Rating: 
Summary: STUPID, NARROW and DATED
Review: People, I just got done with this clunker of a novel...thank god. First, the author states, ENDLESSLY, the common response of every character to anything unpleasant..."he HISSED at the hot water...she HISSED as she sat on her sore behind...the cat HISSED...the staircase HISSED."Redundant. Secondly, lesbianism ISN'T scary. To be possessed by a solitary ghost who, we find in the very end, suffers from a napoleonic complex and a need to make the inhabited female act like a cat in heat, strutting about, looking for a woman to have (...) with, this is the TERROR of the novel. Spooky, scary bite marks on (...), lesbian antics and loud cussing. Thirdly, the giant crucifix with a phallus that eventually swings and "impales" to death a female medium (who is a cat-like lesbian beast). Now that's just dumb, people. This isn't creepy....no, I take that back. It IS creepy that a man thought this up as something entertaining or frightening. And, lastly, they call the ghost names until it gets scared and vanishes. Totally anticlimactic and unimaginative. Please, save your money and skip this author. Mike...who will NEVER read another Matheson novel again.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Haunted House Novel
Review: I've seen Shirley Jackson's HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE mentioned here but I'll start by admitting that I haven't read it yet.
But I have read HELL HOUSE. In fact, I read it in high school over twenty years ago and I still think it's the best haunted house horror novel I've ever read. The Belasco House. So evil that the windows have been bricked up to keep out any light. The naive psychics trusting the ghosts and the naive scientist trusting too much in science. The murky swimming pool and the obscene chapel. I remember it all.
(They'd made a film called THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE in '73 with Roddy McDowall but most of the novel had to be left out. This novel needs a remake--and some of the novel should STILL be left out!). In my opinion, this is one of the great horror novels of all time. Thank you, Richard Matheson, for my favorite "Twilight Zone" episode ("Nightmare at 30,000 Feet"), my favorite TV movie ("The Night Stalker"), and my favorite haunted house novel.
You're truly one of the greats!
Rating:
Summary: Read at your own risk!
Review: Do you believe in ghosts? Would you live in a haunted house where people that have lived their had become insane and even killed themselves. What if you lived their for some time, and be rewarded 100,000 dollars if you survive. Some authors say that they have writen some pretty scary books that you have never even thought of, books that will make you quite scared. That is not true for most readers who considor horror books. Most mature readers dislike books that have classical horror for example, characters in the story who actually become friends with ghosts, or giant spiders taking over the world. "Hell house" actually puts you in a actual situation where you are in a haunted house where anything is possible. If your a reader who is in horror stories, this is the book for you. The reason why I rated this a 5 was because of its very discriptive way of describing the scene and situation. It describes how everybody is feeling and thinking so that you know exactly whats going on. The book doesn't have a slow start where it gives you a list of characters and describes each of them. It goes with the flow. The book is similar to the movie "House on a Haunted Hill", where a group of people are rewarded money if they stay in a house for sometime. "Hell house" is a more realistic kind of book that takes place in the 60's. It doesn't give you that "blood and guts everywhere", kind of description. This book will seriously give you nightmares. You'll be shocked and scared if you were actually a character in this book and how much you will go through. I highly recommend this for mature readers for its sexual content.
Rating:
Summary: Best haunted house novel!
Review: Wow, Richard Matheson sets the perfect pace in this surprisingly spooky novel! Not your average pulp horror, it jumps immediately into the flames of hell house, and gradually builds the suspense and fear to impressive levels before then ending. I never felt the tension let up as it does in most horror novels, and he mixes in some jolts of fright which are truly impressive. This is a GREAT novel to read late at night in a quiet house. Seriously. You will crap your pants.
Rating:
Summary: Good Horror!
Review: This is one of the few horror novels I read where parts actually scared me! Four people spend a week at a haunted house for $100,000. Similiarly, several years earlier four people did the same thing and three died and one was practically driven mad! Almost immediately upon arriving things start happening, some being very life-threatening. When reading this book you wonder what is keeping the people from just getting the hell outta there (I know I would!). We find out that the house was originally owned by a mad rich person that liked to have wild orgy-like parties that started moving into torture, murder, cannabalism and anything else you can think of (I wonder if Stanely Kubrick got the idea for his mansion in Eyes Wide Shut from this book?). Because of all the evil and death that have occurred in the house, there is a lot of evil energy floating around that seems to be amplified by two of the guests (both mediums with very strong psychic abilities). Some of the attacks on the guests turn out quite gruesome (one of the guests is viciously attacked by a possessed cat). Don't read this one when you're alone!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but not really scary
Review: I didn't find this book to be particularly scary or creepy. I did find it interesting in how the scientist thinks he has figured out the ghost phenomena and goes on to prove(?) his findings, although the ending with the "special" room (can't spell it out here or I give away too much) was very silly... one of those "yeah, right" moments. Also, I thought the sceance scene was overdone with the ectoplasm. Another "yeah, right" moment. The main ghost character was very disturbing. Hearing the history of the house made you get a real sense of the deprevity and vileness involved. Overall, interesting concepts put forth regarding ghosts, but nothing really scary or shocking.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best horror novels I've read
Review: This novel is an incredible work of horror fiction, and a classic that should be read by every fan of the horror genre. "Hell House" is an easy, fun, scary read that will grab your attention and not let go from the first page to the last, and will leave you scared to turn out the lights afterward. Mr. Deutsch is a wealthy man whose impending death leads him to ask the infamous question "what really happens when we die?" To answer this question, Deutsch employs a physicist and two mediums. Each will be paid a handsome sum to report "only the facts" as they observe them. Where are they supposed to observe these facts? In a mansion that is reportedly one of the most haunted places in the country.
This leads us to the story of the Belasco mansion, also known as Hell House. The house has stood empty for over twenty years, and for good reason. The known history of the house involves macabre events and unimaginably horrific occurences. Only one person has walked away from this house alive in the entire history of the house. The three employed by Deutsch (and the wife of the physicist as well) are to spend a week in the mansion observing paranormal phenomena, and hope to make it out alive. Matheson does an excellent job of making the house more than just a mere scary location. Indeed, the house has its own personality and is its own evil entity. Each person in the house creates their own opinion as to what is really occuring, and each person has their own personal demons to confront during their stay in the Belasco mansion.
Richard Matheson is truly a master of the horror genre. I find that it can be difficult to stay entertained by much of the horror fiction lining the shelves today. So much of it seems cliched, and so many of the great horror stories have been trashed by bad movies. Richard Matheson, however, is able to put a great spin on the typical "haunted house" tale. Another great thing about this novel is that it grabs your attention right from the beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. The author doesn't waste time on fifty to one hundred pages of set-up, but rather dives right into plot and intrigue. I became so wrapped up in this book that I finished it in one day. Anyone with an interest in great horror should definitely read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: a must read if your a horror/thriller fan
Review: This is a really good book if you like a little suspense and horror. Richard Matheson gets his reader going and into the book...i feel like i don't want to stop until i'm done...I have read twice already and don't mind reading it for the third time...anothr book that's good but is not really connected to this one is Time Without End by Linda Leal Miller...that is also one book i would recomend...if u haven't read this yet...you have to...can't wait to read his other book called Duel...this is really good...read it...
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: I grew up on a steady diet of horror but as I've gotten older, it's become, "Been there, already saw that." At this jaded time in my life, it takes a pretty big boom to shake me up.
Hell House stormed up the walkway, kicked in the door and sprang onto my chest with both feet.
Then it found a way inside my head and started turning up the dials, switching the signals and derailing my calm, cool, and collected.
When it was done, a part of me was both surprised and relieved to find myself released from its evil glutches, mostly unharmed.
Of course, I was wrong about that. It still hasn't let go.
Rating:
Summary: This book will get you!
Review: One of the scariest books ever written. Richard Matheson knows how to chill your bones. I found myself unable to turn my bedroom light off after a few chapters! Well written as usual and easy to read. You wont be able to put this book down. If you liked "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson you will really enjoy this book.
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