Chantel's Reviews > The Haunting of Hill House

** spoiler alert ** What I appreciate, so very much, about Jackson is her ability to weave a double plot into a single story with such formidable ease. I have said it once & shall say it again—Jackson is an incredible writer with a seamless ability to tell stories.

Four (4) strangers gather at an abandoned house that is nestled safely in the hills, many miles from the nearest village. The house is eerie & shadowed due in part to its geography but also because of the varied tales of terror that bolster its reputation as being a haunted house. These strangers gather together under the pretence of scientific exploration. Three (3) of said strangers have been given no information pertaining to the study, so as to not sway their experiences. The series of events that follow lead the reader to form their own conclusions; is the house in fact haunted or are these characters projecting their own torments onto the walls of the old house?

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you think the house is haunted or not. The point of the story is to hide a story within a story within a story. Firstly, the house was built by a man who wanted to please his wife, so he built them a home that was a labyrinth & had tilted axes that would imbalance anyone inside. I’m not sure that anyone who adored another person would want them to be stuck within a labyrinth of a house, I will leave you to form your own conclusions with regard to the original homeowner. This man then abandons his children to seek another wife, over & over again. These children grow to host animosity towards each other because they were never shown anything but abandonment growing up & have only the house as any proof that they were once parented by someone.

The sisters fight all their lives. The rumours surrounding them go so far as to state that one sister stole from the other in the depth of night. I suppose to do that you really must hate to see the other person, so much so that you are pushed to wander in the dark for things that you think are worth more than your relationship. The eldest sister was said to have taken in a ‘companion’ from the village because she couldn’t bear to be alone & this girl helped around the house. This might be interpreted as a wholly platonic endeavour but, one usually does not leave great possessions (i.e. the house) to someone whom one does not deeply care for and/or love, so read into that what you will.

The fact that this companion was then led to taking her own life in an attempt to rid herself of the turmoils that surrounded her does lead one to believe that the relationships she held with the eldest sister were more than a simple working arrangement. This book was also written in a time period in which anything other than the cis & straight relationship was nowhere near an acceptable option & one might conclude that the village & the younger sister drove the companion to take her life as they made it an absolute terror to live the way she did.

Up until this point, many people have been putting others in harm’s way because of their own selfish endeavours. It’s no surprise then, that Dr. Montague invites people over to the house to confirm for his own sake, whether or not it is haunted. Eleanor grew up in an abusive home—one might conclude that the rocks that ‘fell’ on the house were in fact the collective social awareness of people around her knowing that her mother was an abuser but ‘losing interest’ & ‘soon forgetting’ about it after Eleanor grew up enough to make believe everything was fine outside of the house for her own sanity. By this, I mean compartmentalizing her abuse in any hopes of having a ‘normal’ life in society.

Theodora was said to be able to read minds. Luke is said to be a liar & a thief. Dr. Montague is single-minded & assumes that everyone is immature & childish. Mrs. Montague is set on discovering a lost soul but isn’t able to accept the fact that Eleanor has just made it through years of seclusion, having to care for an ailing parent while her sister refuses to offer her any support whatsoever. Arthur is at the head of a boys’ school in which he boasts of worldly knowledge being shared with the youth but again, spends his time fulfilling his ‘macho’ ‘manly’ role in society while totally ignoring any warning signs of anything other than the single-paved-path which he walks on.

I would not say that this novel will leave you with a feeling of terror or fright. Perhaps if you read it at night or on a stormy day when you are alone at home, you might. There are a couple of good little spooky scenes, but this felt like more of a sous-entendu story rather than an outwardly scary haunted house tale. Therefore, keep in mind that Jackson’s strong suit is writing about women who have been absolutely demolished by society & those around them, whom they have had no choice but to trust.