A review by e_r_q
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

RE-READ
"During the whole underside of her life, ever since her first memory, Eleanor had been waiting for something like Hill House."

The Haunting of Hill House is quite possibly my favourite book of all time. It feels like the culmination of all of Shirley Jackson's best stories, characters and themes.

Jackson's writing is perfect. From the strikingly gorgeous and vivid descriptions, to the chilling personification of Hill House, everything is just so exquisite. Jackson's prose is rich in hidden meaning, symbolism, metaphors, subtlety, social commentary, themes, and fascinatingly interpretable ambiguity. It's also genuinely very creepy at times. While listening to the audiobook late at night, I kept getting full-body goosebumps, and found myself darting quickly through the dark hallway of my house to reach the safety of my bedroom. Jackson effectively taps into the primal human fear of the unknown, forcing the reader to imagine what exactly lurks behind the closed doors or in the deep shadows of Hill House.

The characters are all so insanely well-written and believable. The pragmatic but superstitious Dr. Montague; the performatively heroic but opportunistic Luke; the flirtatious, queercoded and spiteful Theodora. The tragically relatable and unreliable protagonist of Eleanor is one of my favourite characters in fiction. Jackson offers such an enthralling glimpse into Nell's unique internal monologue and crumbling Psyche. In regards to characters, I also adore Jackson's authentic but distinctively quirky dialogue style.

The Haunting of Hill House is so flawlessly paced. It's extremely fast and engrossing, yet Eleanor's unraveling is so gradual, that you don't even realise it's happening until it's far too late. This makes the ending all the more devastating, to the point that I actually teared up this time.

Ever since I first read The Haunting of Hill House several years ago it has stuck with me. That's why I felt so compelled to revisit Hill House. And like Eleanor, I don't think I will ever want to leave.

My personal interpretation of The Haunting of Hill House:
(SPOILERS)

"I am disappearing inch by inch into this house, I am going apart a little bit at a time because all this noise is breaking me..."

I feel there are two ways I tend to read The Haunting of Hill House.

The first interpretation is the more surface level one. Hill House is evil, and it is haunted by something. Hill House chooses to prey upon Eleanor's squandered life and her feelings of estrangement, loneliness, aimlessness, entrapment and also her guilt over the death of her mother. Hill House torments, possesses and allures Eleanor, driving her to suicide, claiming her spirit for all eternity.

The other way to read it is that Hill House isn't haunted at all, not in the traditional sense at least. There is undeniably something wrong with Hill House, but I believe Eleanor is the cause of the various spooky goings-on throughout the novel. Early on it is heavily implied that Eleanor posseses some kind of telekinetic abilities; therefore it can be suggested that Eleanor subconsciously causes the hauntings in Hill House through her supernatural abilities, as a result of her fragile mental health.


But regardless of how you interpret The Haunting of Hill House, two things are very clear: Hill House haunts Eleanor, and Eleanor haunts Hill House.
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