The Haunting Of Hill House | Shirley Jackson (1959) | Review
A haunted mansion filled with secrets or a manifestation of everybody’s worst fear? Shirley Jackson leaves the reader wondering this very thing upon finishing this book. Set in an isolated mansion surrounded by trees and hills at an unspecified location, we follow a group of believers and skeptics through a series of horrific events that can only be thought of as hauntings. Jackson puts us in the mind of Eleanor, our main character, and we follow her inner dialogue and feelings as the story unfolds.
The other characters include Theodora, Luke, Dr. Montague, Mrs. Montague, Arthur, and Mrs. Dudley. Theodora is somewhat of a lone wolf. She’s very capable of handling herself and her feelings. Although she is Dr. Montague’s assistant, she is one of the skeptics and can explain each paranormal occurrence with scientific reasoning. Luke is the heir to Hill House, and it was hard for me to tell whether he was a believer or not. His character seemed to be rather unfocused on anything happening at all and I don’t believe he really cared. Dr. Montague is an occult scholar and the reason for each person’s appearance at the mansion. He truly believes that Hill House is haunted and has brought everyone to assist him with his research. Mrs. Montague, Dr. Montague’s wife, is also a firm believer in the afterlife, ghosts, and their reason for staying where they are. She communicates with the dead alongside her assistant, Arthur, to unravel the mysteries of Hill House. Mrs. Dudley is the caretaker of the mansion and leaves before sundown. Dudley is a particular lady, well aware of the occurrences at the estate.
There are definitely psychic happenings when it gets dark at the house which become one of four conflicts I’ve identified.
Man vs. Self
I think this conflict has more to do with Eleanor’s character than others. Her inner dialogue suggests she is ultimately an unhappy person who has trouble keeping friends. She feels oppressed by not only the characters at Hill House but also her sister and brother-in-law. She isn’t really her own person and struggles with that throughout the book.
Man vs. Paranormal
Somewhat self-explanatory. Each character witnesses their own paranormal occurrences at Hill House. Eleanor and Theodora experience it their first night in the mansion. Dr. Montague and Luke have a run-in with the supernatural the second day of being there. Mrs. Montague and Arthur are able to communicate with something that is haunting the estate. Mrs. Dudley never shares her experiences; however, it is made clear that she knows what goes on as she only shows up in the morning when the sun is out and quickly leaves before the sun goes down. The entire group has a final “battle” with the house in the last chapter.
Man vs. Man
Eleanor begins to experience sleepwalking which causes the others to assume she is the one doing the nightly hauntings. She feels isolated by the group and slowly goes back inside herself. Because most are skeptical of paranormal phenomena, they try to place blame on others and poke fun at the “pranksters”. Luke and Theodora team up against Eleanor towards the last half of the novel instead of keeping the group together.
Man vs. Fear
This is where I started to question whether the house was truly haunted or not. In the beginning of the book, Dr. Montague gives the group some background information on the house. He does a great job at invoking fear into their minds by telling them: “Suppose you heard the story of Hill House and decided not to stay. How would you leave, tonight? The gates are locked. Hill House has a reputation for insistent hospitality; it seemingly dislikes lettings its guests get away. The last person who tried to leave Hill House in darkness – it was eighteen years ago – was killed at the turn in the driveway, where his horse bolted and crushed him against the big tree. Suppose I tell you about Hill House, and one of you wants to leave? Tomorrow, at least, we could see that you got safely to the village” (Jackson 71-72). I personally believe this kicked everyone’s subconscious into overdrive upon hearing this. It brings forth curiosity as well as fear. Did it start out as some type of healthy fear? Possibly, but, I think it caused them to subconsciously assume the house, itself, was an entity. Dr. Montague gave the house control in others’ minds.
Personal Thoughts
I rated this book 3/5 stars. I was incredibly disappointed by the ending and thought there could’ve been more to the resolution. It seemed like there was so much going into the rising action and the climax didn’t really occur until chapter 9. There wasn’t much of a falling action or resolution. The story ends with Eleanor being forced to leave by the others, during the day, and she wants to stay, become one with Hill House. Unfortunately, she does just that… but you’ll have to read the tale to find out what happens to our main character. Shirley Jackson wrote this story from an interesting perspective. I could do a psychological thesis on Eleanor’s character and why I think it had to be her at the end of the book; but that’s for a later time.
Questions I Have
1. Do our subconscious thoughts create our reality?
2. How does fear cause us to act?
3. Was the house really haunted?
4. Was Eleanor’s fear of being alone manifest physically so that she would be?
5. Was it truly supernatural?
6. Was Eleanor possessed by the house (or the spirits within) or did she go insane?
7. Why didn’t the others wind up like Eleanor, if the house really was haunted?
8. When Montague gave the others a history of Hill House, its inhabitability, and rumors, did that skew their perspectives?
9. Had the characters known nothing, and had zero expectations, would that have changed their experiences?
10. How different would the story be if the main character perspective were different? If the other characters had stronger qualities?
Favorite Quotes/Scenes
“There are popular theories, however, which discount the eerie, the mysterious; there are people who will tell you that the disturbances I am calling ‘psychic’ are actually the result of subterranean waters… atmospheric pressure, sunspots, earth tremors all have their advocates among the skeptical.” – Dr. Montague (Jackson 75).
“People are always so anxious to get things out into the open where they can put a name to them… so long as it has something of a scientific ring.” – Dr. Montague (Jackson 75-76).
“Then everything is a little bit off center? That’s why it feels so disjointed?” Theodora. “What happens when you go back to a real house?” Eleanor. “It must be like coming off shipboard.” Luke. “It must affect people in some way. We have grown to trust blindly in our senses of balance and reason, and I can see where the mind might fight wildly to preserve its own familiar stable patterns against all evidence that it was leading sideways” Dr. Montague (Jackson 116-117).
“Nothing in the house moves, until you look away, and then you just catch something from the corner of your eye” – Eleanor (Jackson 120).
“I think we are only afraid of ourselves.” – Dr. Montague
“No, of seeing ourselves clearly and without disguise” – Luke (Jackson 175).
“Afraid to stop, they moved on slowly, close together, and ahead of them the path widened and blacked and curved… on either side of them the trees, silent, relinquished the dark color they had held, paled, grew transparent and stood white and ghastly against the black sky” (Jackson 193).
“I must say, John, I never expected to find you all so nervous. I deplore fear in these matters.” – Mrs. Montague (Jackson 201).
“The spirits dwelling in this house may be actually suffering because they are aware that you are afraid of them.” – Mrs. Montague (Jackson 201).
WORKS CITED
Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House. Penguin Books, 2019.