The Haunting of Hill House

Rating:
Summary: most haunting novel
Review: This book has stuck with me for a long time It truly made me get shivers due to the intense descriptive deails of things happening almst as if I were there with them. Excellent reading for those who love a good read of things that go bump without the gore.

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Summary: Haunting Character Study
Review: At first glance, THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE seems like the typical haunted house story. That is, a group of strangers assembles in a house to study ghostly phenomena. However, this book is much deeper and therefore much more disturbing. The main character is Eleanor Vance, a lonely and dispirited young woman who has never really done much in her life. She jumps at the chance to go to Hill House, and inevitably, she begins to fall under it's spell. The ways in which the house affects her are rather hearbreaking, while also being fairly creepy and scary. Some fans of modern scary stories may be a bit offput by the dialogue - the characters sound like they're from a 50s sitcom. However, it really is a terrific book, and the oppressed 50s style just adds to its claustrophobic feeling.

This novel is the first I've read from Jackson (aside from her famous short-story "The Lottery"), and I look forward to reading more. Highly recommended for fans of psychologically complex ghost stories.

Rating:
Summary: not all it's cracked up to be
Review: i had seen the new movie the haunting and loved it, so i thought the book would be even better. but i was wrong. the characters were scatty, and i didn't feel the plot was well developed. i will not be reading anymore of this authors books

Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece (but the dialogue....)
Review: there is noe doubt about this book. it deserves to be a classic. the plot is good, carried out great. an excellent subtle style, only matched by l.p.hartley, in fact. a few people gather to find out whether or not a house is hunted, and how. what will happen? great descriptions. my one problem is with the lengthy irrelevant dialogue. there is a LOT of it. otherwise i would have given the book five stars.

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Summary: Truly terrifying
Review: I saw the movie a few years back, but I dont remember much of it. But I happened to come across the novel in the library and couldnt help picking it up. Needless to say, I had a few sleepless nights.

Jackson really terrifies us with this novel. It is short, and strait to the point. Although there is not much in the book that is gross or jump out scary, it is the thought of being in Hill house that scares you. It brings back memories of being a kid again and going into "Haunted Houses" that all the other kids talked about. We would scream and run out because we thought we heard something, or saw something, but Jackson makes this real for us, making those noises and visions real.

The ending is a bit dull, leaving you a little hanging. But the way Jackson describes the character Elenore, and her struggles in life, the struggles and hardships she brings to Hill House makes you wonder if people like Elenore feed the house. I think that Jackson wants us to ask these questions in our head.

This is a novel you dont want to read before bed. I was truly scared. If you love horror stories, you will love "The Haunting of Hill House".

Rating:
Summary: The American standard of the Haunted House tale
Review: Shirley Jackson's classic 1959 novel "The Haunting of Hill House" quite simply is the standard of which all other American haunted house tales will be judged by. It laid the groundwork, inspiring authors from Richard Matheson ("Hell House") and Anne Rice ("The Witching Hour") to Stephen King ("The Shining," "Rose Red").

A brilliant author (her "The Lottery" must rank as one of the most terrifying short stories in history), Jackson's ultimate tale combines elements of our basic fear of isolation with the groundbreaking emotional angst of female spiritual independence in the 20th century. Equally fascinating about "The Haunting of Hill House" is the unnerving fact that perhaps the house is not truly haunted, and the manifestations are being caused only by disturbed female protagonist Eleanor Vance.

Occult scholar John Montague assembles a hodepodge group of psychics to spend their vacation in the isolated New England mansion known as Hill House - reportedly a genuine haunted house "holding darkness within, and whatever walked there, walks alone." Soon this group is experiencing cries in the night, mysterious poundings on the wall and doors opening and closing at will. It soon becomes apparent that the spirits of the house are focusing on Eleanor, a desperately lonely woman, 32 years old, suffering from the trauma of having to care for her dying mother for 11 wasted years.

The emotional, if not heartbreaking angst of Eleanor is the true backbone of this novel. Her sad plight, intensified by the brooding horror of Hill House, eventually becomes the ultimate conflict of Jackson's story. Additionally, Jackson's flowing prose, especially during her descriptions of Hill House, will raise goosebumps on the most hardened of readers. Like Hill House, Eleanor is an isolated soul trapped by a tragic past. In some peculiar way these two entities bond, their link transforming into the darkest of romances.

Jackson was certainly in her element when writing this unparalled haunted house tale. "The Haunting of Hill House" is as much about the human need for companionship as it is about brooding supernatural elements hiding within the dark. Of course, it is also an uncomfortable examination of a woman's struggle with finding her place, if not independence, in an oppressive Eisenhower-era society. This is truly a classic in American literature, if only because the skeletons rattling in the closet may be within our own minds.

Rating:
Summary: This book is awesome.
Review: This is one of the best books I ever read. I thought it was better than the movie too. Even though it was confusing, after I read it about 2 times I could understand it. Over-all I thought it was scary and it was kewl.

Rating:
Summary: I recommend this book
Review: The book "The haunting" by Shirley Jackson,is about four persons who visit the abandoned "Hill House" without knowing what's behind the gates. Dr. Montague arrangeed everything to prove if there was something for example a ghost, so he seen tthousands of letter to people that has personaly problems or that had a mental problem, so that's when Eleanor, Theodora, and Luke come to the picture. They think that they were invited because of their problems but then notice that there's something more to question.

I recommend this book because it's a easy to understand and to read, especially if you dont like to read that much.

Rating:
Summary: awesome audio performance
Review: This wonderful book is perfectly performed by David Warner. He is the best suited reader for a story such as this, his voice emotes a sense of suspense and eerieness that adds to the horror of the story. You MUST listen to the unabridged version!

Rating:
Summary: it doesn't get any better than this
Review: Some people don't care for the Haunting of Hill House because they think nothing happens in the book. Yes, there are no "on screen" appearances by monsters and there is no crazed slasher in the book but it is extremely scary. There is something mean and undead in Hill House and Shirley Jackson wisely did not allow the reader to see it fully. Instead she cleverly hinted and allowed both poor, disturbed Eleanor and the reader to guess. Does the house call to Eleanor or did she choose it? Is Eleanor a victim or has she finally found where she really belongs? This is a horror and pyschological suspense classic and I can't think of anything better to read on Halloween night.