The Haunting of Hill House

By: Shirley Jackson

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Now a hit Netflix miniseries directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Hutton

Past the rusted gates and untrimmed hedges, Hill House broods and waits.

Four seekers have come to the ugly, abandoned old mansion: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of the psychic phenomenon called haunting; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a lonely, homeless girl well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the adventurous future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable noises and self-closing doors, but Hill House is gathering its powers and will soon choose one of them to make its own.

This classic horror novel has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror.

©1959 Shirley Jackson; renewed 1987 by Laurence Hyman, Barry Hyman, Sarah Webster, and Joanne Schnurer (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Disappointed.

I have seen the movie, and could have skipped the book, as it followed the book word for word. For some reason the narrator's voice was irritating.

The book that started the intrigue a Haunted House

If you understand that it was written in 1959 and that it is a classic Haunted House story, then you might thoroughly enjoy it. I thought that it was only o.k. One of the lead characters, Eleanor, was just too weird and awkward for me.

It was not a scary book for me except for a couple of the scenes. I will just call the story "ok" and would like to see the movies because I think it is possible that they did a much better job adapting the story. There are two movies available: the original 1963 version and the re-make from 1999.

Could have been so much better

The premise is really good. My son chose it from a reading list and we both thought that it would be fun jd spooky and while there are spooky parts, the way it's written is a bit confusing so you're left questioning what actually happened. I'm not going to spoil the ensign but I will say that it was a letdown.

A classic

An amazing book, great performance. My first favorite horror movie as a kid and my new favorite book as an adult.

A classic for a reason

I’d never read this before, but given the prose and ominous slow crawl towards insanity(?), I can see how it’s the classic I’ve heard so much about.

I can see it’s influence but it was slow for me

I enjoyed the voice actor, the story itself was not what I was expecting. It was a bit slow and not as frightening as I was lead to believe. Not poorly written though

Thoroughly Enjoyed

Excellent narration and a story which surprised me, I was expecting to be unimpressed because of the stories age but I found it was unburdened by the cliches of modern horror.

Wow

Just wow. I did not see that coming.. I have no more words. Just wow

Excellent writing

It was a pleasure to listen to well written and performed. I would recommend travel it’s just the right length for a long drive or plane trip.

Meh

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. Everything is told from one person's point of view and this person is very unreliable and flighty. You never really find out if what she describes is really happening. Some people like that ambiguity and it can be an interesting plot device but it can't be the entire plot.

Would you be willing to try another book from Shirley Jackson? Why or why not?

No.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The reader was good at doing both male and female voices.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It has been a move and I didn't see it.

Any additional comments?

This is a mediocre character study dressed up in a ghost story.