La maledicció de Hill House (1959)

While this review indicates a 2019 read date, I have read it each year since for the month of Halloween.

I first found out about this from a Nostalgia Critic video, before the scandal. I was shocked--this book that non-horror fans raved about was by the same author as one of the scariest books I'd read? Instantly, I got it from the library. I was expecting something I didn't get, which was sad for me because haunted house horror (unintentional alliteration, woo!) is where it's at for me. Still, the creeps ran up my spine and the hair on my neck stood up. I startled easily for a day or so, It was unsettling in ways that added up, but not the slow dread leading to terror I'd hoped for. Now, was my second time reading it. I had a different view of Eleanor and liked Theo way more. Rereading the introduction was still awesome. I did feel like there was symbolism and social commentary I was missing, but that's a me thing. The dialogue wasn't of its day, but of the 1800s in a lot of ways. It was kind of jarring, but kind of dreamy, but in great ways. I continue to admire and get a lot out of the late author's writings. I'm so glad. ( )

Probably the premiere and certainly the model for the "haunted house" story (meaning the house is malevolent, not that it is full of ghosts). Hill House is really the protagonist here. More a psychological supernatural menace than any physical menace but there are lots of poltergeist-y goings on. However in a most psychological way these are largely dependent on the receptivity of the individual and presumably directed at each resident by the house itself. By this I mean one striking phenomena might happen to one or two of the house's temporary inhabitants while being totally un-sensed by others.

We can tell that the mousy and clearly unstable Eleanor is going to become a so-called permanent resident in that prior to her arrival at Hill House she hasn't really belonged anywhere and has nowhere to really return to. The House seems to sense this almost immediately and it becomes, as repugnant as it is to the others, her first real "home." ( )

Despite its apparent critical acclaim, I was disappointed in this work.

I found the characters to be artificial, and the never ending banter among them tedious if not sometimes annoying. While the general concept is appealing, characters’ responses to the various phenomenon which occur is often odd if not inexplicable- terrifying night time events are greeted the next morning with an odd form of humor and apprehension.

On a positive note, the ending was interesting although several loose ends were never addressed. ( )

4,5 stars. A perfectly creepy little book. From what I have heard about the Netflix show, the book is different. The book is about the continued haunting of the house after the family long abadoned it and a doctor who is trying to prove the reality of ghosts and his assistants who volunteered to assist him. Once I realized that the book existed and was written by Shirley Jackson, I knew I had to read it. I enjoy her prose very much, and have since high school. ( )

Fuori fuoco, vuoto e contrastato.
Non potevo descrivere altrimenti questo libro.

Scritto divinamente, divertente nella sua ironia da commedia e decisamente leggero come libro.

Però mi aspettavo qualcosa di davvero diverso.
Mi aspettavo brividi, terrore, soprannaturale.
No.
Praticamente niente del genere.
Bello e intenso ma non è un romanzo gotico, non è una storia di fantasmi e non è un romanzo che fa paura.

Consigliato a chi vuol leggere qualcosa di diverso dal solito, spassoso e rilassato.

Chiaramente la Jackson si riconferma una scrittrice di talento e originale che ci è stata portata via tropo presto e recupererò anche La lotteria, ma non mi faccio aspettative stavolta.

Leggi la mia recensione su instagram, metti mi piace e aggiungimi, se vuoi!

linktr.ee/louchobi ( )