When beginning the book, I had completely forgotten that I read the beginning before – in Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. I remembered it because it was one of the favorite things I read in King’s book. I already started off on a good note with the book after realizing this. Bring on Hill House, Shirley Jackson!
I won’t lie – I was a bit bored with the book at first. Eleanor and her life at home with her sister were just not exciting. Granted, I get that the information was essential to Eleanor and her place in the story. I was happy when she finally stole the car and headed for Hill House. I was ready for it. I wanted to see where this menacing place was and I wanted to be there. I couldn’t wait for the creepy things to start. My anticipation for all of this is what mainly got me to keep reading the book. I was ready to be scared!
My problem – by the end of the book, I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be. Don’t get me wrong, Jackson did a fabulous job of placing me in Hill House, just as I wanted, and she also creeped me out at times, but scared I was not. Now I completely understand that “being scared” is not the main point of a book – pretty much at all, actually – but one reason why I like books such as The Haunting of Hill House is to be at least a little scared and/or creeped out.
Getting back to the good parts, the description Jackson uses throughout the text is wonderfully done. Her words and phrases are picked so well that it adds to the atmosphere she created in Hill House; her chosen words were also simply beautifully written. “The sun went down smoothly behind the hills, slipping almost eagerly, at last, into the pillowy masses…Hill House, blessedly hiding its mad face in the growing darkness”(56). I got that it was not somewhere I wanted to live, spend the weekend, or just visit – even the sun was ready to escape the grips of Hill House.
Even though I thought Eleanor was sort of a bore at first, I’m happy to say that she became more interesting to me once she made it to Hill House. For me, the book was Eleanor’s story of changing to fit in once she arrived at the house. She was introduced to us as this push-over of a person who felt as though she finally “belongs” when she got to the house. She met Theo who Eleanor found to be lovely – what she herself was not. Throughout the book we see how Eleanor made up her life in order to impress these strangers and belong even more so. By the end, I think Eleanor became a stronger person as she demanded that she didn’t want to leave – that she couldn’t leave. She belonged there.
As for the “scary” and “creepy” elements of the story, the only issue I had was that there needed to be more. I liked the events that occurred – the slamming, the cold spots, etc. – and I liked them because they were so simple, yet scary because they were simple things that could happen anywhere and anytime. My mere disappointed came from the lack of these events – as a reader just wanted more! Although to fill the void, I did enjoy being with Eleanor as she became a stronger character, but also slightly losing her mind.
Overall, my take of The Haunting of Hill House left me with a good taste in my mouth. Though I sometimes wanted more, Jackson found ways to keep me interested and fill in some missing parts at the same time.
5 comments:
I remember, for the longest time, I couldn't really "get behind" this book. And mostly for the same reasons you mentioned. I grew up with action-soaked books that dripped horror from every sentence. It wasn't for a long time that I grew to appreciate this book for the subtle turns that Jackson put in. But I think the most interesting character is the house itself.
Good post! Thanks!
Oh, how horror has changed. Hill House is what horror was in the age of the novel (1800s-1950s). It was about mood, not shock. Writers like Algernon Blackwood, Robert Aickman, Ray Bradbury, and H.P. Lovecraft made their reputations on works that maybe wouldn't be considered "scary" now. And there's a move back to that with the "new weird" and writers like Graham Joyce, Jeff VanderMeer, and China Mieville.
It's personally my favorite kind of horror, but we each have different tastes.
Good post! And I hope Matheson's more up your alley.
I agree with you that although this is a good read, it isn't a scary one.
I think what ruined my chances of feeling any fear of tension in the novel was the fact that I saw both film versions of the novel LOOOONG before reading this.
Of course, both movies interpret things differently. The 1999 was neat to watch because of the set design...the 1963 version genuinely had me on edge. So when we had to read the book, I knew what was going to happen. Bummer.
I also found this book to be a slow-starter, which begs the question of how Shirley Jackson could have made it more interesting. Maybe the story could have started with Eleanor entering the town, and all her essential background info could have been injected here and there as she went to the diner (perhaps via internalization).
Another possibility is that she could have had a conversation with Theo (or any of the other house's guests) when they first met and introduced themselves. She could have revealed her past there. Because I definitely think that in today's age, this beginning is too slow and boring, even though it contains information that's essential to the story.
This probably won't reflect well on me, but I liked Eleanor from the start. Perhaps that means I'm boring, haha. I liked her observances of people, their words and actions. There was a lot of personalities going on in the small cast of people that sometimes I found myself wondering who everyone actually was. I never felt that way about Eleanor though. Maybe because I could understand her poibnt of view. We clicked that way.
I'm with you, this book was not scary. Don't get me wrong, if I found my name written in blood on a wall I'd be freaked and random banging..., not thank you! Still, the tone of the story wasn't scary and it wasn't even creepy. Perhaps unsettling or eerie works better for me. I just followed the story and ultimately knew it had little to do with the hauting of Hill House and more to do with Eleanor's purpose.
The story started off slow, but I loved Jackson't use of language so much that I stuck with it. I almost found myself lost in some of her phrasing. Just like you, the book kept me pretty interested, just not heart-racing, sweat-dripping, scared to close my eyes interested.
Thanks, Abs!
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