The Haunting of Hill House

The imposing Victorian mansion Hill House is allegedly haunted. No one can stand to stay in Hill House for more than a few days before the eerie wailings and mysterious things that go bump in the night leave the residents wanting to flee. Dr. John Montague, a specialist in haunted houses, decides to investigate the truth behind Hill House. To this end, he recruits the home’s current heir, Luke Sanderson, and two women with previous paranormal experiences, the selfish, theatrical Theodora and the neurotic, repressed Eleanor, to help him study Hill House. At first, the four regard their expedition as a fun vacation, and then Hill House starts to live up to its reputation. Soon the intrepid ghost hunters have turned on each other and creepy happenings are afoot…

The Haunting of Hill House is a fun novel to read – it’s fast-paced and entertaining. What really stood out to me are the characters. They are so well-drawn. I thought author Shirley Jackson did an excellent job of sketching out her characters’ personalities and perfectly portraying their oh so realistic reactions to stressful situations. These characters’ suspicious, self-pitying sniping is a treat to read! The two characters I enjoyed most were Eleanor, the pathetic milquetoast middle-aged spinster, and Mrs. Montague, the self-assured, controlling wife of Dr. Montague. (I’m thinking that Jackson must have written these characters after encountering real-life versions of these people, especially the hideous Mrs. Montague.) But the most fascinating character is Hill House itself. The house takes center stage and becomes very much a character in its own right. As good as the characters are in this novel, the most important thing for a horror novel is whether or not it is, well, horrifying. Never fear! (Or rather, do fear): The Haunting of Hill House is genuinely scary! The haunting scenes are quite eerie and several passages absolutely sent chills up my spine.

My only problem with this novel, and it’s not a major one, is that, in true horror story fashion, the characters never seem to realize when they’re in imminent danger although a gerbil of moderate intelligence in the same situation would’ve already locked itself in its cage with a baseball bat and crash helmet. (Is stubborn stupidity a mandatory requirement for horror characters? Are they required to put that on a résumé ?) Jackson does manage to make her characters’ lack of common sense more plausible than many other writers, but it still irks me when I read about allegedly normal people of allegedly average intelligence shrugging off abnormal doings with a blithe shrug.

The Haunting of Hill House is a classic ghost story. I love Jackson’s classic horror short story ‘The Lottery” (an absolute must read!), so that’s why I decided to read this novel. The Haunting of Hill House is an entertaining and genuinely frightening read. Enjoy! (But don’t read this at night by yourself. I tried that and had to put it down until daylight!)