the haunting of hill house book essay

Shirley Jackson “The Haunting of Hill House” Essay

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“The Haunting of Hill House” is written by Shirley Jackson, and the plot shows a ghost hunter and his assistants aiming to prove the existence of the supernatural. Despite this novel having a glimpse of fiction and fantasy, due to its focus on poltergeists and the scientifically unexplainable phenomena, it also shows the vulnerability of each character. Jackson exposes the psychological vulnerabilities of people and the question of sanity when facing real-life difficulties. Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” contrasts the supernatural with the psychological struggles of each of the story’s characters.

The exposition of the “The Haunting of the Hill House” begins with the author arguing that reality and dreams both are inevitable for people. Jackson writes, “even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream” (1). Every character in this novel is facing reality and the supernatural, making the reader question what events happened and what was the result of someone’s imagination. The protagonist, Doctor Montague, is the character who gathers the other members of the supernatural hunting group by sending out letters. His job is to expose the supernatural; hence, he believes in the existence of the unexplainable phenomenon. The fact that he recruits people through mail to participate in the experiment with strange phenomena can serve as the first hint explaining the psychological archetypes of these individuals. Arguably, not everyone would agree to spend time at a haunted manor.

The protagonist of this story, Eleanor Vance, experiences mental health challenges, making the reader question what is real and what is the result of the former’s imagination. Eleanor’s expectations shape her experience at the manor, and since her arrival, she senses that the mansion is evil and gives a sense of hopelessness (Jackson 10). Later in the story, Eleonor reveals that she struggles with her adult life because she has spent the majority of her youth caring for her mother (Jackson 10). Hence, one can assume that she missed out on an opportunity to grow up and experience life fully. Moreover, as a child, Eleanor had a traumatic experience that she thinks was an encounter with a poltergeist (Jackson 15). These details about Eleanor show that she might be interested in the Hill House and its mysteries because she needs proof that her memories from childhood are real. Moreover, her lack of social connections and unpreparedness to lead an adult life explain her interest in the supernatural.

Throughout this story, Jackson provides hints that suggest that the poltergeist encounters and the supernatural events may be a result of one’s imagination. One of the characters doubts Eleanor’s narrative about meeting a poltergeist during childhood, which is the first hint for a reader (Jackson 10). As Jackson casts doubt on this story, the reader may begin to distinguish between what the characters describe as real-life events and the work of their imagination. For example, Eleanor argues that she sees the writing “come home” on the walls, while others do not (Jackson 10). The human mind and the subconscious are potent forces, and in “The Haunted House,” the reader gets a chance to reflect on what is real and what is not. Jackson writes that “no live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality” (Jackson 1). Hence, people’s sanity can be hindered by their experiences and beliefs.

Other characters help disclose Eleonor’s experiences and narratives and also support the idea that expectations of supernatural experiences may affect the attitudes of individuals. Theodora is a psychic, which explains her interest in the paranormal and her expectations to encounter the manor’s supernatural. As a psychic, she is drawn to unusual events and tends to believe the narrative that Dr. Montague and Eleonor suggest. Sunderson is expected to inherit the supernatural house, which makes his expectations and experiences the least questionable out of the four. He is the one to doubt Eleonor’s childhood story, and he approaches the hunting of the poltergeists differently from others (Jackson 10). Jackson writes that “Dr. Montague was persuaded to take into his select company a representative of the family” because the assistants decided not to come (2). Although these characters have distinct personalities, their experiences appear to help the reader understand Eleonor’s motivation to visit the house and explore the supernatural.

Eleonor herself questions the experiences she has at the house. At one point, she says, “how can these others hear the noise when it is coming from inside my head?” (Jackson 50). She becomes overly occupied with the house and grows to consider this place her home. In the end, although Montague sends her away because of fears for her safety, she tragically dies (Jackson 90). Vinci argues that Jackson has taken the approach of emerging into the consciousness of a traumatized subject (53). In the case of the “The Haunting of the Hill House,” the person with trauma experience is Eleonor. Moreover, Vinci states that “Jackson stages the painful and oppressive interactions between the traumatized subject and the social world” (53). Hence, one way to interpret this novel is by looking at Eleonor’s experiences as a result of unhealed trauma, which haunts her until adulthood. This experience shapes Eleonor’s behavior, but to interpret this, both she and others choose to believe in ghosts. In this way, the abnormalities of Eleanor’s behavior fit into the socially accepted behaviors as they can be explained by being haunted or possessed.

Although Jackson’s novel fits into the standards of Gothic literature when examining it with the understanding of Eleonor’s psychological struggles, one can argue that it fits into a narrower genre. Ashton states that Gothic literature typically merges reality and nightmare (268). However, Jackson adds another dimension to this by introducing the struggles of her character Eleonor, whose experiences are shaped by her trauma. Hence, Jackson’s novel allows readers to rethink the way they approach ghost stories by inviting them to consider another dimension, the potential impact of a human mind on supernatural experiences.

Overall, this paper examines the distinction between reality, the supernatural, and people’s experiences shaped by their subconsciousness and previous experiences. Eleonor is a character who vividly demonstrates this distinction. Upon her arrival at the house, she reveals details about her life and childhood, which can be interpreted as traumatic. Doctor Montague’s experiment supports Eleonor’s beliefs that supernatural things exist and that her childhood encounter with a poltergeist is, in fact, the reality. However, there are multiple hints throughout this story that suggest that Eleonor’s psychological state may be prompting her to believe in ghosts and poltergeists.

Works Cited

Ashton, Hilarie. “‘I’ll Come Back and Break Your Spell’: Narrative Freedom and Genre in The Haunting of Hill House.” Style , vol. 52, no. 3, 2018, pp. 268–286.

Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House . Penguin Books, 2006.

Vinci, Tony M. “Shirley Jackson’s Posthumanist Ghosts: Revisiting Spectrality and Trauma in The Haunting of Hill House.” Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory, vol. 75, no. 4, 2019, pp. 53-75.

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The Haunting of Hill House

Shirley jackson.

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Haunting of Hill House: Introduction

The haunting of hill house: plot summary, the haunting of hill house: detailed summary & analysis, the haunting of hill house: themes, the haunting of hill house: quotes, the haunting of hill house: characters, the haunting of hill house: symbols, the haunting of hill house: theme wheel, brief biography of shirley jackson.

Historical Context of The Haunting of Hill House

Other books related to the haunting of hill house.

• Full Title: The Haunting of Hill House
• When Written: 1950s
• Where Written: Bennington, VT
• When Published: 1959
• Literary Period: Contemporary/Postmodern
• Genre: Fiction; horror; suspense
• Setting: Northeast USA
• Climax: Eleanor Vance, who has become possessed by Hill, decides to crash her car into an oak tree on the property and commit suicide rather than drive away after being forced to leave by Doctor Montague.
• Antagonist: Hill House; Theodora
• Point of View: Third-person

Extra Credit for The Haunting of Hill House

A Haunting Tale. The Haunting of Hill House has been widely adapted for screen, stage, and radio; its best-known adaptations are perhaps the 1999 film The Haunting and the 2018 Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House, which takes considerable liberties with Jackson’s source material.

Intense Research. After endeavoring to write the novel after reading about a real-life group of nineteenth-century researchers who ventured to a haunted house and reported on their experiences there, Jackson undertook a great deal of research, studying plans of large, possibly-haunted houses throughout the country, reading multiple volumes of ghost stories, and sketching out plans of her vision of Hill House and its expansive grounds.

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Themes and Analysis

The haunting of hill house, by shirley jackson.

Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, 'The Haunting of Hill House', is regarded as one of the greatest ghost stories ever written. The novel follows the story of four people who investigate the mysterious and terrifying events that occur in the titular Hill House. 

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

In the course of their investigation, they slowly discover the dark secrets of Hill House and its history of violence and terror. Through her masterful use of suspense, horror, and psychological terror, Jackson has crafted a truly unforgettable story that’s only grown in popularity in recent years. 

Family 

Throughout the novel, the reader is presented with multiple examples of how familial relationships can be strained and challenged by supernatural forces. For example, the complicated history of the Crain family (who built the home). The house itself plays a role in their suffering and is fueled by Hugh Crain’s cruelty. This theme is further explored through characters like Dr. Montague and Eleanor, who struggle with familial relationships while in the home.

Fear plays a major role in motivating and informing the characters’ actions. The idea of being scared of the unknown and the supernatural forces at play in Hill House creates an atmosphere of suspense and dread. Even in moments of safety, characters like Eleanor and Luke struggle with their inner fears and anxieties, making the reader even more aware of how powerful and overwhelming fear can be.

The Supernatural 

The supernatural elements of Hill House are what makes this novel so interesting to read and what fueled its many adaptions for the screen. Readers are likely to find themselves intrigued by the vaguely described features of the home and the growing dread the characters experience, particularly Eleanor Vance. 

Key Moments in The Haunting of Hill House

• Dr. Montague rents Hill House and invites the other three main characters to the home. 
• Eleanor arrives first, followed by Theodora, Luke, and Dr. Montague. 
• Dr. Montague tells the group about the home’s history. 
• They experience a series of unexplainable phenomena, including banging on the walls, people and animals running in the hallways, and mysterious messages on the walls. 
• The group becomes suspicious of Eleanor’s role in the home. 
• Mrs. Montague arrives at the home determined to do what her husband hasn’t been able to do—record the ghost activity. 
• Eleanor realizes she is in tune with the home in a way that the others are not. 
• Eleanor is forced to leave the home for her own sanity. 
• She drives away from the home and steers her car into a tree. 
• Dr. Montague publishes his findings about the home, and no one believes him.

Tone and Style

Jackson masterfully crafts a tone of eeriness and tension throughout the novel. In particular, Jackson uses an atmosphere of dread and impending danger to slowly build suspense throughout the story. The sense of dread is further enhanced by Jackson’s use of foreshadowing, which often hints at the sinister events to come. 

Jackson also employs an array of literary techniques to create a dream-like atmosphere. For instance, she often uses symbolism to convey a sense of mysteriousness and otherworldly horror. Additionally, Jackson often juxtaposes beauty and innocence with terror and violence. This only serves to heighten the terror. 

The style of ‘ The Haunting of Hill House ‘ is characterized by its lack of exposition. Rather than explicitly spelling out the details of the plot and the events that occur in Hill House, Jackson instead relies on slow reveals and subtle hints about what is really going on in Hill House. This enhances the mystery of the novel and allows the reader to piece together the events of the story from their own imagination. 

Hill House is the central symbol in ‘ The Haunting of Hill House, ‘ representing a menacing and foreboding presence throughout the novel. Hill House serves as a physical representation of the psychological trauma that the characters experience throughout their stay. For example, Hill House’s windows are described as “eyes” that watch the characters, which conveys a sense of dread and danger. In addition, the house itself is described as alive and growing, a sign of the psychological hold it has on the characters.

Doors 

One of the creepiest parts of Hill House is the way it was designed. The architecture is extremely confusing, making it very easy to lose one’s way as one tries to find a specific room. The home is also filled with doors that open and close by themselves, symbolizing the character’s access to information about the home and their ability to capture the supernatural phenomena occurring within.

Light/Dark 

Light and dark are used as recurring symbols throughout ‘ The Haunting of Hill House ‘, often to emphasize a mood or feeling. For instance, darkness is associated with fear and dread, while the light is associated with comfort and hope. In addition, different colors are also used to represent different characters’ emotions. For example, green is used to represent Eleanor’s envy and insecurity, while blue is used to represent her sense of peace and belonging. By using color symbolism, Shirley Jackson is able to create an atmosphere of terror and suspense throughout the novel.

What kind of novel is The Haunting of Hill House ?

The story of ‘ The Haunting of Hill House ‘ is a gothic horror novel by Shirley Jackson, first published in 1959. It follows the story of four main characters who visit an old, abandoned mansion called Hill House and experience paranormal events. 

What is the importance of The Haunting of Hill House ?

‘ The Haunting of Hill House ‘ is considered a classic of the horror genre, praised for its exploration of psychological terror and human nature. It has been adapted into multiple movies, television series, and stage plays. 

Is The Haunting of Hill House scary?

Yes, ‘ The Haunting of Hill House ‘ is often considered to be one of the scariest novels ever written. It deals with themes such as grief, loss, guilt, and insanity. The book’s suspenseful atmosphere and eerie setting make it a gripping read. 

What is the genre of The Haunting of Hill House ?

‘ The Haunting of Hill House ‘ is a gothic horror novel, often regarded as one of the best books in its genre. It combines elements of supernatural horror, psychological terror, and suspenseful drama.

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About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — The Haunting of Hill House

Essays on The Haunting of Hill House

The haunting of hill house essay topics.

As college students, choosing the right essay topic is crucial for a successful and engaging academic paper. This webpage aims to provide you with a variety of essay topics for The Haunting of Hill House, as well as guidance on how to approach different types of essays. Remember, the key to a great essay is to choose a topic that interests you and sparks your creativity.

Essay Types and Topics

Argumentative essay.

• The role of the supernatural in The Haunting of Hill House
• The impact of family dynamics on the characters in the novel

Compare and Contrast Essay

• Comparing the themes of fear and isolation in The Haunting of Hill House and another Gothic novel
• Contrasting the character development of Eleanor and Theo in the novel

Descriptive Essay

• Describing the eerie atmosphere of Hill House and its effect on the characters
• Depicting the psychological turmoil of the protagonist, Eleanor Vance

Persuasive Essay

• Persuading readers to sympathize with the antagonist, Hill House itself
• Arguing for a different ending to the novel and supporting your viewpoint

Narrative Essay

• Recounting a personal experience that relates to the themes of The Haunting of Hill House
• Creating an original short story inspired by the novel's motifs and characters

Paragraph Examples

An argumentative essay on the role of the supernatural in The Haunting of Hill House would begin by examining the impact of paranormal elements on the characters' lives. The paragraph should clearly state the central question and present a thesis, such as: "The supernatural occurrences in The Haunting of Hill House serve as a catalyst for the characters' internal conflicts, highlighting the fragility of the human psyche."

For the persuasive essay topic of sympathizing with Hill House, a paragraph could reinforce the argument by stating: "By understanding the tragic history of Hill House and the loneliness it embodies, readers can empathize with its malevolent nature, shedding light on the novel's underlying themes of isolation and despair."

Engagement and Creativity

When choosing an essay topic, consider your personal interests and think creatively about how you can approach the subject matter. The Haunting of Hill House offers a rich tapestry of themes and characters that can inspire engaging and original essays.

Educational Value

Each essay type offers unique learning opportunities. Argumentative essays develop critical thinking skills, compare and contrast essays hone analytical abilities, descriptive essays refine sensory language, persuasive essays strengthen rhetorical techniques, and narrative essays cultivate storytelling prowess.

Analysis of Gothic Elements in The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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Depiction of Oppression Towards Women in The Haunting of Hill House

Analysis of eleanor's character in the haunting of hill house, literary review of the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson, trapped in a cage: jackson’s the haunting of hill house and gilman’s the yellow wallpaper, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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Shirley Jackson`s The Haunting of Hill House: Feelings of Being an Outsider and Agoraphobia

The importance of the introduction of the haunting of hill house.

Shirley Jackson

Gothic fiction, psychological horror

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The haunting of Hill House

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BOOK VERSUS FILM: The Haunting of Hill House

Happy halloween.

Four people choose to spend their summer in Hill House, hoping to prove the supernatural exists. But one of their number is soon marked out by the house, and over the course of several days it isolates her from the others, determined to make her a permanent resident.

The Characters

Aside from introductions to our four houseguests, the book is told from Eleanor Vance’s viewpoint. She’s spent 11 years looking after her recently departed mother, and now finds herself, at 32, painfully shy and living with her married sister. Life was filled with summer days until her father died 20 years ago; since then, Eleanor counts each summer as another year wasted – so it’s no coincidence she makes her bid for freedom on 21st June: the summer solstice (a Thursday, setting the book in 1956). Eleanor’s inner monologue brims with wonder at her escape, but as Hill House exerts its influence her thoughts take a darker turn. When she begins her journey, her car is “a little contained world all her own” – a telling insight, as the ending will reveal.

Theodora – just Theodora – earns her place by an uncanny knack for predicting cards. A bohemian artist, Theo’s attraction to Eleanor is hinted at, though Jackson is careful not to ‘out’ her (she wrote this shortly after the start of the Lavender Scare: the McCarthy-era homosexual witch-hunt). Theo embodies everything Eleanor lacks, a duality that Jackson has used elsewhere, so it’s natural these two are paired together throughout.

Luke Sanderson, nephew of the house’s owner, is there to keep an eye on proceedings (and himself out of mischief). He arrives with the certainty ghosts don’t exist, unlike the group’s final member, the person running the experiment, Dr John Montague. He yearns to add a sheen of respectability to the supernatural, but for all his research he is ill-prepared for what the house has in store for them…

Having long been interested in the paranormal – quite wonderfully, the author bio for the first edition describes her as “perhaps the only contemporary writer who is a practicing amateur witch” – Jackson read the Society’s reports on a haunted house investigation, and wanted to invent her own. Whilst researching, she found pictures of a haunted-looking house in California… only to discover her great-great grandfather built it.

From the first paragraph, Jackson takes care to present Hill House as a living thing. In her celebrated opening she writes “Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills…”; windows are watchful, cornices are described as eyebrows, and no opportunity is missed to remind us this house is different. It is variously described as vile, diseased, and leprous – something the film alludes to, by including a statue of St Francis curing the lepers.

Book “Exclusives”

There are also several scenes set in the grounds. Eleanor and Theo discover a brook, only to be frightened by movement on the far side. Theo claims it was a rabbit, but we’re not certain she’s being honest. A few nights later they return there, and experience the story’s most visible supernatural activity, culminating in a ghostly family having a picnic. Eleanor has a final scene there, witnessing invisible footsteps crush grass before wading through water to the other side – possibly the ‘rabbit’ from before – but by now she isn’t afraid; her fears have transformed into neuroses at what the others think of her. Hill House is no longer the enemy.

If the book has one weakness, it’s the introduction of Mrs Montague towards the end. She’s also obsessed with the supernatural, but has little time for her husband’s scientific pursuits; her preference is for automatic writing, for making wild assumptions, for constantly chastising John’s methods. This does create one terrific scene – when the ghost ‘reveals’ its name – but her repeated claims of nuns walled up alive releases too much of the tension.

Published in 1959, The Haunting of Hill House received glowing reviews. It was a finalist for 1960’s National Book Award, and is often called literature’s greatest haunted-house story – not bad for a novel that eschews shocks for drip-fed atmosphere. It is cited as the scariest book by many, including Neil Gaiman, and lauded for its elegant writing, with Stephen King describing the opening paragraph as possibly the finest ever written.

For such a highly regarded story, it’s no surprise there are several adaptations. It has been translated to the stage, film (twice) and television, but for this I will concentrate on the first film, 1963’s The Haunting , as it stays closest to Jackson’s story.

But seeing is only one of the five senses (six, if you’re Haley Joel Osment), and stories – especially scary stories – were being told long before films existed. It’s something Robert Wise, in post-production on West Side Story (for which he won his first Best Director Oscar), understood. He saw a Time magazine review of Jackson’s book, read it, and knew he had to make it into a film.

If he seemed an odd choice for director, Wise had that rare knack of mastering any genre. He’d already made The Day The Earth Stood Still and would go on to make The Sound of Music (and that second Best Director Oscar), but Wise started out directing low budget horrors for Val Lewton – from whom he learned audiences are more afraid of the unknown than what they can see – shortly after editing Citizen Kane.

Screenwriter Nelson Gidding suggested the story takes place inside Eleanor’s head, with the other characters being staff and patients at the hospital where she is staying – an idea that possibly originated from this comment by Eleanor: “All three of you are in my imagination; none of this is real”. Jackson liked his idea but confirmed the house and its ghosts were real. However, the script remains as much an exploration of Eleanor’s psyche as of Hill House itself; their symbiosis exemplified by an unsafe spiral staircase, the perfect mirror (in a house full of them) for Eleanor’s deteriorating mental state.

Wise brought the film to Britain, where MGM in London funded the million-plus budget. The house exteriors were filmed at Ettington Park (now a hotel), and several shots emphasised a pair of windows as eyes; coupled with statues, busts, and cherubic door-handles throughout the superb sets, the feeling Hill House is always watching becomes pervasive.

Julie Harris plays Eleanor, with the right amount of vulnerability to offset her character’s neuroses. Harris struggled with depression at the time, but used it in her performance, although it did lead to her feeling isolated. Claire Bloom is equally good as Theo, bringing a joie de vivre to the role, as well as a more protective side towards Eleanor.

Russ Tamblyn initially turned down the part of Luke, but was persuaded by the studio to reconsider, and would later admit The Haunting was one of his favourite jobs (so much so, he cameos in Netflix’s recent version). Richard Johnson plays a more confident Dr John Markway (changed from Montague), filming during the day whilst appearing on stage each evening in The Devils. Johnson was considered for James Bond, but turned it down – although if he hadn’t, there might have been an interesting dynamic with his on-screen wife here, played by Miss Moneypenny herself, Lois Maxwell. Rounding off a uniformly excellent cast is Rosalie Crutchley as housekeeper Mrs Dudley. She’s only got a few lines, but her delivery does a lot to set the mood.

Film “Exclusives”

The most obvious change is the title. Wise asked Jackson if she’d considered any other titles for her book, and there had been one – The Haunting – which he used for the film.

Though largely faithful to Jackson’s story, most scenes set in the grounds are dropped in favour of confining everyone indoors. The whole tale is condensed into three nights too, rather than the eleven nights in the book, but never feels rushed. One reason why is we lose a second occurrence where “Help Eleanor Come Home” appears on the walls, this time in Theo’s bedroom, written in blood. If this was to avoid repetition, and the audience getting restless, the addition of a perfectly executed scare involving a trapdoor is clearly aimed at making us jump out of our collective skins. But if the plot survives largely unscathed, what about the characters?

The first significant divergence is Theodora, whose lesbianism in the book was muted (her ex-partner is never identified by gender) but in the film Theo’s attraction to “my Nell” is obvious – as is her jealousy at Eleanor’s infatuation for Markway, another film addition. Also, whilst Eleanor in the book declares she will go home with Theo only to be told she isn’t wanted, the film’s Theo still plans to take Eleanor and flee Hill House, despite how much their relationship has soured.

The second major change is Grace Markway (formerly Mrs Montague). The film reigns in her excesses – and completely excises her friend, Arthur Parker. She arrives at Hill House not to find ghostly nuns where they aren’t any, but to save her husband’s reputation from a nosy reporter. This Grace suffers John’s obsession with the supernatural rather than shares it, and insists on sleeping in the most haunted room to prove to him that ghosts don’t exist…

The ending is the same, though the film plays it at night, but arriving there is different. The book’s Eleanor intends to crash her car (her little contained world, remember?) into a tree, so desperate is she to remain at Hill House, and only at the last second comes to her senses – too late to save herself. In the film, unseen forces take control of the car as Eleanor drives away, and she resists – initially – but the appearance of Grace on the road makes her swerve, into that tree, implying her death was an accident, more palatable to filmgoers perhaps. The book is ambiguous as to whether she gets what she desired, but the film is less coy; in a haunting recap of Markway’s opening soliloquy, Eleanor’s voice tells us that “we who walk there, walk alone.”

The initial reviews were mixed, and only in later years has its reputation grown. Nowadays, The Haunting is considered the scariest film ever made by many, including Martin Scorsese. Stephen King and Steven Spielberg once talked about remaking it; their collaboration never got produced, though King’s version became the miniseries Rose Red, and Spielberg exec-produced the 1999 remake. That film did the one thing the original deliberately avoided: it showed the ghosts. But, as Robert Wise knew, the things in our imagination are scarier – and 1963’s The Haunting proves, possibly more than any other horror film, that sometimes not-seeing is believing.

The book is beautifully written, with long sentences generously sprinkled with commas and semi-colons; just as well, because some passages take your breath away. Likewise, the film is beautifully shot, and has its own methods for making you breathless.

As a horror story, the film wins. The book is un-nerving, but the film is terrifying, and thirty years after I first saw it, nothing has scared me as much. As a character piece, though, the book wins. The film gives a good telling of this aspect, but despite a terrific performance from Harris, Eleanor’s collapse into insanity works better on the page.

So, both book and film play to their strengths. What we have is a story that works just as well on page and screen – therefore, I’m happy to call this one a draw.

BIO : Nick Jackson has had several short stories published, featuring ghosts, bleak future dystopias, and The Great Gatsby. He’s also written several Book V Film comparisons for Lucy, including the last two Halloween specials .

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How long would it take to read the greatest books of all time?

The economist consulted bibliophile data scientists to bring you the answer.

Explore the 500 highest ranked books

One hundred years of solitude, gabriel garcía márquez, 1967.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

James joyce, 1922.

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger, 1951

Nineteen eighty-four, george orwell, 1949.

In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust, 1913

Vladimir nabokov, 1955.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee, 1960

Herman melville, 1851.

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen, 1813

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë, 1847

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes, 1605

Crime and punishment, fyodor dostoevsky, 1866, anna karenina, leo tolstoy, 1877, the grapes of wrath, john steinbeck, 1939.

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy, 1869

The lord of the rings, j.r.r. tolkien, 1954, joseph heller, 1961, madame bovary, gustave flaubert, 1857, charlotte brontë, 1847, the sound and the fury, william faulkner, 1929, alice's adventures in wonderland, lewis carroll, 1865, middlemarch, george eliot, 1871, adventures of huckleberry finn, mark twain, 1884, heart of darkness, joseph conrad, 1899, toni morrison, 1987.

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri, 1321

Invisible man, ralph ellison, 1952.

The Odyssey

Homer, 740BC

Frankenstein, mary shelley, 1818, the stranger, albert camus, 1942, the brothers karamazov, fyodor dostoevsky, 1880, great expectations, charles dickens, 1860, to the lighthouse, virginia woolf, 1927, mrs dalloway, virginia woolf, 1925, homer, 750bc, midnight's children, salman rushdie, 1981, franz kafka, 1925, on the road, jack kerouac, 1957, the master and margarita, mikhail bulgakov, 1967, brave new world, aldous huxley, 1932, the magic mountain, thomas mann, 1924, gulliver's travels, jonathan swift, 1726, david copperfield, charles dickens, 1850, les misérables, victor hugo, 1862, gone with the wind, margaret mitchell, 1936, the sun also rises, ernest hemingway, 1926, their eyes were watching god, zora neale hurston, 1937, things fall apart, chinua achebe, 1958, the color purple, alice walker, 1982, the red and the black, stendhal, 1830, a passage to india, e.m. forster, 1924, slaughterhouse-five, kurt vonnegut, 1969, lord of the flies, william golding, 1954, absalom, absalom, william faulkner, 1936, daphne du maurier, 1938, the scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne, 1850, the life and opinions of tristram shandy, gentleman, laurence sterne, 1759, the diary of a young girl, anne frank, 1947, silent spring, rachel carson, 1962, the little prince, antoine de saint-exupéry, 1943, the portrait of a lady, henry james, 1881, voltaire, 1759, little women, louisa may alcott, 1868, one thousand and one nights, as i lay dying, william faulkner, 1930, a portrait of the artist as a young man, james joyce, 1916, richard wright, 1940, the handmaid's tale, margaret atwood, 1985, henry david thoreau, 1854, vanity fair, william makepeace thackeray, 1848, the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, douglas adams, 1979, animal farm, george orwell, 1945, virgil, 19bc, in cold blood, truman capote, 1966, robinson crusoe, daniel defoe, 1719, the bell jar, sylvia plath, 1963, for whom the bell tolls, ernest hemingway, 1940, oedipus the king, sophocles, 429bc, the old man and the sea, ernest hemingway, 1952, tess of the d'urbervilles, thomas hardy, 1891, william shakespeare, 1600, johann wolfgang von goethe, 1808, bram stoker, 1897, niccolo machiavelli, 1532, a clockwork orange, anthony burgess, 1962, the age of innocence, edith wharton, 1920, leaves of grass, walt whitman, 1855, vladimir nabokov, 1962, henry fielding, 1749, the picture of dorian gray, oscar wilde, 1891, the tin drum, günter grass, 1959, the golden notebook, doris lessing, 1962, jane austen, 1815, waiting for godot, samuel beckett, 1952, the leopard, giuseppe tomasi di lampedusa, 1958, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, ken kesey, 1962, charlotte's web, e.b. white, 1952, all quiet on the western front, erich maria remarque, 1928, jorge luis borges, 1944, the big sleep, raymond chandler, 1939, the canterbury tales, geoffrey chaucer, 1476, treasure island, robert louis stevenson, 1883, the count of monte cristo, alexandre dumas, 1844, fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury, 1953, paradise lost, john milton, 1667, the name of the rose, umberto eco, 1980, fyodor dostoevsky, 1869, frank herbert, 1965, michel de montaigne, 1580, love in the time of cholera, gabriel garcía márquez, 1985, wide sargasso sea, jean rhys, 1966, the unbearable lightness of being, milan kundera, 1984, the stories of anton chekhov, anton chekhov, 1900, a farewell to arms, ernest hemingway, 1929, the good soldier, ford madox ford, 1915, willa cather, 1918, under the volcano, malcolm lowry, 1947, on the origin of species, charles darwin, 1859, the complete tales and poems of edgar allan poe, edgar allan poe, 1902, the hound of the baskervilles, arthur conan doyle, 1902, the metamorphosis, franz kafka, 1915, journey to the end of the night, louis-ferdinand céline, 1932, sons and lovers, d.h. lawrence, 1913, first folio, william shakespeare, 1623, the wind in the willows, kenneth grahame, 1908, the heart is a lonely hunter, carson mccullers, 1940, doctor zhivago, boris pasternak, 1957, the second sex, simone de beauvoir, 1949, rabbit, run, john updike, 1960, fathers and sons, ivan turgenev, 1862, franz kafka, 1926, harry potter and the philosopher's stone, j.k. rowling, 1997, albert camus, 1947, nikolai gogol, 1842, song of solomon, toni morrison, 1977, sophocles, 441bc, joseph conrad, 1900, the autobiography of malcolm x, alex haley, 1965, the maltese falcon, dashiell hammett, 1930, the republic, plato, 379bc, the interpretation of dreams, sigmund freud, 1899, the man without qualities, robert musil, 1930, fyodor dostoevsky, 1872, orlando: a biography, virginia woolf, 1928, steppenwolf, hermann hesse, 1927, confessions, st augustine, 397, buddenbrooks, thomas mann, 1901, the house of mirth, edith wharton, 1905, portnoy's complaint, philip roth, 1969, the spy who came in from the cold, john le carré, 1963, doctor faustus, thomas mann, 1947, the talented mr. ripley, patricia highsmith, 1955, the tale of genji, murasaki shikibu, 1010, i know why the caged bird sings, maya angelou, 1969, the three musketeers, howards end, e.m. forster, 1910, the call of the wild, jack london, 1903, the long goodbye: a novel, raymond chandler, 1953, bleak house, charles dickens, 1852, an american tragedy, theodore dreiser, 1925, light in august, william faulkner, 1932, the woman in white, wilkie collins, 1860, winnie the pooh, a.a milne, 1926, all the king's men, robert penn warren, 1946, the house of the spirits, isabel allende, 1982, tender is the night, f. scott fitzgerald, 1934, the double helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of dna, james d. watson, 1968, franz kafka: the complete stories, franz kafka, 1971, fear and loathing in las vegas: a savage journey to the heart of the american dream, hunter s. thompson, 1971, blood meridian, cormac mccarthy, 1985, uncle tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe, 1852, brideshead revisited, evelyn waugh, 1945, a confederacy of dunces, john kennedy toole, 1980, a room of one's own, virginia woolf, 1929, the complete stories of flannery o'connor, flannery o'connor, 1971, the shining, stephen king, 1977, watership down, richard adams, 1972, the structure of scientific revolutions, thomas kuhn, 1962, the adventures of augie march, saul bellow, 1953, gravity's rainbow, thomas pynchon, 1973, upton sinclair, 1906, lady chatterley's lover, d.h. lawrence, 1928, the time machine, h.g. wells, 1895, the remains of the day, kazuo ishiguro, 1989, one day in the life of ivan denisovich, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, 1962, j.r.r. tolkien, 1937, poems of emily dickinson, emily dickinson, 1890, the secret history, donna tartt, 1992, the prime of miss jean brodie, muriel spark, 1961, the moviegoer, walker percy, 1961, the gulag archipelago, aleksandr solzhenitsyn, 1973, joseph conrad, 1904, and then there were none, agatha christie, 1939, communist manifesto, karl marx, friedrich engels, 1848, saul bellow, 1964, the waste land, t.s. eliot, 1922, a wizard of earthsea, ursula k. le guin, 1968, the awakening, kate chopin, 1899, gargantua and pantagruel, françois rabelais, 1532, u.s.a. trilogy, john dos passos, 1930, a wrinkle in time, madeleine l'engle, 1962, a house for mr. biswas, v.s. naipaul, 1961, giovanni boccaccio, 1349, a tree grows in brooklyn, betty smith, 1943, father goriot, honoré de balzac, 1835, the ambassadors, henry james, 1903, ian mcewan, 2001, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, c.s. lewis, 1950, dangerous liaisons, pierre choderlos de laclos, 1782, fairy tales and stories, hans christian andersen, 1835, the pickwick papers, charles dickens, 1836, rudyard kipling, 1901, housekeeping, marilynne robinson, 1980, white teeth, zadie smith, 2000, collected poems of w.b. yeats, william butler yeats, 1933, euripides, 431bc, of mice and men, john steinbeck, 1937, war of the worlds, h.g. wells, 1898, the world according to garp, john irving, 1978, the corrections, jonathan franzen, 2001, atlas shrugged, ayn rand, 1957, william shakespeare, 1606, the god of small things, arundhati roy, 1997, tropic of cancer, henry miller, 1934, stephen king, 1978, women in love, d.h. lawrence, 1920, the adventures of tom sawyer, mark twain, 1876, cold comfort farm, stella gibbons, 1932, jude the obscure, thomas hardy, 1895, the once and future king, t.h. white, 1958, the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, robert louis stevenson, 1886, sinclair lewis, 1922, the complete sherlock holmes, arthur conan doyle, 1927, hermann hesse, 1922, a tale of two cities, charles dickens, 1859, kingsley amis, 1954, democracy in america, alexis de tocqueville, 1835, the charterhouse of parma, stendhal, 1839, samuel beckett, 1951, the good soldier svejk, jaroslav hašek, 1921, bonfire of the vanities, tom wolfe, 1987, the life of samuel johnson, james boswell, 1791, j.m. coetzee, 1999, american pastoral, philip roth, 1997, andré malraux, 1933, isaac asimov, 1951, oedipus at colonus, sophocles, 401bc, aeschylus, 458bc, if this is a man, primo levi, 1947, neuromancer, william gibson, 1984, the mayor of casterbridge, thomas hardy, 1886, the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay, michael chabon, 2000, jean paul sartre, 1938, confessions of zeno, italo svevo, 1923, the things they carried, tim o'brien, 1990, william shakespeare, 1605, go tell it on the mountain, james baldwin, 1953, giovanni's room, james baldwin, 1956, the murder of roger ackroyd, agatha christie, 1926, the counterfeiters, andré gide, 1925, a sentimental education, gustave flaubert, 1869, are you there god it's me, margaret, judy blume, 1970, sir walter scott, 1819, a.s. byatt, 1990, of human bondage, w. somerset maugham, 1915, the chronicles of narnia, anne of green gables, l.m. montgomery, 1908, the turn of the screw, henry james, 1898, the godfather, mario puzo, 1969, if on a winter's night a traveller, italo calvino, 1979, the adventures of oliver twist, charles dickens, 1837, twenty thousand leagues under the sea, jules verne, 1870, stranger in a strange land, robert a. heinlein, 1961, the left hand of darkness, ursula k. le guin, 1969, the wind-up bird chronicle, haruki murakami, 1994, brighton rock, graham greene, 1938, epic of gilgamesh, a prayer for owen meany, john irving, 1989, the haunting of hill house, shirley jackson, 1959, thus spake zarathustra, friedrich nietzsche, 1883, ivan goncharov, 1859, winesburg, ohio, sherwood anderson, 1919, the end of the affair, graham greene, 1951, jane austen, 1817, the sea, the sea, iris murdoch, 1978, the flowers of evil, charles baudelaire, 1857, the sorrows of young werther, johann wolfgang von goethe, 1774, a room with a view, e.m. forster, 1908, the stories of john cheever, john cheever, 1978, do androids dream of electric sheep, philip k. dick, 1968, invisible cities, italo calvino, 1972, the good earth, pearl s. buck, 1931, a season in hell, arthur rimbaud, 1873, at swim two-birds, flann o'brien, 1939, the moonstone, wilkie collins, 1868, pedro páramo, juan rulfo, 1955, marguerite duras, 1984, the joy luck club, amy tan, 1989, cormac mccarthy, 2006, knut hamsun, 1890, infinite jest, david foster wallace, 1996, jorge luis borges, 1962, white noise, don delillo, 1985, look homeward, angel, thomas wolfe, 1929, i, claudius, robert graves, 1934, the alchemist, paulo coelho, 1988, the tempest, memoirs of hadrian, marguerite yourcenar, 1951, the poems of robert frost, robert frost, 1913, the histories of herodotus, herodotus, 450bc, darkness at noon, arthur koestler, 1940, the confessions of jean-jacques rousseau, jean-jacques rousseau, 1782, mahabharata, vyasa, 400bc, children's and household tales, brothers grimm, 1812, a vindication of the rights of woman, mary wollstonecraft, 1792, the red badge of courage, stephen crane, 1895, djuna barnes, 1936, east of eden, john steinbeck, 1952, berlin alexanderplatz, alfred döblin, 1929, naked lunch, william s. burroughs, 1959, martin amis, 1984, a doll's house, henrik ibsen, 1879, finnegans wake, james joyce, 1939, out of africa, isak dinesen (karen blixen), 1937, the tartar steppe, dino buzzati, 1940, the old wives' tale, arnold bennett, 1908, the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum, 1900, metamorphoses, the elements of style, e.b. white, william strunk jr., 1918, the mill on the floss, george eliot, 1860, speak, memory, vladimir nabokov, 1951, zorba the greek, nikos kazantzakis, 1946, a bend in the river, v.s. naipaul, 1979, a good man is hard to find, flannery o'connor, 1953, pippi longstocking, astrid lindgren, 1945, cry, the beloved country, alan paton, 1948, thomas hobbes, 1651, let us now praise famous men, james agee, 1941, e. l. doctorow, 1975, his dark materials, philip pullman, 1995, samuel richardson, 1748, blaise pascal, 1670, a suitable boy, vikram seth, 1993, albert einstein, 1916, sophie's choice, william styron, 1979, death of virgil, hermann broch, 1945, émile zola, 1885, the power and the glory, graham greene, 1940, the general theory of employment, interest and money, john maynard keynes, 1936, the last of the mohicans, james fenimore cooper, 1826, pilgrim's progress, john bunyan, 1678, the day of the locust, nathanael west, 1939, malone dies, homage to catalonia, george orwell, 1938, the complete works of plato, plato, 387bc, a dance to the music of time, anthony powell, 1951, a brief history of time, stephen hawking, 1988, le morte d'arthur, thomas malory, 1485, the secret garden, frances hodgson burnett, 1911, stories of ernest hemingway, ernest hemingway, 1987, rabbit redux, john updike, 1971, the daughter of time, josephine tey, 1951, the princess of cleves, madame de la fayette, 1678, ethan frome, edith wharton, 1911, zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, robert m. pirsig, 1974, our mutual friend, charles dickens, 1864, the shipping news, annie proulx, 1993, the decline and fall of the roman empire, edward gibbon, 1776, i capture the castle, dodie smith, 1948, a christmas carol, charles dickens, 1843, the electric kool-aid acid test, tom wolfe, 1968, the bacchae, euripides, 405bc, 2001: a space odyssey, arthur c. clarke, 1968, black lamb and grey falcon, rebecca west, 1941, rabbit is rich, john updike, 1981, the crying of lot 49, thomas pynchon, 1966, virginia woolf, 1931, regeneration, pat barker, 1991, the feminine mystique, betty friedan, 1963, wings of the dove, henry james, 1902, the hunchback of notre-dame, victor hugo, 1831, a fine balance, rohinton mistry, 1995, the day of the jackal, frederick forsyth, 1971, the return of the native, thomas hardy, 1878, never let me go, kazuo ishiguro, 2005, the forsyte saga, john galsworthy, 1906, nights at the circus, angela carter, 1984, meditations, marcus aurelius, 161, the brief wondrous life of oscar wao, junot diaz, 2007, the poisonwood bible, barbara kingsolver, 1998, the rainbow, d.h. lawrence, 1915, kristin lavransdatter, sigrid undset, 1920, critique of pure reason, immanuel kant, 1781, bonjour tristesse, francoise sagan, 1954, so long, see you tomorrow, william maxwell, 1980, the civil war, shelby foote, 1958, murder on the orient express, agatha christie, 1934, the death of ivan ilyich, leo tolstoy, 1886, american psycho, bret easton ellis, 1991, through the looking glass, lewis carroll, 1871, witold gombrowicz, 1937, the thirty-nine steps, john buchan, 1915, das kapital, karl marx, 1867, the siege of krishnapur, j. g. farrell, 1973, art spiegelman, 1980, silas marner, george eliot, 1861, main street, sinclair lewis, 1920, the varieties of religious experience, william james, 1902, independent people, halldor laxness, 1934, schindler's list, thomas keneally, 1982, the french lieutenant's woman, john fowles, 1969, the phantom tollbooth, norton juster, 1961, the vicar of wakefield, oliver goldsmith, 1766, the private memoirs and confessions of a justified sinner, james hogg, 1824, sister carrie, theodore dreiser, 1900, don delillo, 1997, play it as it lays, joan didion, 1970, patrick süskind, 1985, where the wild things are, maurice sendak, 1963, the death of the heart, elizabeth bowen, 1938, the affluent society, john kenneth galbraith, 1958, notes from the underground, fyodor dostoevsky, 1864, the wealth of nations, adam smith, 1776, collected poems, wallace stevens, 1954, eugene onegin, alexander pushkin, 1833, a streetcar named desire, tennessee williams, 1947, waiting for the barbarians, j.m. coetzee, 1980, the golden bowl, henry james, 1904, the education of henry adams, henry adams, 1907, far from the madding crowd, thomas hardy, 1874, a hero of our time, mikhail lermontov, 1840, stanislaw lem, 1961, the man who loved children, christina stead, 1940, crash: a novel, j. g. ballard, 1973, james joyce, 1914, life and fate, vasily grossman, 1980, sophocles, 409bc, the autobiography of alice b. toklas, gertrude stein, 1933, marilynne robinson, 2004, moll flanders, daniel defoe, 1722, jeffrey eugenides, 2002, the alexandria quartet, lawrence durrell, 1957, black beauty, anna sewell, 1877, harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban, j.k. rowling, 1999, cloud atlas, david mitchell, 2004, the glass bead game, hermann hesse, 1943, life, a user's manual, georges perec, 1978, the savage detectives, roberto bolaño, 1998, john fowles, 1965, philosophical investigations, ludwig wittgenstein, 1953, the cherry orchard, anton chekhov, 1904, yevgeny zamyatin, 1924, the bluest eye, toni morrison, 1970, call it sleep, henry roth, 1934, the secret agent, joseph conrad, 1907, death in venice, thomas mann, 1912, the postman always rings twice, james m. cain, 1934, confucius, 479bc, the third policeman, flann o'brien, 1967, octavia e. butler, 1979, w.g. sebald, 2001, red harvest, dashiell hammett, 1929, ada or ardor, vladimir nabokov, 1969, nine stories, j.d. salinger, 1953, the fountainhead, ayn rand, 1943, the unnamable, samuel beckett, 1953, george eliot, 1859, henryk sienkiewicz, 1896, the right stuff, tom wolfe, 1979, breakfast at tiffany's, truman capote, 1958, rabbit at rest, john updike, 1990, the art of war, sun tzu, 475bc, the way we live now, anthony trollope, 1875, the english patient, michael ondaatje, 1992, the naked and the dead, norman mailer, 1948, the betrothed, alessandro manzoni, 1827, the souls of black folk, w.e.b. du bois, 1903, the book of disquiet, fernando pessoa, 1982, the thorn birds, colleen mccullough, 1977, prometheus bound, aeschylus, 479bc, season of migration to the north, al-tayyib salih, 1966, flannery o'connor, 1952, the house of the seven gables, nathaniel hawthorne, 1851, roberto bolaño, 2004, the federalist papers, alexander hamilton, james madison, john jay, 1787, journey to the west, wu cheng'en, 1592, de rerum natura, lucretius, 55, cousin bette, honoré de balzac, 1846, harry potter and the goblet of fire, j.k. rowling, 2000, charlie and the chocolate factory, roald dahl, 1964, the sheltering sky, paul bowles, 1949, the sonnets, william shakespeare, 1609, the nicomachean ethics, aristotle, 340bc, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, john le carré, 1974, alan moore, 1987, effi briest, theodor fontane, 1895.

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The Haunting of Hill House

By shirley jackson, the haunting of hill house literary elements, setting and context.

Hill House, a country estate, 1950s

Narrator and Point of View

Third-person omniscient, mostly told from Eleanor's perspective

Tone and Mood

Tone: tense, manic, foreboding, gloomy, understated

Mood: moody, nightmarish, taut, hostile, haunted

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist: Eleanor | Antagonist: The House

Major Conflict

Will House will destroy the characters, particularly Eleanor, or will they will be able to gather meaningful data and emerge unscathed?

After having allowed Hill House to claim her and feeling elated at that subsumption into the House, Eleanor climbs to the top of the library tower parapet and seems as if she will throw herself down.

Foreshadowing

- Eleanor sees signs reading "DARE" and "EVIL" on the way to Hill House (12). -Dudley tells Eleanor, "You'll be sorry I ever opened that gate" (21).

Understatement

- "The house does have its little oddities" (46). - "I am really doing it, she thought, turning the wheel to send the car directly at the great tree at the curve of the driveway..." (181-182). - "Hill House itself, not sane..." (182).

- Count Dracula, the vampire of the famous horror novel - "Journeys end in lovers meetings" from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night - Evil houses from Leviticus (Bible), Hades, Winchester Mystery House, and Borley Rectory - Pamela, a novel by Samuel Richardson - Smollett, author Tobias Smollett - The artists Francisco Goya and William Blake

See Imagery

Parallelism

- Eleanor's experiences are paralleled in the history of Hill House. - The inhabitants are smothered, the older sister is unmarried and lives alone in the house, the younger sister is vindictive, etc.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification.

- "Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within" (1). - "Around them the house steadied and located them, above the hills slept watchfully, small eddies of air and sound and movement stirred and waited and whispered" (41). - "Why so many odd little rooms?... Maybe they liked to hide from each other" (45). - "High on top was a conical wooden roof, topped by a wooden spire. It must have been laughable in any other house, but here in Hill House it belonged, gleeful and expectant, awaiting perhaps a slight creature creeping out from the little window onto the slanted roof..." (83).

The Haunting of Hill House Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Haunting of Hill House is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The Haunting of hill house is a noval about the horrors of family life . Discuss

Family is rather disappointing to the characters: Hugh Crain was a perverse patriarch and his wives kept dying and leaving their daughters motherless; Eleanor's mother was a demanding crone; Luke has no mother; Dr. Montague's wife is a shrew; and...

Why is horror maligned as a non-literary, unintellectual genre?

I think for similar reasons that horror genre is maligned in in film. Some people feel the genre is full of violence and sensationalism with little meaning. We know, however, that it takes a master author or director to create a good horror.

Throughout the book, personification is used when describing the house. What are some examples of this in chapter two

No human eye can isolate the unhappy coincidence of line and place which suggests evil in the face of a house...ch 2

Study Guide for The Haunting of Hill House

The haunting of Hill House study guide contains a biography of Shirley Jackson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Haunting of Hill House
• The Haunting of Hill House Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Haunting of Hill House

The haunting of Hill House essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

• How the Opening of 'The Haunting of Hill House' Projects the Main Themes of the Novel
• Fear and Insanity Gothic Literature: Why 'The Haunting of Hill House' and 'The Little Stranger" Are Not Your Typical Scary Stories
• A House Isn’t A Home: The Horrors of Domesticity in The Haunting of Hill House
• "Familial" Disintegration: A Close Reading of The Haunting of Hill House

Lesson Plan for The Haunting of Hill House

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Haunting of Hill House
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Haunting of Hill House Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Haunting of Hill House

• Introduction