The Haunting of Hill House
First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers— and soon, it will choose one of them to make its own.
Where The Haunting of Hill House keeps showing up
Four of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Also by Shirley Jackson
Books in conversation with The Haunting of Hill House
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about The Haunting of Hill House
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Dr. John Montague, a scholar of the supernatural, rents Hill House for a summer and invites two assistants who have shown some past sensitivity. One of them, Eleanor Vance, has lived for years caring for a sick mother and arrives with little to lose. The house begins to choose her.
Yes, indirectly. Mike Flanagan's 2018 Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House is loosely inspired by Shirley Jackson's novel. The show takes the title and atmosphere but tells a substantially different family story. The novel and show are best treated as separate.
Yes. The Haunting of Hill House is widely cited as one of the great American horror novels and a foundational influence on Stephen King and modern haunted-house fiction. Most readers find it eerie and atmospheric rather than gory.
The Haunting of Hill House was written by Shirley Jackson, published in 1959 by Penguin Group UK.
The Haunting of Hill House is 246 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Haunting of Hill House takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
The Haunting of Hill House is a standalone novel by Shirley Jackson, not part of a series.
The Haunting of Hill House is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
