Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "shirley-jackson"

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A classic haunted house tale of gothic suspense by Shirley Jackson.

Hill House has stood empty for decades; any attempted occupant having departed swiftly within a few days of coming to stay there. Dr John Montague, a philosopher and researcher of the paranormal, strives to gather a small group together to stay in the house in an attempt to unravel the mysteries which surround it.

One member of this party is Eleanor. Having been caring for her ailing mother for many years up until her death, Eleanor is in search of her very identity and to find her own place in the world. She hopes she may find herself, as one of the explorers of Hill House. But her dream-like journey is soon to descend into a nightmare as she reaches her destination.

Brooding and forbidding, Hill House is an anomalous spectre, with its bizarre construction and indistinct aura. Along with Dr Montague and their fellow explorers, Theodora and Luke, Eleanor begins to experience the phenomena that may have chased so many away in the past. But it appears the house is paying a particular interest in Eleanor; its motives surely malign.

A short novel that immediately provokes a haunting atmosphere, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ takes you on a slow descent into hysteria as the characters settle uncomfortably, never quite seeing the influences at work, never quite understanding what is happening around them. The house is almost a character in itself, a dominant presence that overpowers all the characters that live and breathe within. Comparatively, the characters are almost like empty shells, the house exploring and exploiting their psyches, seeking a place in which to breed its madness.

Brimming with atmosphere and burgeoning tension, the story builds deftly to its climax, an escalation into terror from which there may be no escape.

The novel has been thrice adapted for the screen – first in 1963 as the theatrical film ‘The Haunting’, which received mixed reviews at the time, but has since grown a cult following. Its second adaptation came in 1999, another theatrical film also entitled ‘The Haunting’, this version receiving negative reviews. In 2018, Netflix adapted the novel under its full name as a ten-episode series. Well-received and popular amongst viewers, it received a follow-up; retroactively becoming the first in anthology series ‘The Haunting’. Despite the dominating presence of the house in the novel, it appears destined to forever find its name left unspoken.

‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is a gothic horror classic and a fine example of the genre, a short sharp shiver to be enjoyed in the darkened months as the nights draw in.


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