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.

'The Haunting of Hill House' on steroids

If you're a fan of Shirley Jackson's classic 'The Haunting of Hill House' and the excellent movie version (1963's 'The Haunting,' not the ridiculous 1999 remake) then you are someone who appreciates a subtle crawl of horror, the kind that creeps up on you slowly, revealing itself in shifting shadows and creaking stairs. To my mind, there has rarely been a more chilling moment in fiction than the scene in 'The Haunting of Hill House' where two women are terrorized by the sight of a slowly turning doorknob - and the knowledge that no living soul is on the other side of that door.

Should the same event take place in Richard Matheson's 'Hell House,' you can be assured that the doorknob wouldn't just turn, but would be wrenched from the door by a shrieking wraith, who would then hurl it at your eye. That's the kind of haunted-house novel you have in 'Hell House': not subtle enough to catch you off-guard, so never truly horrifying; but entertaining, fast paced, and sometimes brutally shocking.

The similar premise makes comparisons to 'The Haunting' inevitable: several strangers gather in a reputedly haunted mansion, either as subjects of a study (in Jackson's book) or to study and document evidence of the paranormal. As tensions and jealousies emerge among these men and women, they seem to incite the supernatural occurrences they were supposed to observe.

Without Jackson's deft hand at psychological horror, Matheson resorts to sex, violence, violent sex, and over-the-top spookhouse thrills. In the hands of the wrong voice talent, the audiobook might have been hard to sit through.

Enter narrator Ray Porter, who saves the day (albeit a fog-shrouded day on an isolated Maine estate). Porter's female characters take some getting used to, and may come across as weaker or sillier than they were written, simply as a function of the actor trying to feminize their voices. The two men in the group are well acted and distinctively voiced. But where Porter really shines is when he gives life - so to speak - to the Evil that haunts Hell House. As the spirit of the mansion's long-dead owner, Emeric Belasco, Ray Porter is challenged to scream, blaspheme, taunt and torture his way through the most effective chapters of the book. He does a fine job, and makes nasty Belasco the star of this ghastly house party.

Heartily recommended for your next 10-hour drive, though preferably not through an eerie Maine woodland.

Mediocre book

I’m not sure how I feel about the book. It was very intelligent, it was interesting enough for me to want to read it to the end, but I was disappointed in the ending. The narrator was very good with the voices of the different characters and it was an interesting storyline, but the end was just blah. I also felt the characters were kind of like the commercials when the people of a scary movie say, “Let’s go hide behind the chainsaws!” So there were a lot of eye rolling moments. Overall, just ok.

A different take on Hill House

It felt like it was like Matheson was trying to "cover" "A Haunting at Hill House", while trying to make it his own. An acceptable work from a horror great!

Terrific

I'm very happy that my first audible book was read by Ray... He brought this book to life. Amazing job. Amazing book.

Hell House? Hell Yeah!

Richard Matheson’s Hell House is, in a word, brilliant. His descriptions are crisp and vivid. His prose is engaging in a way that doesn’t make you feel the need for a Master’s Degree in English. I purchased this story on Sunday morning and finished listening by Monday evening. Hell House was published in 1971, yet remains as vibrantly relevant as any modern book. It is truly a masterpiece deserving of the highest accolades in the world of horror fiction. I highly recommend this book!

great listen.

listened to this a few times now. every time is just as entertaining as the first.

Eh

I always try to avoid putting hard reviews because I at least appreciate the authors efforts and hard work. Though, I guess I'm just too seasoned in horror (true crime/movies). I have yet to find a book that gives me the spooks, they're all so boring. So, in reference to this book, I've not been able to keep with it. Also, I'm not sure how women being possessed and all of a sudden wanting to have sex is seen as scary. That's just annoying. Lastly, my rating is mostly towards the performance of the narrator, but it is hard to take the story seriously with his attempt at a female voice, I found myself laughing instead.

Astonishing!

Hell House will forever live as one of the greatest horror books I have ever read.

Spectacular!

I love to read or listen to supernatural-type books, so I thoroughly enjoyed
listening to this pellbinding ghost mystery♡

great

Published in 1971, this story still rocks you to your core. Suped up supernatural. Scary and interesting. Could not stop listening. Hill House by Shirley Jackson cannot touch this as far as the writing goes.