The Haunting of Hill House
By: Shirley Jackson / Narrated By: Bernadette Dunne
Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
Spooooky…! Then Nuthin’…! Then spooooky again!
I’ve been a huuuuge fan of Shirley Jackson’s writing, esPECially her short stories (The woman has written some of the most emotionally devastating works out there!), and I do seem to recall reading The Haunting of Hill House in print when I was a teenager… and I was none too impressed, was mightily disappointed. Oh yeh yeh, the ending is a killer (NO spoilers, just sayin’ that Ms. Jackson can wind things up and knock an ending outta the park like nobody’s business), and there’s a weeee bit o’ good old fashioned Harrowing Episodes that occur in the Dead of Night (Naturally), but it’s just this, see…
Ms. Jackson totally has the atmosphere down, can write in episodes of frightening whatsis that occur at Hill House, but then?
Lemme go back to the beginning, as I see I’m ahead of myself in talking about generalities. Dr. Montague has sent out invitations to individuals who have experience with the paranormal but who aren’t showboats to come and spend all or part of the summer at Hill House—a house known for scary whatsis. He dangles the Maybe We’ll Have Spooky Encounters line, and surprise surprise: Most of the people he wrote think he’s creepy and don’t get back to him.
Except for two: Eleanor, an early 30-something woman whose mother just died after a leeeeengthy illness (And Eleanor cared for her, using up her youth and developing no marketable skills during that time), and Theodora, an artsy devil-may-care and up for anything kinda woman. Joining the women and Dr. Montague will be Luke, soon to inherit the house, and he just wants to see what’s up with the whole thing.
Okay, so nothing happens. And all are bored. Then BIG time scary things happen, and all hunker down, knuckles white as they hold on for dear life.
And then BIG time scary things stop and it’s, like, Ta-RAH: Is there any brandy about? How ‘bout some hot cocoa with your breakfast?
I mean seriously. Jackson writes of POUNding and NOIses and HAMmering and KNOCking upon walls and doors, and she totally had meeeee white-knuckling it. Our guests at Hill House, however? Oh they’re scared too… for, like, two minutes, and then it’s as tho’ nothing ever happened. It’s off to the next thing in an effort to dispel their ennui.
Bernadette Dunne is AWEsome as usual, and makes all that pounding and the creeping in the halls worthwhile, and while I always love her (Can’t think of a single thing that I’ve disliked of any of her narrations), I must admit that her voice for Eleanor had me wanting to smack Eleanor upside the head a time here or there. I know I know I know, Eleanor IS fragile and self-conscious and unsure, but I do think Dunne made her just a trifle too twittery to feel for. Other than that, Dunne’s voice has a certain huskiness that lends itself to shrieking and doors being battered by unquiet spirits, by the undead in general.
You looking for a good haunting this Halloween, or just kinda up for feeling freaked out? Nope, don’t try this one, you’d hate me if I recommended this as scaaaary. -Or- You looking for a good Shirley Jackson? Perhaps I might recommend you try We Have Always Lived in the Castle, also narrated by Bernadette Dunne (And awesomely so). You’ll have to wait until Halloween 2021 for The Lottery as I save my S. Jackson as treats for Halloween, and forgive me but I neglected to do one last year (We got overwhelmed with what we DID have going on for Halloween, soooo sorry!).
Still, considering this was published in 1959 when All Things Happy Pappy were the name of the day? Might I say that Ms. Jackson was quite ahead of her time, bolder ‘n brass, and boy, those endings!
Loved the ending here, and Ms. Dunne’s narration gave me not only horror but that it was a tragedy as well. And how cool is that?! There IS a saving grace, there IS!!!
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