The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959)

Four strangers seeking the occult occupy Hill House, not knowing what they're looking for, or what they'll find.

Book Review:  Is there something wrong with me that I want to live in Hill House? The Haunting of Hill House is probably Shirley Jackson's best known novel and one of her two best books. Stephen King called The Haunting of Hill House one of the greatest horror novels of all time, and dedicated his novel Firestarter to her. It took a re-read for this book to penetrate my thick skull. On the first read I thought this was a horror story, and wasn't as horrified as I expected to be. All the scary bits are indirect, suggested, never really seen. On the second read I realized that Jackson wasn't trying to terrify the reader, she was showing Eleanor, the main character, being terrified, then disturbed, intrigued, welcomed, possessed, and absorbed by Hill House. It's Eleanor's psyche that is the core of the story. In The Haunting of Hill House, as with Shirley Jackson's other books, the action is really in the psychology. The house is a full blown character, and Eleanor's interaction with that persona is what drives the book (don't worry, the other characters are strong enough to keep the readers' attention, also). I fell into Jackson's description of the house, everything being just a little off, and felt the offness as I read. But what brought the book together was the ending, because it was the only possible ending, and made all that went before fall into place. Perfect. At the beginning of the book Eleanor has a miserable life, so miserable she dreams of being alone, is terrified of breaking rules and being punished, and views a couple weeks in a haunted house as an escape from the misery of her real life. After finding Hill House she can throw off her past and refuses to be a passive victim any longer. She has been through a baptism of fire and now belongs in Hill House.  At the end she comes alive. Jackson fans will eat this up. If you like Shirley Jackson you'll love The Haunting of Hill House, if you liked either of the movies (1963 or 1999), here's the book, and it's an excellent read. [5 Stars]