The Haunting of Hill House will scare the pants off you. It scares me. It scares Neil Gaiman. It scares Stephen King.
Need I continue?
It’s a super creepy haunted house story and I want to warn you, but I also don’t want to ruin the fun. Just remember, it’s not real.
Probably.
Keep the lights on, just in case.
The Haunting of Hill House was published in 1959 and is a staple of the supernatural horror genre. What makes this novel so special (apart from its ability to incite terror) is that it was written by a woman. Shirley Jackson’s contribution to the cannon is often overlooked even though her works are considered classics now.
Until very recently, relatively few women wrote in this genre. There are notable exceptions of course.
Anne Radcliffe wrote The Mysteries of Udolpho in 1794, a mere thirty years after Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, and more than 100 years before Dracula.
In contemporary literature there’s Anne Rice with her impressive body of work. (Lestat still gives me shivers).
For the most part though, when it comes to the horror genre, women have been victims to the monster-du-jour. Thankfully, that’s beginning to change. More women are turning to horror stories, as well as thrillers, to explore the things that scare them. And that’s good news for the storytelling business.
The Haunting of Hill House was made into a Netflix series last year. I admit, I haven’t seen it yet so I don’t know how faithful it is to Jackson’s novel. I’ve included the trailer below if you want to check it out.
Happy Haunting!
Available in print, digital and audio versions. Visit your local library or click here to buy the ebook. If your library doesn’t carry this book, ask them to order it.
Audiobook Review
The audiobook is ok, but just ok. If you don’t want to be too creeped out, listening to the audiobook will make the story less scary. Still, don’t use headphones, and don’t listen if you’re walking on a quiet path in the woods. You also might want to abstain if you’re home alone at night.
