The Haunting of Hill House is not for the weak of mind. To call Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece a ghost story would be selling her short to say the least: The Haunting of Hill House is a bacterial infection, seeping into your blood stream and cascading waves of terror felt throughout your entire body. The narrative follows four main characters, Eleanor, Theodora, Luke and Dr. Montague as they take place in an experiment where they spend a summer in a mansion that is historically known for hosting violent deaths. Dr. Montague, an investigator of paranormal activity and the leader of the operation, invited his guests because they had a “susceptibility” to the supernatural. Throughout the novel, we witness the gang experiencing unexplained phenomena, such as mysterious writing on the walls or banging on doors in the middle of the night. The narrative completely goes awry when Eleanor, our narrator, becomes isolated and starts losing touch with reality. Although the story is told from the perspective of Eleanor, the adjoining perspectives of how her companions are perceiving her behavior amidst a “possession” is what makes the story so interesting. Shirley at no point allows the reader to get too close, she’s always keeping us at a distance, with each question answered, another is posed.
Unfortunately, I watched Netflix’s adaptation of Hill House before I read the book, which prolonged reading it. I bought the book immediately after I finished the show but didn’t end up reading it until years later because I thought, well how different could they be, really?
The book and the show are so different. Not the same story, not the same characters, not the same feeling. They’re two entirely different things, and while they are both brilliant in their own way, they really can’t even be compared. There are lots of wonderful references within the show to Shirley Jackson’s book, and obviously piles of inspiration that formulated the show we know today, but they aren’t looking to achieve the same thing. Television/Film is something that you watch from the sidelines, while reading books is like playing the game. Shirley understood this too well. If you read this book it’s going to live with you, but if you thought the show was scary, the book is down-right formidable.
The novel itself is a very easy read in terms of language and lengths. I, like most people, read it in one sitting. I have this habit of reading eBook’s in bed at night, in the dark. Don’t do that, made the book 100% more terrifying. It scared the shit out of me, to the point where I literally had to turn the lights on to keep myself from being nauseous with fear. The challenge in the reading is within the context of the story, rather than the language, which always makes for something extremely fun. The language is impressive because of the feelings she’s describing, and forcing you to feel, rather than wielding an extensive lexicon that will force you away from the submersal of the story.
The Haunting of Hill house is a bacterial infection, seeping into your bloodstream and cascading waves of terror throughout your entire body.
If you read this book it’s going to live with you, but if you thought the show was scary, the book is down-right formidable.
I think what makes her book so frightening is that nothing feels far-fetched. There is no murderous clown or sea monsters, there are shadows on the walls and bumps in the night. The story is completely left up to the interpretation of the reader; what’s scarier, living in a haunted house or completely losing your mind at the age of 32? Shirley Jackson understands the fun in not needing to tell someone how to experience her book, and when you share her book with someone, you always get to ask the inevitable question, so, do you think it was really haunted? Sometimes writers use “million-dollar words” or hyperbolic phrases to make a story seem smarter or more intense than it really is, I am also guilty of this, but in this situation, I can say with complete candor that The Haunting of Hill House was spine-chilling. The absolute scariest book I have ever read. But the book was also fun and self-aware; Hill House knows it’s fiction, and the not knowing the truth is what will keep you up at night.
I LOVED the Netflix adaption and did not even realize it was based on a book. Loving how you described the book and am very excited to read it during spooky season this year!