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The Haunting of Hill House

post #1 of 15
10/25/08 at 12:14am
Thread Starter 
Okay, so we've been talking about this on the horror book thread, but I thought I'd start a thread strictly about this book. For anyone who wants to join - it is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Dh picked up my copy on Thursday night, and I read a little today. I'm just about to tuck the kids in and get a good chunk of reading done. I'll be back when I'm ready to discuss.
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post #2 of 15
10/25/08 at 12:18am
I love this book. I think the opening paragraph is one of the best story openers ever.
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post #3 of 15
10/25/08 at 2:45pm
Thanks for starting the thread! Yesterday was a crazy day for me, but I should be able to get a lot read today.
I'll check back in later.
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post #4 of 15
10/25/08 at 8:27pm
Thread Starter 
Okay, I'm a little over halfway, and I am really enjoying this book. It's starting to get really good and creepy! We're taking the munchkins to a movie tonight, but hopefully I'll get some time to read when I get home.
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post #5 of 15
10/26/08 at 12:45pm
Thread Starter 
Okay, I'm done. I can definitely see how it was the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining. The writing seemed purposefully disjointed in places just magnifying the disjointedness of the house. I loved Eleanor's slow descent into madness - creepy. I found myself wishing that the house would take a disliking to Mrs. Montague!

I'll be back to discuss more...
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post #6 of 15
10/27/08 at 3:33pm
I finished it last night. Wow - is was pretty creepy. I agree about parts of it being disjointed. She did an amazing job of building the tension throughout the whole book. I also like how the house just is bad - there wasn't a real reason and they didn't "fix" it. I am glad I finally read it. And she did such a great job making the characters come to life! I just hated Mrs. Montague and Eleanor's sister.
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post #7 of 15
10/27/08 at 3:37pm
I read it, but like any book where more than a year has passed, I don't remember much of it. I have images, however, and I remember the feeling of creepiness. I actually wrote a review of it on epinions--I should go back and read it, and see what I said.
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post #8 of 15
10/27/08 at 5:47pm
The ending was sooo creepy, left me very unnerved. .
An excellent book!
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post #9 of 15
10/27/08 at 7:33pm
Mrs. Montague absolutely cracks me up -- you'd think that would derail the book entirely, all that comic relief, but Jackson just cranks the fear right back up as soon Mrs. M departs. It's masterful.
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post #10 of 15
11/1/08 at 1:00am
The "hand-holding" scene is so scary! BRRRR!
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post #11 of 15
11/3/08 at 12:14am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Petronella View Post
The "hand-holding" scene is so scary! BRRRR!
Yes - it was so creepy! "Whose hand was I holding?" Freaky!!!
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post #12 of 15
11/3/08 at 12:38am
A little OT, but have any of you read Jackson's Life Among the Savages? If not, what a kick! I would never have believed that the author of so much creepy stuff could write so hilariously about parenthood.
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post #13 of 15
3/29/09 at 9:25pm
just put this in my library hold list...
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post #14 of 15
4/18/09 at 2:57am
creepy! Can we still discuss this book? I know it's been a while...I just finished it and can't get to sleep!!!
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post #15 of 15
4/27/09 at 6:16pm
Ooh. I'm subscribing so I can come back and chat about this. I haven't read it yet though...
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