The greatest haunted house story ever written, the inspiration for a 10-part Netflix series directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Hutton First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill … unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Ending is not what I expected. Wish there was a bit more to it. Otherwise a very good read.
Spooky–but not nearly as bloody as a lot of contemporary thrillers– and well-read in audio form. This is my first exposure to Shirley Jackson and I look forward to enjoying more of her work. There is a good reason this work has stood the test of time.
Okay, so I have no idea why this book has been praised this much. It was awful, don’t get me wrong I love old poetry and stories, but this was boring, drab, vague where it shouldn’t be and way too explanatory where it shouldn’t have been.
The best part of the book was Mrs. Dudley. Theo was a bitch the whole time, Luke was an unbelievable selfish douche, Eleanor was off her fucking rocker BEFORE she even got to Hill House and I can’t even begin with “journeys end in lovers meeting”, then when Mrs. Montague shows up it she is not just a bitch but she is a snob as well. All they did was sit around a room, eat, get catty with each other and act like children. There was a total of 1 part in the book that really struck me as creepy, this one didn’t have any creep factor. I’ll stick to Edgar Allan Poe for creepy stories and poems.
I was very excited to read The Haunting of Hill House. I enjoyed the move The Haunting (1999) and the Netflix adaptation. However, I was disappoint with the book. There was too much inner monologue. At times I was not sure if the characters were talking to themselves or out loud. I also felt the characters, to have been 30+ years old, were a bit childish. I was becoming more interested by the last couple of chapters and could actually feel the rising hysteria, but it abruptly ended. I wished the book went to other character perspectives to really get a good interpretation of what was going through everyone’s mind. I wished more background on the house was provided and more insight on why the house had so much pull to Eleanor. Overall, the book was just ok.
C- Tier. I loved the first half of the book, really good characters and relationships particularly with Elenor and Theodora. I did like the scary parts but wish there were more. The second half took a nose dive imo, all the characters became repulsive. Hated the ending.
This book is very strange. I was especially surprised by the ending. As far as haunting goes, you’ll have to let me know what you think.
A favorite of mine! Reading this as a freshman in high school, it helped to shape part of my writing style. I remember reading this late one night & feeling absolutely terrified! If you like paranormal horror, this is definitely a book to pick up. I think Jackson blended psychological & paranormal horror perfectly for this story.
I love the matte finish of this particular edition & how the edges of the pages are black, but any copy of this story will do for a good fright!
Shirley Jackson is one hell of a story teller, but reading this book out of its time is a little difficult. Some of the sarcasm and the other hints and tones were harder to grab onto because it read differently than we are used to today. I did enjoy the story of Eleanor Vance and her relationship with Theodora. I didn’t like that it was a little difficult to pinpoint the changing point when things really started to happen. It’s a slow build, which I’m fine with, but you have to be in it for the long haul. The ending is completely worth it.
The character development is quite intriguing. You don’t see much among most of them, but there are subtle hints when you see the changes happening in each character. One thing I can say for sure, if you have watched the Netflix series and decided to read the book, you’re in for a entirely different story. Both are great, but Shirley Jackson gives you the psychological, build up scare, that we all know and love, on a slower scale. Reading this book makes me never want to visit the fictional Hill House ever.
The quick mention of the actual Winchester House made me not want to visit it, either. And it’s only a day trip away. I digress. The point is, The Haunting of Hill House is on a whole other level of psychological fear that runs through you while reading it. Hill House makes you wonder about things. So sit back and enjoy it, if you like someone rooting around in your head and making you feel things.
Bizarre and haunting. Definitely worth the read. A classic psychology horror, gothic novel.
I loved this intensely suspenseful novel and the movie it inspired. The best of the best in psychological thrillers.
My favorite horror story. I love that there doesn’t need to be any gore or jump scares to make this book so scary. So well-written.
It’s a throw-back recommendation for me. I don’t need to say that this goes out to all the horror lovers out there, but if there are would-be authors looking for a template in building great suspense, then this is really the text book novel. It shouldn’t go unread, and it’ll be a much better investment than all those books on “how to write a novel”. Perfect reveals, ways to separate readers from their skepticism, utterly immersive, genuinely heart-pounding…there aren’t adjectives enough. Modern writers owe such a debt to the trail blazers, and Shirley Jackson was one of those.
I’ve seen the movie (1999) and the TV mini-series. Both were chilling but couldn’t come close to the haunting tale Jackson can weave through her writing. The book is different enough from both and more entrancing and horrifying than any movie could produce. The end leaves you with just enough story to force your imagination into overdrive. It is perfectly frightening and intensely well developed.
I love this book because you wonder, who is more haunted? Rightly called a classic for a reason.
Loved this book so much better than the old movie! Like the psychiatrics involved in each character. Each was unique but interesting! The dysfunctional family was a lot like today’s families. The ghosts were the BEST!
This is the “original” best horror story ever written. It relies on the mind and not on fake monsters.
This is one of my all time favorite books. I read it again at least once a year.
Why this doesn’t have above a 4.0 rating is beyond me. This is a beautiful book. The writing is… intoxicating. It makes you feel dizzy and drunk. It just goes round and round in dreamy circles. This is one of those books I appreciated somewhat knowing the ending of. I loved and hated the characters. I questioned everything, because in my mind Eleanor is an unreliable narrator. The tension builds perfectly, so that if you plan on reading this in one day, you better start early; once it’s dark and everyone is asleep, it gets scary and you go “ah. I’ve been waiting 100 pages for this and now I have to read in daylight.” Jackson is a master storyteller. Hill House is never described, and yet you see it easily and perfectly, and it’s all through the eyes of Nell. This isn’t a genre I allow myself to dive into too much (I’m a scary-cat), but I appreciate its underlying commentary on feminism and mental illness, so for me it was more about wondering what makes a mind mentally diseased and less about ghosts.
Right up there with James’ Turn of the Screw, The Beast in the Jungle and The Jolly Corner.
Better than the movie.