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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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Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of -1 topics — 473 comments total

Current Group Reads

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By Sara , New School Classics · 18 posts · 50 views

last updated Nov 01, 2025 11:29AM

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What Members Thought

Feb 27, 2019 Safa rated it liked it

Not as captivating as We Have Always Lived in the Castle. A disappointing read considering how much I loved the previous book. Maybe I should've read this one first.
Also, not scary at all. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2015 Alisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: spooky, 2015

So many scary books and movies have been based off this book, so sometimes it felt like I had read it before. That's a collective cultural narrative if I ever saw one.

Longer review to come. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

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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Oct 29, 2019 Madge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, horror, ghosts-hauntings

Having read this twice now, once before and once after reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle, I can say for sure that I like this one more. I thought I'd only given it 3.5 stars last time, but apparently my rating has stayed the same. I don't know why it's not a 5 star book for me (it seems like it should be), but something about it keeps me from actually loving it.

Maybe it's the characters. I don't have strong feelings or opinions about any of them (except Mrs. Montague...can someone pleas ...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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