Fanciful Review | The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The house was vile. She shivered and thought, the words coming freely into her mind, Hill House is vile, it is diseased; get away from here at once…

Dr. Montague has always been fascinated with psychic phenomena, and organises to gather psychically sensitive people in Hill House, a well documented haunted house. Out of all the people he invites, Theodora, psychically gifted, Eleanor, who experienced supernatural phenomena as a child, and Luke, a family member of the current owner of the house, are willing to join him. None of them are prepared for Hill House and the vileness of its history.

What can I say about The Haunting of Hill House? I loved this book, for a variety of reasons, though I did also have some small gripes with it.

The first thing that struck me was the writing style, which was absolutely gorgeous. One line I loved was “the sound of her feet on the wood of the verandah was an outrage in the utter silence…” How beautiful is that?

I liked that the characters were all very unique from each other. We got to meet all of these characters individually in the beginning of the book. We learn some of their personality traits, their connections in the world, and the reason they find themselves at Hill House. I love the way this was done. And then we follow along with Eleanor for the rest of the book. The point of view would not be one that I would call deep, so we do get some insight into the other characters as well.

Eleanor was an interesting character, and was also an unreliable narrator. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it adds an additional layer to unwrap within this book. Eleanor’s impression of the characters and settings around her shift through her experiences, which allows the reader to see into Eleanor’s mood, and the affect the house is having on her (though some of the sudden changes in her emotions were dizzying).

Ah yes, the house. Hill House is a character in itself. It is described as having a face, a desire, a personality. The interior of the house is labyrinthine and isolating. The hills surrounding the eponymous house cut it and the inhabitants off from the rest of the world. It is described in great detail, and I found myself getting lost alongside the characters.

My main issue with this book, which is not even an issue, is awkward, stiff dialogue. However, I am saying this as a modern reader. This book was originally published in the 1950s, so perhaps then it would have seemed quite normal and natural.

As a modern horror reader, there were also aspects of the haunting that I found disappointing. I can’t say more without spoiling anything unfortunately, but I was hoping for more. However, many of the aspects of the haunting that were present were described brilliantly, and I didn’t see some of the twists coming.

Overall, I loved this book. It felt as if Hill House was the original haunted house, which was gorgeously presented to the readers. The characters were interesting and unique, and I got to know them quite well throughout. I would happily recommend this to readers who enjoy haunted house stories, especially those who are interested in the history of the horror genre.

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