A Haunting on the Hill: “Imbued with the same sense of dread and inevitability as Shirley Jackson’s original” NEIL GAIMAN
£14.20£16.10 (-12%)
SIXTY YEARS LATER, HILL HOUSE IS OCCUPIED AGAIN . . .
‘Scary and beautifully written, imbued with the same sense of dread and inevitability as Jackson’s original’ NEIL GAIMAN
‘A fitting – and frightening – homage to The Haunting of Hill House’NEW YORK TIMES
‘Disturbing and unforgettable’ GUARDIAN
‘It’s so vivid, full of totemic menace and with a heart-in-your-mouth, can’t-look-away frisson’ BRIDGET COLLINS
Discover the landmark first novel ever to return to Hill House, officially authorised by the Shirley Jackson estate.
‘Genuinely sinister and beautifully written’ ROSIE ANDREWS
‘Welcome back to Hill House. Read by daylight, and never alone’ ALIX E. HARROW
‘Hill House is back and as haunting as ever. Some of the most striking scares I’ve read in years’ ANA REYES
_______
Whatever walks there, no longer walks alone . . .
Playwright Holly Sherwin is close to her big break. Having received a grant to develop her new play, all she needs is time and space to bring her vision to life. Then on a weekend away, she stumbles upon Hill House – an ornate if crumbling gothic mansion, near-hidden outside a small town.
Soon Holly’s troupe of actors – each with ghosts of their own – arrive at Hill House for a creative retreat. But before long they find themselves at odds not just with one another, but with the house itself.
For something has been waiting patiently in Hill House all these years.
Something no longer content to walk alone.
_______
‘Evocative and unsettling, capturing the essence of the original whilst offering something brand new’ CARLY REAGON
‘A novel dripping in atmosphere and intrigue’ JOANNE BURN
‘As unnerving and disorienting as Hill House itself’ LAURA SHEPPERSON
‘A subtle and deeply unnerving ghost story’ AMANDA MASON
‘Creepy, tragic, and haunting. I tore through its pages’ VICTOR LaVALLE
‘Not a simple act of ventriloquism but a true marriage of minds’ DAN CHAON
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Additional information
| Publisher | Sphere (3 Oct. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 336 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1408729571 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1408729571 |
| Dimensions | 16 x 3.4 x 23.8 cm |
by AIMEE FERRIER
Very surprised this was given the green light by the Jackson estate. Very light-weight prose and thin in substance regarding characterisation and development of theme when compared to the original source material. The original delves deep into the psychology of its characters and uses the haunting of the house to explore ideas of isolation, paranoia and grief, while this novel focuses on a simpler reading of a haunted house and veers off, bizarrely, into witches. Paper-thin characterisation and some heavy-handed exposition.
by lovemurakami
Elizabeth Hand has been given official permission by Shirley Jackson’s estate to return to Hill House and I’m pleased to say she has created a fine follow up to Jackson’s iconic novel. When a struggling playwright stumbles upon Hill House, she finds herself drawn to it, deciding to rent it for a fortnight so that she and her mottley crew of friends/actors may rehearse which could be her breakthrough. However, Hill House starts to weave its’ dark spell upon the group.
This well crafted novel draws upon Jackson’s original and brings to it the same sense of unmitigated dread.
by Dabarai
This is an eerie and creepy story loosely connected with the original “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. Using a contemporary setting of a strange house in which a group of people gathers to rehearse a play, the author explores the fear of the unknown and the need to explain it. The book uses tropes of a horror story – a remote location, unreliable characters, scary house and fear that lingers around rather than being visible – but is not overly scary or in any way gory. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free ecopy of the book.
by SMW77
I really enjoyed this book, a continuation of Shirley Jackson’s classic. It seems slow at first, but I found that it creeps up on you like a sinister shadow & I quickly found that I couldn’t put it down.
There are however some character plot points that the author doesn’t finish exploring. A shame as I felt they could’ve contributed much more to the story & how the house effected them all.
Also, mere hints at hauntings in the past are vague and therefore a little frustrating.
But all in all it was an endearingly spooky read that I’d ultimately recommend.
by Jan Erlam
Very disappointing. Characters you cannot endear too. Nisa bursting into song was so irritating. Holly was annoying. This book was nothing on the original, long drawn out beginning, nothing really happening. The follow ups to great books prove a great disappointment and this is no exception. Give it a miss.
by Wen
Before I start my review I just need to say this is one of the most poorly marketed books I’ve ever come across. It’s said to be a follow on to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill house, this is completely false. This book is no where near the level of what Jackson did nor is it even remotely a sequel.compared to Jackson’s it’s underwhelming & not even impactful.. It’s just a book that’s been inspired by what Jackson wrote & completely separate.. I don’t understand why this was given the ok by the Jackson estate.
For me the books focus was more on outside influences than the house itself & the characters backgrounds more so too. I didn’t really like this… it took something away for me but I can’t put my finger on what exactly. The haunting is more based on the undercurrent of witchcraft … than the hauntings of the human mind or even the house!! A couple of times it’s hinted that the characters are mixing up fantasy & reality, I did like this but at the same time it felt like Hand was trying to make this too many things. The ambiguity that perhaps all the events at hill house are just hallucinations from drugs kills it for me.. At times hands hints this but at other times you start question is it more? The narration is unreliable.
I can’t say any of Jackson’s original themes or message was in this book.. (there’s small similarities regarding theme but they’re loose) considering this book is marketed as ‘return to the world of Shirley Jackson’ I understand Hands needs her own stamp but I thought at least some of it would pay homage to Jackson’s original message. It just feels completely separate. In the end it just felt like a book that took inspiration from Jackson’s Hill House but no where near a follow on.
The characters are absolutely insufferable. In short it’s just a bunch of narcissists. The more I went into the book the more I absolutely loathed them. The constant Morden day gen z references are absolutely cringe & also just kinda kill it too.
If you are going to attempt a sequel to one of the most influential horror books & writers you need to deliver & this failed on every level. I find it an insult quite frankly. Despite my many criticisms the book started off well (ignoring the characters) the description of the house, the feeling it evoked ( a little weak but still good) & the creeping sense of dread was good. It’s the deeper I went the story just seemed to be trying to be too many things & the focus wasn’t on the house as I mentioned. It did start off strong & the prose was lovely at times. Even if the book wasn’t marketed as a return to Jackson’s world I still don’t think I’d like it.. I wasn’t a fan of the story overall nor the characters… marketed as a separate book… it’s passable. This was one of my most anticipated releases & im so disappointed.
by GJ
What made Jackson’s original tale a masterpiece was the extent to which she conjured a truly convincing and haunting reality without crowding her canvas with the clichéd impedimenta of other ghost stories. Hand fails, therefore, to follow in her esteemed footsteps. So, a homage – and an undoubted page-turner – but not a work that rivals the stature of it’s inspiration.