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The Haunting of Hill House

Shirley Jackson,

Laura Miller (Introduction)

Start date: May 1, 2019

Finish date: May 31, 2019

Discussion: Current Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf, May 2019

Previous Group Reads
October 2017, New School
[close] Revisit the Shelf, May 2019

Previous Group Reads
October 2017, New School

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What Members Thought

Oct 17, 2017 Katy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics

A most excellent creepy novel.

15 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2013 Franky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-hard-challenge, paranormal

In some ways, thinking about this book and the terrifying possibilities afterwards might be scarier than the actual reading experience. That’s not a knock on the book; in fact, it’s a compliment. I appreciate a ghost story that slowly creeps up on you and lingers for awhile, and gets into your mind. You may happen to walk by an old house at night and feel a slight shudder, or when you are sleeping you think you hear something, a slight noise, while all else is quiet. Maybe you think you see some In some ways, thinking about this book and the terrifying possibilities afterwards might be scarier than the actual reading experience. That’s not a knock on the book; in fact, it’s a compliment. I appreciate a ghost story that slowly creeps up on you and lingers for awhile, and gets into your mind. You may happen to walk by an old house at night and feel a slight shudder, or when you are sleeping you think you hear something, a slight noise, while all else is quiet. Maybe you think you see something out of the corner of your eye, but look and it isn’t there. And there are some genuine creepy factors in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House.

Most will be familiar with the plot. Dr. Montague, conducting a study about Hill House, a New England mansion with a dark history, invites several people to help him with this research by staying at the mansion. Out of all the candidates only two show, Eleanor and Theodora. Luke, who is a relative of the owner of Hill House, also joins in with the stay. Once there, after learning of some of the history about Hill House, slowly unexplainable phenomena begins to take place.

What I particularly like is how Jackson presents the plot with ambiguity and subtleness. There is nothing worse than being hit over the head with over-the-top terror that is so “in your face” that it becomes silly . (See the 1999 film adaptation, The Haunting, as a prime example, as it has the subtlety of an oncoming locomotive).There is something to be said to leaving events and mysteries to one’s imagination. It is a far scarier place sometimes. When you think about it, there are several explanations, or a combination of factors that might have contributed to what takes place in Hill House.

Seeing events happen from one character’s vantage point makes for quite an eerie experience, especially in specific parts where she goes off exploring. There are points where we do not know if this in her imagination or it is really happening. There is a certain level of unreliability in the narrative, and this element helps to keep the suspense building.

If there is one fault, it is the annoying characters, who will grate on your nerves in various different ways. However, somehow Jackson is able to get around this and makes you invested in the story's outcome.

The Haunting of Hill House is a dark tale, one that has as much psychological terror as spooks or frights.
...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2017 Teri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2017

A haunted house and a strange cast of characters. Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, and Dr. Montague insert themselves in to Hill House to study the haunted phenomena that lurk there. Who will stay and who will go? A perfect, classic read for the Halloween season.

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 02, 2018 Shawnie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, horror, gothic

I enjoyed the gothic setting very much. I did not find it scary at all, and a couple of the themes were dated.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2018 Stacy rated it liked it

Shelves: classic, library-read, 2018, 52-books-around-the-year-2018, library-read-2018

I lost interest about halfway through. I expected much more than was there. There were some interesting lines that Eleanor was thinking about Theo. Really unrational thoughts. And a creepy part in the book that kind of got to me: Eleanor was hearing mumbling in the other room and she was holding what she thought was Theo's hand, but when she calls out for the voices to stop she realizes that Thoe is not even close to her.
"God, God," Eleanor said, flinging herself out of the bed and across the r ...more

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Oct 31, 2018 Jim Townsend rated it liked it · review of another edition

A classic, but there are degrees of classic. This book wasn't really scary: four people gather into an old house which may or may not be haunted. Most of the book describes the instigation of the gathering, the journey of Eleanor, the area, the house, and briefly the other three people. One horrific scene, but mostly just hints of fear. A strange, rather dull book. ...more

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