HistoryShirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, first published in 1959, has continued to have monumental influence over the literary horror genre and its contemporary authors. The Guardian describes its true terror as not a part of the setting, but the novel's use of psychological terror: "The horror inherent in the novel does not lie in Hill House (monstrous though it is) or the events that take place within it, but in the unexplored recesses of its characters' – and its readers' – minds. This is perhaps why it remains the definitive haunted house story."
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No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
These are the famous first lines of The Haunting of Hill House. Stephen King praises this introduction to one of the most infamous houses in American literature by his claim that "there are few if any descriptive passages in the English language that are finer than this" (282). This claim is certainly persuasive, as it remains a foremost example of Jackson's gift for uncanny description. While eloquent, the true genius of Hill House's beginning lies in its succinct laying out of all one needs to know about the house:
"It begins by suggesting that Hill House is a living organism; tells us that this live organism does not exist under conditions of absolute reality… The paragraph tells us how long its history has been, immediately establishing that historical context… and [tells] us that something walks in the rooms and halls of Hill House" (King, 283).
Jackson concisely provides the setting and personification of Hill House, the novel's foremost character, and accomplishes it in merely two sentences, establishing the tone and mood of the remainder of the narrative.
The exclusive details of the novel do not end with it's introduction. Eleanor Vance, the main (human) character through whose eyes we encounter Hill House, is undoubtedly a unique protagonist. Steven Schneider describes her as "only moderately sympathetic and in no way heroic" primarily due to her mounting insanity and unreliable narration as the plot unfolds (169). The audience is first made aware of Eleanor's questionable mental state before she ever arrives at Hill House through her inner monologue as she drives to the building that will ultimately drive her to take her own life.
"It begins by suggesting that Hill House is a living organism; tells us that this live organism does not exist under conditions of absolute reality… The paragraph tells us how long its history has been, immediately establishing that historical context… and [tells] us that something walks in the rooms and halls of Hill House" (King, 283).
Jackson concisely provides the setting and personification of Hill House, the novel's foremost character, and accomplishes it in merely two sentences, establishing the tone and mood of the remainder of the narrative.
The exclusive details of the novel do not end with it's introduction. Eleanor Vance, the main (human) character through whose eyes we encounter Hill House, is undoubtedly a unique protagonist. Steven Schneider describes her as "only moderately sympathetic and in no way heroic" primarily due to her mounting insanity and unreliable narration as the plot unfolds (169). The audience is first made aware of Eleanor's questionable mental state before she ever arrives at Hill House through her inner monologue as she drives to the building that will ultimately drive her to take her own life.