28/365: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson
Rating: ★★★★★
Publication Date: October 16, 1959
Genre: classic, horror
Pages: 182
ReRead?: Yes
Project: classics club round 1, Project 365

It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

This was an autumnal reread for me. I’ve actually previously reviewed this one, in a pretty lengthy review, which you can find here.

However, if you aren’t inclined to go back to 2012’ish, here are some current thoughts. First, Shirley Jackson is a brilliant writer. I’ve read three books by her – this one, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and Hangsaman. They are all terrific in their own ways, but I think that Hill House is the scariest of the three, although I think that We Have Always Lived in the Castle has the best plot.

I noticed again how ambiguous the ending is here. Jackson definitely leaves open several possibilities. Is Hill House actually haunted, or was it all inside the character’s minds? And what did happen to Eleanor there at the end?

“Hill House itself, not sane, stood against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

I know that I have at least one more Jackson in my library, The Bird’s Nest, which I think I will have to push towards the top of my TBR.