The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson
This read-along is now finished, but you can catch up on our full conversation here.
In the run-up to Halloween, I’m suggesting we read the greatest haunted house story ever written – The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, which was first published on October 16th, 1959.
What is it?
It’s a ghost story with an atmosphere that will creep under your skin and won’t let you go, but it’s also an exquisitely crafted character study and a portrait of a psychological breakdown. There are unexpected moments of romance and humour too.
‘Stepping into Hill House is like stepping into the mind of a madman;’ says Stephen King: ‘it isn’t long before you weird yourself out.’
Why are we reading it?
Because it’s such a well written ghost story, the perfect thing to read as the nights draw in and we approach All Hallow’s Eve. The New York Times described it as ‘caviar for the connoisseurs of the cryptic, the bizarre, the eerie’ . . .
How will we read it?
The novel is 240 pages long and has nine chapters. We’ll read it over three weeks:
We’ll start reading on Friday 4 October.
On Friday 11th we’ll discuss Chapters 1, 2 and 3.
On Friday 18th we’ll discuss Chapters 4 and 5.
On Friday 25th we’ll discuss Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Our posts and conversations will all be collected here.
Which edition should I read?
Shirley Jackson is published by Penguin in both the UK and the USA. I’ll be reading the Penguin Modern Classics edition:
If you’re in the USA, you have a choice: the regular Penguin Classics edition has an introduction by Laura Miller (which you can also read here).
Otherwise you could choose one of two special edition reprints: the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, with cover artwork by Aron Wiesenfeld, or the hardback Penguin Horror edition, part of a series curated by Guillermo del Toro.
What if I don’t want to read it?
If you don’t want to read The Haunting of Hill House, you can opt out of our read-along emails and conversation. Just follow this link to your settings and under Notifications slide the toggle next to ‘The Haunting of Hill House’. A grey toggle means you will not receive emails relating to this title.
If you buy a copy of The Haunting of Hill House through Bookshop.org, Read the Classics will earn a commission from your purchase. Thank you in advance for your support!
On to chapter 2 now.
But I must say, the first line in chapter one freaked me out .
Bought a copy yesterday! Really looking forward to this