The Haunting of Hill House
Ratings507
Average rating3.7
Though not as brilliant as We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Haunting of Hill House is one easily one of the best haunted house tales ever written. Jackson has a talent at bringing out the creepy in the everyday world, making little mundane details of people's behavior or the construction of Hill House as unsettling as the more obvious strangeness going on.
I can appreciate that this book is considered a classic and brought us generations of haunted house stories but for me, it doesn't hold up to current time.
I can see how it was scary for 1959 but tbh I enjoyed the Netflix series a lot more.
I wouldn't say it's iconic, but times were different and maybe if I wasn't born in 1990 and exposed to so much more horror, I'd find it to be spooky.
Reads like a boring Scooby Doo cartoon where absolutely nothing interesting happens.
I really enjoyed this spooky gothic novel. I found the relationship between Eleanor and Theodora fascinating and I actually enjoyed the ambiguous ending of this novel. I am a fan of the dark twisting turns that are infamous in Shirley Jackson's writing and this book had me totally hooked. This is the fastest audiobook I have ever gotten through and I am actually quite disappointed it has ended. While some of Eleanor's inner thoughts were irritating at times and while the horror was understated, I was fully invested in the gothic atmosphere presented in the novel. This story is a lot more subtle than a simple bump in the night horror novel but that is what endeared me even further to the story. I would happily re read this story again and I feel this is the best gothic story I have read since Rebecca. I happily rate this novel between a 4.5 and a 5 star read.
Rating: 2.3 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 1/5
Story: 2.5/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Genre: Gothic/Horror/Paranormal
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: No!
How disappointing this book was. For the hype it gave it wasn't at all worth it. I listened to it on audio and the music was more scary than the actual book. I only gave it a 2 because of the narrator and the deteriorating mental stability of Eleanor. Whatever “gifts” she had isn't explained or really even used in the book. We are met with a weird Theo that was off in lala land and Luke trying to score. This book could have had potential but flopped so horribly.
This was genuinely an interesting read, it went more to the psychological aspect of being afraid and how little by little the characters were going down and I totally loved it,the atmosphere of the book was totally terrifying and how all the characters mend together was incredible but Although I enjoyed every aspect of the book in my opinion it fell short, the characters did not fell down enough they were scared they weren't as clever or secure of themselves as at the start but I would have love to see them worse than that
However I feel this is a book that it's worth reading although it could have been better
3.5 to 4
I was surprised to realize how close the movie got (1st movie, the 1963 one), though they got some things wrong. I don't understand why they had to put in the love story. :-(
Made into a movie in 1963 “The Haunting”! On the lists of great horror books and movies. 200 Pages, Small cast of characters! David N.
took me quite a while to get into this but once it hooked me it hooked me good... such a wonderful creepy atmosphere and left me feeling antsy which i like. starting the month off with a perfect 5 star read SLAY
Timeless horror masterpiece. Literally had me kinda scared to fall asleep. Lowkey felt like I was getting gaslight too. I am thoroughly creeped out, I thought. And stopped in wonder at the thought...
The horror of this book is subtle and it popularized the concept of haunted house horror. Because the character exploration is its focus, it is more sad than scary.
Welcome to the Hill House, not sane, alone, might stand for another 80 years or so.
The writing style is odd and dream-like, purposefully hiding information, also it's a book from the 1950s, so in general, the way the characters interact can put people off. The novel takes away a lot of things you might want to know like character descriptions, only leaving you with the color of their sweater, the descriptions of the Hill House itself, you only vaguely understand how it is supposed to look. It sometimes jumps the scene forward, disorienting.
The atmosphere, the characters (the main character especially) are lovely. However, some characters that are introduced later on do not serve the plot. The ending is great, there's a build-up to it and it's bold.
There's something very familiar with the horror and sadness in this book for me, so it really worked. A lot of it is spent on the characters simply anticipating the horror and not a whole lot happening, but you also get to find out about the characters when they simply chat.
Obviously, this book has been out for some years and been adapted several times, so I won't bore anyone with details you already know. I mainly wanted to touch on two points:
1) As good as the story was, I could have been longer. Details were iffy at times. The movies try to expand the back story a bit, but not always effectively. Can't blame them for trying. I liked the ending, but I'm not entirely sure that the novel really gave the reader enough of a reason why everything turned out the way it did.
2) No one I've seen really talks about this, but this book is freakin' hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times.
This feels like the kind of book you’re supposed to read again, but like soon enough before you forget anything
Disappointing for me. I stopped reading after 70% or so and continued with a detailed summary instead.
While I really like the theme of this story, I guess I'm just not a sucker for old books. I have a hard time describing what usually ruins them for me, but it has something to do with how the characters behave. It is somehow unauthentic, as if books back then were written with a different intention than making the characters seem as real as possible. They feel more like those exaggerated characters from theatre plays or old movies. Just not my cup of tea.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to! (aka it wasn't as scary as I feared it would be, as I am a coward). It was also a lot funnier than I expected.
If you are into this kind of thing you have probably already read this.
I don't know if it's just me, but I didn't like this book at all, and it's unfortunate...
(3.5 but rounding up)
I love the Netflix series based on this book and I wanted to love this just as much. It was good and I definitely enjoyed it but it lacked the substance that I wanted from it. I wished it went more in depth but I'm also conscious of the fact that I already have expectations set by the show. Besides from this though, it genuinely was creepy and psychologically scary - often catching me off guard. I really liked how it was written and overall really enjoyed it.
DNF-So, I'm not sure what book the rest of you were reading but this book was terrible. I saw the Netflix series and decided to read the book because I loved the show! This is the first time in history the show is better than the book. I'll be honest, I made it to page 102 of 172 and stopped. Literally, not one thing happened in that 102 pages. Basically just bad dialogue. It took me a month to get to page 102 because I was so bored I never wanted to pick the book up. Finally, I just gave up! Seriously, just watch the show- that was amazing.
Contains spoilers
An atypical haunted house story with an ending you've seen coming for so long, it works its way back around to being a blunt shock by the finish. No ceremony no fluff. I think where this book really shines is as a commentary on the violence of casual human social cruelty. A harsh story about an anxious woman who's never been made to feel welcome, killed by the ease with which people are content to leave one another out. And maybe, just maybe, a house that wants blood - and induces madness to get it. All I'm all a great quick read, and a book that leaves you turning over its implications in your head.
Talk about a creepy and atmospheric read. I highly recommend if you're looking for a book about a descent into madness.