‘The Haunting of Hill House’ might be the scariest book ever

‘The Haunting of Hill House’ might be the scariest book ever

In “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson, a crumbling old estate is the main character, with the people that reside under its roof playing supporting characters who are helpless to fight against the property’s evil energy. At the beginning of this slim novel, first out in 1959 (now published by Penguin Classics), an occult scholar named Dr. Montague arrives at the notorious house with two assistants in tow; outgoing Theodora and awkward Eleanor; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House.

The group is intent on studying the malicious energies within the house, blissfully unaware that the house has plans to claim one of them. What ensues is a smorgasbord of gothic offerings, beginning with the creepy caretakers, who leave the house each night as soon as it gets dark. “There won’t be anyone around if you need help,” the housekeeper Mrs. Dudley reminds them, “We couldn’t even hear you, in the night.”

There are sudden chills, strange smells, rickety staircases, screams and walls that become mysteriously spattered with blood in the middle of the night; everyone who sleeps there is inevitably wakened by the presence of something outside their door. And while they think they have autonomy over whether they stay or leave, the house is not unlike the Hotel California: You can set off down the driveway of Hill House, but you won’t actually be leaving the property.

The novel, widely recognized as a trendsetter in the genre, now comes to Netflix as a new horror series (the trailer is set to a spectacularly creepy piano version of the Crosby Stills Nash & Young classic “Our House.” (Two earlier adaptations exist: the 1963 film “The Haunting,”

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