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

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reading Vlog: https://youtu.be/kO5ikpm8ts8

Often referred to as the original haunted house story or the original modern haunted house story, The Haunting of Hill House - by a woman aptly nicknamed "The Queen of Horror"- is indeed a masterclass in horror via the lens of the unknown, isolation, the (potentially) unreliable narrator, atmosphere, and allowing the reader's imagination to be what truly terrifies them.

In under 200 pages (182 to be exact), Shirley Jackson explores the terrors of isolation and mental illness. Through Eleanor Vance, we see underlying sapphic subtext, the fear of being completely and utterly alone, and the complications of human emotion. All of this lends itself to a shockingly well-rounded character in Eleanor, and what is almost a discussion of humanity itself.

Most people, whether they express it or not, have extremely complex feelings and even more complicated relationships - especially with family members - and Eleanor Vance is no different. Within her are two seemingly warring feelings: deep resentment for her mother whom she was forced to care for - for over a decade - meaning she never properly lived alone - and a deep seated fear that seems to be what makes her so susceptible to the horrors of Hill House. Being too afraid to truly be alone is (or so it seems) why she accepts Dr. Montague's invite in the first place, and is the one thing she never wants to feel - seemingly driving (pun unintended) her to her death.

The house itself, is an unknown. It can't be known. We don't even know if it is truly haunted or if it just so happened that Eleanor was, and it was all in her own head. There isn't much in the way of a warning once all four of the main characters are on the premises. The doctor does not specify to be wary of anything in particular - in ways that the house might affect them. The only sort of "hint" is his response to Eleanor's uncharacteristic acts in the last stretch of the novel, almost appearing to know something that the others do not, when he insists to Eleanor that she must leave immediately, and not just that, but to forget all of them, and the house especially.

Throughout the book, each character appears to believe that they are in control - that each odd occurrence is explainable by a tilt in the floorboards or Mrs Dudley disliking the doors being open and closing them herself. But truly the house is the only one with any real power, with any true control int heir situation. In fact, even Theodora's suggested explanation for why Mrs. Dudley would even dislike the doors being left open in the first place, revolves around the house. Theodora suggests that it might be the same reason as to why they'd begun propping doors open - that perhaps she preferred to know that she had already closed the doors herself, than to turn around and find a door suddenly shut behind her.

I know that Shirley Jackson's writing style is not for everyone, and I'm sure some might consider the way things are left to interpretation as a form of underwriting but I think the absolute masterpiece of craft that this novel is displays just how terrifying humanity can be, how terrifying the human mind can be, and how terrifying the human imagination can be. I absolutely cannot wait to dive deeper into The Queen of Horror's novels in the future and had such a fun time reading this book.