Hell House

By: Richard Matheson

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

“Hell House is the scariest haunted house novel ever written. It looms over the rest the way the mountains loom over the foothills.” — Stephen King

From the author of I Am Legend comes Hell House, the basis for the supernatural horror film starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill.

For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Regarded as the Mount Everest of haunted houses, its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of unimaginable horror and depravity. All previous attempts to probe its mysteries have ended in murder, suicide, or insanity. But now, a new investigation has been launched, bringing four strangers to Belasco House in search of the ultimate secrets of life and death. A wealthy publisher, brooding over his impending death, has paid a physicist and two mediums to establish the facts of life after death once and for all. For one night, they will investigate the Belasco House and learn exactly why the townsfolk refer to it as the Hell House.

Hell House, which inspired the 1973 film The Legend of Hell House, is Matheson’s most frightening and shocking book and an acknowledged classic of the genre.

©1999 Richard Matheson (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

good book

this book was Good. I like looks like this so this just went along with the general I'm used to rating.

age hasn't dulled the spooks

Ray Porter is an excellent narrator as always. his Gravitas added to the story. team barret and science all the way. ghosts are just petty small losers.

One word…. OUTSTANDING!

This book/story is amazing! Thrills, chills, suspense, macabre and ofcourse Horror! Narration is excellent!!

Never knew what would happen next!

I very much enjoyed the telling of this story, absolutely classic and rich with story and meaning.

A Masterpiece of Horror and Haunted House Stories

This is, by far, the best haunted house story I've ever read/heard. He was so ahead of his time. There are a lot of familiar elements to the story, but also so many unique aspects of the haunting and the way the paranormal factors work. The back and forth between hauntings being "natural" phenomenons and ghosts is amazing and a fun thought experiment. The story is also so well written it literally sounds like it could have been written at any point over the last 50 years. Matheson is truly a genius writer and this story is near perfection.

As for the scares, wow. I don't get scared watching a movie, but something about a creepy, well-delivered audiobook gets to me. The performance of the audiobook reader is outstanding. While he's not the best at voicing women, it's a genuine attempt and with his vocal inflections and voice acting make it top notch, even with the flaws.

This is near perfection. I can't recommend it enough. If you like ghost stories, haunted houses, or horror in general, this is for you.

Warning, though, there are some extremely adult themes in this book.

Juvenal

I guess I am getting too old for this type of book. I liked Matheson's (I am Legend and The Shrinking Man.) This book I could not wait to finish. I did not care about the characters and the story was silly. I liked Shirley Jackson's (The Haunting Of Hill House) better. The characters and the house were more interesting. Matheson could have used better developed characters and Jackson could have used more sex.

Great

Where does Hell House rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10

What did you like best about this story?

It was scary yet had some funny moments where I laughed out loud

Any additional comments?

Narrator was excellent

Ghost story

I guess I'm just not a fan of ghost stories because I was truly bored with this book. It just seemed never ending and well just not my cup of tea.

A Timeless Classic in Haunted House Horror

Great story and performance with this eerie tale. While never terrifying, Hell House does an excellent job of keeping you invested and in suspense as you journey through the mystery of this haunting.

Classic!

I thought this book would have a “dated” feel to it, I happily admit I was wrong!!! This one will go down as a classic mystery ghost horror story! The characters were characters (!) the mystery, mysterious, and the creeps, creepy! One note of caution: This book is fairly sexually descriptive and not in a good romance novel way. If that bothers you rethink getting this one otherwise don’t listen to it in the dark-alone!