The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut: silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.” - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

After watching the Netflix series last year by the same name last year it inspired me to put this classic book on my reading list. I had first been aware of the book for many years as it was mentioned by Stephen King as a major influence on his writing and lauded the book as one of the best of the horror genre. After listening to the book I can see why and agree with King it's one of the best.

The story begins as Dr. Montague is doing research into the supernatural and wanted to use Hill House as a setting due to its reputation as a haunted house and it’s somewhat sad history. We learn that on top of the somewhat tragic history of its original residents/builders the more recent residents who tried to live there seem to leave only after a short stay and without much explanation as to their quick departure. The house itself is a character all its own with its Gothic foreboding style and its unique floor plan is compared to in the book to the real-life Winchester House in San Jose, California which also had eccentric owners and history.

In the beginning the story is mostly centered around the four main characters of Dr. Montague, Eleanor Vance, Theodora, and Luke Sanderson. Aside from the very beginning and end the story is told through the perspective of Eleanor (aka: Nell) which we find out was a recluse who took care of elderly demanding mother until recently and was brow beaten by her two siblings from whom she took the family car to stay at Hill House. It was noted in her childhood her sister and her experienced the phenomenon of stones raining on their house as children, which was one of the reasons Dr. Montague invited her to the house. Stephen King fans might recognize this as an event that happened in his debut novel Carrie whose main character’s(Carrie White) house was also pelted with stones and had a domineering mother. Her main companion in the book is Theodora, no last name given, is described as living a bohemian lifestyle and perhaps is receptive to ESP. Luke Sanderson is a distant family heir to the house. He was mainly their as part of the agreement to stay at the house for their time there. He’s a bit of a playboy who never stayed at the house before.

The other characters are Mr. & Mrs. Dudley who are the caretakers of the house. Both are adamant about not staying at the house after dark. Mr Dudley is cantankerous and abrupt when meeting the visitors. Mrs. Dudley is quite rigid and humorless in her duties, so much so that in turn the guests make her the object of some light humor. No backstory is given to their relation to the house and how they became caretakers.

Dr. Montague’s wife and driver Authur Parker, who is the headmaster at a small boys school. In contrast to her spouse she has no qualms about expressing herself and taking control. Likewise Mr. Parker presents himself in an alpha male quality and even brandishes a gun for emergencies. He implies that Luke is a lightweight in his manliness on one occasion. Mrs. Montague acts as a woman on a mission to communicate with the supernatural. She tries a form of spirit writing using a planchette which seems to be channeling Eleanor.

Other happenings include doors closing by themselves, Luke and Dr. Montague chasing a mysterious dog, banging of the door to Eleanor and Theodora’s room, Theodora’s room/clothing covered in blood and writing in blood on the walls of the hallway which seems to be addressing Eleanor.

As time goes by the Hill House and Eleanor seem to be bonding together. It culminates one evening when she wakes up feeling energetic and carefree. She runs around knocking on doors waking the others as she runs and dances throughout the house. The others get up to see what is going on puzzled by this behavior. Eleanor makes her way to the library climbing a rickety iron spiral staircase that is barely staying vertical. The others that found her there are alarmed by this and beg her to stop. She seems either unaware or puzzled at why they are so frantic as she looks down upon them. Luke reluctantly climbs the staircase to implore her to come down which she reluctantly does. She is still seemingly unaware of the danger she put herself in by remarking she was just getting a book after Luke was able to coax her down.

The next morning the incident is unspoken but it is agreed at least between Dr. Montague, Theodora, Luke and the others that it is better if Eleanor leave Hill House for her own safety. Eleanor insists she does not want to leave and is very reluctant. Eleanor feels Hill House doesn't want her to leave and is sure she feels happy there. Her car is brought around already packed and being outnumbered and they were blocking the stairway to the front door. She still insists the house wants her to stay. Dr. Montague is insistent, firm although with some empathy as a parent might be with a child. After much back and forth about her leaving she finally says goodbye to everyone. As she drives away she feels a sudden rush of freedom but yet in a fleeting second just before hitting a tree and killing herself she asks herself what she is doing and why is no one stopping her.

In the end, Eleanor never really leaves Hill House taking her own life,or was it Hill House that killed her? I suppose we’ll never know. Dr. Montague goes on to write his paper to a cool reception. Theodore goes back her bohemian lifestyle. Luke is off Paris and his aunt, Mrs. Anderson, seems to be relieved that everyone had left.

After listening to this story it’s easy to see how many elements of the story have influenced the horror genre and pop culture. What would any ghost story be without it’s spooky gothic style house? I can see it’s influence in classic TV series like The Addams Family, The Munsters and even the cartoon series Scooby Doo.

It was Stephen King that introduced me to this story decades ago. He even wrote about this story extensively in book about the horror genre. The story was a huge influence on his writing. The comparisons between Hill House’s “Eleanor” and the title character “Carrie” in King’s debut novel of the same name. Both young women with over powering mother’s. The key giveaway is the stones raining down on both girls houses when the were young. Even Hill House plays a part in other King books as we have the large foreboding “Marsten House” in ‘Salems Lot” that is home the stories vampires. In “The Shining” we have the Overlook Hotel that plays a huge part of that story.

The story itself has spawned two movies and a Netflix series based on the book(which influenced me to finally listen/read the story finally. The first movie done in 1963 in England called “The Haunting” follows the original fairly well but does change some details and omit other stuff. Another version was made in 1999, also titled “The Haunting”, that I have not seen so I can’t comment much on it. The 2018 Netflix series uses Hill House but instead a family there stays there over the summer renovating to then flip the house. Many of the original characters names are used and as the original story goes Eleanor again plays the central character.

One key element of the story is that even though title includes a haunting much of the story is about what is left unseen. Doors are shut when no one is looking. Aside from a mysterious family picnicking and a quick glimpse of a dog,at least that's what it’s presumed to be, but nothing else is seen. Blood is seen in Theodore's room and writing of Eleanor’s name in the hallways are as about as much as we see physically. We hear hear banging on the door and barely audible voices. It scares you more by what is unseen.

Aside from the very beginning and end the story is told through Eleanor’s point of view. She is a bit shy and has been somewhat sheltered because she had been taking care of her demanding invalid mother until she dies. As is implied at times she harbors some guilt over her mother’s death. How much this plays into what goes on in the house is hard to tell. It at least feels as an influence on Eleanor's character. As the story unfolds it can be hard to tell how much the house is coming over her. Even in her last moments it seems as if she had no idea she was about to drive into a tree.

It is a classic story of horror that uses what is unseen as the most terrifying feature. You will also see how this story has become a blueprint for so many other supernatural stories. Isn’t it often what is unknown or unseen that is most terrifying to us? It is still a mystery what it is exactly about Hill House that has this aura of horror and terror. Whatever it may be we do know it walks alone.


View all my reviews