The Haunting of Hill House

Rating:
Summary: thinker
Review: though the book does leave you a little dissapointed from the lack of frightening scenarios it does make you think. From the beginning you have anticipation for something frightening then it leads you with an explanation that you have to think for.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, boring, boring
Review: Our book club at work just completed reading this book and for the life of us no one could figure out what all the fuss was about. Nobody found this book remotely scary and the only mysterious things about it was trying to figure out what personality would be inhabiting the main characters from page to page. The only thing that kept one member reading was the hope that the simmering lesbian relationship between Eleanor and Theodora would blossom.

Rating:
Summary: A classic every horror fan should read
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Worth revisiting
Review: Rereading this classic haunted house story does not disappoint. I found it just as chilling and engrossing as the first time around. Who can forget the subtle, and therefore all the more chilling, images: the writing on the walls; the doors bulging inward; clasping hands with some unknown thing in the dark? And the ambiguity only ramps up the horror -- was Hill House truly haunted, or were the unexplained events ony the product of a fragile mind belonging to a girl who believed that, at long last, she had finally found a home? Do yourself a favor. Visit Hill House again -- or for the first time -- sometime soon.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing thrilling about this thriller.
Review: "The Haunting of Hill House" is not a horror, mystery, or psychological thriller. It is a complete bore. I could not understand Eleanor at all. One minute she was confident about herself, the next minute self-conscious. She liked Theo and Luke, and then despised them; I don't understand why she felt so close to the house. There were no super natural experiences, aside from thumping on the door. I felt this story was a total waste of time, and petty. The movie "The Haunted" is very loosely based on this book (same character names, different circumstances, but much more interesting), and I suggest you see it instead. This book is nowhere near a classic. I do not recommend.

Rating:
Summary: A Quaint Gothic!!!
Review: 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:)

Rating:
Summary: Psychological terror
Review: 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.


Rating:
Summary: Not what I was Thinking...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Quite simply the greatest thing since sliced bread
Review: 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.'"

Rating:
Summary: paranormal spookiness entertains..
Review: '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.