The Haunting of Hill House

I almost wish I had read this in school. This would have been lovely to read against [b:The Turn of the Screw 12948 The Turn of the Screw Henry James https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327909344s/12948.jpg 990886], with its supposed repressed male homoerotic subtext, in contrast to Shirley Jackson's far more blatant lesbian anguish. I mean, if you didn't raise an eyebrow at the first mention of Theo's “flatmate” then you're missing a good chunk of the book.Much like Hill House, this book won't behave as you might expect. Depending on what you expect. It will scare you, I can tell you that much. It's always impressive indulging in a horror classic that actually gives you chills, despite being exposed to decades worth of material that's come afterward. The way Jackson goes about it is still unique, and the way she paces out a good scare. I think it may be because we are so in Eleanor's head, especially towards the end of the book, that its hard to tell what's real. And at first you're afraid because Eleanor's confused and afraid herself, and then you're afraid because Eleanor is no longer confused, and in fact she feels pretty good about the figure pacing and singing in the corner of the room that no one else can see. That gave me goosebumps just typing that out.But no, The Haunting of Hill House won't straighten out into a story that's more familiar. The characters won't settle down or develop into attractive character arcs that make them seem like better people than they are. You won't even find out what is haunting Hill House, whether something happened there, or if it was just born awful. Or even if it was the house at all.Classic horror, the real classic stuff like the aforementioned Henry Conrad, lives and breathes on subtext. The characters speak in riddles and rhymes because their very characters are part of the mystery. Four people without a home or anywhere to belong, one of which who suffers in this far more than the others, go to a haunted house and try not to go crazy. They huddle so tight to each other in the darkness that they start to bleed into one another. Children trying to escape punishment, trying to be brave, trying to be rational and not only finding that it's not possible, it just doesn't really suit them.

My original rating for this was 3 stars, and I pretty much stand by that. In my mind, it breaks down something like this:Establishment of creepy house, which rightly influenced so much subsequent fiction: 5 starsAmbiguity and underlying social/emotional forces worthy of [b:The Turn of the Screw 12948 The Turn of the Screw Henry James https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443203592s/12948.jpg 990886]: 5 starsConstantly listening to Eleanor's neurotic thoughts and her telling herself incessantly that she's thinking something “concretely”: 2 starsLackluster banter among the characters: 2 stars*Obnoxiously out of place comic relief wife: 2 stars

2019 initial read: not my favourite from shirley jackson, but a new favourite nonetheless.
like hangsaman and we have always lived in the house, this book is scary in the eerie sense. you always feel like there's something looking over your shoulder but you don't want to turn and find out just how terrifying it is. haunting of hill house is slightly more plot driven, which i enjoyed, especially having watched the tv show first

ps, the tv show is nothing like the book! both are great in their own ways

2020 october re-read:
GUH. i loved this more looking at it from a very analytically critical point of view rather than a work of entertainment. i don't know why i love stories about descents into madness, but this one is probably my favorite of all time (with turn of the screw being a close second)

HELP ELEANOR COME HOME.