Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: Hell House is definitely the best haunted house novel I've ever read (followed closely by The Shining which was inspired by Hell House). The text is easy to read, but also rich with detail. I've seen some of the reviews saying the ending was predictable and the occurances are cliche, but you have to remember that when Matheson wrote this, it was pretty original. Matheson was a pioneer of 20th century horror writing, and this is one of his masterpieces. Yes, the book is disturbingly haunting, not cheap "BOO" thrills. You will look over your shoulder for a while after reading it. Also, check out the film, The Legend of Hell House. The parts that are in it are just like the book right down to the dialogue in most parts. But since it was filmed in the late 70's, they couldn't film certain parts due to content or budget. Still a great film.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Fans of Horror
Review: This is a classic novel of a haunted house. It is scarier than Shirley Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House" and almost as atmospheric. I definitely recommend this to fans of horror, ghost stories, and even literary classics. This is one you'll want to keep on your shelf forever.
Rating:
Summary: Matheson at his compelling best
Review: "I couldn't put it down" is a phrase so overused as to be nearly devoid of meaning, yet it almost literally applies in this case. I started "Hell House" the afternoon before a concert I'd been looking forward to for months; by evening, the concert had become an irritating intrusion on my reading. I jumped back into the book during intermission and ran home after the concert to finish the novel in one nail-biting sitting. Yes, it's really that good, assuming one has any affinity for horror fiction. Even Matheson rarely achieved the continuous intensity of this gem. "I Am Legend" may be superior from a literary standpoint, but "Hell House" is his most memorable accomplishment. One warning: don't come to this book expecting cheap thrills. It's disturbing-scary, not Boo!-scary.
Rating: 
Summary: Things that go BUMP in the night, day, and whenever it wants
Review: After reading Matheson's unforgettable 'I Am Legend' I endeavored to find a copy of his likely more famous 'Hell House' and upon doing so tore through it in a day. Well, if you can call a 'day' being finished it at seven in the morning, good thing I work nights. I must admit that I do not read enough of the horror genre to know what is and is not predictable, and while others said the ending was I confess to not having seen it coming. Matheson's text reads like prose and glides easily from page to page without burying the reader in superfluous detail, giving the right amount so the reader has some bearing on where they are. The story entails the wishes of dying man who wishes to know if there are indeed ghosts, and to those ends has purchased the grand bull mouse of haunted mansions, Belasco House, in Maine and has sent in a team of investigators to verify the existence of haunts. He chooses Lionel Barret, a physicist and scientist who has built a device capable of negating the EM radiation produced by spooks, his wife, Edith, a Christian minister and medium, Florence Tanner, and the only surviving member of the 1940 expedition into the house, Benjamin Fischer, who is also a medium. A medium us a person who is sensitive to super natural events like hauntings and can open themselves up to them. Arriving at the house through thick fog they find that all of the windows have been bricked up while the mansion itself rises like some terrible monolith before them. Events begin to unfold as they hold their first sitting and Florence opens herself up to the house where she makes contact with one of the former residence, an Indian named Red Cloud, but is soon interrupted by another spirit who claims that if they do not leave it will be forced to kill them. While startled, they are largely unfazed and proceed with other forms of paranormal research such as Tanner's ability to control extoplasm, a substance believed to be associated with ghosts. And later explained by Dr. Barret as simply a manifestation of Tanner's own self, composed mostly of detritus from her own body. The story follows through with some genuinely creepy moments, but it is all standard haunted house fair, just exceptionally powerful occurrences. Fischer relates the history of Belasco house and how it was built by Emeric Belasco as a sort of standing experiment in every conceivable form debauchery until the tenants had been so corrupted that they eventually turned to cannibalism in order to stay alive. All the while Belasco quietly watched and encouraged the use of drugs, alcohol, even bringing in young artists from around the world to study and create there until they corrupted by the vile happenings. Barret and company even witness some of the more brutal happenings by way of visions. Truly a house of the dammed. The house is literally a juggernaught of haunts-one that destroys Tanner slowly through convincing her that Belasco had a son, Daniel, who was swallowed whole by the house. Tanner believes that Daniel's spirit is in a constant state of torment and can only find true rest if he is given proper burial after she is led to his body which has been hung in between the walls of the wine cellar. But everything they try fails, even Barret's machine fails, much to his dismay. The power of the house seems unlimited. Everything else you will have to find out for yourself. The flavor of the book will be familiar to anyone who has played Call of Cthulhu, because it has that same sort of feel. The characters are interesting and believable, but Hell House perhaps takes itself too seriously, lacking even dark or ironic humor to any extent. I would have also preferred a larger team, say six or even eight people for the house to play with rather than four. It would have given a more varied forms of terror. It will also offend you if you have strong religious beliefs, but other than that Hell House is a pretty good read.
Rating:
Summary: Not Very Good
Review: I was a fan of Matheson before I read this book but my esteem of him has diminished since reading this book. First of all let me warn you if you are offended by sexual religious references you probably want to stay away. But aside from that I found the story to be very derivative or The Haunting Of Hill House. My recomendation is that you read I Am Legend instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre for Matheson
Review: I had read a couple of Matheson novels prior to reading this book. They were of a much higher quality than this novel, sad to say. As a Matheson and horror fan, this book certainly did not meet my expectations. It starts off as a promising horror story, with the now usual "if we give you money, will you rid of us ghosts?" i was completely confused at first though, because i had thought the guy who had offered them money was asking them to do one thing and they did another in the course of the novel, but whatever floats your boat. As for the characters, I had no idea why the older scientist married his wife. She was clearly a distraction and served no purpose in the novel. The story was too long in that it seemed for several pages he described procedures for her, which a two-year old would have been able to get. It wasn't necessarily difficult to get into the characters, but you can tell there's a border placed in between you and them. It was a quick read, but by the end of the novel, I wished that I could offer them the money and fame they wanted, to get them out of that stupid house.
Rating:
Summary: Frightening and Unsettling
Review: Jarring, emotionally rapturous novel that is just a tad too ambitious for its own good. However, the book is extremely suspenseful and provocative. Many of its best scares come in the mid-section and interest wanes. It picks up before an ill-advised ending that's far too simplified.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic of the Genre
Review: Unfortunately, I had difficulty writing this review; you see, I had seen the film, "The Legend of Hell House" several times before ever reading the book, so I worried that this review would not be as objective. Nevertheless, "Hell House" surpasses the movie in many respects, the most obvious being characterization. We find out much more about our heroes' motivations, and Matheson's skill at turning the ordinary into the malevolent and frightening is in top form. To anyone who has NOT seen the film, please read this book first! I promise you'll come away more frightened if you do. "Hell House" is a seminal work on the genre, and its influence is felt still today.
Rating:
Summary: Great ghost story
Review: No doubt about it, Matheson is a master of horror. Matheson weaves a tale about Emeric Belasco, an angry, twisted man, who builds a temple of evil. As the story reads, all sorts of perversions took place in this house (some of which are described here). Belasco revels in the activities of his "guests" until all of them are found dead in his home; Belasco, however, is never found. What happened to him?
Fast forward to 1970. An unlikely team of "professionals" are hired by an eccentric millionaire to stay in Hell House for one week to either prove or disprove some type of existence after death. Imagine Gilligan's Island with Lovecraft as the writer and Poe as the director. Florence, a mental medium, opens herself to one too many supernatural impressions. Ben, a physical medium, just wants to collect his money and run. He once survived Hell House and knows the horrors it holds. Lionel is an educated skeptic; he sees this adventure as a chance to try out his invention which will prove that supernatural phenomenon is all a product of the energy given off by human beings rather than acts from beyond the grave. And then there is Lionel's wife, Edith, who accompanies him to look out for him due to his poor health; she gets more than she bargains for. This newest batch of guests is subjected to all sorts of chilling terrors, all the while fighting amongst themselves and confronting their own fears and doubts.
Matheson is an expert story teller. Here he creates a creepy, read-it-with-the-lights-on tale which will still leave you wondering: Are there really ghosts or do we simply create these phenomenon from our subconscious? There are some parts not suited for the extremely squeamish. If you've seen the movie, be prepared for some graphic sex and violence left out of the script! However, if you like solid, gothic ghost stories, if you like classic horror and good writing, then you need to give this one a read. Fans of Matheson know: read anything he writes. It's always a great ride.
Rating:
Summary: Very good Story
Review: This story is good. but very confusing, too much details, and too many things going on at once. i didn't 'feel' for any of the characters. and this haunted house, wasn't very scary. it had such potential, but was all over the place, and the ending was extremely disappointing, after such a biulding up of expectation. don't get me wrong this is a great book, but pales in comparison to "I Am Legend" Richard Matheson's, anyone's best work. READ THIS BOOK!
|
