Haunting of Hill House, The

The Haunting of Hill House is an American novel of the supernatural thriller genre with an emphasis on themes involving ghosts and haunted houses. The book was written by Shirley Jackson and published by Viking Press in both hardcover and paperback formats in 1959. The premise of the book involves a research group led by Doctor John Montague who challenges several volunteers to spend the night at the legendary Hill House in the hopes of establishing measurable evidence of the supernatural.

Characters

 * John Montague
 * Eleanor Vance
 * Luke Sanderson
 * Mister Dudley
 * Mrs. Dudley
 * Theodora

Locales

 * Hill House

Items

 * Automobile

Miscellaneous

 * Ghosts
 * Haunted house
 * Possession
 * Suicide

Notes & Trivia

 * The book was adapted into a feature film in 1963 titled The Haunting, which was directed by Robert Wise.


 * The book was adapted again in 1999 in a film, also called The Haunting by director Jan De Bont.


 * A television series, bearing the full title The Haunting of Hill House began airing in 2018. It draws inspiration and some details from the novel, but it is largely a unique story involving the fabled haunted house and its long-term affects on its occupants.


 * This book came out the same year as Robert Bloch's Psycho. Both books were adapted into films in the 1960s and yielded less-than-stellar remakes in the 1990s.


 * Author Shirley Jackson also wrote the short story "The Lottery", which inspired a storyline during the final stretch of episodes from the original Dark Shadows television series.