The Haunting of Hill House

Dr. J. Montague: “Essentially, the evil is the house itself, I think. It has exhausted and destroyed its people and their lives, it is a place of contained ill will.”

Dr. E. Gadd: “Bodo bodo, oyama! Suku suku. Luigi!”

It's not a full 5stars (4 for sure) BUT I think about it all the time. This was my first Shirley Jackson read and she's queen of the unreliable narrator and I still shiver at the hand holding portion of the book. If I ever read a campfire story that portion would “Shirley” be it!

Hard to read, I wish I could've enjoyed it. 

This is a very slow burn. I kept trying hoping it would get better...

The Haunting of Hill House is a classic horror novel, but it hasn't aged well. While it set the standard for haunted house stories, the book's pacing feels slow, and its focus is more on psychological tension than ghostly scares. Modern adaptations, like the movies and show, have tried to expand on its themes but often miss the mark, failing to capture the eerie atmosphere of the house itself. The ghost aspect is underexplored, making the story more of a psychological slog than a spine-chilling horror.

This was genuinely an interesting read, it went more to the psychological aspect of being afraid and how little by little the characters were going down and I totally loved it,the atmosphere of the book was totally terrifying and how all the characters mend together was incredible but Although I enjoyed every aspect of the book in my opinion it fell short, the characters did not fell down enough they were scared they weren't as clever or secure of themselves as at the start but I would have love to see them worse than that

However I feel this is a book that it's worth reading although it could have been better

3.5 to 4

The setup of Hill House as an antagonistic force is so compelling that the events end up feeling restrained and slightly underwhelming.

I love the idea of a house that has been built (or has morphed) to be disorientating. Lulling it's inhabitants into a literal false sense of security. I suspect that The Devil in the White City will make for a good companion piece in this regard.

4:

I read this one right after finishing We Have Always Lived in the Castle, both because I LOVED that book and needed more, and because duh, Halloween was right around the corner.

Quite enjoyed this! There's a scene with persistent knocking that spooked me pretty badly, I didn't find it traditionally frightening otherwise, but the atmosphere was all eerie and mysterious and sad.

The story was great, I enjoyed the ambiguity and still find myself pondering what might have actually gone down during those days in Hill House. Amazing how such a tiny book can tell so much.

I could not believe how good this book is. The characters are beautifully written out and the interactions between them feel real. The start of the book was interesting in that it was about a scientist trying to study the paranormal. From there we learn more about the other characters brought to the house to learn about the house itself.

The character-building is what makes this book so great. Each are real with their own motivations. Dialog didn’t feel forced, and characters were driven seemingly by themselves. The slow change from scientific to paranormal was breathtakingly well done. This slow change felt natural and horrifying.

This was such a great read that I only wish I read it sooner.

An atypical haunted house story with an ending you've seen coming for so long, it works its way back around to being a blunt shock by the finish. No ceremony no fluff. I think where this book really shines is as a commentary on the violence of casual human social cruelty. A harsh story about an anxious woman who's never been made to feel welcome, killed by the ease with which people are content to leave one another out. And maybe, just maybe, a house that wants blood - and induces madness to get it. All I'm all a great quick read, and a book that leaves you turning over its implications in your head.

I really liked this book the characters and the creepiness everything. Such a gripping great book overall. I'm definitely obsessed with Horror books now thanks to this one.

This feels like the kind of book you’re supposed to read again, but like soon enough before you forget anything

There were some fun and spooky parts in this book but honestly? Overall it was a letdown.

On a base level, I understand everything that happened in the plot and the personalities of the characters but this book just felt very...disjointed? Things would happen with absolutely no build-up or working towards and it would just leave me thinking “why is this happening out of the blue? why are the characters acting like this?” And maybe that could've worked if the horror of Hill House was that it messed with their minds and made them act differently but that also wasn't set up to be a plot point at all.

There were a few standard horror beats that proved that this was intended to be a scary book but nothing ever came of them. None of the scenes actually scared me because there was practically no tension besides the characters repeatedly saying “this place is creepy and I'm scared” which obviously isn't enough to build any true terror.

The ending left me completely baffled. I have no clue why any of that happened how it did and it was very unsatisfactory.

What struck me about this book is 1) how unabashedly queer this book is, not even subtext - just full on gay which was a nice thing to see be treated as normal and 2) how funny this book is. This book takes its time in the first half, really letting these character dynamics shine through in perhaps the most human way possible. They downplay the horror by making jokes without sacrificing the sincerity of the characters - it's not like the MCU where it uses bathos to defuse tension, it really is to augment the depth of these characters because it is human nature to make jokes about things. It was nice to see a book not afraid to show that side of humanity. It put these characters front and center as they all have depth in their own ways and elevates them from the usual fodder.

But what makes me not enjoy this book as much as many others do is the fact that it is just not scary. It tries to do the likes of Poe or Blackwood where much of the horror is within the minds of the characters, but there's a good chance that what is happening is real - something I've grown to not like. I want a story to go big or go home - not toe the line of what's real or what's not as things appear and disappear the following chapter without explanation. It dilutes the horror just a bit because I feel as if it was just cheating me a bit by playing both sides. In the cases of Poe or Blackwood, they earn their scares because of the prose that winds to a tension and it is told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator - something that is not the case here.

While I appreciated the attempts at characterization, it seems to focus so much more on the horror; I wanted to learn more about these characters rather than what was going on in the House.

Timeless horror masterpiece. Literally had me kinda scared to fall asleep. Lowkey felt like I was getting gaslight too. I am thoroughly creeped out, I thought. And stopped in wonder at the thought...

3.5/5

Made into a movie in 1963 “The Haunting”! On the lists of great horror books and movies. 200 Pages, Small cast of characters! David N.

While still enjoyable, time has not been kind to “The Haunting of Hill House” with its messy dialogue and less than frighting thrills.

3.5

I'm tired of haunted house books that focus on the house and the characters are just afraid. The thing that I love about this book is that it is a complex psychological portrait of a character, which includes more than just her reaction to the house. From the first that we meet her, Eleanor is a compelling character. What makes her fascinating is that you just can't quite figure out what is going on with her. And that makes the ending, although heavily foreshadowed, shocking.

Shirley Jackson's classic novel is one of the best-known haunted house stories, probably second only to THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. But despite that, it's a story much less about ghosts and more about the flawed characters reacting to the stress of staying at a house that may or may not be haunted.

Unlike the Netflix series, there's a lot of ambiguity here. We largely see things through the perspective of Eleanor and as the book goes on, it becomes clear that her perspective can't be trusted.

HILL HOUSE is about loneliness and identity. It's about wanting loved ones and somewhere that feels like home, even if that home might be deadly.

There are some scary moments, but the frights are few and far between. What the book does have is compelling characters, beautiful prose, an air of mystery, and an overwhelming feeling of dread. It's the archetype for countless haunted stories that have come since and it's worth a read for its influence and expert storytelling alone. Just don't expect jump scares from Bent-Neck Lady...

I highly enjoyed this classic. Really liked the eerie vibes, perfect Autumnal read.

Obviously, this book has been out for some years and been adapted several times, so I won't bore anyone with details you already know. I mainly wanted to touch on two points:
1) As good as the story was, I could have been longer. Details were iffy at times. The movies try to expand the back story a bit, but not always effectively. Can't blame them for trying. I liked the ending, but I'm not entirely sure that the novel really gave the reader enough of a reason why everything turned out the way it did.
2) No one I've seen really talks about this, but this book is freakin' hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: A group of people, led by Dr. Montague, have been invited to stay the week at the Hill House, which has been known for being haunted. As the individuals investigate the paranormal occurrences, they become entangled in the house's dark forces.

Review: The prose of this book is just yummy–“Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met nearly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”. It is a veritable treat to read.

I enjoyed reading the book that would become the blueprint for other haunted house stories to come. Great dialogue, wonderful characters with exploration into some psychological themes. Just a classic book that doesn't attempt to do everything, but what it does do, it does well.

2.5