October 2020 BOTM - The Haunting of Hill House

[Paige]

Hello all!
Now that the poll for the October 2020 book of the month has ended we have our October read. The theme was "Terrifying Classic Tales" and we got some great nominations, the poll was a close one and the winner was 'The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson'
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

This thread will be our discussion thread for the book, please do put your comments, thoughts, and such below. Whether it is a thought-provoking part, chapter or quote of the book, something or someone you like or dislike, it will interesting to hear you thoughts and feelings about the book.

[Daniel]

This was the first Shirley Jackson I read willingly, and it started an infatuation thereafter. I remember identifying with Eleanor Vance and her zest for freedom.

[Paige]

Daniel wrote: "This was the first Shirley Jackson I read willingly, and it started an infatuation thereafter. I remember identifying with Eleanor Vance and her zest for freedom."

I have just finished it, it, therefore, is my first Shirley Jackson book and I will 100% be reading more of her books. I identify with Eleanor Vance too but more for her socially awkwardness.

[Daniel]

I enjoyed it and will read again. There is a sense of alienation in all her books, which makes her brand of horror unique.

[Kathryn]

I really didn't enjoy this book... I'm sorry. At no point was I scared, like Pet Semetary had me spooked for weeks. It didn't help that I didn't like Elanor. I found her irritating, always thinking that people were refering to her whilest speaking to one another. We didn't get enough of Luke to really understand his personality.
I'm assuming that Elanor managed to kill herself at the end and so become part of the house.
None of it was explained, the crashing on the doors, the cold spot, the babbling noises... it just didn't seem to make much sense.

[Colleen]

Was it just Eleanor's paranoia/mental health issue/anxiety - or was the house really haunted?

[Paige]

Kathryn wrote: "I really didn't enjoy this book... I'm sorry. At no point was I scared, like Pet Semetary had me spooked for weeks. It didn't help that I didn't like Elanor. I found her irritating, always thinking..."

I definitely agree with you that more should have been explained, the book had the potential to be larger, I did not fully understand the writing on the wall

[Paige]

Colleen wrote: "Was it just Eleanor's paranoia/mental health issue/anxiety - or was the house really haunted?"

I personally am interpreting it that it was a mix, she was likely an easy target because of timid personality and she spent a lot of her life up until Hill House caring for her mother, the beginning of the book however it says that the house makes you welcome and not want to leave so maybe the house caused her to commit suicide so she would not leave

[Angie]

I don't usually read horror books, but this one I kind of enjoyed. I liked the "Golden Age Mystery" atmosphere in this book: cozy gatherings in the evenings, inexplicable goings-on in an old house... but then the ending kind of ruined the whole story for me. I mean, what kind of ending was that?? I don't get it at all...

[Daniel]

I believe the house fed off Eleanor's fragile disposition.

[Larry]

I'm not sure why but i was often confused by the dialog in this story. I am not sure if this was the authors intent or my own distraction in her writing style. After finishing this book i went back to the areas that confused me most and in some I was able to understand better and in others I was still confused. I was always asking myself is Eleanor thinking these conversations in her mind or are we to believe that it is all in good fun banter between the her and Theodora and Luke? If so are we to believe that their relationships are more contentious than how it is actually portrayed
Anyway the whole story was saved for me in the last chapter although if she had control of the house why couldn't she open the trap door at the top of the stairs and finish what she was driven there for? Also would they really have let her drive alone after her attempt at her life already?
I don't think there was a real conclusion to the story but that's ok ??????

[Kathryn]

Yeah, I was wondering about that, that they trusted her to drive away safely after she'd just proved she wanted to commit suicide. It makes no sense. I think it was just conveniant story telling, which quite annoys me.

[Sena]

I finished it today. I think the plot was so weak and the writing was really bad. And I hated dialogues. It was quite boring for me. I didn't like it.

[Vera]

I finished the book today, since reading it was my plan or Halloween.
I must say I really loved the beginning of the book, I was feeling immersed and had high expectations. I ended up enjoyed it, but was expecting a different ending.
Near the end, I still had a lot of unanswered questions, so I agree with Kathryn, a little more explanation would have been nice (especially about the writing on the wall).
As to Eleanor, I think she could have been possessed by a ghost (or the House itself), but I doubt it was just her mental condition (since the beginning of the book she is portrait as a liar, but non-necessarily insane).