⋙ PDF Free The Haunting of Hill House Penguin Classics Shirley Jackson Laura Miller Books

The Haunting of Hill House Penguin Classics Shirley Jackson Laura Miller Books

Download As PDF : The Haunting of Hill House Penguin Classics Shirley Jackson Laura Miller Books

The Haunting of Hill House Penguin Classics Shirley Jackson Laura Miller Books

For reasons which pass understanding, I had never read this book before now. This, in spite of having been a huge fan of the film (the 1963 version, not the awful 90s remake) since I was eleven years old.  How is that even possible? I guess it just felt as if I had, since I was so familiar with the movie.  And yes, I know it's not the same thing, but it's a hella fine film and, as I discovered as I finally read the book, it is surprisingly true to the original text.

Yes, of course there are differences, but predictable ones like cutting for length. After all, films are able to tell us more in less time than a book can. The characters are fairly consistent with the novel save for the doctor's wife who is, if anything, worse than her film version. The relationships are not precisely the same, but the spirit of those relationships and what they mean to the characters are true to those in the book.

What was different for me was that the book made me more uneasy about Eleanor, and  about how much of the book's horror is in her mind, or can be attributed to her poltergeist.  If you've read Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, you'll be familiar with the disorientation of not ever really knowing what's going on, whether it's supernatural, a mental aberration, or a combination of the two. And that, more than anything makes The Haunting of Hill House one of the most unsettling things I've ever read. 

It's gloriously well written; it gave me the wiggins in the first ten pages, and never really let up. But it's not throat-clutching horror, or jump-out-of-your-skin horror. Rather, it's a slow and even sad progress of the death of hope in the face of something overwhelming. The horror is that no matter the source, nothing can stop it. 

I'm not a fan of gorpy horror, buckets of blood and body parts being flung about.  Monsters don't scare me. People scare me.  What goes on in people's heads scares the bejeebers out of me, so this sort of horror?  It's my candy. And for my money, Shirley Jackson is one of the greatest horror writers ever.


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The Haunting of Hill House Penguin Classics Shirley Jackson Laura Miller Books Reviews

It's been a long time since a book genuinely scared me, and in my search to find one that can, this title seems to keep popping up, so I decided to give it a try. Hailed by many horror authors as the scariest book of all time, it perhaps has wound up with a reputation it can't possibly live up to, and at least on that front, for me, it doesn't. There are some genuinely tense moments, but they are few and far between, and really only approach being scary. We follow a group of 4 people who have visited Hill House to investigate it's purportedly haunted nature, and they are all well-drawn and interesting characters, and their interactions do have something to say about some of the inherent flaws in human nature. A sense of dread permeates throughout the book, as it is always clear that something horrible could happen at any moment, much the same feeling as one gets while watching Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" for the first time. The house itself is very well realized and very intentionally feels like a 5th character. Perhaps the scariest thing about it is the ending, which I will not spoil, but which will certainly not leave one feeling chipper. Even then though, it is more creepy than scary, a distinction which certainly does matter. While I would say this book is deserving of its position in the pantheon of classic literature, and I highly recommend it, I would not say it is satisfied my search for a truly frightening read.
This is one of Shirley Jackson's most well known works mainly because it was made into a movie. Actually the 1960s version is more accurate to the book than the latest film version. But on to the story.

Hill House is a huge pile of bricks and mortar that was built in the late 1800s. There is much tragedy attached to the house starting with a carriage accident that occurs as a young wife comes to her new house only to be killed when the horses are startled and the carriage upturns. The young daughter of this marriage is brought up in this curious place and ultimately dies here. Her caregiver commits suicide by hanging herself from a circular staircase. There are many rooms, hallways, and lots of tales about ghostly apparitions, noises, and so forth.

A professor, Dr. Montague and his team decide to investigate the reports of paranormal activity in this house. In addition to his team, his invitees include two women---Theodora a free spirited theatrical type and Eleanor, a mousy insecure woman. The other invitee is Luke, a distant relation of the owner of the house. The other people in the story consist of a housekeeper/cook and the caretaker---kind of spooky people in their own right!

As everyone arrives and settles in and becomes acquainted it soon becomes apparent that there is definitely a presence at Hill House and it's not a friendly one. There are "cold spots" in the library, and during the night banging on Eleanor's bedroom door. Theodora moves in with Eleanor, but the noise doesn't stop. Then there is a message on the wall "Help Eleanor Come Home" Is this a trick played by one of the guests? Or is there a force in the house that is compelling Eleanor to be a part of it? The other guests are sympathetic to Eleanor, but she becomes more and more delusional and hysterical which culminates in her being asked to leave.

There is mystery, drama, and suspense around every corner. Shirley Jackson shows a lot of creativity and imagination in her writing of this book. Her descriptions of the house and grounds are so realistic that you almost picture yourself in the midst of the scenery. She brings out the cruelty of humanity in her descriptions of the characters, especially Luke and Theodora who play on the fears and weaknesses of Eleanor. And in the end, maybe the lesson to be learned is this there are inherently evil aspects of nature that should just be left alone and Hill House is one of them!
For reasons which pass understanding, I had never read this book before now. This, in spite of having been a huge fan of the film (the 1963 version, not the awful 90s remake) since I was eleven years old.  How is that even possible? I guess it just felt as if I had, since I was so familiar with the movie.  And yes, I know it's not the same thing, but it's a hella fine film and, as I discovered as I finally read the book, it is surprisingly true to the original text.

Yes, of course there are differences, but predictable ones like cutting for length. After all, films are able to tell us more in less time than a book can. The characters are fairly consistent with the novel save for the doctor's wife who is, if anything, worse than her film version. The relationships are not precisely the same, but the spirit of those relationships and what they mean to the characters are true to those in the book.

What was different for me was that the book made me more uneasy about Eleanor, and  about how much of the book's horror is in her mind, or can be attributed to her poltergeist.  If you've read Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, you'll be familiar with the disorientation of not ever really knowing what's going on, whether it's supernatural, a mental aberration, or a combination of the two. And that, more than anything makes The Haunting of Hill House one of the most unsettling things I've ever read. 

It's gloriously well written; it gave me the wiggins in the first ten pages, and never really let up. But it's not throat-clutching horror, or jump-out-of-your-skin horror. Rather, it's a slow and even sad progress of the death of hope in the face of something overwhelming. The horror is that no matter the source, nothing can stop it. 

I'm not a fan of gorpy horror, buckets of blood and body parts being flung about.  Monsters don't scare me. People scare me.  What goes on in people's heads scares the bejeebers out of me, so this sort of horror?  It's my candy. And for my money, Shirley Jackson is one of the greatest horror writers ever.