Theodora, which just creeped me out. In the beginning when they had become immediate friends and were comparing themselves and their relatives to each other, they had marked themselves as obvious cousins. Readers of the book have to admit, in the part where Theodora must move into Eleanor's room because of the supernatural phenomena which had taken place in hers and she states cheerfully the two will be just like sisters, they were freaked the moment they read Eleanor simply say, spitefully, and out of earshot, "Cousins."
NEVER read this book during daytime, as I made that mistake never to read a page after nightfall... It still scared me, but it was ruined by my cowardice. The more this book scares you, the more you'll like it. After all, why would you keep reading it if you don't want to?

The Haunting Of Hill House opens with a very observant comment on sanity. It's a truly great opening line. Most of the book is superb. In an age of gore and one-dimensional characters, Jackson's old novel is a breath of fresh air. Jackson creates an opiate-like dreamstate that holds you to the plot development. Unfortunately, this spell is shattered by the arrival of Dr. Montague's wife & her driver. They are abrasive and crude and have no place in the atmosphere created by Jackson's earlier pages. Luckily, they don't arrive until late in the book. She had me completely until their arrival. After that, the story becomes disjointed and erratic. I do think this book is worth a person's while, though I don't feel that it lived up to its reputation. It was beautifully constructed...it just wasn't completed in the same style. It's sort of like seeing a wonderful Victorian house completed with a tin roof. It could have been more appropriately entitled The Hauntings Of Hill House's Inhabitants' Heads. The tension and comraderie between the characters intrigued me more than any supernatural threats. There are some wonderful insights to the human mind hidden in these pages.

This is a "beautifully written, quiet, cumulative shudder," to quote Dorothy Parker.

I like the devices Jackson uses to keep the reader disoriented. She simulates the effects of Hill House on its visitors, and makes the reader a participant on Dr. Montague's team.

We drop into conversations and scenes already in progress. (What's going on?) We cannot accurately gauge space or time. (Where are we in this crooked, dark house? When are we? Time drags, and seems measured in the repetition of small jokes, fears, and Mrs. Dudley's rules.) We cycle in and out of light and darkness, heat and cold, nature and building, haunting and waiting. (What are my senses about to experience?)

Most effectively, we are never sure if our narrator is reliable: are Eleanor's insights about human nature paranoid, or is she actually incredibly astute?

Shirley Jackson's 'The Haunting of Hill House' is the classic modern haunted house story. I was assigned to read this in high school many years ago and I never got past the first couple of pages; not unusual for high school students I guess, but unusual for me. Now I have picked it up again and I don't know why I never finished before. It isn't long or complex, but is instead a readable story with a few really gripping scenes. However is is somewhat episodic. Jackson ratchets up the suspense, then lets it deflate the next chapter, requiring the suspense to be built up again almost from scratch again. I have heard it compared to Henry James's 'Turn of the Screw' and I believe the comparison to be apt, as it is very ambiguous how many of the events are real and how many are occurring only in the mind of Eleanor.

* Eerie, terrifying book written with chilling accuracy
* Subtle themes can depress vulnerable readers
* A classic, similar to The Turn of the Screw - Literary Touchstone Classic

This deeply troubling book that was the basis of the 1963 movie (The Haunting, starring Julie Harris), plus the disappointing 1999 remake, also called The Haunting.

It's the kind of book you'll read on a windy night when the house is creaking, and you're ready for a "good scare."

By the time you finish the book, you may regret ever picking it up. It's that scary, but in a subtle way that can rattle you more than you expected.

The book's plot is almost identical to the chilling and sinister 1963 movie, The Haunting. A group of people spend several days at Hill House, testing the house and their own psychic abilities.

The main characters are an inquisitive scientist, a skeptical playboy, a woman who follows "a different drummer," and another who is looking for an escape from guilt and the feeling that life is passing her by.

The jovial house party quickly unravels as the house -- and its ghosts -- torment the most vulnerable guests.

As madness begins to manifest, more than one of the guests is at risk.

It's a thoroughly chilling and somewhat twisted tale, on several levels.

This book accurately presents the troubling side of ghost hunting in a fictional setting. And, because it is so vivid, reading this book can push some people too far.

If you are bothered by unwanted thoughts, I cannot recommend this book. Its effects can be damaging and insidious.

However, if you're rabid about ghost hunting, and are either stalwart or foolhardy enough to tackle this book, it's a brilliant work of fiction by an award-winning writer.

As with the 1963 movie, this novel provides a genuine sense of what real hauntings are like.

Shirley Jackson seems to have a window into the human mind in her writing style. This book is a perfect example of that skill. This book is horrifying, but not in the standard way of say, Scream or Nightmare on Elm Street. This goes much deeper. She masterfully molded the story with a frightening blend of Eleanor's personality and Hill House's personality. This story is somewhat contradictory in that Eleanor is not an evil person, and she is frightened by the evilness of Hill House, but yet she desires to be at Hill House, because she sees it as the only place that she belongs. Overall, this book will stimulate every part of your mind: happiness, sadness, intellect, suspense, and fear. The events in the book come almost non-stop, and only pause for between Eleanor's thoughts. This is definitely one of the best books that I've ever read.

Shirley Jackson's elegant, balanced prose does one heck of a job at creating the most spooky atmosphere I have ever encountered. A masterpiece of the English language. Jackson has created a terrifying malevolent presence in Hill House, a character whose gleeful evil still makes my skin crawl. At one point in the novel, the house starts making noise, and only some occupants of the house hear it. Insidious! Make the group turn on itself! Brilliant! I can do this book no justice. Please read it. Stephen King finds Eleanor's primary trait to be narcissism; while she is narcissistic, look for alienation and a profound yearning for acceptance. Eleanor doesn't necessarily know what she wants, but she doesn't have it. Jackson's account of Eleanor's journey to Hill House firmly establishes that character, and is, I think, even more effective than the oft-quoted and incredibly promising first paragraph of the book.

The recent movie "The Haunting" had one good moment in it, both funny and frightening. The main characters are told no one in the nearby village will hear them if they scream...they are, after all, "all alone...in the dark." This line is the only line from this brilliant book in that wretched movie. There was no one like Shirley Jackson. Every word, every phrase she wrote had a twist in the end that meant something else. This book goes into Eleanor's head and often you can't tell if something is real or a product of her imagination. The ending is dynamite. This is a book I've had for many years, and I re-read it once a year or so. Yes, I already know the story, but there's always a new phrase that pops out of the dynamic writing that takes you by surprise. Miles better than anything Stephen King ever wrote.

True haunted house horror that doesn’t rely on gimmicky bumps in the night. Many of the scares come from within a series of intangibles; the questionable history of the house, the unusual and unsettled minds of those who show up. Most of all, and what best sets the story, is Jackson’s unique command of prose, which makes otherwise unlikeable characters sympathetic, and sets every seen on edge, while also giving it dimension. Real horror at its finest.

Like many other reviewers here, I read The Haunting of Hill House years ago and it haunted me for weeks. I still reread it occasionally and it STILL SCARES ME! What I love best about this book is that so much goes unsaid. We are given all the necessary information to piece the plot together but it is the unanswered questions that keep the book alive in our minds after we finish it.
If I were not such a scaredy-cat, this book would make me want to read more about haunted houses (cold spots, poltergeists, etc.)
The movie, of course, was just silly. Part of the problem was that it tried to answer all the unanswered questions in Jackson's book (and answered them very very badly. The idea of Eleanor being the great great grand-daughter or whatever....oh never mind. I can't go on, it was just too silly.)

This is a short novel - 246 pages. I picked this up as part of an online reading group. We were looking for a nice spooky read for October. This was a great choice.

People expecting a nonstop gore-fest or a cover-to-cover scare may be disappointed. This book gives the reader a subtle, lurking scare. I found myself hearing noises in my own house and looking over my shoulder as I walked down dim hallways. There were a couple scenes that truly scared me. I had to get up and go sit by the rest of my family. Only two other books have ever done that to me - The Shining and Silence of the Lambs.

A wonderful, creepy book. I loved it.

The Haunting of Hill House is about Eleanor, and extremely sheltered woman who is invited to participate in an unusual study. The study is about haunted houses, and takes place in a creepy, isolated mansion in the hills.

As many other reviewers have noted, this book doesn't have a lot of gore and/or ghosts jumping out of the walls. The house actually is secondary to the characters, and their relationships. We view the house through Eleanor's point of view, and are never sure if she's really seeing/feeling these things, or if it's her insanity. One thing I loved about this book is that Jackson left some things (such as who did the writing on the walls) unresolved, leaving the reader to determine if for themselves.

An excellent book, and I highly recommend it!

This is a very strange book. Everything seems off kilter and half mad. Jackson's style, her characters, nothing seems right, normal or sane. Miss Jackson (as she was known) is widely and rightly regarded as one of the greatest American horror writers. But do not expect a Stephen King or an Anne Rice, although both writers are said to have been influenced by her. This stuff is completely psychological and really bizarre and twisted. Miss Jackson prefers her characters to be odd and isolated and out of touch with reality. This book, written from the viewpoint of Eleanor, who is a completely unreliable narrator, is that and more. The house as a character in itself is absolutely evil. Things happen which are truly horrific but then everything settles down and one can't be sure of exactly what *has* happened. Everything falls neatly back into place until the next time. The characters visiting this house, brought together for an "experiment in the occult", regularly turn on one another and play up faults and speak behind the other's back. Friendships and kinships fall in and out, everyone generally acts completely horrible. The house has them in its grasp, they appear to have fallen under the spell of two sisters who lived in Hill House with their deranged, fanatical father. The guests in the house speak to each other childishly, they play silly games, they tease and bully and bait. There is more than an insinuation of overt sexuality, of a kind of undetailed love affair between Eleanor and Theodora, Theodora and Luke (who stands to inherit the house), and Luke and Eleanor. The doctor who initiated the experiment wavers between clarity and delusion, and when his wife turns up late in the book with her creepy assistant Arthur, everything flies to pieces and the end of Eleanor is at hand. This book will unsettle and unnerve and stick with you.

A bit about Jackson might be in order, as the woman accurately reflected her writings. Jackson wrote "The Lottery," the most controversial story ever published by The New Yorker Magazine. She had four children, was married to teacher and critic Stanley Edgar Hyman. Hyman supported his wife's writing talents, but was typical of the time and helped little in domestic affairs. Jackson was a devoted mother, interested in magic and witchcraft, and by all accounts a delightful hostess and witty conversationalist. She was also exceedingly troubled. She had many health problems and eventually became a recluse. She smoked too much, ate too much, was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs. She suffered from intense anxiety and depression and felt persecuted by the citizens of the small Vermont town in which she lived. The fears that plagued her became a prime source of her creativity. In an unsent letter to poet Howard Nemerov she wrote, "...I have always loved to use fear, to take it and comprehend it and make it work and consolidate a situation where I was afraid and take it whole and work from these...I delight in what I fear. ..it is about my being afraid and afraid to say so, so much afraid that a name in a book can turn me inside out."

Well said.

I won't bother to see the recent movie version about this book, because the moving furniture and stuff mentioned by the reviews prove that the makers of the movie did not get the point of the book at all. The book is Scary with a capital "S," and it does not need any spectacular special effect to achieve that. The supernatural is only glimpsed at, but it is enough to generate an atmosphere, not of hair-raising terror, but of the deepest unease, which is considerably more difficult and demands a far subtler technique. In fact, Jackson's technique is so subtle, that the fans of grosser kinds of horror story may be disappointed by it, but for those who can appreciate it, the experience is absolutely unforgettable. This book does not merely scare you, it haunts you, for years to come.

I felt like this book had a lot of potential but it failed to keep me scared or interested. Things would start to happen and then it would just end. There are so many questions left unanswered or forgotten about that it makes this a confusing read.

I saw the brilliant movie version of this novel (The Haunting, 1963, directed by Robert Wise) as an adolescent in the mid-sixties. I didn't sleep for three nights. Reading the novel as an adult didn't cause me to lose sleep, but nevertheless this is a very disturbing, psychological story of the occult. It hints at possible aspects of life and death that I for one would rather not think about, and yet I am drawn to stories like this like a moth to a flame. The book describes a small gathering of diverse people called together by a parapsychologist to test some of his theories in an old house shunned for years because of its evil, diseased reputation. This book was heading for my top twenty list until the author inexplicably introduced a character at about 2/3s of the way through that devastated the mood, turning the atmosphere from one of unremitting terror to one of farce. Maybe Jackson was cracking under the horror of her own story and just had to relieve the tension some way. Nevertheless it is still the best ghost novel I have ever read.

I read most of this book sitting in an open cafe, with dozens of people around, in the bright sunshine of the day. And the whole time, I was scared out of my wits. I have never read anything more frightening. I hated to go home alone in spite of my big black dog who provides unrelenting protection. So be warned: if you scare easily, or are the nervous type, this book may be to powerful for you; on the other hand, if you are searching for the fright of your life, you have found it in this book.
Several people are gathered in old Hill House, chosen for an experiment in ghost-hunting because each has experienced psychic phenomena before. Do these people bring out the ghosts and demons of Hill House? Are these just suggestible people given to delusions? Read closely to find out.

The Haunting of Hill House is a tale told in the style of a classic ghost story. A group of young people is brought together by a professor to study the paranormal occurences that are rumored to be happening in an old house. The reader is left in the dark as much as the characters and learns about the house as they do.

The story is entertaining and spooky. I did however get a little lost and confused towards the end when things begin to really get out of hand for the main character. Things are never totally wrapped up, and the reader is left to draw their own conclusions as to the cause of the mysterious disturbances in Hill House.

All in all, a good read but with some wayward points and a few slow spots here and there.

I saw "The Haunting", the movie version of the book when I was in high school and I remember, quite vividly, how much it scared me. What's so ironic, taken in the context of today's effects and fireworks shows, is that back then, in the early '60s, this movie never shows a monster...or anything else that would OBVIOUSLY frighten. The breathing doors and sounds in the hall were more than ample to illustrate fear. The book is much richer in detail and includes, especially, two scenes which I feel really should have been included in the movie. The first is when Eleanor and Theo take a stroll around the grounds of the house with Luke and Theo and Luke pair off and Eleanor thinks they are right behind her. They are some distance away, yet she senses them (or something) close by. The second is after an altercation one night Eleanor stalks out of the house and Dr. Marquay sends Theo after her to bring her back. The two of them are so wrapped up in their respective inner turmoil they fail to notice how far they've walked from the house(and at Night!) They notice, suddenly, that the landscape has become like a negative photograph, with light and dark reversed...they continue on and come upon a happy scene, in bright color, of a family having a picnic. The description of this made my hair stand on end. The horror is implied and erupts only occasionally but always with tremendous effect. This is truly a modern classic of the genre...the opening lines as memorable as "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" or "Call me Ishamel"..."Hill House, not sane, had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more...within, floors were firm, windows sensibly shut, and whatever walked there, walked alone." My suggestion...don't read this book alone, but read it!

This book is very good-and I found the original movie to be an excellent adaptation as compared to the pitiful remake. If you've seen the original movie-there's not much to add. If you've never seen the original movie-it's the story of a woman named Eleanor who cared for her dying mother and is now quite delusional, who is invited to be part of a "team" investigating an alleged haunted house. Sometimes it's rather vague as to what is real and what Eleanor has imagined. Fairly suspenseful with a few frights. The book is rather short-and Jackson's style is a little different, but it is definitely a good book worth reading. As I've seen the original movie many times, there were few surprises, the exception being Mrs. Montagues characterization. Strongly recomended!

Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House is a novel written almost 50 years ago, by the legendary author of The Lottery, Shirley Jackson. A classic haunted house story fraught with spine chilling events that are sure to freeze the blood in your veins.
Miss Jackson's writing is so rich with vivid imagery and possesses such a unique style that the flowing tempo of the book is sometimes startling. The house itself and the main character Eleanor Vance, seem to be wrapped in a dancing embrace of obsession, depression, and loneliness. Jackson's characters are all insane. The house itself is declared to be "not sane" in the first paragraph. Something lurks in the house that attracts Eleanor from the moment she receives the letter from Dr Montague. The draw of the house is inevitable for her. She steals her sister's car and dreamily finds her way to Hill House. It is obvious that this girl has developmental problems as she has spent most of her life tending to her sickly mother. The trip to Hill House is something "She is doing, by herself!" And what a trip it is. The terror is mostly psychological but it is terror none the less!
From the moment of her arrival, when the ominous pensive mood of the story is established, Hill House slowly but surely captures Eleanor. The slow merging of Eleanor's character and the house is brilliant and the tension becomes unbearable at times.
Perhaps the only complaint I have is the introduction of the two characters of Mrs Montague and her weird assistant, Arther. The place that they come in is so think in mood that their arrival seems nonsensical and misplaced. But the tension and terror, nevertheless, persists!
This book is a psychological spine chilling page turner which I would recommend to anyone interested in the genre. A must read for all fans of horror fiction.

I loved Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" but I couldn't get past the first few chapters of this book. I found the characters to be incredibly annoying.

I find that the best way to make reviews helpful is by adding a list of books I love and books I hated. That way you can compare and determine whether you and I have similar tastes. So here is my list:

Books I love or at at least really, really like:

We Need to Talk about Kevin.
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
When the Emperor Was Divine
The History of History
The Remains of the Day
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
The Night Circus
Water for Elephants
The Sisters Brothers
The Poisonwood Bible

Books I REALLY hated:

The Bear in a Muddy Tutu
1Q84
The Buddha of Suburbia
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Sun Storm
A Long Way Down
When We Were Orphans
The Haunting of Hill House

Stephen King considers this work as one of the very finest, on a par with James' "The Turn of the Screw", and he is absolutely right. This is not a bloody gore-fest, and shallow horror fans looking for that should look elsewhere. This is a subtly shaded psychological horror story, where the reader is never sure whether the supernatural events come from outside forces (i.e., ghosts) or from internal forces (i.e., Eleanor, the increasingly unbalanced protagonist). Jackson's deft handling of character interaction (forced gaiety, hiding tension and unspoken motivations), combined with her absolute mastery of narrative techniques (not one wasted word in this novel) make this *the* great novel of the supernatural written in this century. A masterpiece.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is brilliant masterpiece. There are superb descriptions of the characters, a lot of suspense, and enough imagery to draw readers into a captivating world. Shirley Jackson writes about four skeptics staying at the legendary Hills Dale House or Hill House. Paranormal activity starts happening, and each of them says it is hoax. If you want to find out more, I suggest you get this book. If you like ghost stories, then you love this book. People who like stories that are mysterious, chilling, and "wet your pants" scary will adore this book. Dracula, Frankenstein, and Jack the Ripper have all read this book from beyond the grave and have given it four claws up. It is a written thriller for the living, the dead, and anything in between. If you have read this review, then you should get this book. It is to die and be resurrected for.

Dr. Montague is interested in researching haunted houses, and rents Hill House, an 80-year-old monstrosity with a dreadful past, for this purpose. He writes to several people with some sort of psychic backgrounds or events in their lives in order to get them to stay in the house with him. Only two people end up responding. They are Theodora (just Theodora, no last name), a sort of bohemian free spirit who has a knack for being able to guess Rhine cards, and Eleanor Vance, a thirty-two year old spinster who has spent the last 12 years taking care of her invalid mother, who has recently died. When Eleanor was a very little girl, there was a rain of stones on her house.

It is the drawing of Eleanor's character that makes this book so amazing. She's a pathetic creature with limited social skills, someone whose own passive character and life circumstances have conspired to cheat her out of a life. And so, in a sense, you feel sorry for her, and yet you dislike her because you are afraid of being like her. Her sister, whom Eleanor lives with, is opposed to Eleanor's participation in the Hill House experiment, and refuses to let her take the car that they both own. Eleanor, who thinks she's been waiting for something like this her whole life, sneaks out early in the morning and takes the car, driving the few hundred miles to Hill House. And it's probably the first rebellious thing she's ever done in her life.

The fourth major character is Luke Sanderson, a member of the family that owns Hill House, who is there to ostensibly keep an eye on things. Luke is a self-centered boring rich boy. Hence, I visualized him as Owen or Luke Wilson. He is so boring that, after reading the book, I don't really have a sense of him as a person... but I think that was the point.

So, these four people are together in this strange house, a house that is well built but somehow seems all wrong in its proportions, a house where rooms have been built within rooms, a house where the doors won't stay open and where it is easy to get lost. The housekeeper and cook, Mrs. Dudley, won't stay there after six. Eleanor is at first repulsed and horrified by the house, but stays, because staying the course is really her last chance at having a life.

Supernatural, haunting things happen, but the really interesting thing is how the relationship between Theodora and Eleanor develops, and how Eleanor's attitude toward Hill House evolves. "Journeys end in lovers meetings," she thinks; and "I am learning the pathways of the heart." She thinks she is so profound, she's constantly creating fantasies, she is jealous of Theodora and puts her down in her mind, but she's really projecting her own need to be the center of attention on Theo, and wants desperately to be like her. Also, although most of the book is from Eleanor's perspective, you (as a more self-aware person) can see how the others are really reacting to her, how they really see her. It's uncomfortable, but so compelling.

And the haunting itself... the doctor says, "We have only one defense, and that is running away. At least it can't follow us, can it?" then, to Eleanor, "Promise me absolutely that you will leave, as fast as you can, if you begin to feel the house catching at you."

And the house does seem to be singling out Eleanor... what happens to her over the course of the book, and how Hill House catches at her... It's so amazingly, subtly done that I want to sit down and reread the whole thing, right now.

The Haunting of Hill House has to be one of the best written books I have ever read. The prose alone makes it recommendable reading. It is clean, economical and yet certainly artistic. The story is compelling and keeps you interested all the way through.

This novel, like many other Shirley Jackson titles, explores the themes of alienation and loneliness. Eleanor, the main character, has lived a life of privation and the first nice thing that happens to her is that she gets invited to Hill House for a summer of paranormal exploration. I think the novel hinges on Eleanor's search for a home. She wants to belong somewhere. In the end, she finds a scary way to remain at Hill House that you will just have to read about for yourself.

Shirley Jackson was a wonderful author. However, "Hill House", in my estimation, was frustrating, plodding and somewhat boring until the second half, which takes off and wins you over with true terror and creepy abandon. The inner musings of the primary character Eleanor were far too extensive and could have been wrapped up in a few pages. Otherwise, it's a hallmark of the haunted house genre.

This novel (and most of Jackson's stuff,for that matter) is the perfect blend of literary, character-driven fiction and genre fiction. Jackson writes some beautifully realistic and developed characters that they could be real people, and she puts that together with creepy, slowly-building horror. This isn't the overt stuff of modern fiction, but elegant literature about what happens when human minds are forced to consider the hostility of the supernatural or the evil we're all capable of. Jackson isn't shy about making a reader meet her halfway, and she doesn't shy away from asking readers to think about difficult subjects. A very satisfying read.

This is by far the WORST "scary" book I have ever read. This book pops up on just about every list of scary books you can find, so I decided to give it a go. The writing is written almost as a stream of consciousness, and there is no direction to the writing/story what-so-ever. The whole book I was waiting for the story to start, for the events to build and lead to something, anything, and then it was over. Four people go to a house, nothing happens, and then they leave.....that's the WHOLE book. To say I was disappointed is a vast understatement.

There's nothing like a good ghost story! And this is a superb ghost story. It is so incredibly frightening because it is so subtle and believeable. It seems like it's almost possible that something like that could happen, although I personally don't feel that ghosts are evil.

The writer builds the atmosphere slowly and quietly. Step by step, the main character Nell is seduced/terrified by Hill House. This is one of the few books I refuse to read at night, or when I'm alone. It's that scary and I'm 49 years old!

Can't really say too much about the story because I don't want to give anything away, but this is the best haunted house book I've ever read!

And the fact that not one ghost is actually SEEN merely makes the book that much more terrifying. I believe the term for this kind of book is psychological terror, which is FAR superior to blood and gore fests!

Here's a little humor about scary books and movies. Apparently, the characters in these books and movies have never read a scary book or seen a scary movie because they inevitably break what my family and I refer to as the Scary Book/Movie Rules. They are:

1. When you get the letter from the stranger inviting you to a remote old mansion in the countryside, don't go!
2. When you get to the remote village and you tell the townspeople where you are going and they warn you that the place has a reputation, go home!
3. When you get to the house and it gives you a creepy feeling, go home!
4. When you are stupid enough to go into the house, and the housekeeper seems a little sinister, and/or warns you about the house, go home!
5. When the first small, scary thing happens, don't dismiss it, GO HOME! At this point in time you still have ample time to pack your belongings and your vehicle should be fully operational and controllable by you.
6. When the incidents get progressively scarier and are not dismissable anymore and you discuss the incidents with the other guests in the house and they all mention that have also had similiar incidents, everyone should calmly, but quickly, pack their stuff and get the heck out of Dodge! It is still perfectly possible at this point in the book or movie to do this! GO HOME!
7. If you're dumb enough to stay, NEVER and I mean NEVER, go off alone! Because we all know that when you're alone is when the really terrifying stuff happens.
8. After you've gone off alone and had the stuffing scared out of you, run to your room, stuff your things into your suitcase and LEAVE!
9. The next morning when you convince yourself that it was all in your imagination and you go into the village, GO HOME! Don't worry about your stuff, BECAUSE THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU'LL BE ABLE TO JUST LEAVE!
10. After you get back to the house and you and your housemates all tell each other that you're all just being silly, get ready for several things after dark that day. What you've got here is the calm before the storm! Serious injuries and/or death, an inability to leave the house without great difficulty, vehicles not operational are all in store for you! SO GO HOME! Even if your car won't start, you can always walk. It should still be possible to do that.
11. If you are enough of an idiot to still be there after dark, write your last will and testament and prepare for death!
Special Section On Vampire Movies:
1. When you're planning on going vampire hunting, never start for the vampire's lair in late evening.
2. When heading for the vampire's lair at sunset, make sure that you have several large crosses with you and a few sharp stakes. And of course, a mallet.
3. When you realize you don't have a cross with you, at least check your supply of wooden stakes.
4. When you realize you only have one weak stake, give up and come back the next day at noon!
5. Have fun opening the vamp's coffin at sunset as she/he awakens! They'll be happy to have breakfast come to them!

This book seems like the perfect choice for an October audiobook! Heralded as one of the classic horror novels, I have been curious about it for some time. It’s been adapted into two movies - the original is one that my mom used to claim is the scariest film she has ever seen (though in later years she did revise this opinion!). And the remake, as a I recall, is a rather lackluster affair that bears little resemblance to the actual book. The woman who performs this audiobook does a nice job with both the range in her voice and in helping to augment the eeriness of Hill House.

It is an unsettling story, though perhaps not one that would make my personal top-ten of scariest books - though it is easy to see how it has so heavily influenced the horror genre. Its echoes are most certainly felt in later fiction. And I have always liked Jackson’s writing style - and it has a truly timeless quality to it that belies its 1959 publication date. That more than anything may speak to its continued success. It is the most certainly the perfect Halloween audiobook and I am happy to have listened to it!

Beneath the brooding gables of Hill House, something walks alone -- and if it wasn't haunted at the beginning, it certainly is now. Jackson's masterpiece is recommended for reading only in well-lit places, attesting to her genius in seducing one into the shadow world of the paranormal. Bleak and unforgiving, the story follows the fugue state of Eleanor Vance, thirty-two years of age and prone to disassociative disorders. From the hint of an isolated childhood spent in near-hysteria (and a brief poltergeist manifestation), to the eleven years spent caring for an invalid mother, Eleanor has lived her life with a sense of presque vu, searching for completion. Responding to an invitation from philosopher/anthropologist John Montague to spend a summer at Hill House under the auspice of a paranormal investigation, Eleanor is drawn inexorably to her eventual fate, deep within a house "born bad". The slight imperfections of the mansion, from its misaligned rooms to the doors that never remain open, reflect the labyrinthine psyche of Eleanor herself, and, by inference, the personality of one who lived there before. Hill House remains one of the greatest villains of American literature, becoming at once malevolent entity and eventual "mother"; whether its haunting is actual or whether it becomes the focal point for Eleanor's own energy, the hallways and rooms within rooms provide a dark and disturbing ground for the reader to tread. Previous reviews criticize Jackson's seeming inability to resolve the story, but this suggestion is ridiculous. Hauntings, by definition, are subjective phenomena, and the story is carried forward to its most natural and plausible ending, as the house offers its arms only through the desolation and eventual suicides of those who share its guilt. From the terrifying manifestations of the second night to the degrading cold spot outside the nursery, Hill House both repulses and welcomes its own. We, like Eleanor, are beaten into submission by a greater force.

I ordered this book on the basis of the 5-star reviews I read at this site. So many people were writing that this is the ultimate, most critically-acclaimed haunted house story ever written, etc. I am easily spooked and was a little leery of even reading it! Boy, was I in for a surprise.
The problem is that nothing--NOTHING--that happens in this book shocked me. To me, everything in the book is a cliche, from the gathering of the group at the outset of the book, to the self-closing doors, to the phantom blood-smearing, to the weirded-out housekeeper (a la Frau Blucher!), the pounding, the footsteps,the laughter, etc etc, ad nauseum. All these devices seem so worn out. My question is, did Shirley Jackson INVENT all these now-common plot events? I am not a reader of old horror, and I don't know. If she DID invent all these devices, and if everyone else has been copying her for the last 50 years, then this truly is a classic. If she did NOT invent them, then this book is one big cliche and a huge waste of your time and money.
That being said, I must admit the character of Elanor was fascinating, and the blurring of what is really happening vs. what she may be imagining is very well done.
By the way, the ending is foreshadowed in the fourth section of chapter three. The only surprise at the end of this book is that it apparently is supposed to be a surprise ending!
I may donate my copy to the local high school, I am sure I will never need to read it again.

again shirley jackson sees the world clearly, the meek imposed on by the strong, witness eleanors bullying older sister, the small town creeps and bullies, their sensibilites dulled by day to day life, witness the waitress in the cafe, throw in greed, jealousy and meaness and you have it, a jackson novel. seriously, elaenor is no more deranged than any other put upon dogsbody, she is simply unable to come to terms with herself and her life and stand up to the every day small atrocities she and everyone else has to cope with, and her way of breaking free is, well you can read it for yourself. She would have been better off selling the sisters car and using the money to move to france, isnt it true?

Perhaps I am the type of reader who likes things spelled out for me. When I finished reading this book, there were too many questions left unanswered. What did Theodora see in the woods that made her scream? It never said (or I missed it). Why did Theodora and Luke act strangely towards Eleanor during their outing to the brook? Why was everyone in the house somewhat cruel and uncaring towards Eleanor, and how was she being foolish? And from chapter 9 on, I was completely lost. The very end was completely absurd. Maybe I just didn't get it. I certainly didn't get SOMETHING. On top of all of that, the book wasn't even remotely scary. Anyone who read this book and can answer some of these questions for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Please email me your responses.

Shy, depressed Eleanor is pulled out of her ho-hum life by an invitation to spend her summer at a spooky house partaking in ghostly investigations. Joining her in the experiment is lead researcher Dr. Montague, pretty boy and homeowner Luke, and flamboyant and beautiful Theodora. Mysterious happenings and an unreliable narrator leave the reader questioning long after the last page has been turned.

This is my second Shirley Jackson novel and, as with We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Jackson spins a haunting and vividly realized tale that I both love and hate. I find her writing style irritating and her characters unsympathetic and unappealing, but her ability to craft truly terrifying, even if a little predictable, tales is unquestionable. If a reader is like me and really dislikes Jackson's writing style, I recommend pushing through to the end. The writing style may be torturous, but the books are short and the stories worth experiencing at least once.

I have been fascinated with Hill House since my teens. This was an amazing story then and it remains a classic with good reason. It's dark and atmospheric with just enough suspense. It's thoroughly engrossing. Jackson was a forerunner of female horror authors during this era and her material matched that, if not exceeded, those from her counterparts.

Eleanor is a beaten character at the start of the book. She was under the rule of an overbearing mother and upon her death, Eleanor goes directly to the overbearing rule of her sister.

Her hopeless existence is interrupted by a unique opprotunity to leave it all. She seizes the chance and enters Hill House.

This is an excellent read.

It took me a long time to get around to reading this classic story. I purchased it after reading a Stephen King analysis of it and was excited to read it. Overall, I thought it was very good but I expected just a bit more when it came to the build up of terror experienced while in the house. I thought the book started strong but lagged in the middle 2/5ths of the book, coming around at the end with a strong finish. The book hasa strange flow to the narrative given the point of view of the main character and a bit like Clockwork Orange or House of Leaves (though not as complicated) it takes a bit of time to get used to it. Overall, I would recommend reading it, especially as its a relatively short read.

I read it because it's supposed to be the greatest horror novel ever written. In fact, I was afraid that as I read it, I would imagine Owen Wilson as Luke or remember the terrible 1999 movie. There is no horror in this novel whatsoever ( If you want true horror I recommend Algernon Blackwood) the story is dull and lacks interesting scenes/moments but the worst thing are the characters:

* They are unrelatable
* They are childlish in every aspect, the way they think, the way they behave and talk.
* Eleanor, the protagonist is 32 but seems like 5
* I actually wondered if Shirley Jackson wrote it when she was 4.

Side note: Even though the plot is different from the movie, they are both equally bad.

Some people don't care for the Haunting of Hill House because they think nothing happens in the book. Yes, there are no "on screen" appearances by monsters and there is no crazed slasher in the book but it is extremely scary. There is something mean and undead in Hill House and Shirley Jackson wisely did not allow the reader to see it fully. Instead she cleverly hinted and allowed both poor, disturbed Eleanor and the reader to guess. Does the house call to Eleanor or did she choose it? Is Eleanor a victim or has she finally found where she really belongs? This is a horror and pyschological suspense classic and I can't think of anything better to read on Halloween night.

This book has become an annual read for me. It is so well written that you don't even realize how strongly it is affecting you. She manages to create this trailing sense of doom and dread that creeps from the page. I can't say enough how great she is! I grew up listening to Vincent Price and reading Poe. This has none of the gory and all of the fear factor. Great read!

Easily the best haunted house novel ever written. Hill House, with its history of one tragedy after another, is described by Mrs. Jackson as "insane". Even its angles and corners do not meet right. Its floors are infinitesimally off balance, making a sense of subconscious unease come upon anyone who enters. When a parapsychologist assembles a team to spend a few days in Hill House, no one foresees what is to come. Do not look for boogy men here, the menace is much less obvious than that. This is horror for the sensitive and intelligent reader. PS Unlike Ghost Story, feel free to see the original (not the 1990's remake) of the film version of this book.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson actually had chills

running up and down my spine. As others have said it isn't scary,

it's just mysteriously suspenseful.

Dr. Montague is a doctor of philosophy, who one day,

decides to conduct an experiment, and invite several people to spend a few weeks at a house which he knows to be haunted.

Eleanor is a loner, and I'd say a little unbalanced, to

begin with. She is one of those invited to this house. The 32 year old woman would have been better off not spending this time in the house.

I haven't read a book this good in a long time, and this

reviewer gives The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson five

stars:)

Lyrical, poetic....void of blood and gore, but yet, terrifying. Shirley Jackson understood the human psyche the way few people do. She knew what it was like to be on the outside looking in....and through the character of Nell, she let us all know. Such a thin line between the sensible and the absurd....the things that go bump in the night, and the comfort and security the daylight hours bring...the desire to belong and to leave your mark on the this world, and perhaps the next. Shirley Jackson did just that in this superbly crafted thriller. It should be used as a textbook for all would-be writers who wish to excel at their craft.

The Haunting of Hill House is I believe the scariest book I have ever read, not because the ghosts were so terrifying or the house was so alive , but because the characters were so real,and so believable. The movie (The Haunting) is from someone else's mind why they say it is based on Ms.Jackson's book is beyond me... I read The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle and many of her short stories in two days and thouroughly enjoyed them all, it is a shame we lost Ms.Jackson at such a young age as her mind was brilliant and there would have been many wonderful stories for her to tell. p.s. I slept with the lights on

I loved this book. It was hard to put down. Shirley Jackson does a great job of building up the suspense of the house, slowly, methodically, and getting you inside the character's head. The story itself is fascinating. Highly recommended.

The Haunting of Hill House is truly a frightening and beautiful piece of literature. It proves that you don't need a masked-maniac running wild to scare people: you just need a quiet, serene setting, characters the reader will care about, and a chilling story. In The Haunting of Hill House, a neglected woman named Elenore finds peace and serenity in the haunted Hill House where she is involved with a psychic research program. Soon, she feels as if she is a part of Hill House...so a question lingers in the readers mind; is Elenore losing her mind, or is Hill House really calling her? A suspenseful and thrilling novel you can't miss!

I FIRST READ THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS ABOUT EIGHT YEARS OLD (IN A READER'S DIGEST CONDENSED BOOK). I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED WITH GHOST STORIES AND I STILL FEEL THIS IS ONE THE VERY BEST EVER WRITTEN.,
SHIRLEY JACKSON HAD SUCH AN UNUSUAL IMAGINATION AND A GIFT FOR DETAIL THAT KEPT THE READER MYSTIFIED. I FELT THAT THE REMAKE OF THE 1963 CLASSIC WAS AWFUL, THE SET WAS OVERLY DONE THE SPECIAL EFFECTS WERE'NT IN KEEPING WITH THE SUBTLENESS OF THE BOOK WHICH IS JUST WHY THE ORIGINAL WORKS. I THOUGHT ONLY THEO WAS RIGHT IN THE NEW VERSION. THE CHILDREN AND HER GREAT GRANDMOTHER AND OTHER 'IMPROVEMENTS' WERE TOTALLY STUPID.

The plot is basically simple. It builds up the suspense & though not really scary, I can't take it off my mind at night (especially at dark). I find the characters' reaction to the supernatural events sort of weird. I was expecting fear but they manifested more of excitement. I don't know if it was the author's intention to make the characters appear "possessed" by the house's spirit or it was more of the characters' breaking-up, automatic self defense to cover their fears & attempt to appear courageous at the spookiest event. Overall, I enjoyed the book but was quite disappointed at the climax. I had to re-read to make sure I got it right. (I won't mention any further for the sake of future readers).

It took 2 readings for me to appreciate this book, the first time I read this about 2 years ago I just didn't get it, perhaps I was waiting for something more typical to happen. My second reading just recently was more productive, I see the subtle horror of this story now. Eleanor, a woman whose life has always been repressed in a dysfunctional family setting, had developed a fantasy life in her own imagination to cope. When she visits a "haunted house" with others there to study & record occult phenomena in a scientific way, she rapidly loses her mind and her already weak sense of self into the house.

People who think that Stephen King, Dean Koontz or John Saul are horror writers never read Ms. Jackson. The Haunting of Hill House is a deeply suspensful book that reveals that the scariest thing about the unseen is the effect it has on the mind.
Elanor, a narcissistic neurotic, becomes lost in a house that understands all too well that she is a kindred soul. She becomes lost in herself and the house that leads her deeper into its own hallways and the twisted corners of her own psyche.
This book will profoundly scare you. Its prose will haunt you for years to come. You will never forget this book.

I've read it a few times. But just because it happens to be the best longfic ever written doesn't necessarily mean that I'm gonna read it yet again. Because the fate of a certain pathetic character is just too damn depressing.

Here's my favorite bit: "In either corner of the hall, over the nursery doorway, two grinning heads were set; meant, apparently, as gay decorations for the nursery entrance, they were no more jolly or carefree than the animals inside. Their separate stares, captured forever in distorted laughter, met and locked at the point of the hall where the vicious cold centered. 'When you stand where they can look at you', Luke explained, 'they freeze you.'"

If you want blood and guts, stick with Stephen King. But for the more subtle and sophisticated reader, Shirley Jackson's book will provide the ticket for the "can't-put-this book-down" syndrome. I admit I had no idea what kind of story this would be. And yes, the beginning crept along at a snail's pace and who cares about Eleanor anyway? But, as the story developed, so did Eleanor's character. There's a definite interconnection between Eleanor's emotional state and the way Hill House seems to torment and then seduce Eleanor. The spirit of the house seems to be after Eleanor and we see Eleanor's initial terror of the house turn to a weird sense of belonging and neediness. Even stranger, even as you see Eleanor seduced by Hill House, the reader also falls under a strange spell as initially, the book starts off slow and alittle boring, and then you get caught up in it's weirdness, and when it ends suddenly and climactically, you wind up brooding about it for many days afterward.

I vividly remember the first time I read this Shirley Jackson tale, one by which I have come to judge all good horror literature. Jackson's strength as a writer of horror is not in what she delineates, but what she evokes from the reader's imagination, that core of our brain that truly is at the root of true horror.
Eleanor, the protagonist of "The Haunting of Hill House" is virtually a cypher, having spent most of her 30 years caring for an invalid mother, who has passed away before the opening of the novel. Now living with her sister, she receives an invitation to take part in an experiment in rural New England by spending a few weeks at Hill House, where "doors are sensibly shut, and whatever walks there, walks alone."
After literally running away from home, Eleanor is drawn into a relationship with Hill House, and, while we never actually "see" psychic phenomena, we become convinced that this is a house which is, as Dr. John Montague, leader of the experimental team asserts, is "born bad."
Truly engaging writers draw one in, and as you read, you too, will become part of the fabric of Hill House, and Hill House shall become the standard by which you judge the most chilling of horror fiction.

Jackson's masterful use of language makes this book remarkable. Her ability to control the pacing of the narrative, to make it both describe action and reveal the frantic interior life of Eleanor, holds the reader's attention. While it's not an out and out horror novel, with blood drenching the characters at every turn, it provides more than enough chills, and this story's method of frightening is much more disturbing than most, as the house seems to rise to meet its lover. Great stuff. Stephen King claims that this is one of only a handful of examples of truly great horror fiction. Good call by King.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE is one of the most subtle yet disturbing ghost stories ever written. Deservedly a true classic of the genre and a fine piece of modern American literature, the genius of Jackson's writing is in her SUBTLETY. Generally I find that readers who don't like or understand the book don't realize that all the while they're under Jackson's spell. (it's a book many people need to read over again) This short novel is one of the RARE FEW which will LINGER in the psyche LONG after it's been read! In the previous reviews, approximately 90% of the readers who were "disappointed" felt there was SOMETHING unique about the book. Eleanor. Eleanor was never "normal" to begin with; in Hill House she was like a kid in a candy store! Unable to relate to people, the house becomes her lover and her best friend; they become as ONE. I have to admit that I would have liked the book to have been longer, but I suspect Jackson's sudden ending was her style of "shock". Shirley Jackson knew what she was doing; this book is a classic witch's brew of symbolism and, boy, does it prey in the hallways of the mind! Forget what the previous scoffers say: read this alone in bed on a stormy night and I GUARANTEE you'll agree that Jackson was a master of her craft!

I read this book in high school and thought it was OK. I picked it up again just recently, having read a wide variety of horror in the ensuing 20 years, and I can't believe I didn't think more highly of it back then. (Of course, who has time for real literature when you're saving up your babysitting money to buy the next installment in the Sweet Valley High series?)

This has to be one of the best ghost stories I've ever read. It was first published in 1959, a decade or so before "horror" became synonymous with gore and perversion. (Sorry, but I just can't stomach the detailed accounts of axe-wielding cannibal zombie demons mutated by nuclear testing who rape and devour through hundreds of pages. I'd rather read Poe or Lovecraft.) The horror here is entirely psychological. It's very subtle, building so slowly that you don't even realize how scared you are until your husband stomps in to ask you if you need anything from the store...at which point you jump and swear at him and laugh and turn on all the lights and completely forget that you're almost out of shampoo.

There's no tidy ending. Shirley Jackson raises more questions than she answers: Is Hill House really haunted, or is Dr. Montague's team suffering from mass hysteria exacerbated by their isolation and the house's peculiar history, construction, and atmosphere? (And, oh, is there ever atmosphere.) Could the alleged haunting possibly be the result of Eleanor's latent psychic ability ~ a poltergeist, maybe? Is Eleanor possessed by Hill House or is she just losing her mind? I think it makes for a scarier story when the reader has to fill in some of the blanks.

The characters are well-developed ~ an unexpected pleasure in a genre where plot twists and special effects often take center stage. Eleanor makes for a perceptive, if somewhat neurotic, narrator, and there are moments that are laugh-out-loud funny. All in all, an engrossing, enjoyable, unsettling book that comes highly recommended by me.

Well, I'm sensing an incoming message from planchette. I hope this was helpful to you.

Shirley Jackson is still the best. She is masterful in her work and has not been eclipsed by all of the johnny-come-lately authors. Jackson makes you think about the complexities of humanity--even your own.
Literature, not formulaic--as is too often the case these days.

The best ghost story I have ever read. Great first sentence and superb last sentence. If you take it to bed with you and need your sleep to function the next day, then go early. You won't want to sleep until you finish it.

I leaned back and thought about this novel after I had finished. What didn't sit well? What was the impact upon completion? There was none, I was indifferent about it and the character outcomes. Prompting this realization was the overall feeling of blandness in the writing. The novel ends rather abruptly, anti-climactically for the slow build up that preceded it. Perhaps the times are dating this 1950's story, but I don't think that's it. It was quite banal, both in terms of character development and descriptions of the plot elements. In brief synopsis, four people from various backgrounds converge on a 'haunted' mansion to spend a few days noting any disturbances. The disturbances themselves are not even portrayed w/ a sense of urgency. One of the party succumbs to madness within its walls. But none of the characters are sufficiently explored. Even Eleanor herself is not given ample space and time to allow us to believe that she is spiraling... and is she even spiraling? The wife of the doctor, and Arthur added in the last few chapters, do nothing to enhance the story and appear mainly for humour and exposition through planchette, of the prior occupants torment. Which is further, never drawn out. This was a very subtle novel; unfortunately, to the point of being uninteresting.

It starts out slow, but it builds & builds, & by the time the house gets ahold of dear Eleanor, it's too late to go back! I was chilled upon finishing the novel.
Don't expect skeletons popping out of closets, and ghosties running rampant from page one- if you do, it will only lead you into dissappointment.
Jackson's writing is literary & quite concerned with character development & it has an old-fashioned horror story appeal.
The ending makes this short novel, retrospectively, all the more thrilling.
Recommended!

There are (not many, but some) reviews of this book where readers gave it only one star and said things like "it's boring, it's not scary". It definitely isn't boring - I was gripped from those first opening sentences, which have to be the single best opening paragraph of any novel ever written - to the end; but if you're after horror with monsters, or ghosts, or bizarre historical weirdnesses, this is not the book for you. This is a book about atmosphere; about character and sadness and life's unfairness and human nature. It's more creepy than frightening, although I personally found the way poor Eleanor's mind worked frightening. Jackson writes this marvellous, sparse, ambiguous but vivid prose. A few times in the novel, characters discuss how it feels like Hill House has become their whole world, that there is no other place outside of it - and Jackson really evokes that claustrophobic, dreamlike atmosphere perfectly.
It won't make your skin crawl but it should make you feel weak and woozy and leave you feeling haunted yourself - it did me. I loved the way so MUCH of this novel is left open to speculation - I loved the bizarre dialogue (and yes, some people do talk like this) and I loved the marvellous casual insertion of absolutely hysterically funny moments. Some of the scenes with Mrs Montague and Arthur are the funniest things I've ever read!
Every time I go back to this book to reread it's like being immersed in another world - like walking into Hill House. Other than to say that the writing is wonderfully skilled, I can't explain why I love this book so much, but I think that's it's one of those magical, inspired things that just can't be rationalised. Those opening lines really are the best ever written, I think.

This was a good book. No question about that. But I was never scared by it. I'm not a horror aficionado with a high tolerance for terror, so it isn't as if I was hoping for blood and guts, but this just didn't get to me. Reviews say 'don't read it alone'...'your skin will crawl' and other such warnings. I even read it at night. Cold, windy nights!! And I was really wanting to be drawn in to it. Instead I dozed off over the few nights it took me to finish it. Very well written, very good story, I'm just disappointed that it didn't have me unable to put it down. I really wanted to EXPERIENCE this book. Maybe it's because I work in retail. NOTHING scares me anymore!

Whatever you do, don't read the introduction by Laura Miller in the Penguin Classics edition until after you finish the book. In the introduction, Laura Miller GIVES AWAY THE ENDING! I was appalled. I read this story back when I was a teenager but couldn't remember the plot so thought I'd give it a re-read. I'm glad I did even though the end was spoiled for me.

I read this book in the mid 60's as a teen-ager and only on occasion have I had the skin at the back of my neck prickle or wonder just what that sound may be. A new recreated movie version is out and my teenage son is dying(pardon the pun) to go. I am afraid, as I was with the first movie, that I will be disapointed again. Ms Jackson virtually scared the teenage hell out of me without the gore or the sick dialogue that we so often receive, but also I was struck with the sad and lovely Eleanor who finally came home. This is a horror story but one that that makes you think of the cold of our psyche.

Shirley Jackson creates Hill House everytime someone picks up this book. In the quirky Oz of Hill House, Eleanor and her three companions confront the monster from within and the reader is held captive by the machinations of evil which slowly and methodically devour the psyche of the hapless "Nell". The author weaves a web of images which insidiously attaches itself to personal fears of the individual reader. Although most readers remember best the scene in the bedroom when "Nell" realizes it was not Theo's hand she was holding, I urge new and old readers alike to pay close attention to the walk to the grove for an old fashioned picnic on the lawn, which devolves into a frenzied dash from what I can only describe as the source of primeval fear itself. This is undoubtedly the finest horror book ever written!

I couldn't relate to the heroine insane or what I just couldn't care what happened to her I know this book is a classic and I've read a lot of them I also have done my share of writing and this book fell short of my expectations.

Shirley Jackson's greatest novel is a super de-luxe and spine-tingling tale of loneliness and madness. Eleanor is a homeless child/woman who is invited to Hill House to do psychic research with three others. The evils of house reach out to Eleanor, who, being sensitive becomes enchanted...........moonstruck, bewitched and euphoric --- she has found what she has come so far to find, and she feels in Hill House she has found true happiness however delusional. Granted it has Freudian overtones, but it's still good fun to read in bed during a stormy night!

Shirley Jackson is truly a master of the human mind. Her stories, including this one, are not just about these strange and horrible things that happen to people, but even more about their minds and the ways that they react to the people around them. In one sense you can see the end of this story coming for a while, but it's still a shock when you reach it.
I've already read every book Stephen King has written, so I was looking for a good horror novel. After reading some of the reviews here, I spent all day hunting for this book, moving from bookstore to bookstore, and when I eventually found this, I started reading, about mid-afternoon. I was caught up with it and couldn't put it down, not even to eat, until two o'clock the next morning. Now it may have just been because I was reading it in the middle of the night, but for me this book is more frightening than any story I've ever read before. There is a strange emotional tapestry among the ghosthunters in this building, but withing the growing unease, there are absolutely terrifying scenes that creep up on you and shock you. What happens to Eleanor over the course of the book makes you shiver. Now, I haven't read Matherson's 'Hell House', but I would say that this is the most frightening story ever.
Journeys end in lovers meeting...

The Haunting of Hill House remains one of the most important horror novels of all time and certainly one of the most singular haunted house tales ever written. It is certainly worth mentioning that at no time do we or the characters actually see any sort of visible ghostly manifestation; the phenomena are limited to cold spots, spectral banging on the walls and doors, messages written on walls, and torn, blood-spewed clothing in one room. If Jackson had compelled Hugh Crain (the main who built Hill House) to pop out of the woodwork and say Boo!, this story would have been long forgotten. Still, it quite amazes me that Shirley Jackson has met with such critical success and eternal popularity; I say this only because her writing style is unique and rather off-the-wall. Truly, Jackson's writing itself is haunted, and she herself almost surely was in some manner. There is a degree of insanity in every page; the characters often engage in dialogue that is childish of a sort and certainly different from normal adult conversation. I would think such idiosyncratic writing would appeal only to those like myself who are different, somewhat kooky, outsiders looking at the real world through thick-paned glass that sometimes fogs over or plays tricks with our eyes depending on the angle in which the sun hits it or does not hit it.
Eleanor is an especially appealing character to me because I share many of her doubts and fears: I don't belong, what are people saying about me?, are people laughing at me behind my back?, why am I here and where am I going?, etc. No one rivals Jackson in the ability to paint a deeply moving, psychologically deep portrait of the tortured soul. The fact that so many people praise this book must mean that most people are plagued with self-doubt, which I find sadly comforting. In any event, Eleanor is a perfectly tragic heroine; those who can't relate to her must surely at least pity her. The character of Theodora is also fascinating, as she largely represents Eleanor's opposite: a vibrant personality, full of life and a need to be in the middle of it, probably insecure inwardly but strikingly bold outwardly. This dichotomy between two "sisters" is a constant theme in Jackson's work. The Eleanor-Theo relationship is reflected and honed against the relationship of Hugh Crain's two daughters, twin souls who grew up the dark mansion as loving sisters but who eventually came to hate each other and fight for ownership rights to the house. Eleanor and Theo also have a subtle love-hate relationship, the conflict between the two representing a jealousy over the house. Both want to be the center of attention, although Eleanor would never admit such a desire, and the fact that the house itself obviously harbors a strange enchantment for Eleanor bothers Theo and enchants Eleanor. When Theo's room and clothing are painted in blood, the house clearly signifies the soul with whom its sympathies lie, and this marks a turning point in the text. Eleanor's rapid descent into madness seems a little sudden to me at times, and the exceedingly nonsensical conversations between all of the characters strikes me as quite mad. Of course, at the end, one wonders just which of the later conversations actually happened outside of Eleanor's own mind.
The introduction of the doctor's wife in the closing section of the book effects a radical change in the mood of the novel. Mrs. Montague and her associate Arthur are incredibly annoying people. Their professed beliefs in the paranormal and attempts to contact spirits by way of a planchette clearly upset the mood of both the house and its occupants (and the reader). Their over-the-top belief in spirits and determination to contact them using parlor-method techniques serve to ridicule the house and Eleanor and quickly usher in the dénouement of the story. Eleanor's sense of belonging to the house takes precedence over everything else in her life; she has come home, and the house's wish in this regard is fulfilled. The ending itself is striking and perfectly fitting, I feel, and does much to keep the spirit of this wonderful novel in your mind and soul for a long time. This is not a novel to cast aside and forget; long after you have finished the book, Eleanor and Hill House will haunt your mind and soul.

The plot is simple: a researcher of paranormal activity invites three strangers to stay at a vacant house to see if he can unlock any of its secrets. The house has a shady history and is inhospitable to guests, especially at night. Strange noises are heard and ominous messages are scrawled in blood. The characters are diverse and likeable, and their verbal sparring is a highlight. The book is a quick read but I found myself stumbling during dream sequences. Several descriptions (e.g. a forest of blindingly white trees) just did not work for me. My main complaint with the book, however, is that I never felt scared. It reads more like an adventure than a piece of horror fiction, which is fine but for the fact that the book is billed as a classic ghost story.

I for one saw the 1963 movie far before I read the book. While its rarely the case, I felt the movie edged the book in terror and character developement. I havn't seen it mentioned, but does anyone else see a similarity between this book (and movie) and Richard Matheson's Legend of Hell House? Its obvious Mr. Matheson heavily copied the style and scenario of this book (and later the movie Legend of Hell House which was decent in its day as well). I will say that if you enjoyed this book, Read Matheson's as he did it much better despite the obvious similarities.

Shirley Jackson wrote this tale with talent. Jackson weaves an intriguing tale that goes slowly but smoothly through the motions. The book isn't filled with creepy scenarios, but when they do happen, they're big. Mainly The Haunting of Hill House

is a character driven story, focusing on the internal issues of each character, mainly Eleanors.

The ending was a surprise, leaving me feel a hollow feeling in my chest. Although it's not filled with action, The Haunting of hill house is disturbing and will keep the reader enthralled. Check it out.

The story "Haunting of Hill House" has great examples of people changing just to fit in. Although the "Haunting of Hill House" fits this description perfectly with its eerie description of supernatural tales of the happenings of Hill House; there is more to it than hauntings. The story starts out with three guests being invited to the house to monitor any out of the ordinary occurrences in Hill House. Throughout the story the guests experience some ghostly moments. However during this, one of the guest named Eleanor changes her ways to fit in with the guests. One example would be when Eleanor told lies about herself and her past, and when Eleanor went around the house alone having no fear. Finally Eleanor became open and spoke out what was on her mind.

In the story Eleanor feels that she does not fit in with the group of people who are staying at Hill House. She is a person with a lack of confidence so she feels she has to lie to feel accepted. Theo came through the bathroom door into Eleanor's room, she is lovely, Eleanor thought, turning to look, I wish I were lovely." This quote shows the lack of confidence she has. One of Eleanor's lies was when she told the others she lived alone in an apartment. We all know this is to be untrue because she lives with her sister and husband in a house. The reason she told this lie was because Theo lived in an apartment with a friend so she felt Theo would not accept her. It was sad that there was such lack of self esteem in Eleanor, that she could not be her own person!

I though the story was more than just paranormal things, it was a story of a lost women finding herself!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. Having admitted that, I feel lacking in literary taste. Kind of like when I like an outfit on Project Runway and the judges rant about how tasteless and tacky it is.

Hill House is beautifully written and very descriptive and I could envision the landscape, the house and the characters. That all came alive for me. I could even feel the moody, somber hills close around on me. I could envision the fields they walk through and almost taste the summer air around me. I think the spooky parts were definitely spooky. How the house trapped and tricked them. Sometimes it seems very subtle and sometimes the house practically assaults them.

I could see the characters. The desperation of Eleanor, the self centeredness of Theo, the humor of Mrs. Montague. I found their banter in the face of the strangeness of the house funny and I understood it as a type of defense. But honestly, I didn't really like the characters that much. Dr. Montague seems kindly and I liked Mrs. Montague and found her refreshing and ridiculous, but I never connected to anyone. I thought that Eleanor and Theo were especially odd. I didn't really like Eleanor and I felt sorry for her as well. She seems to be very phony or she just doesn't have her own identify. Maybe it's a bit of both. She thinks about every action she takes, worries excessively about what the others think of her and strives to present a persona that will make her more appealing.

The house is a character as well, one I found more intriguing than the flesh and blood ones. It has solid foundations but is misleading. The proportions are off, its layout is odd, it is off center and off balance. It has power over all the players, more strong in some than others. It's history is interesting and at times sad which may contribute to its influence on the inhabitants, past and present.

I think the questions the story brings about are interesting. Did the house drive Eleanor mad, use its influence on her, or was she a little bit mentally ill to start with?

I understand that this is an important book and I do understand why. It's a complicated story with many things to look at and analyze: psychology, behavior, relationships and yes even paranormal activity. Maybe if I was reading it with someone else or within a class setting I could have learned more than I got out of it, or have seen differing opinions. However, I really just wanted to finish it so I could move on.

Loved reading one the original horror stories. There are parts that are predictable, but that's because it inspired so many filmmakers and other writers that we've seen her original take on horror so many times.

Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" has been said, by some, to be disappointing and not scary. These ludicrous definitions are clearly given by those who read the book while the sun still shone, or by those who read it in a room filled with sounds that resemble a birthday party. "Disappointing," "not scary?" These definitions, which lack depth for the opinions of a Shirley Jackson novel, in all simple probability were given by those who couldn't handle the subtle structure of terror that stealthily creeps upon them, so they either threw the book down early, not giving it a chance in hell, or skimmed through it, calling it such things as boring, like idiots. Shirley Jackson is a master of structure and navigates her horrors with subtle attention and depth. The Haunting of Hill House is slight and terrifying. Those who say otherwise need time with the book in a dark room, alone, and at night.

I poetic review of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel Haunting Of Hill House.

Through the gainess of time,
To a place not far from here.
To a land not known,
To a place I've always known.

I walk among the shadows,
Shadows crossing through my mind.
Not realizing,
It's only a thought.

These past few days,
Have brought such wonderment.
For only my eyes may see,
Glory of a house to be.

The beautiful literary words come to life,
In the maze of my mind.
No twisted tales of horror here,
Only the literary beauty of sumptuous written words.

The Haunting Of Hill House is a beautiful example of a style of writing that seems to seldom ever be written anymore. The characters are alive and real.

There are no monsters and demons within. This is a journey through the psyche of the human mind. And what a wonderful journey it was.

-Michael S. Kelley

Having wasted my money on Stephen King's latest efforts, I decided to reread THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE to remind myself what real atmospheric, believable horror is like. I was not disappointed. It was even better than I remembered and still sends shivers down my spine. If your taste is for gore and mindless gross-out - don't buy this book - you will be disappointed. If, however, you appreciate subtle and intelligent horror-writing don't hesitate - I assure you you're in for a real treat

Another ghost story; another disappointment in my hunt for something scary.

But...

The author does something sort of masterful with one of their characters, here, and that redeems a book that spends half of its pages on character development.

You will read it and be bored and want it to get going, and then, it will get going and be over and you will be happy the first half of the story developed the characters.

Now that it is done, I find I enjoyed it, but that was not my experience while reading it.

Strange, and worth reading, for the novel approach to the ghost story. It is an interesting way to experience a haunting.

The movie (1963 version)is what scared the writer of this reveiw. The book sweeps you into Hill House from its poetic beginnning to the unsettling ending. The book is the story of four people who stay in a house to investigate its dark power. Eleanor: a spinster, alone and entranced with Hill Houses power. Theodora: sophistacated and daring and phsycic. There is the Luke the heir of Hill House and a liar. And Dr. Montague the rational man who is leading the investigation. we follow Eleanor's descent into the house. She grows paranoid and erratic. As she and Theodora are plagued by the house Eleanor realizes she belongs to Hill House. THe book is written through the point of veiw of Eleanor. Her phsycological state is reflected in the writing. Jackson eiher knows what she is doing with the addition of Dr. Montague's wife towards the end and this reveiwer didn't or she didn't know at all. An excdllent book recommended for anyone who enjoys a ghost story.

It's a good story. Very good atmosphere. However, maybe we are much more used to scary and creepy things. It didn't have the impact that I suppose it 50 years ago. Needs a couple more spine-tingling creepy moments to make it even more unclear if the main character is crazy or if haunted things are really going on. These days we have seen the unreliable narrator bit quite a lot.

I kept waiting for something to happen... Then it just ended. Nothing remotely interesting or scary about this book. I don't get all the hype about its being one of the great classic haunting stories of all time.

Shirley Jackons classic is by far one of the best book i have ever read. She is able to purvey horror not through excessive gore but through mood, atmosphere, and inference. This novel is scary on a psychological level...your imagination runs away with you when you read it. The prose flows like a smooth liquid. When you put the book down you have to take a minute and recooperate. I highly reccommend it for anyone who loves haunted house stories or who has seen the movie.

Hill House has stood for eighty years, and it waits patiently as a group of four begin to investigate the lurid history and supposed supernatural happenings that surround the dark dwelling.
The group of four is led by Dr. John Montague, whose avocation is parapsychology. There is also Luke Sanderson, a family heir; Theodora, a worldly clairvoyant; and Eleanor Vance, the protagonist of the novel, and a woman who has lived a sheltered life on the fringes of society and whose sanity hangs precariously in the balance.
It is Montague's intention to find the true reasons for the phenomena in Hill House; but he and the others are soon drawn past any type of investigation and caught up in a psychological nightmare, the focus of which is Eleanor herself. It seems that Hill House has found a kindred spirit in Eleanor will stop at nothing until it consumes her.
Jackson weaves her magic expertly in this novel, and other than a weak subplot that involves a potential romance between Luke and either of the women in Hill House, the story is tightly-woven with scares galore, and a literary framing effect which leaves the reader with the certainty that if Hill House was not truly haunted at the beginning of the novel, it undoubtedly is by the end.
A great read anytime.

Jackson's classic is garnering much attention as a new film verges on release.
I enjoyed the book and was genuinely terrified several times, but these build ups of terror are seemingly jerked to an abrupt halt before they can climax. Clearly, the haunting of the title is merely a backdrop to the true action of the book - namely Eleanor's mental disintegration. Although there are superficial parallels to The Shining, the difference is clear. In The Shining, Jack is used by the house and fights back. In The Haunting of Hill House, Eleanor is invited by the house, and she joins the party.
Once this is established, the reader's view is subtly shifted from the fear which holds all of the characters in check, to Eleanor's growing paranoia and insanity. It is this switch which leaves many readers confused.
It will be interesting to see how this plays on scree, as I must admit that I have never seen the original movie. The question is, will the new movie emphasize the haunting or the Eleanor's paranoia and madness? If it chooses the first at the expense of the second, then the movie will clearly deviate from Jackson's intent. If it, instead, stays true to form, it will be interesting to see how the Eleanor's paranoid thoughts and views will play out on screen.

After reading this story(which I finished at midnight) I had an adrenaline rush and terror which lasted for four hours. For three days afterword, I could think of nothing but the story and I was constantly looking over my shoulder. This story is told from a deranged womans point of veiw. As the story progresses, Her phychosis becomes more and more evident. I would reccomend this story to anyone who likes scary stories, and who likes stories that make you think.

This is one of the only realistic haunted house stories out there. Some people criticize it because the horror is not very overt. The apparent haunting amounts to little more than a few bumps in the night. But the real haunting is far more dangerous- the house gets into the main character's mind and drives her insane. If you look into the folklore of hauntings, you'll find the same pattern. The extreme manifestations found in most horror movies are only fantasies. This book tells it like it is, and if you can appreciate that, you'll find it far more unsettling than the merely physical threats other stories offer.

This book was first published in 1959 but can definitely hold its own in today's market. The characters leap right off the pages; they are fun, a little tragic, a little silly. I didn't find it to be a nail-biting horror tail. Instead, the story was more of an expedition into psychological suspense with an edge of paranormal horror. The characters pulled the story along, with Hill House at its center.

Dull and plodding. Annoying characters (the house was my favorite character). Seemingly pointless dialogue and confusing behavior (characters terrified one moment and laughing the next). The few action scenes happened so suddenly, with so little buildup or transition, that whatever chilling effect they may have had was lost on me. Unclear, unexplained connection between the house and the protagonist's strange behavior. Overall, the book was more like comedy than horror.

The Haunting of Hill House is a horror classic, and with good reason. The author, Shirley Jackson, does not use any cheap tricks or methods to frighten the reader - all of the fear is subtle and implied. It is a complex book that deals with mental health, fear, death, and the power of relationships. Worth picking up a copy to read, you won't be disappointed.

True, this is one of the scariest books ever written. You'll be drawn right along with it until the end when...well, when it peters out. Jackson's let her books descend into psychological murkiness before (e.g. _Hangsaman_), but it is especially disappointing here, because the setup is so dang good. Definitely worth a read, but prepare to be unsatisfied. Go right from this to _We Have Always Lived in the Castle_ or _The Sundial_ to wash the bad taste from your mouth.

I will admit I bought this book because I had seen the movie. (I know, I know, not a great way to pick up a book). But I had enjoyed most of the movie and decided to compare the movie to the book.

I shouldn't have been surprised when the book and movie were completely different. The only real similarities was the haunted house and the characters names.

I did enjoy the book, but I was a little dissapointed. I was expecting more. It felt like there was something missing from the book. Or maybe I was missing the whole point. Either way, I was dissatisfied with the ending.

It's a good book, but it could have been better.

Possibly the single scariest book I've ever read and as an English major and horror fan I've read many. All of Jackson's stories are unsettling, even the innocuous family stories. This one is just terror from page one. And it stays with you for life. Don't read this if you're a softie or easily disturbed. You've been warned.

This book is one of my all time efavorite books...if any genre. It is extremely well written, and the author captures the psychological as well as the paranormal haunting.

I highly recommend it.

Ever since my teens I have engaged watching the evocative black and white film based on Shirley Jackson's book. Recently I aquired thanks to the store this classic and if ever I would like to have to start reading a book again this would be one of my favourites. The book holds you spellbound as you turn each page, the conversations are stimulating and Elenore is so very appealing with her sad but lovely innocent ways. The book keeps you enthralled with it's spooky events and even more so what you guess is sometimes going on but not written down. It was like a breathe of fresh air to relax and unwind with such a book and Shirley Jackson created a masterpiece in this respect. The only downside being the fact that this work is in paperback and although it's a nice little paperback,certainly her work deserves to be bound in a wonderful cloth bound edition(publishers please note!) Yes! a classic and if you enjoy reading a good supernaturual yarn I can recomend "The Haunting of Hill House" as a must buy!

As you begin reading The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson you excpect it to be your basic haunted house story of ghosts and goblins but it is really in a league of it's own. It is a book about misunderstanding, happiness, and emotions. As you near the end you not only learn the fate of the characters but you also learn where you stand on certain life issues. Therefore I highly reccomend this book to other readers.

"The Haunting of Hill House" is probably the best subjective description of a haunting ever written in the English language. It is frightening: from the inside-out. It is Jackson's masterpiece. No wonder then that other masters of the genre have so admired & emulated this book: for this is top-quality story-telling. (I am convinced, for example, that Stephen King modeled much of "The Shining" after "The Haunting of Hill House".) The famous first paragraph of this book is seductive. And I think that seduction is what Jackson pulls off so well here. We are drawn into the house. The house is the main character, present & witnessing in every scene: yet somehow elusive. This is a book in which to dwell. I wonder if those who complain about "seeing the ending of the book coming" aren't hurling themselves thru the book too fast, projecting. "Hill House" is one of those Russian-boxes of a place, rooms that never seem to quite reveal themselves fully. "The Haunting of Hill House" is one of the few pieces of writing that physically made all the hair stand up on the back of my neck as I read. Brilliant!

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is an incredibly written story. I watched the movie after reading the book--- the movie is NOTHING compared to the well-worded, suspenseful novel. This is a spellbinding read for anyone who dares to try it... but you might want to sleep with the light on... I know I did. I kept imagining statues coming to life or hands coming out of the walls to grab me. It's terrifying!

When I was a kid some 25 odd years ago, the movie "The Haunting" which was based on this book scared my whole family silly. Years later, in those pre-video days, we were still talking about it. The movie was almost word for word straight from the book. This story slowly gets into your blood, sucking you right into Hill House. Before you know it, you're there too. I'd call it a psychological piece of terror. If I could write one book in my life, this would the style. Get the book, get the videotape, and just TRY to sleep!

Well, I finished the book this morning and I saw the Movie this afternoon. The movie is nothing at all like the book ,it just pretty much bears the same name and characters. That's really not a bad thing. It's good to be able to read the book and still have no idea what's going to happen next when you watch the movie. If you don't find the book frightening, it certainly is freaky. I've never read anything like it. The final 20 pages or so to this book is just about the most perplexing ending ever written. I still don't know if I hated it or if I loved it. It just makes you want to say "Awww, Why? It really was sad too, and even though it was a very good, creative, well written ending, I'm still glad the movie did'nt end that way. Overall, The Haunting Of Hill House was a great read, and I'm glad I read it, the whole Haunting book/movie thing really got my heart racing there for a while. But now it's dying down for "The Haunting" in America's Eye, the movie is out, the book has been read, now we just have to wait for the third remake, or something else like it. But I doubt nothing will ever top this masterpiece of American Literature.

The author uses a droll and funny style to tell her story. She was an accomplished writer and observer of human nature and it shows. She had a sense of humor and understood, probably too well, darkness and melancholy.

Eleanor Vance, the heroine, is to go to Hill House, reportedly haunted. What the thirty-two year old woman lacked is a life of adventure. She had cared for her mother for eleven years. She is to be at Hill House with Dr. Montague, an investigator, and Luke Sanderson, the nephew of the owner. She meets Dudley, the caretaker, who is reluctant to open the gates. The house is a maniacal juxtaposition of line and place. Hill House is a house of despair.

Eleanor meets Theodora, another of the guests. They have connecting bathrooms. Mrs. Dudley, the caretaker's wife, says that she leaves before dark. She seems to take offense at criticism of the house. Hill House has a number of little odd rooms.

It is pointed out that no one knows why some houses are called haunted. This house is associated with suicide, madness, and lawsuits. The landlady is frank about the house's undesirability. Dr. Montague obtains a short lease to carry out his researches. Theodora has telepathic ability. Eleanor was involved with a poltergeist in the past.

Ghost stories are a subversive genre and Shirley Jackson is a subversive writer. She was a large-sized woman who saw clearly the dynamics of groups, of collective life.

The book was ok to read. It was not what I would consider scary, but more like a psychological horror.
I finished the book right before I saw the new movie. I'd say the movie had a scarier story than the book, but the movie didn't stay faithful to the book, (except for the caretaker's wife's warnings.)
Maybe the book would have been scarier if I read it up in my room at night, instead of pool-side this summer! :)

This book is a classic. Much in the same vein as James' "The Turn of the Screw", we're never quite sure how much of what is demonstrated is the result of otherworldly forces or demons of the mind... although something is wrong with Hill House, the enigmatic quality of the story is what makes this book great. Stephen King and contemporary horror fans could very much enjoy this type of book.

I have been a fan of the original movie for a long time. I saw the remake (not great) and decided it was time to read the book. It has so much more texture and complexity as compared to both movies. This is the arcetypical haunted house book. Jackson's style is chillingly clear. Her voice has the same eery quality that her short story "The Lottery" has.
Just wonderful. A great way to pass these long, cold nights.

Perhaps the most important haunted house novel ever written. Jackson's smart and witty novel tells the story of a paranormal investigation through the eyes of Nell, who realizes that it may be better to belong in a haunted house than to belong nowhere at all. It is also groundbreaking because of the implied lesbian relationship between the two female characters. It also packs some genuine chills.

The books true title is The Haunting of Hill House, and is a classic of horror fiction. Its a shame Dreamworks chose to change the title to match that of its absolutly terrible film version just released. For those who don't know, there is very little simularity between Shirley Jacksons greatest novel , and the godawfull new film. The book is a study in pychological horror and deals with the gradual breakdown of "Nell", under the effect of the entity(or not) of Hill House. Read this book and save your $8.00! After reading this book if you still want to see a filmed version, find Robert Wise's 1963 "the Haunting" which stays much closer to the novel and is pretty scary. But, read the novel first!

I am an impressionable young person today, and a book like this is supposed to scare me. But it didn't. It did have it's moments.... but when i finished it, it seemed like it was missing something. I mean, it was great as a book , but not too great at as horror book. I did like the fact that it focused more on elanor's insanity.... not how the house was haunted and alive. This was a good book , but not great!!

After watching the movie, I decided to get a copy of the book and read it, what a disappointment. I have always been a fan of Shirley Jackson and her short story The Lottery and the novel We Have Always Lived In The Castle. This novel was a let down compared to those works. This book may have been scary in its day, but not anymore. The book is ponderously slow and showcases very little that would proclaim it to be a ghost story. The book does however show the psychological unraveling of Eleanor in the face of stress and fear of the unknown.

Really...I was looking for books that were top 20 horror....sorry, this was not it. It was boring, I kept putting the book down and I finally finished it. People that like mysteries don't bother with this one.

For heaven's sake, people, open your eyes! Read horror lierature that is older than fifty years, ok? If you do that, you will find that horror has been subtle for over five hundred years. No, when you read "Haunting," there will be no slasher, no blood, no Jennifer Love Hewitt running around and screaming. You will find some of the most skillful subtle horror ever. Do you really need a monster to feel fear? If you do, please read such authors as Henry James, H.P. Lovecraft, and, yes, even Stephen King (the book "The Shining" comes to mind).