Reviews with content warning for Grief - Spuk in Hill House

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Spuk in Hill House by Shirley Jackson

33 reviews

sleepye's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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dragonlilly's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

This was a fantastic work of horror and an exploration of the mind, identity, and grief. There are also multiple ways to interpret the book and the ending, and all of them are interesting and valid. It was funny, because about halfway through the story I found myself wondering when something scary would happen, and then it of course did and was done amazingly. One scene specifically stuck with me terribly and made it difficult to sleep, but my imagination easily runs wild after consuming horror media, so people without an active imagination would probably sleep soundly. Nonetheless, the horror scenes are not only eerie, but also interesting and very clearly described. The characters themselves are quite charming, except for the ones that are deliberately meant to not be liked, and the dynamic between the characters is even more fascinating, and even fun early on. Over time, things get more complicated, especially with our narrator Eleanor who forms a very strong connection to the house. There is a lot in this short book, and I was satisfied with the ending, even if I expected it a little bit - although the ending was much more perfect and haunting than I could have imagined. In general, there is a ton to think about, and a lot to explore within the story.

I have some thoughts I want to note about the interpretations:

We know Eleanor may have some sort of power that could have caused the rocks raining on her house when she was a child, and this is likely why the doctor called her to the house (same as with Theodora). I think it is quite possible that perhaps the house was straight up haunted and negatively affected the group while also desiring for them to stay in the house. Strangely the house latched onto Eleanor especially and this culminates in Eleanor possibly being possessed and wanting to be a part of the house, ending with her death when the group tries to send her away for fear of her health. However, there are lots of little strange hits spattered throughout the story that may point to Eleanor possibly using her own powers, and maybe even experiencing intense mental illness. Eleanor is wracked by depression, a lack of identity, grief and guilt over her mother, an intense feeling of being alone as well as an outcast, and possibly schizophrenia. Over time, some of the characters seemingly chuckle at her and act oddly towards her, and some of this could be the effect of and weight of the house (like when Theo got very mad at Eleanor after discovering the red liquid), but it was to such an extent that I also wonder if Eleanor was misinterpreting things or even seeing things that were not truly being expressed by the other characters. She starts to watch the other characters to see if they talking badly about her, and of course they do not. Either the house is twisting her against them, or her mind is overwhelmed by the fear of being an outcast, or both. I feel like not all of the haunting experiences were caused by Eleanor, but perhaps some at the end really were. There is just so much to consider when exploring this book, and it is so fascinating. Regardless of what the true interpretation is (or maybe there isn't one and Shirley Jackson intended all of them in a way) Eleanor no doubt develops a strange connection to the house that has many parallels throughout the book, either from her deep grief and powers causing the happenings, or the house seeing what Eleanor does not have and finding a way to give it to her. I sort of see it as both.

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haileyhardcover's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ever since the Netflix series was released in 2018, The Haunting of Hill House has been an annual re-watch for me. Hill House is warm and comfortable. Hill House is home. I knew that the series was only inspired by the book and the stories would be very different, but I still felt like I needed to read the book that started it all. I’ve put it off for years, though, because I’ve never been a fan of the classics. I’ve always found them terribly dull, terribly disinteresting… I will die on the hill that many “classics” truly are not good, there just wasn’t anything better at the time. I’m happy to report, though, that the Hill House portrayed on page is as familiar as that on screen. I knew this house, and, somehow, I even knew these characters. The origins of Hill House are as familiar as ever.

A surprise for me was the not at all subtle sapphic undertones. BOLD for 1959. Had Hill House been written today, I can only imagine how much more I might’ve enjoyed it lol

On a more personal note - My birthday is the 21st of June. That date being mentioned twice - the only date specifically mentioned in the whole book - made me feel, in a small way, like Hill House calls to me too.

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hookerkitty's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Well this was incredibly disappointing. I think I fell asleep just about every time I tried reading this, regardless of how tired I felt beforehand.

And don’t know if it’s my ADHD or what, but so many of the sentences were sooo long (one even had two semicolons!) that I had no idea what was happening by the time I got to the end of it. I had to keep re-reading sections bc I kept zoning out of boredom.

I also wish that Eleanor and Theodora had more dissimilar names, bc I could not keep track of who was who for way too long. Mrs. Dudley felt like an NPC who’d only been programmed with a few set lines and very rarely deviated from them.

I was left with WAY more questions than answers. Many say this is done on purpose to be creepier - there are times where that works, but it just feels like lazy (or unskilled) writing to me. I don’t care how many awards it’s received. I love a good psychological horror/thriller/mystery, and while there were a couple times I actually got really into it, it’s disappointing that they were such short sections of the book. No good payoff in the end. While this isn’t even that old, it further cements my previous belief that older books are not for me.

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frostyjflakes's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

As four characters come together to investigate the psychological effects of a haunted house, Eleanor narrates the effect on both her and the others. As the lively aspects of the house become increasingly creepier, Eleanor and the house mates begin to devolve. The set up of this book is incredibly interesting and I actually really enjoyed the slow burn. I think my issues stem from two parts. Part 1: no one in the house ever really addresses any haunted occurrences unless it's during or immediately after. Part 2: The last third of the book was incredibly confusing. I think if I was actually reading it and not listening to the audiobook, it might be different. Overall it was an interesting book and i'm intrigued to see how the show modernized it.

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itskenzcarter's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ugggh. This book. What a whirlwind. It’s so different from the show. Both equally great, but the book just has something about it that I can’t quite describe. The writing was brilliant. Shirley Jackson is a fantastic author and knows how to paint a picture. But, because the book was so different from the show, it was hard to see where it was going. I couldn’t put it down and had to finish as soon as I started. This book focuses, primarily, on Nellie, more so than the actual haunting itself. However, it worked. It had a lower level of spookiness, but the parts that were spooky were so descriptive and vivid. It definitely makes your heart race at parts. I do think the book finished a little quicker than it could have. There could have been additional paranormal focuses. Other than that, I have no real negative thoughts about it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants something horror related. It dances on the psychological horror side of things. Now, if you are wanting to read this because of the show, please note, it’s vastly different. This book is amazing, and I think it should be on every horror fans shelf.

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