Rating: 
Summary: A must-read for horror affecionados
Review: This book is a classic. Much in the same vein as James' "The Turn of the Screw", we're never quite sure how much of what is demonstrated is the result of otherworldly forces or demons of the mind... although something is wrong with Hill House, the enigmatic quality of the story is what makes this book great. Stephen King and contemporary horror fans could very much enjoy this type of book.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!!
Review: In a time when graphic special-effects draw an audience instead of clever story-lines, this book is one of a kind. It is a classic in that I have read no other book like it. It chills you without ever going into things more than necessary, and leaves you with an impression you will never forget. This book is a masterpiece in horror, and everyone should read it at least once!
Rating: 
Summary: A melancholy Gothic
Review: Listed in "Horror: 100 Best Books"
Listed in Cawthorn and Moorcock's "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books".Shirley Jackson's novel is not a story of out-and-out supernatural happenings or gory tableaus. It's more of a melancholy tale, a picture of a person lost to despair and gloominess. Eleanor, the timid outsider who has her first taste of belonging at Hill House, plays both heroine and victim in this story. It is told from her viewpoint, allowing us to empathize with her. After living for years confined with her mother, she tries to prove herself and the world she isn't a pitiful thing. And yet, she is so sensitive and self-concious that she stops herself from breaking free from her fears. Though "The Haunting of Hill House" offers some eerie moments, it isn't horrific (giving you a gut-level scare). It's tone is closer to a fairy tale, specially in the first chapter, where Eleanor is making her way from the city to Hill House. She drives through the forest and finds beautiful spots where she daydreams of living in enchanted cottages or by magical trees. This tone is sustained in the playful dialogue: in one of the following chapters, the main characters do a little of role-playing, calling themselves a pilgrim, a courtesan, a princess and a bullfighter. My one quip is that the ending does feel a little rushed, but that's just the effect the author wanted to give it. Just as some things seems to rush over and surprise the characters during their stay at Hill House, the ending hurdles towards the readers and brings them a halt. It works not towards a feeling of fear, but of sadness. Ms. Jackson lays the pathos heavily, so this probably isn't a tale for the horror aficionado who's searching for guts and scares. For any reader who would like a more subtle ghost story, a fable built on parapsycholgical dealings, a modern fairy tale, step in, and be forwarned that whatever walks here, still walks alone.
Rating:
Summary: Come back to the old house on the hill
Review: People who think that Stephen King, Dean Koontz or John Saul are horror writers never read Ms. Jackson. The Haunting of Hill House is a deeply suspensful book that reveals that the scariest thing about the unseen is the effect it has on the mind. Elanor, a narcissistic neurotic, becomes lost in a house that understands all too well that she is a kindred soul. She becomes lost in herself and the house that leads her deeper into its own hallways and the twisted corners of her own psyche. This book will profoundly scare you. Its prose will haunt you for years to come. You will never forget this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Scariest book out
Review: I read this book, and truly it was mezmorizing! It truly captured the essence of you soul. I read this book more than 9 times and each time Iam more interested. I can't wait until July 23, when it comes out in theaters! Truly you must read this book. Shirley Jackson is truly a guienus and an artist. sincerely, Quinntyn Cardy
Rating:
Summary: Aims for a deeper satisfaction
Review: I think the problem with most horror novels and movies is that they go for shallow shocks and jolts. Something like "Scream" or any of the other thousands of slasher flicks that have usurped the genre make you jump and look over your shoulder. Sure, that's fun-- I liked "Scream"-- but Shirley Jackson is too great a writer for that. The reviewers who say they missed something are accurate-- this is not a novel of events. It is a novel of psychology. The whole line of the narrative is dependant on Eleanor's state of mind. We watch her neediness and longing for acceptance ultimately consume her. The scariest parts of the book for me were not the banging on the doors or other manifestations (which I will not divulge for those who have not read this yet) but the shifts in Eleanor's mind-- how she changes her attitudes, especially towards Theodora. A subtle psycho is much scarier to me than a raving maniac. This is a novel that reads slowly, and one i cannot imagine as a film (I have not seen the original, and highly doubt that the remake will care more about Eleanor's mind than about CGI effects), but, like Jackson's other stories (the unforgettable "The Lottery" and the great "We Have Always Lived...") this is not merely written for shocks. It is a fabulous piece of writing by a modern master, one that like all great works, cares more about people than events.
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Summary: If you read this book, it will never leave you.
Review: I first read this book as a teen-ager in a condensed version in Reader's Digest. I never, ever forgot about the book. I spent about 10 years looking for it in libraries and used book stores and antique shops. Finally, a librarian got it for me, and I read it again. Time and my age did not diminish the effect it had on me. I convinced my daughter to read it and she loved it too. I am not a horror-story fan, but there is something about the way this book is written and the things that happen that is mesmerizing. I recommend it to anyone who likes to read!
Rating: 
Summary: Scarriest book ever??? NOT!!!!!
Review: Although I did enjoy the book, I was in no way frightened like some of the other reviews have suggested. The whole book builds you up into thinking the "Evil" of the house will be revealed but the answer and ending are really unfulfilling. I was waiting for the house to "come alive" but it never did. I hate to say this but I hope the movie scares me more than the book did.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-beding, horrifying, intellectually stimulating.
Review: Shirley Jackson seems to have a window into the human mind in her writing style. This book is a perfect example of that skill. This book is horrifying, but not in the standard way of say, Scream or Nightmare on Elm Street. This goes much deeper. She masterfully molded the story with a frightening blend of Eleanor's personality and Hill House's personality. This story is somewhat contradictory in that Eleanor is not an evil person, and she is frightened by the evilness of Hill House, but yet she desires to be at Hill House, because she sees it as the only place that she belongs. Overall, this book will stimulate every part of your mind: happiness, sadness, intellect, suspense, and fear. The events in the book come almost non-stop, and only pause for between Eleanor's thoughts. This is definitely one of the best books that I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Not for those spoiled by "Poltergeist" and Stephen King
Review: It is clear that some folks who have read this book and have been disappointed by it came of age in the current era of slasher movies and hide-nothing horror. The subtle terror of Jackson's book will escape those of you who grow impatient quickly and want to see the blood and guts right away. However, if you savor slow-mounting suspense and subtle, psychological horror, you will love this one -- as I did.
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