The Shining, Poltergeist, The Conjuring, Scooby- Doo, Monster House, and an infinity of other haunted house stories, games, movies, and TV shows are all its eerie offspring. While reading The Haunting of Hill House, it’s impossible not to be struck with how many horror projects are undeniably influenced by it. What now seems like a bundle of cliches was heavily derived from what was already within the dark covers of Shirley Jackson’s book. If this all sounds trite, unremarkable, and overdone, it’s only because Hill House is where much of it started. Tensions (including semi-romantic ones) between characters mount until a breaking point is reached and the climax ensues. There are creaky hallways, closing doors, shuttered windows, unsettling angles, creepy statues, spooky towers, ill-advised walks alone, and plenty of things that literally go bump in the night. The main characters, especially Nel (Eleanor), are helplessly caught in the crossfire. The old estate’s nebulous but unmistakably fell intent is then carried out through the spirits and psychic disturbances which serve as an extension of its will. Montague’s wife with her friend Arthur.Īs the story progresses, the house itself begins to assume a kind of malignant consciousness.
Dudley (the house caretakers) and later by Dr. John Montague, Luke Sanderson, Eleanor Vance, and just Theodora make up our original cast. A crew of various nobodies with vague connections to the supernatural find themselves in a building where something’s not quite right.ĭr. The story of Hill House is arranged in a format now seen as classic. The Haunting of Hill House is nothing less than an indisputable cornerstone for horror generally and a fundamental equation for haunted house stories specifically. Reviews since 1959 from critics in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and others have been unendingly positive. Neil Gaiman went so far as to say it was THE scariest work of fiction he had ever read. Stephen King touts it as one of the finest horror books of the century.
Within the ranks of critics and creators alike, Hill House retains a grim position of special dignity and honor. The answer is that Hill House is revered and renowned amongst what might be called the Horror Intelligencia. Which House?įirst published in 1959, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is probably the most famous haunted house story ever written.īut given that I had never heard of it until It became the story of choice for a book club I frequent, asking who it is famous among is a decent question. But what do we call the stuff somewhere in between? In this case, we call it Hill House.
When something is good in its own time but not in others, we call it “outdated”. When something is good in its own time and long after, we call it a “classic”. One of the first lessons you learn on undertaking a critical reading of media is that influential doesn’t always mean good.
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