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rodent_scribbles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Shirley Jackson's take on the haunted house, not as a mere site of tragedy, but as a character that is itself evil on its own is beautifully executed.
Definitely a more psychological horror where the presence is more felt than seen that might not appeal to everyone but I enjoyed it.
The characters are interesting and Jackson's prose is fantastic.
Highly recommend this book for fans of Gothic and psychological ghost stories.
Definitely a more psychological horror where the presence is more felt than seen that might not appeal to everyone but I enjoyed it.
The characters are interesting and Jackson's prose is fantastic.
Highly recommend this book for fans of Gothic and psychological ghost stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Chronic illness, Car accident, Suicide, and Death of parent
monicaa_d's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can see why this is a classic. It's timeless, creepy, and engaging. Eleanor is relatable, but as the story progresses the reader gets thrown into the uncertainty of an unreliable narrator and is left to wonder what's real. The tension builds throughout the book, and it manages to be scary without body horror or actual injury. It's terrifying in the way a haunted house is- no one touches you, but the threat feels looming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Suicide, Blood, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
madelinequinnee's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I picked this up because i’m a huge fan of the Mike Flanagan TV adaptation, but i knew this wasn’t really going to be much like the show. I did enjoy noticing little things that were included in the show, such as the cup of stars, the Grattan poem and the quotes that were used throughout.
I did find this slightly boring but i think that’s more because i’m not a huge fan of classics. The writing, however, was beautiful.
I did find this slightly boring but i think that’s more because i’m not a huge fan of classics. The writing, however, was beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Suicide, and Car accident
lizdaniii's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide and Car accident
Minor: Death of parent and Death
writteninmagic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Blood, Car accident, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, and Alcohol
beccaperson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Blood, and Suicide
dev921's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Suicide, and Medical content
poirot's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Toxic friendship, and Car accident
Moderate: Alcohol
charleyyyyy's review
5.0
🩶I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was always entertained while reading, and always excited to pick it up again.
🩶I LOVE personified houses!! I love it when the house itself is a charicter in the story, and Hill House had such a personality! I love the descriptions on how the house was built, with everything being slightly out of proportion, and the spiral like structure, it gave the house such a unique and vivid feel. The way the house sucks in the charicters, to the point where there is no sense of the outside world anymore, and a feeling of not being able to escape, realy added to the spooky atmosphere.
🩶And what a spooky atmosphere it was! There is a constant sense of immanent doom, from the very begining, you know that something bad is coming, and I love that in books.
🩶However, it was never scary. Plenty spooky, but not frightening. I wanted it to give more in that regard, especially with where the story went at the end. I feel like it could have gotten so much scarier and delved so much deeper into the creepy elements of the story, but it just didn't. I found that a little unsatisfying.
🩶The charicters were great. Each of them had such a strong, distinct voice and personality. It was interesting to see how their relationships to each other changed during their stay at Hill House because of the creepy things going on.
🩶Eleanore's charicter development was great but, again, with where the story went towards the end, I feel like it could have been taken so much farther than it was.
🩶The plot built slowly, with tension being added with every page, you could always feel that it was creeping towards the climax. It was very charicter based, with the main focus being on the charicters feelings and mentality towards the situation. There is alot more time spent with the charicters having converstsions about the creepy things going on, than actual creepy things happening. I enjoyed that though, as I prefer charicter based story's.
🩶I have never seen any TV adaptations of this book, so I have nothing to compare the book to. From what I've heard they're quite different so I'm glad I've read the book first.
🩶I would recommend this book if you want a ghost story that's not too scary, and don't mind a slow, charicter based plot.
🩶I gave this book 5 stars just bc of how much I enjoyed reading it.
🩶I LOVE personified houses!! I love it when the house itself is a charicter in the story, and Hill House had such a personality! I love the descriptions on how the house was built, with everything being slightly out of proportion, and the spiral like structure, it gave the house such a unique and vivid feel. The way the house sucks in the charicters, to the point where there is no sense of the outside world anymore, and a feeling of not being able to escape, realy added to the spooky atmosphere.
🩶And what a spooky atmosphere it was! There is a constant sense of immanent doom, from the very begining, you know that something bad is coming, and I love that in books.
🩶However, it was never scary. Plenty spooky, but not frightening. I wanted it to give more in that regard, especially with where the story went at the end. I feel like it could have gotten so much scarier and delved so much deeper into the creepy elements of the story, but it just didn't. I found that a little unsatisfying.
🩶The charicters were great. Each of them had such a strong, distinct voice and personality. It was interesting to see how their relationships to each other changed during their stay at Hill House because of the creepy things going on.
🩶Eleanore's charicter development was great but, again, with where the story went towards the end, I feel like it could have been taken so much farther than it was.
🩶The plot built slowly, with tension being added with every page, you could always feel that it was creeping towards the climax. It was very charicter based, with the main focus being on the charicters feelings and mentality towards the situation. There is alot more time spent with the charicters having converstsions about the creepy things going on, than actual creepy things happening. I enjoyed that though, as I prefer charicter based story's.
🩶I have never seen any TV adaptations of this book, so I have nothing to compare the book to. From what I've heard they're quite different so I'm glad I've read the book first.
🩶I would recommend this book if you want a ghost story that's not too scary, and don't mind a slow, charicter based plot.
🩶I gave this book 5 stars just bc of how much I enjoyed reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Suicide, Death of parent, and Car accident
Minor: Child death
vetalayta's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Suicide