Classic horror. A haunted house. Multiple movies/shows based on it. What could go wrong? This book has a lot to offer from the haunts, the investigation, and the psychological chills. But is it really scary? Let’s just say that I would have found it entertaining if Zak Bagans and the Ghost Adventure Crew showed up…
The Haunting of Hill House
Author: Shirley Jackson
Pages: 233
Format: Paperback
Originally Published: October 16, 1959
Publisher: Penguin Classics
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: June 10, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
I should start by saying that I am a fan of horror. I sometimes enjoy a good slasher film; maybe something gory like Saw or whatever. But I really like psychological horror and haunting/ghost stories. So I figured this would be right up my alley.
I’ve seen the 1999 film, The Haunting, multiple times. Otherwise known as the awful remake of the 1963 classic as Laura Miller points out in the introduction. Side note: I love these Penguin Classics, or in this case Penguin Deluxe Classics, books. The introduction is more of an historical essay about the author, the author’s works, and the history of the subject work. There are also suggestions for further reading. In this case, it’s comprised of Jackson’s other works, a biography, and a few others.
Anyway, back to the book…
The Haunting of Hill House, to me, is more of a psychological examination of Eleanor Vance, the “protagonist” of the story. Hers is the only real point-of-view that we get insofar as we don’t hear anyone else’s thoughts (although there are a couple scenes without Eleanor). And probably the most chilling aspect of the story for me is never really knowing what was taking place in Eleanor’s mind versus real life.
The characters, of which there weren’t many, were fairly well defined. Most of the time I could easily distinguish who was speaking, even without any “he said” or “she said.” I don’t want to compare this to a movie adaptation, but I could hear Liam Neeson’s voice as Dr. Montague. I really enjoyed Mrs. Montague. She was a hoot. I couldn’t help but picture Ronnie Claire Edwards in this role. Okay, okay. Enough casting… Luke Sanderson (not one of the Sanderson Sisters) was probably the character I liked least and I really don’t know why. I think it was just because he felt dropped into the story with no real purpose that couldn’t have easily gone to someone else. Maybe even just to have two men opposite the two women… Theodora was great. She was kind of like a diva and clearly sexually free. Was she bi? Lesbian? Either? Both? Also, it was hard to know sometimes if the characters were being mean to Eleanor, teasing her, or if it was all in Eleanor’s head…
Mrs. Dudley nearly stole the show in my opinion. She had no f***s to give and I was there for it.
Hill House itself really is a character in this book. I always hate it when people say that New York City is one of the characters and things like that. But I really do think it’s true here. The house has a lot of character in that it’s dark and foreboding and seems to be in a constant state of change. However, the opening and closing of the book make it clear that the house itself really hasn’t changed in the last eighty years and may not change in the next eighty.
I just thought a story about a haunted house would have more haunts. The characters all but debunked the doors closing on their own by assuming that Mrs. Dudley was going around closing them all. There were a couple creepy parts with all the noises and things shaking and such. But one still must wonder if that was all in Eleanor’s mind.
It’s possible that I’m too analytical and more of a visual horror fan. But I have yet to find a horror novel that truly frightens me or gives me chills or anything.
Overall, this was a good story, but it wasn’t really what I was looking for. It was a fun read with fully envisioned story and characters. So I’m giving this one 3 out of 5 stars.
