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Summary: It shouldn't be so scary BUT......
Review: I found it necessary to read this book all in one night. I then found it necessary to sit up for an hour afterwards watching cheerful video, and then went to bed with my walkman on.....I was a little creeped out.... What makes this slim novel a masterpiece is its surprizing effect. There is no gore, none of the trappings of current horror novels, and the language is straight foreward -- you have no sense of being manipulated. YET, sooner or later, it gets to you. Like her short story The Lottery, the very normalcy of the characters and your innate similarity to them draws you into the suspense. This is a must for anyone who appreciates the art of suspense over the bombastic horror of gore.
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Summary: Very Scary....Definitely Worth It
Review: 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.
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Summary: A Ghastly Environment
Review: 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. The house was built eighty years previously. The owner was widowed three times. The two children of the owner spent their lives quarreling over Hill House. After dinner Luke and the doctor play chess. The two women sit by the fire and talk. The rooms are yellow, pink, blue, and green. Eleanor sleeps well and awakes hungry for breakfast to be served at nine by Mrs. Dudley. The women, Theodora and Eleanor, have trouble finding their rooms. The ground floor is laid out in nearly concentric circles. There is a deerhead on the wall of the game room. It's eyes seem to follow Eleanor. Everything in the house is a little off-center. Nothing moves in the house until the observer look away and something becomes apparent through the corner of an eye. The house seems different when Mrs. Dudley is not present. The guests ransack the downstairs rooms for comfortable chairs and lamps. During the night in the bedrooms Theodora and Eleanor hear sounds. They feel intense cold. The men are outside chasing what they think is a dog. The excitement is intoxicating. A message using Eleanor's name is chalked in the hallway. Eleanor and Theodora are nearly hysterical. The house seems to be waiting. There is a quiet atmosphere. Another message is left in blood. The women commence to be out of sorts with each other. Because Theodora's room is disturbed, the two women end of sleeping in the same room. Several days after their arrival Mrs. Montague visits them. Her friend Arthur, a headmaster, accompanies her. Mrs. Montague intends to have o session of table-rapping. Arthur apparently is an adept at spiritualism too. Later Arthur is detailed to patrol the house. Mrs. Montague believes that her presence suffices to protect the downstairs area. Eleanor's name has been used in the seance. She clings to Theodora, cold-handed. There is a sound of pounding. Mrs. Montague and Arthur do not spend a comfortable night. Eleanor says that after their stay at Hill House she wants to follow Theodora home. Eleanor is willing to characterize herself as a sort of stray cat. Later she is found to have created many of the mysteries at the house. 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.
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Summary: THE greatest haunted house story of all time
Review: The Haunting of Hill House is a beautifully written, subtle, and terrifying novel. In this story, a professor brings a group together to stay in, and observe, a haunted house. The result is a psychological thriller that is absolutely stunning in its intensity. In Danse Macabre, Steven King talks about the archetypical horror stories. One of them is the story about the Bad Place. This is the greatest Bad Place story of all time. Literate, intelligent, and highly recommended.
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Summary: The Haunting of Hill House Is As Good As It Gets
Review: "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
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Summary: This book is stupid.
Review: One of the few case's when the book is a great deal worse than the movie. It lacks action and genuine scare tactics, and isn't worth the time it takes to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Inconceivably Scary
Review: 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.
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Summary: Touching, Creepy, and Well Written
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite books. I don't want to give too much away so I will just say that Shirley Jackson makes you feel for the characters. The way she writes is poetry. It's an easy read, not difficult to follow. It's also one of the freakiest haunted house stories I have ever read. If you liked "Hell House" by Richard Matheson then you will really enjoy this book!
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Summary: Atmospheric and creepy
Review: 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.
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Summary: Not as good as claimed
Review: I watched the movie "The Haunting", which is based on this book, and thought it was horrible. Afterwards, I decided to check the book out to see if it was better than the movie. The first part of the book drags on for so long! There aren't even that many scary parts in this book! I reccommend this book only for those who are patient enough to work their way through the dull parts.
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