The Haunting Of Hill House

Title: The Haunting of Hill House
Author: Shirley Jackson
Genre: Classic, Horror
Format: Kindle
Pages: 288
Reason Read: Buddy Read
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m so utterly disappointed with THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE that I could cry. It didn’t really seem like anything happened, other than Eleanor possibly going crazy or possibly being haunted by ghosts. I guess part of the allure of the story is not knowing if Eleanor is mentally unstable or influenced by paranormal phenomena. I went into the story expecting scary because of how I felt when I watched the 1999 movie. But, on only one occasion did I get creeped out.

I also thought the writing was weird. When the reader was in Eleanor’s head, it felt really disjointed because she thought about weird things. The whole first part of the book really had no importance to the story other than to get to know Eleanor. I also didn’t feel like the writing was very descriptive. It was also very plot-driven, and I prefer character-driven stories better.

Speaking of the characters, I hated them. The story mostly focused on Eleanor as she was the one most influenced by the house. In learning about her character, all I found was a self-centered, self-pitying, two-faced girl seeking attention. I actually thought all the characters were two-faced. I still don’t know who Luke and Theodora really are. The only person I felt I got to know even a little bit was Dr. Montague. He’s the only one who didn’t seem to put on airs. I despised Mrs. Montague. The only characters I really liked were Mr. and Mrs. Dudley. They at least were frank and honest.

I think the premise of the story was intriguing and could have made for a very scary story if only it had been executed better.