Hill House is an 80 year-old mansion built by long-deceased Hugh Crain. The story concerns four main characters: Dr. John Montague, an investigator of the supernatural; Eleanor Vance, a shy young woman who resents having lived as a recluse caring for her demanding invalid mother; Theodora, a flamboyant, bohemian, possibly lesbian artist; and Luke Sanderson, the young heir to Hill House, who is also the host to the others. Dr. Montague hopes to find scientific evidence of the existence of the supernatural. He rents Hill House for a summer and invites as his guests several people whom he has chosen because of their past experience with paranormal events. Of these, only Eleanor and Theodora accept. All four of the inhabitants begin to experience strange events while in the house, including unseen noises and ghosts roaming the halls at night, strange writing on the walls and other unexplained events. Eleanor tends to experience phenomena to which the others are oblivious. At the same time, Eleanor may be losing touch with reality...
A finalist for the National Book Award, The Haunting of Hill House is considered as one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, even by stalwarts like Stephen King. It has been made into two feature films, a TV series and a play. Jackson's novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion in the reader, utilizing complex relationships between the mysterious events in the house and the characters' psyches. A must read!
