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

4.0

The first thing I need to say about this book is it needs getting used to. Modern day horror fiction is so different compared to earlier horror fiction and I tend to forget that sometimes. Especially if it has been a long time since I read any older horror. That being said, once I was used to the writing style I must say that I really enjoyed this book (If half stars were possible I would have gone with 4 1/2). It wasn’t an over the top, gory and frightening horror story. I would describe it more as eerie, suspenseful and supernatural. I found the writing to be more of a prose style and therefore it took longer for things to happen, but I didn’t mind. I know a lot of people seemed to have in issue with that but I think it just makes it a beautifully written horror story instead of a scary horror story. The characters and their dialogue were quirky and funny and by the end they had become more quirky and creepy (mainly Eleanor) which I LOVED. Readers need to keep in mind that this book was written in 1959 when there was a very different style of writing and different ideas of horror. You don’t pick this book up with the intention of being scared out of your mind, because that won’t happen. But when the scary parts of the book do arise they are quite creepy and wonderful. I think one of the main things the book does so perfectly is show the decline of Eleanor’s mental state and how she is affected by the haunting. There was just something to haunting about it. Overall I just think it was beautifully written and I do have to disagree with all those that hated the ending. I thought it was a perfect ending for the story and the decline of Eleanor.