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A review by weathersreadsgarbage
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I usually get a kick out of going back and reading old horror classics. It's fun to see where things came from - and Hill House is the granddaddy of virtually every haunted house story in recent memory. But while haunted house stories don't generally get to me there's something absolutely rotten here.
I don't know how to put it into words but there's an underlying feeling of wrong that made me feel uneasy. The dialogue is strangely sharp and unrealistically flippant. Nobody seems to be talking about the same thing at the same times. Everything is so suspiciously cheerful and slow between these moments of horror. There's not answers for anything at all and while a lot of people seem way too nonchalant about impending doom all around them and it's just... it's like a fever dream.
I'm glad I avoided this one until I was old enough to be out of my 'I hate old books because I was wronged by English teachers what could I get possibly get out of anything that's not YA' stage and able to really appreciate it. But also honestly if anyone knocks on my door in the next few days I might scream. So that's fun.
I don't know how to put it into words but there's an underlying feeling of wrong that made me feel uneasy. The dialogue is strangely sharp and unrealistically flippant. Nobody seems to be talking about the same thing at the same times. Everything is so suspiciously cheerful and slow between these moments of horror. There's not answers for anything at all and while a lot of people seem way too nonchalant about impending doom all around them and it's just... it's like a fever dream.
I'm glad I avoided this one until I was old enough to be out of my 'I hate old books because I was wronged by English teachers what could I get possibly get out of anything that's not YA' stage and able to really appreciate it. But also honestly if anyone knocks on my door in the next few days I might scream. So that's fun.