Book Review
Title: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Genre: Classic, Paranormal, Horror
Rating: 3 Stars
For a long time now, I have been told numerous times to pick up The Haunting of Hill House but classics no matter how short or how similar they are to what I currently read scare the shit out of me. However, I have finally given in to the peer pressure and picked it up just in time for Halloween especially since it is under 200 pages in length. We are introduced to our main characters, Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting", Theodora, the light-hearted assistant, Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. For the first 60 pages we simply learn about the characters as they all arrive at Hill House and feel the evil surrounding it, Eleanor more than the other it seems. We also learn about the tragic history of the house through Dr. Montague as he has spent years looking for evidence of the paranormal and no one but the Doctor is taking it too seriously right now. As we are a third of the way through the book I wasn’t yet understand what all the hype was about was right now.
The group spend the next day looking around the house and trying to get themselves familiar with it but they begin to notice odd things like doors and windows closing after being opened which they put down the housekeeper, but pretty soon cold spots and ominous drafts begin to make them think that the house is really haunted. Everyone especially the doctor seems really excited by this but that night the group are separated. Luke and the doctor see a dog running through the house and chase it outside the door closing behind them, while Eleanor and Theo end up in Theo’s room because Theo can hear someone knocking on the doors. When the things realises that Eleanor and Theo are together it begins pounding on the door and the room becomes extremely cold. The girls do nothing and wait for Luke and the doctor to arrive and when they do they realise that the house is trying to separate them and they must do their best to stay together at all times. After the first 60 pages of introductions and history it was nice to see some actually paranormal things going on and I can’t wait to see where this goes considering there are only 80 pages left in the novel. I am hoping something happens to make The Haunting of Hill House this amazing book that has endured for so many years and it will make all the recommendations worth it.
Over the next few days more strange things begin to happen but the house seems to be targeting Eleanor as her name appears twice when things are written on the walls of the house telling her to come home. This could be because of the close bond she has with Theo and how at times they resemble sisters like the ones that originally owned Hill House before they relationship was broken beyond repair. The house is also getting inside their minds particularly Eleanor’s as she begins saying things almost in a trance like state and one day she and Theo stumble across a children’s picnic and Theo is screaming Eleanor’s name but she is stood right there so maybe she did something or said something at the picnic that we aren’t being told as readers of the novel.
With less than 50 pages left I was wondering where Jackson was going to take the story for its conclusion and why Hill House wants Eleanor so badly. Things get weirder and weirder as the house itself seems to possess Eleanor at times as she is the only one that doesn’t have a home and Hill House has no one that loves it so they have formed a bond of sorts. When things begin to get dangerous, the doctor decides to send Eleanor home for her own safety but she doesn’t want to leave Hill House despite only being there for a week so she drives her car into a tree, although it isn’t clear if she dies but the rest of the group end up leaving Hill House and wiping the experience from their memories all together which makes me believe that Eleanor did die and she is now one of the spirits that haunts Hill House. Overall, I understand why The Haunting of Hill House has withstood the test of time but it was lacking in any form of action or explanation for me and I don’t really understand the hype around it. That being said I did love the characters and the writing is beautiful so I will pick more up by Shirley Jackson in the future but this wasn’t for me.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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