The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House is the first Shirley Jackson book I have read. I had heard that she was a good writer but, to be honest, I was surprised at how good it was. The story is about the titular house which has a history and reputation in the neighboring town of being haunted by spirits. To me the most interesting part of the story is the ambiguity about whether the house is actually haunted or if the manifestations are imagined by our protagonist, Eleanor. Another possibility is that the supernatural phenomena could actually be caused by Eleanor’s deteriorating mental condition.

As with many of the better horror stories, interesting characters are more important than a spooky plot in The Haunting of Hill House. The story is character-driven and is all the better for it.

Although quite different from the book the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House borrows heavily from Shirley Jackson’s characters. They reuse character names (Nell, Theodora, Luke, etc.) and the story is more about who these people are and their subjective experiences than precise plot points. It is a wholly different experience from the book, but a satisfying one.

There have been two film adaptations of the book, both titled, The Haunting. The 1963 version is good, but not great. It sticks to the book closely, but it hasn’t aged well. I haven’t seen the version released in 1999 so I can’t comment on how good or bad it is.

I had two feelings when I finished reading The Haunting of Hill House. First was I am going to have to read that again in a little while. I think I would interpret it differently a second time. I also thought that I have to read more of Shirley Jackson’s work. I was impressed by her ability to write so clearly, but with the possibility of different interpretations. I have since read We Have Always Lived in the Castle¹ and that is excellent, too. I think I will be happily working my way through her works for some time to come.