Steve-Calvert.co.uk
Steve-Calvert.co.uk
A Passion For Horror
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'Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood for eighty years and might stand for eighty more.'
For a long time I had wanted to read The Haunting of Hill House, but I could never find it in any of the local book shops. When I enquired about it, I was told that it is not available in the UK. One shop did, however, offer to import a copy from the States. That sounded like a lot of hassle to me and I had a look on Amazon instead (I probably should have done that in the first place) and I got hold of a copy quite easily. Hill House, the reader is told, has a reputation for being haunted and when Dr. John Montague first hears about the house he is intrigued. Montague is a doctor of philosophy, but he has an active interest in the supernatural and so he decides to rent Hill House and live there for three months while he studies it. Montague engages two assistants to help him with his research: Eleanor and Theodora. A third assistant, Luke Sanderson, is forced upon the doctor by the house's present owner, who is Luke's aunt and wants to keep him out of trouble for a while. Luke, Mrs Sanderson, is quick to point out, has had the best education and has the best clothes, the best taste and the worst companions of anyone that she has ever known. He is also a liar and a thief. Theo has an outgoing and vibrant personality. She owns a shop and is good at sketching; she also seems to enjoy being the centre of attention. The thing about Theo that Montague finds most worthy of his attention is the fact that his tests have shown her to have a very high level of ESP. It is also hinted, early on in the story, that Theo is a lesbian. She does seem to get quite cosy with Luke later on in the book, though, and I got the impression that she probably swings both ways. Eleanor Vance is a slightly sad character and is a very different kettle of fish from Theo. Eleanor has spent most of her life looking after her ailing mother, who is now dead. When her mother died, Eleanor's sister, Carrie, insisted that their mother's house be sold and the money be split between them. That made Eleanor homeless and so she had to go and live with her sister and brother-in-law and their children. Eleanor and Carrie also bought a car together, but Eleanor is hardly ever allowed to use it and so she feels that she has every right to use the car (for a change) to drive to Hill House. Unfortunately, Carrie refuses to part with what she refers to as 'her car.' "It's half my car," Eleanor reminds her, and also points out that Carrie and her family are going away for the summer and so won't need the car. Carrie is having none of it, though, and neither is her husband. Eleanor is not going to take Carrie's car and that is all that there is to it. Eleanor rebels. She sneaks away and steals the car that she co-owns with her sister. Good for her! The situation with the car paints a picture of the way Nell's life has been: walked over and overruled. Eleanor's life has been a sad and lonely one (wasted?) and her opinion seems to be of little importance to her remaining family. If anything she is perhaps the convenience sister. In fact, with no real life of her own, Nell seems to rely heavily on a fantasy one to try and fill the hole inside her with. When she arrives at Hill House it is probably the first time that she has felt accepted or wanted. Hill House itself also seems to take a special interest in her, which is frightening for Nell and has devastating consequences. The Haunting of Hill House is 246 pages long and was first published in 1959. Although it was written a relatively long time ago, the story doesn't have a particularly dated feel to it. The characters are lively and believable and it is easy to sympathise with the lead character, Nell. Some of the characters are very likable. A few of them, though, are suitably obnoxious. Montague's wife, who whisks into the story in the later pages of the book, is in this latter category. She is a very overbearing and annoying woman, and I couldn't help but wonder about the untold story: what was their life together like? The Haunting of Hill House is quite a dark story (that is one scary old house!), but the prose has a light and airy feel to it that makes the book an easy and enjoyable read. It is one of the best haunted house stories that I have ever read and is not only chilling but a true classic that every fan of dark fiction should try and read at least once. |
