It’s not too late to fit a spooky read into your October, and Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is a classic choice for anyone looking to add a little uneasiness to the season.
First published in 1959, the novel follows a small group invited to stay at Hill House, an old mansion with a troubling history. Dr. John Montague hopes to study reports of supernatural activity there and is joined by Eleanor Vance, Theodora, and Luke Sanderson. Before long, strange noises, mysterious messages, and frightening events begin to make their stay increasingly disturbing.
What makes The Haunting of Hill House so effective is that Jackson doesn’t depend on monsters or graphic violence to frighten readers. Instead, she creates a growing sense that something simply isn’t right. Hill House itself feels almost alive, and readers are often left wondering how much of what is happening is supernatural and how much might be connected to Eleanor’s increasingly fragile state of mind.
Eleanor is also what gives the novel much of its emotional weight. Lonely and longing for a place where she belongs, she becomes increasingly attached to Hill House even as the mansion seems to become more dangerous.
Readers accustomed to fast-paced modern horror may find parts of the novel slower than expected. Its scares are subtle, psychological, and atmospheric rather than constant. But that restraint is also why the story remains so unsettling.
More than 65 years after its publication, The Haunting of Hill House still delivers an eerie reading experience. For anyone hoping to squeeze one classic ghost story into October, Hill House is waiting.
This week’s Do You Know Bedford? answer: The Taylor Chair Company.
