Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House

This is one of those rare occasions in which a horror novel has lived up to its extreme hype. This is your standard haunted house story which stands alone in the middle of nowhere and housing some curious characters who experience the unexpected.

We begin with the introduction of Dr Montague who has learned of the legend surrounding the house and invites a few people to stay in order for him to test his theories that the unexplainable can be explained with reason and science.

The guests include Eleanor a shy, lonely, and reserved woman who is already reluctant to stay before she arrives and having spoken to the local people whilst travelling there makes her even more so. Next introduced is Theodora, who is very outgoing, but the two women stay close. And finally, Luke Sanderson who is the family representation for the house and is rather intrigued with the doctor’s work.

The house is a deeply ambiguous symbol within the text. A house is supposed to be a place of safety, comfort, and warmth but, Jackson juxtaposes that idea and creates a house of imprisonment and chaos.

Jackson has this insane gift of merging her descriptions with characterisation. Most of the book is from Eleanor’s perspective, but Eleanor is a rather unreliable narrator so what her perspective actually shows us we aren’t sure about. This indeed an endless question throughout the novel is how much of the bizarre going’s on is due to the house and how much of it due to Eleanor’s own psychic abilities (it’s not a spoiler don’t worry), and how much of it is simply Eleanor’s own perceptions which get even more nightmarish as the narrative progresses.

The book is basically a simple character study with occasional deeply- disturbing shocks. Hill House is one of the most profoundly frightening books I’ve read in a while. Whilst Jackson doesn’t descend on the typical Hollywood, almost comedic scary spectacles (no green ghosts, no werewolves), its subtle classical uncanny moments are almost too creepy. Jackson uses the most minutely creepy actions which are so subtle they really cause a conflict between your rational and fearful mindset. The gentle knocking on doors, possessions disturbed and sudden messages. What makes these matters much worse is that alongside them we see Eleanor’s deterioration and steady disintegration the shift in the groups dynamic, ranging from thoughtless spite to ignorance to direct cruelty. But then again is any of this actually? How much of this is the House’s influence or how much of it is Eleanor’s paranoid subconscious collapsing.

The book is a bit dated, even for 1959. Both Theodora and Eleanor come across childish which is odd since they’re in their thirties. Eleanor is naïve and sheltered and Theodora obviously spoiled to some extent so perhaps this backs that argument up. The occasional moments of nuance, where Eleanor is desperate to talk to Luke, and believes she might fancy him (fairly casual for 2021, but probably was significance for the time when you tell someone you love them you expect a marriage proposal). Theodora’s friendship with Eleanor has possibly a bisexual tinge which is acceptable and common to modern readers, though how much of this was just part of the gothic style?

Interestingly notable is that the two most obviously sexist characters are also in fact two most hilariously incompetent arseholes, who provide a rather refreshing chance to laugh at their idiotic sexist attitudes.

The Haunting of Hill House is one of those classics that just has to be read. Although, the recent Netflix series (of the same name) is a different take on the novel it does encompass tiny symbols from the text which after you’ve read the book it makes you smile because each tiny detail of the book pops up in the series. Also with the new series it will inspire more people to read this amazing text.

Hill House is definitely still worth a read, but don't expect to leave it and that’s that, because whatever Hill House contains, it has the very disturbing habit of getting inside your head and living with you.