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dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⚠️ TW: mentions of suicide, parental death, mental illness, murder ⚠️ This book is a perfect haunted house read for Halloween and is very much a classic for a reason. The Haunting of Hill House follows the story of a paranormal investigation carried out by Dr Montague and three guests, Eleanor, Theodora and Luke, in an ominous house well known for having a horrifying past and being evil by its local towns folk. But can a house really be evil or is it the people within? This book will have your skin covered in goosebumps and make you question every little noise in your home. I loved every second of this book! It was such a wild ride and I loved how it was told from Eleanor's pov but also portrayed her feelings and thoughts. The only reason I've knocked it down a star is because I didn't like all of the characters, especially Theodora who I found quite condescending and arrogant at times. Overall, I highly recommend reading this classic horror if you want to get the spooks ready for Halloween 🎃
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I cannot say I enjoyed this book and found it disappointing. I found the main character more annoying than likeable. However, witnessing the slow progression of the effects on the characters, especially Eleanor, was very interesting and captivating. This book can easily be described as dull and boring but it had a small amount of good parts. It is a quick read, but only if you can find the motivation to finish it. The ending was unexpected and mysterious. I found the writing style interesting and different, it had some amazing illusions and foreshadowing. Unfortunately I would not necessarily recommend this book to a lot of people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Grief
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my first time delving into the horror genre for books, and I can safely say I enjoyed it wayyy more than I thought I would. It was more tense and uneasy than actually scary, but I really loved the psychological slow burn. Shirley Jackson's prose is lush and gorgeous; I am absolutely enamored with the one passage where Eleanor is driving to Hill House and imagines herself as a lost fae princess returning home. Speaking of Eleanor, she was a fantastic character. In a way, she really was a lost princess returning back to what she thinks is her rightful home. After years of repressing her emotions, she finally gets to explore them . . . in a haunted house setting. Isn't it so heartbreaking how the house exploits her desire to have a home, to the point of self-destruction? I love me a good unreliable narrator :') The other characters were also delightful. I may be reading too much into it, but Eleanor was definitely in love with Theodora, right? Gah, I really adore this book!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicide
Minor: Blood, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm actually going to go crazy go stupid over how much I loved this book. It's slow, yeah, but Jackson uses her unique and considerable talent to build dread, just as in We Have Always Lived: the prose is gorgeous and lush, but the real star here is her character development. Eleanor is a powerful protagonist, dynamic despite her meekness and not at all what I expected, but Theo and Luke play excellent foils both to her and each other. The trio of assistants make this book more than worth the price of entry.
Quick aside: having seen both The Haunting (movie) and The Haunting of Hill House (show), I can confidently say that the original book is my favorite when set next to its adaptations. They're all different (and all very good), but the book just does it for me.
Quick aside: having seen both The Haunting (movie) and The Haunting of Hill House (show), I can confidently say that the original book is my favorite when set next to its adaptations. They're all different (and all very good), but the book just does it for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Car accident
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first Gothic horror I’ve ever read and holy shit is it weird. The prose is so rambling that I sometimes couldn’t tell what was going on, but then it all comes together to create a hypnotically surreal story of an innocent woman’s descent into madness. Really wishing I'd taken that English class on horror novels.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide
Minor: Alcohol
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Incredible transformative writing, conflicting and shifting character relationships, and vivid psychological torment make this book incredibly captivating and hard to put down. That is, it takes about half of the book for the actual haunting to begin which is kind of a drag to get through. The last third of the book is exceptionally good, giving you such a personal view of Eleanor’s deteriorating sanity and the other characters’ gradual exasperation towards her. Nothing is over explained, you really feel Eleanor’s state of being just from what she does and the simplistic thoughts that cross her mind. I love Eleanor as the main character lacking anything to leave Hill House to go back to, susceptible to the influence of the house because of her preexisting instability and desire for a home or something that’s truly hers. Despite her insecurities and rapid mood shifts I found myself feeling the way she felt about the other characters, infuriated at Theo’s selfish and cruel tendencies, and irritated at Luke constantly brushing her aside. It’s interesting to see the characters’ behaviors change as Eleanor’s perception of them changes and makes is clear that she is manipulating the world around her as she lives the story. The dialogue is interesting, with Mrs. Montague specifically it was amazing and i felt like I was hearing her so clearly as i read her lines, but there was something so off about how the rest of them spoke that I was a little perplexed by, even in the beginning of the novel before a lot of the spooky stuff happened. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but it certainly creates a unique atmosphere. Overall a powerful, psychologically driven ghost story with a setting that becomes its own character. If you’re into lore or answers or unpredictable twists in your horror then you might not love this. If the first half had been condensed and there was a little bit more creativity put into the specific “haunting” incidents that happened i would give it 5 stars easily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide