The Haunting of Hill House: Book review



Title: The Haunting of Hill House
Author: Shirley Jackson
Genre: Horror

Having a fascination for horror and the supernatural phenomenon, I wonder why I delayed in reading this book. Nevertheless better late than never. 

The Haunting of Hill house is the story of four individuals who come to Hill house to study and examine certain supernatural occurrences. Dr Montague is a scholar searching for evidence of certain phenomena. Theodora is his lively and effervescent assistant. Eleanor is a sheltered young woman with a past and Luke is the future heir of Hill House. The four experience spooky instances that are beyond their realm of understanding. Hill House stands tall and proud in a desolated place. It remains to be seen if the house manages to entice them into its grasp. 

Some of the eerie occurrences send a chill down the spine. The author's descriptive style of writing has a wry tone to it. She manages to bring Hill House alive and it appears as though the characters were narrated from the point of view of Hill House. It is certainly gothic in its feel and sort of reminds you of Daphne Du Maurier's description of Manderley in her book Rebecca. 

Themes of isolation and fear are dealt with here. It is intriguing to see how fear can manipulate the human mind that is often haunted by the ghosts of the past. The tension in the plot is quite palpable and unnerving. A book that is bound to haunt your mind for a long time. 
Apparently the there is a Netflix series based on the book albeit slightly different from the original. 

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