I don’t think I’ve ever actually read The Haunting of Hill House before. I have, however, watched the movie version from the 90s one million times, due to equally strong crushes on Owen Wilson & Catherine Zeta-Jones (see also: repeat viewings of The Mask of Zorro, which I rewatched recently in a fit of nostalgia and discovered to be a truly horrible movie). Anyway, someone on here reviewed another Shirley Jackson novel (the one about the castle), so I went to the library and put her whole oeuvre on hold — The Haunting of Hill House came up first.
“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.”
So basically, a therapist selects two subjects with a history of paranormal abilities (Nell, whose house had stones rain on it for 3 days in her childhood; and Theo, who has some psychic ability) to stay with him in a haunted house, just to see what happens (why not?). They’re joined by Luke, whose family owns the house (he stands to inherit it someday) and the lovely Mrs. Dudley, who bitches and moans and won’t stay after dark.
Of course, the house is haunted, crazy shit happens, etc. It’s very creepy and subtle — they have trouble finding their way around, doors won’t stay open, certain areas feel really cold. As we find out more and more about the history of the original owner, Mr. Crain, we discover just how much malevolence the house contains. What really surprised me about this book is how very, very funny it is. The witty repartee between the guests cracked me up, and made for a fantastic contrast again the horror.
