"The House Was Vile. She Shivered And Thought, The Words Coming Freely Into Her Mind, Hill House Is Vile, It Is Diseased; Get Away From Here At Once"

The Haunting of Hill House is in the books (no pun intended).

Like most people, I first read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson a very long time ago. I don't even remember when, I just know that I've known this story and it has been a part of my memory as long as I can recall. And I remember being very drawn to the dark, subversive, and very unexplained feeling to the story. And in her masterful way, Jackson brings that same feeling to The Haunting of Hill House. There is a strong psychological element to the way the story is told - there is as much going on in the characters' minds as there is action going on in the storyline.

The book is about Dr. Montague, a researcher of paranormal activity, who invites a few guests to stay with him for a while at a supposedly haunted house. Those guests include a relative of the house's owner, Luke, a flighty, kind of free-spirit, Theodora, and a shy, sheltered woman, Eleanor (Theodora and Eleanor chosen to come based on their documented histories with unusual, paranormal events). The story is told from the perspective of Eleanor, who has always wanted to live a life different than the one she was dealt, having taken care of her ill mother for many years and not having a good relationship with her sister.

At the base of it, the book is a good, old fashioned ghost story. The group of visitors experience many encounters with the forces who inhabit the house, from banging on bedroom doors, to mysterious voices in the night, to writing in blood on the walls. Eleanor initially despises the house, but little by little, become psychologically entrenched and attached to it. She begins to understand and feel where the house is coming from, and the house certainly seems to be targeting her to stay as well.

There are also a lot of very complicated dynamics between the characters, especially Eleanor and Theodora. They immediately take to each other like sisters (similar to the sisters who lived in the house long ago, which Theodora mentions many times throughout the book), but as the house begins to affect them, they come to be very distrustful and even cruel to each other. But so much of the character dynamics were done is such a subtle way, it isn't handed to the reader. You really have to read a lot into what is going on between them against the backdrop of the insanity of how the house is affecting their psyche.

Would definitely recommend it for a quick, scary book read. Not many do It better than Shirley Jackson.

I'm taking a quick break from the book lists to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Yeah, I know, I know. I'm not a fan of reading books that are the "book of the moment" and I like to discover the books that I read by kind of coming across them organically. But like I said, I'm a sucker for a good mystery, whodoneit book, and from what I've read, this book sounds like it's pretty darn good. So I'm guessing it should probably be a quick read; I'm sure I'll get sucked into it and won't be able to put it down. After that, it's on to Shakespeare, I swear this time.

240 books to go.