The Haunting of Hill House

“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.” - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley JacksonAfter watching the Netflix series last year by the same name last year it inspired me to put this classic book on my reading list. I had first been aware of the book for many years as it was mentioned by Stephen King as a major influence on his writing and lauded the book as one of the best of the horror genre. After reading the book I can see why and agree with King it's one of the best.The story begins as Dr. Montague is doing research into the supernatural and wanted to use Hill House as a setting due to its reputation as a haunted house and it’s somewhat sad history. We learn that on top of the somewhat tragic history of its original residents/builders the more recent residents who tried to live there seem to leave only after a short stay and without much explanation as to their quick departure. The house itself is a character all its own with its Gothic foreboding style and its unique floor plan is compared to in the book to the real-life Winchester House in San Jose, California which also had eccentric owners and history.In the beginning the story is mostly centered around the four main characters of Dr. Montague, Eleanor Vance, Theodora, and Luke Sanderson. Aside from the very beginning and end the story is told through the perspective of Eleanor (aka: Nell) which we find out was a recluse who took care of elderly demanding mother until recently and was brow beaten by her two siblings from whom she took the family car to stay at Hill House. It was noted in her childhood her sister and her experienced the phenomenon of stones raining on their house as children, which was one of the reasons Dr. Montague invited her to the house. Stephen King fans might recognize this as an event that happened in his debut novel Carrie whose main character’s(Carrie White) house was also pelted with stones and had a domineering mother. Her main companion in the book is Theodora, no last name given, is described as living a bohemian lifestyle and perhaps is receptive to ESP. Luke Sanderson is a distant family heir to the house. He was mainly their as part of the agreement to stay at the house for their time there. He’s a bit of a playboy who never stayed at the house before.The other characters are Mr. & Mrs. Dudley who are the caretakers of the house. Both are adamant about not staying at the house after dark. Mr Dudley is cantankerous and abrupt when meeting the visitors. Mrs. Dudley is quite rigid and humorless in her duties, so much so that in turn the guests make her the object of some light humor. No backstory is given to their relation to the house and how they became caretakers.Dr. Montague’s wife and driver Authur Parker, who is the headmaster at a small boys school. In contrast to her spouse she has no qualms about expressing herself and taking control. Likewise Mr. Parker presents himself in an alpha male quality and even brandishes a gun for emergencies. He implies that Luke is a lightweight in his manliness on one occasion. Mrs. Montague acts as a woman on a mission to communicate with the supernatural. She tries a form of spirit writing using a planchette which seems to be channeling Eleanor.Other happenings include doors closing by themselves, Luke and Dr. Montague chasing a mysterious dog, banging of the door to Eleanor and Theodora’s room, Theodora’s room/clothing covered in blood and writing in blood on the walls of the hallway which seems to be addressing Eleanor.As time goes by the Hill House and Eleanor seem to be bonding together. It culminates one evening when she wakes up feeling energetic and carefree. She runs around knocking on doors waking the others as she runs and dances throughout the house. The others get up to see what is going on puzzled by this behavior. Eleanor makes her way to the library climbing a rickety iron spiral staircase that is barely staying vertical. The others that found her there are alarmed by this and beg her to stop. She seems either unaware or puzzled at why they are so frantic as she looks down upon them. Luke reluctantly climbs the staircase to implore her to come down which she reluctantly does. She is still seemingly unaware of the danger she put herself in by remarking she was just getting a book after Luke was able to coax her down.The next morning the incident is unspoken but it is agreed at least between Dr. Montague, Theodora, Luke and the others that it is better if Eleanor leave Hill House for her own safety. Eleanor insists she does not want to leave and is very reluctant. Eleanor feels Hill House doesn't want her to leave and is sure she feels happy there. Her car is brought around already packed and being outnumbered and they were blocking the stairway to the front door. She still insists the house wants her to stay. Dr. Montague is insistent, firm although with some empathy as a parent might be with a child. After much back and forth about her leaving she finally says goodbye to everyone. As she drives away she feels a sudden rush of freedom but yet in a fleeting second just before hitting a tree and killing herself she asks herself what she is doing and why is no one stopping her.In the end, Eleanor never really leaves Hill House taking her own life,or was it Hill House that killed her? I suppose we’ll never know. Dr. Montague goes on to write his paper to a cool reception. Theodore goes back her bohemian lifestyle. Luke is off Paris and his aunt, Mrs. Anderson, seems to be relieved that everyone had left.After listening to this story it’s easy to see how many elements of the story have influenced the horror genre and pop culture. What would any ghost story be without it’s spooky Gothic style house? I can see it’s influence in classic TV series like The Addams Family, The Munsters and even the cartoon series Scooby Doo.It was Stephen King that introduced me to this story decades ago. He even wrote about this story extensively in book about the horror genre. The story was a huge influence on his writing. The comparisons between Hill House’s “Eleanor” and the title character “Carrie” in King’s debut novel of the same name. Both young women with over powering mother’s. The key giveaway is the stones raining down on both girls houses when the were young. Even Hill House plays a part in other King books as we have the large foreboding “Marsten House” in ‘Salems Lot” that is home the stories vampires. In “The Shining” we have the Overlook Hotel that plays a huge part of that story.The story itself has spawned two movies and a Netflix series based on the book(which influenced me to finally listen/read the story finally. The first movie done in 1963 in England called “The Haunting” follows the original fairly well but does change some details and omit other stuff. Another version was made in 1999, also titled “The Haunting”, that I have not seen so I can’t comment much on it. The 2018 Netflix series uses Hill House but instead a family there stays there over the summer renovating to then flip the house. Many of the original characters names are used and as the original story goes Eleanor again plays the central character.One key element of the story is that even though title includes a haunting much of the story is about what is left unseen. Doors are shut when no one is looking. Aside from a mysterious family picnicking and a quick glimpse of a dog,at least that's what it’s presumed to be, but nothing else is seen. Blood is seen in Theodore's room and writing of Eleanor’s name in the hallways are as about as much as we see physically. We hear hear banging on the door and barely audible voices. It scares you more by what is unseen.Aside from the very beginning and end the story is told through Eleanor’s point of view. She is a bit shy and has been somewhat sheltered because she had been taking care of her demanding invalid mother until she dies. As is implied at times she harbors some guilt over her mother’s death. How much this plays into what goes on in the house is hard to tell. It at least feels as an influence on Eleanor's character. As the story unfolds it can be hard to tell how much the house is coming over her. Even in her last moments it seems as if she had no idea she was about to drive into a tree.It is a classic story of horror that uses what is unseen as the most terrifying feature. You will also see how this story has become a blueprint for so many other supernatural stories. Isn’t it often what is unknown or unseen that is most terrifying to us? It is still a mystery what it is exactly about Hill House that has this aura of horror and terror. Whatever it may be we do know it walks alone.

I feel in love with Shirley Jackson’s style of writing way back in American Literature in high school when I first read her short story, “The Lottery.” It is still one of the most perfect stories I have ever read. The Haunting of Hill House has been on my “to read” pile since I was in high school. Being a part of the Classics Club finally got me to pull this book off the “to read” pile and read it for this Halloween.Dr. Montague decides to investigate Hill House, a notorious haunted house, by going to stay there. He invites Eleanor Vance and Theodora as they have booth have previous paranormal experiences. Luke Sanderson is a nephew of the current owner and goes along to represent the family. Each has their own reason for being at the house and what starts as a lark soon turns into a living nightmare. What possess Hill House and will they be able to escape?I enjoyed my edition of The Haunting of Hill House which is part of the Penguin Horror collection and included an introduction by Guillermo Del Toro about the horror series as well as an introduction of this specific book by Laura Miller. I skipped both introductions to read the story on its own merit, but returned to them after I finished the book. They are both worth a read.I don’t want to get too much into the plot as I don’t want to ruin the story for others, but the writing was fabulous from the memorable start to thrilling conclusion. I loved both the first quote and last quote and many in between as seen below. I also love how it is not bloody gross horror, but suspenseful horror. The horror of a house that doesn’t seem quite right, but slowly takes over the minds of those who inhabit it. I love that it is a Victorian house that smothers the occupants with its clutter and unsymmetrical design. I thought Eleanor was a fascinating character and I liked her journey through the novel.My favorite quotes:“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.”“The light changed; she turned onto the highway and was free of the city. No one, she thought, can catch me now; they don’t even know which way I’m going.”“No human eye can isolate the unhappy coincidence of the line and place which suggest evil in the face of a house, and yet somehow a maniac juxtaposition, a badly turned angle, some chance meeting of roof and sky, turned Hill House into a place of despair, more frightening because the face of Hill House seemed awake, with a watchfulness from the blank windows, and a touch of glee in the eyebrow of a cornice.”“Naturally I hope that we will all know a good deal more about Hill House before we leave. No one knows, even, why some houses are called haunted.”“It watches. The house. It watches every move you make.”“She might have cried if she could have thought of any way of telling them why; instead, she smiled brokenly up at the house, looking at her own window, at the amused, certain face of the house, watching her quietly. The house was waiting now . . . and it was waiting for her; no one else could satisfy it.”“Within, its 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.”Overall, The Haunting of Hill House was a perfect Halloween read; suspenseful with great characters including an unforgettable house.Book Source: I purchased this book from Amazon.com

So extravagantly did I hear this book praised both by Steven King and by Mark Kermode the BBC film critic that I had to read it for myself. In fact it has twice been made into a film, I have seen both the films, I didn’t think much of them, but the book might be something else, and indeed it is.I am no doubt going too far in invoking Alice by way of a comparison, but the parallel is not ridiculous. For pacing of the plot, for evocation of atmosphere, for vivid character drawing and for sheer fantasy that never loses its focus, the Haunting of Hill House is a little masterpiece. The plot line puts the films to shame, I think, above all in its firm and clear conclusion, a far cry from the sloppy efforts in the films. We need to be within sight of the end before we can really appreciate how the environment has gradually enfolded Eleanor in something like the way that the pack of cards built itself round Alice.Whether this can be called a horror story or a gothic novel I very much doubt. It might be said to suggest Lovecraft to a certain extent. Lovecraft has talent without much self-discipline, but Shirley Jackson is firmly in control all the way through. Nor are the effects sickening, a characteristic I sadly associate with Steven King. There is no gore whatsoever, not even on the violent last page, and if I have to cite any kind of parallel along this other axis I might try M R James, although I doubt that he would have been capable of developing a story to anything like this extent. More realistically perhaps, this tale evokes an era, the era of F Marion Crawford, Mrs Oliphant, Mrs Belloc Lowndes and other sadly forgotten practitioners of a similar craft.For all that, the atmosphere is chilling in the literary sense, a worthy concomitant to the ghastly chill evoked in the narration itself. It all held my attention without deviation, unless perhaps when the main outline of the story has become fully clear some 5-10 pages from the envoi. That may just have reflected impatience on my part, but even then I did not expect the final touch, perhaps recalling the hugely inferior efforts at that in the films.If I have not made it clear that I recommend this book then I suppose that I have no gift for recommendation. Do read it if you have any taste for this sort of thing, and especially if your recollection is still taken up with the films.

The Haunting of Hill House totally got into my head to the degree that it found it's way into my dreams. I was so involved with the story and characters that they made my head their home.The characters are so superbly written. Mr and Mrs Dudley unnerved me from the get go. Through them you just knew instantly that strange things were afoot at Hill House. This living, breathing building got to me the way it got to Dr. Montague, Luke, Theo and Eleanor and even though I predicted how the story was going to end, I found myself shocked nevertheless.The Haunting of Hill House pulls you along in its own, addictive way. It's takes you on a journey. At times it is so fast that you want to slow down and other times, it puts the breaks on and you beg to go faster, but one thing is for sure, once it has you, you have no choice but to ride on until the very end.

I feel like I’ve misread this book somehow. All the glowing reviews about how this classic horror tale would chill me to my bones came to naught when it did nothing of that sort for me. Perhaps it fared a little better as a psychological character study of the intensely lonely Eleanor who is invited by a Dr Montague investigating psychic and supernatural phenomenon, to come stay in this old abandoned and possibly haunted Sanderson Hill House.Together with the layabout Luke Sanderson, heir in waiting to inherit the house, social butterfly and artistic free spirit Theodora, Eleanor feels both a sense of displacement and belonging with this sudden mismatched clique. Eleanor is a sorry character, who at 32, is something of a spinster with missed opportunities, having spent much of her years looking after her sick and abusive mother, who had just passed on recently. That is not a politically incorrect thing to say about her in the context of the period in which the book was written and set. We also pity her for her being valued much less than the car she shares with her sister and brother-in-law quite early on in the book when she asks to use the car to get to Hill House.The writing is disturbingly disjointed - I am not sure if the dialogue and feelings conveyed by the characters were meant to feel so disconnected, but it did give me a sense of watching an old reel of black and white film on an ancient projector that flickers and jumps, distorting the flow of conversation and action in the text. Perhaps that was the horror I was supposed to feel. There was much potential at the start with all the ominous warnings and signs by the misanthropic caretaker and his wife, the Dudleys, that portents what could possibly happen when dusk came, but when it finally did, nothing much really happens besides some loud knocks and doors that just refuse to stay opened.What a letdown.

Well there was a lesson learned! Always read negative comments as well as positive ones before buying. I obviously only read the positive ones because I kept thinking as I read it - am I reading the same book that these people were praising up? It is dull as dishwater, badly written and not remotely scary. You never find out what (if anything) is behind the minuscule amount of creepy stuff that does go on, and to be honest, I couldn't have cared less if I had found out. The only thing in it's favour is that it's a short novel, but even then I feel like I wasted too many evenings on this rubbish!

Although I have read and enjoyed more than one of Shirley Jackson's marvellously unsettling novels, I have to admit that I have been rather reluctant to read 'The Haunting of Hill House' as it has been described as one of the best ghost stories of the twentieth century and basically, I am, at heart, rather a nincompoop. However, as this book has been sitting on one of my shelves and looking at me reproachfully every time I pass by it, I thought that the end of this October was finally the time to get around to reading it, and I'm very glad I did.Eleanor, an unmarried woman in her early thirties, has spent years looking after her demanding mother and now that her mother has died, she lives with her sister and brother-in-law, neither of whom she gets along with very well. When the chance comes for her to take up the post of assistant to a certain Dr Montague, an investigator into the paranormal who has rented the infamous haunted Hill House, she is keen to leave her mundane life behind her and, against her sister's and her brother-in-law's advice, takes the car and travels the long distance to Hill House alone. When she arrives at the gloomy, gothic mansion, and is told by the rather grim gatekeeper and his wife, who look after the house, that they never stay on the property after dark, Eleanor, who is already feeling uncomfortable, begins to feel very unsettled. The arrival of another assistant, the very attractive and lively Theodora, who is able to laugh about the situation the pair of them find themselves in, helps Eleanor to feel more optimistic, and when Dr Montague and Luke Sanderson, a member of the family who owns Hill House, arrive too, she begins to feel more excited about the prospect before them. However, as the days pass and the nights become filled with eerie and very frightening incidents, and then writing appears on the walls telling Eleanor she must go home, Eleanor, Theodora and Luke find it difficult to keep their perspective. And before long, the house seems to be almost consuming Eleanor and even begins to appear to be taking control of her mind...Wonderfully described and chilling to read, this little novel was one that kept me involved from beginning to end - but the best thing about it was that although it was undoubtedly unsettling, it didn't terrify me as I feared it would do. So, if you enjoy being absolutely terrified, then this may be a little too tame for you, but if you are looking for something genuinely unsettling and one which gives you food for thought, then this will fit the bill nicely. Also, although this novel does have its discomfiting moments, there is some very light relief provided by Dr Montague's wife, a woman convinced she is a 'natural sensitive', who later arrives with her Planchette board and her sidekick, Arthur, the eccentric headmaster of a boys' school - whose antics I found very amusing. There is also more to this story than the tale of a haunted house, especially from the aspect of Eleanor and her life, but I won't say anything further. So, much to here to relish, and although I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the author's excellent 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle', I was totally absorbed throughout and very glad to have finally read it.4.5 Stars.