The Haunting of Hill House - Book Review

It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived in, not a fit place for people or for love or for hope. Exorcism cannot alter the countenance of a house; Hill House would stay as it was until it was destroyed.

-Shirley Jackson

Horror novels are by far the scariest way to experience the story. You aren't being shown or told what to see, you are given enough words that your imagination can fill in the blanks with your worst fears. Hence, why I tend to stay away from horror...most of the time. I'll try and do this with little to no spoilers. You can't read a horror novel without the shock factor can you?

I had so many thoughts as I read through this book. Mainly they were: "When will it get scary?" and "spoke too soon!". I'd watched the Netflix series last year, was appropriately terrified, and had to wait a year before reading the book so it was no longer fresh. I hate reading something I've already watched. Knowing the ending takes the magic out of that first read but, in this case, the show was different enough that I was in the clear. It did take me quite a while to get into it, however. The beginning had a slow, depressing start. In my opinion, it should be one or the other. If it's gloomy, make it interesting. If it starts slow, make it happy so that when that happiness is ripped away it's more jarring and hooks you in. Slow and gloomy made me not want to pick it back up whenever I took a break. However, I stuck with it for a little longer and it ended up getting really, really, good. I can understand why it's such a well-respected horror novel.

This book isn't scary in the "some serial killer is stalking me" way or even the typical "there's a vicious murder that took place in my house and now those ghosts are out to get me" kind of way. It's completely psychological with small sentences scattered here and there that can send chills down your spine. It all starts with Eleanor who's life is painted as grey and uninteresting. She jumps at the invitation to stay at Hill House as it's "the most interesting thing to happen" to her. Therein lies the problem and why Hill House latches, most specifically, onto Eleanor. The first description of the house and the feeling of lonliness and dread that the characters feel upon arrival evokes this unsettling pit in your stomache as you read it. This feeling deepens once they start to accept the house as warm and inviting because it feels false. It wasn't a nightmare kind of fear but a fear of what there is to come and the unknown.

Most of the things that I didn't like about this book are two sided. I liked and disliked them. That rarely happens, my opinions usually aren't so divided. I didn't like the flip flop of cold, terrifying nights to warm, careless days. If these events happened to me, I'd be haunted well into the next day. I understand it's part of the House's spell to make them forget the terror but it took away some of the realism out of it for me. However, on the other side of that, it was very affective in making the evening after a normal day even more frightening. It was like a cold splash after a hot day in the sun. 

I also didn't like the relationships. Even for strangers who only knew each other a short time, they seemed so superficial and judgemental towards one another. A week living with someone is more than enough time to at least build a decent relationship. (Look at all of us who met some of our closest friends after only one week of camp!). It was also very hard to read into the relationships. Were Theo and Luke interested in each other? Was Eleanor interested in Luke? Did Luke respect Eleanor or find her pathetic? Did Theo ever realy care for any of them? Or was it false? How much of their behavious was their true characteristics and how much was the House's influence? That's the one part that made me re-think my opinion. We can't know what is truly the characters actions and what is influenced by the House, which really freaked me out when that realization hit. I do think Shirley Jackson nailed some aspects of new relationships. Girls who are fast friends and then turn to petty thoughts and jealousy. The first exciting encouter with dashing single men and later the realization of their faults and annoyances. 

I think my most favourite thing about this book was the ending of Eleanor's point of view. It was like you were in a fog with her the entire book and finally get a bit of clarity. Then the parting lines of the novel left you haunted:

"...silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

Excuse me, whatever walked there?!?! Terrifying. Whether you've read it or not I think you still end up in the same clueless fog of what really makes this House terrifying. You don't know. That's it, that's what scares you. 

I ended up enjoying the read but it also reminded me why I don't read scary books. It took a while to get into but I'm glad I gave it a shot. I probably will never re-read it, it's one of those ones that are scary because you don't know what's coming next. I don't think it would be as good the second time around. But I do recommend it if you're into this type of genre. I give it 3 stars as it was good but not really my cup of tea.