The Haunting of Hill House

For the Richard Matheson novel, see Hell House, made into a film titled The Legend of Hell House. The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 novel by author Shirley Jackson. Considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the twentieth century, it has been made into two feature films and a play. Jackson's novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion by the reader, utilizing complex relationships between the mysterious ... more

For the Richard Matheson novel, see Hell House, made into a film titled The Legend of Hell House. The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 novel by author Shirley Jackson. Considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the twentieth century, it has been made into two feature films and a play. Jackson's novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion by the reader, utilizing complex relationships between the mysterious events in the house and the characters’ psyches. Hill House is an eighty year-old mansion built by a man named Hugh Crain. The story concerns four main characters: Dr. John Montague, an investigator of the supernatural; two young women, Eleanor and Theodora; and a young man, Luke, the heir to Hill House, who is host to the others. Doctor Montague hopes to find scientific evidence of the existence of the supernatural. He rents Hill House for a summer and invites several people to stay there as his guests. Of these invitees, whom he has chosen... less