Shirley Jackson - THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

Plot (via Goodreads):

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

Review:

The Haunting of Hill House is one of those special reads that just arrived at the perfect time. I was on vacation right around Halloween time and everyone was buzzing about The Haunting of Hill House series on Netflix. So, I read the book and I must say - it was so much scarier than I was expecting from a book written in 1959.

What I loved  the most about this novel was Shirley Jackson's way of  telling a ghost story that is still psychological and creepy without being overly violent and yet she left so much to the imagination of the reader. Again, how was this written in 1959? The characters were fantastic and I loved the contrast between the four of them as they realize that something just isn't right in this house. I absolutely loved Eleanor and Theo - talk about two amazing characters that just really sold this story for me.

The house and everything that happens in it is creepy without being over the top and Jackson wastes no time getting to explain what really goes bump in the night at Hill House. Between the present time and the explanations from what happened in the past, this novel is definitely one that keeps the reader invested the entire time and I can immediately see why it's such a classic. While this reads like a classic, the ending to this one is straight out of something from present time. I was not expecting that ending whatsoever and was left feeling shocked and mystified.

Bottom line - I'm 31 years old and it took me way too long to read this novel. It not only was a perfect ghost story/psychological tale, but the contrast between this and the television show was splendid. So check out the novel, binge watch the series, and enjoy every Easter Egg that Netflix could come up with.

Special thanks to Penguin Classics for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5