“The Haunting of Hill House was a very interesting psychological ghost story. The main character, Eleanor Vance, was a young woman who has long cared for her dying mother. A few months previous to the beginning of this story, Eleanor's mother died and Eleanor moved in with her sister. Eleanor has never had a home of her own, nor a life of her own, and certainly no drama, adventure or romance.
Eleanor, along with two others, was invited by a scholarly anthropologist to an allegedly haunted house a few hours' drive from her sister's home. Eleanor was singled out by Dr. Montague, the anthropologist, because she experienced poltergeist activity as a child. Dr. Montague's intention was to capture scientific evidence of the haunting by staying in Hill House for the summer, conducting an investigation, and then writing a book about it. Rounding out the study team were Luke, family heir to the house, and Theo (Theodora), a rather bohemian young lady with no last name ( is Theo perhaps bisexual? The author kind of alludeds, but never quite says...)
Toward the end of the book Dr. Montague's very tedious and annoying wife appears at the house along with her friend, Arthur. Arthur and Mrs. Montague maintain an interest in automatic writing and séances. Although the rest of the party disregard the findings of the automatic writing, the writings seems to reveal some interesting things for Eleanor.
Dr. Montague tells the history of Hill House and its tragedies, including bits of the life of its strange and mysterious designer, and facts surrounding several fatal accidents in the driveway. Some mysterious activity begins including doors banging, red-colored foul-smelling stains in rooms and on clothing, and writing on the walls. The team seems to hallucinate or have ghostly visions of people who once lived in the home. All the while, the house seems to be beckoning to Eleanor to stay and become one with it.
Given the history of the house and the history of Eleanor, the book ended as it should. I enjoyed this book and I put in my Netflix que both versions of the movie.
Recommended for lovers of classics and the paranormal. But anyone looking for a real horror story or thriller is sure to be disappointed.”
Laina A wrote this review Tuesday, January 15, 2013.
Was this review helpful? Yes | No