The “hauntedness” we read of, is not in the actual house but in Eleanor herself.Īs soon as we are introduced to her we learn of her unhappy and uneventful existence. What Eleanor Vance experiences in Hill House is not solely a result of the house’s paranormal activity, and her character both adheres to and transcends the mould of the ‘passive’ Gothic heroine. Yet, while the haunting-aka the supernatural element-is what this novel is known for, there are many other aspects that make this novel so unnerving. Still, while this might not be Jackson’s most ‘accessible’ novel it is now widely regarded as one of the greatest haunted-house story ever-written. Her idiosyncratic style is not for everyone and many readers that have watched the Netflix adaptation of this novel will find themselves thrown into a bizarre Tim Burton-ish sort of story that is unlike the tv series. Jackson has that unique vision that makes her stories immediately recognisable. A third re-read of this novel has allowed me to appreciate the story and its characters much more than I did on my first read. Having loved We Have Always Lived in the Castle, I was expecting a similar reading experience…but although The Haunting of Hill House has many of Jackosn’s trademarks (an alienated young woman, a creepy ambience, a house that acts as a character, doubles, a sense of surreality) the narrative was even more confounding than her usual.

The first time I read The Haunting of Hill House I felt confused and vaguely underwhelmed.

“They can’t turn me out or shut me out or laugh at me or hide from me I won’t go, and Hill House belongs to me.”

The haunting of the hill house book