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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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Current Group Reads

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What Members Thought

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.

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Feb 05, 2020 Ashley rated it really liked it

I believe that Shirley Jackson was such a gifted writer. There are so many lines in this story that are unique and have been beautifully written. Although she used many of the common tropes found in the horror genre (perhaps she was one of the firsts?), I was still often enthralled, tense and nervous as I read it over a two day period. It was a very enjoyable experience overall and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting a break from heavier reading. :)

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Jun 28, 2019 Lynn rated it it was amazing

I read this book in high school and thought it was OK. I picked it up again just recently, having read a wide variety of horror in the ensuing 30+ years, and I can't believe I didn't think more highly of it back then. (Of course, who has time for something like this when you're saving up your babysitting money to buy the next installment in the Sweet Valley High series?)

This has to be one of the best ghost stories I've ever read. The horror here is entirely psychological. It's very subtle, build ...more

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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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Aug 20, 2016 Peter rated it it was ok

Shelves: disappointing, classics, read-2017, horror, reviewed-sort-of

"Journeys end in lovers meeting" we get to hear a dozen times, well, the journey of me and Shirley ends here.
Everyone keeps fawning over her prose. Sure, her descriptions are intriguing.
But her characters? Oh, dear god! The only book I can think of that had more dull characters is her first book I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Seeing as I don't want to get bored to death I won't be reading any more of Shirley Jackson.
...more

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