Hell House
£5.20
For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of almost unimaginable horror and depravity. Two previous expeditions to investigate its secrets met with disaster, the participants destroyed by murder, suicide or insanity.
Now a new investigation brings four strangers to the forbidding mansion who are determined to probe Belasco House for the ultimate secrets of life and death. Each has his or her own reason for daring the unknown torments and temptations of the mansion, but can any soul survive what lurks within the most haunted house on Earth?
“Hell House is the scariest haunted house novel ever written. It looms over the rest the way the mountains loom over the foothills.” — Stephen King
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Additional information
| Publisher | Gateway (13 Oct. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1728 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 309 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 0312868855 |
by Alice
I loved this book! It really set the tone for the types of horrors I love to read and it is irrevocably, a horror house. I’ve given it 4 stars as I felt the ending was a bit of a mish-mash and was probably the most predictable part of the book. Whereas, the rest of it is full of unexpected horrors that absolutely make you hold your breath! So worth the read!
by D3X1AN
A classic haunted house theme, written in a way that truly conveys the fear of the lead character. Whilst the book starts out well, setting the scene and introducing the haunted characters of the story the middle builds on the tension and suspense and makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read, on which I found myself struggling to put down and making sure I picking the book back up at the earliest possible time.
Then we move on to the back third of the book where there seems to be an expedience of finishing the story rather than fleshing it out and providing more for the reader, the final few chapters felt rushed and leaving me wanting more from them with unanswered questions and many “huh, is that it?” thoughts.
Overall I did really enjoy the novel, Richard Matheson has a very engaging writing style and this shows throughout the book, the final third aside. Those who are fans of the thriller/suspense/horror genres should get a good level of enjoyment from this. Having read a number of Richard Matheson’s books, this isn’t his best but I still consider it a good read and one I go back to every now and then.
by Yvette R.
Really enjoyed this book. Highly recommend, keeps you on your toes. Gutted it’s finished….loved the whole suspense of the story.
by Marc
I gave this book a 3 star review mainly because I expected more. It started off with more promise than it actually had. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the journey, it certainly contained all the things I like in a story. The beginning and middle had some tense situations and stress inducing moments. With it being an older tale, there isn’t an awful lot new for horror aficionados’.
by Al
Hell House is a classic haunted house story, I was surprised by what actually scared me in the book! Yes, it’s a bit dated, but enjoyable nonetheless. I finished it in a day.
by Jon Ferguson
This is the first Richard Matheson novel I have read and it did not disappoint. Not only is it very spooky, it also.keeps you guessing right up to the end….is He’ll House really haunted, it is it simple a case of group psychosis? Are you team sceptic or team believer? Expertly written and with a conclusion befitting of this mind bending tale of horror!
by Lark
I give this book a solid four stars, it misses five stars as Matheson’s material is generally a cut above most writers, or so I think as a confirmed fan, and this is good but in constrast to some of his other books more average. That said, it is much, much better to any of the other “Haunting of…” books, including Hill House and the recent screen adaptations.
What I enjoyed the most was the contrasting group of investigators in which Matheson has entering the haunted house. Drawn to the house each for a mix of person reasons and money promised by its owner in exchange for evidence of “survival”, ie ghosts, there is a veteran psychic, a second psychic and a more aged academic type parapsychologist accompanied by his wife.
I really, really liked the contrasting of the spiritualist / psychic ideas and explanations for poltergheist and haunting activity and that provided by the parapsychologist. The one considering that they are sensitive to phenomenon external to themselves inhabiting the house, possessing an independent will, the other considering that the phenomenon is a product of their own minds exteriorized through environmental factors.
Its probable that you could enjoy the book if this did not interest you, there is good character building, a good “mystery” type plot, building to a final reveal in almost a “cluedo” or “whodunnit” fashion. Its just that this aspect of the book really did interest me and I was aware that Matheson had an interest in and researched these things quite a bit himself, I think writing elsewhere about theosophy and spiritualism. As with other Matheson titles that I have enjoyed I like his style and the pace of narrative, not dull bits at the beginning, middle or ending.
Something of a warning perhaps, the story does feature a sexually perverted villain, the house which is haunted has a shocking “trauma history” of sexual perversity, of to excesss and “decadent” styling. Also mentioned are the abuse of drugs, alcohol, gluttony / disordered eating.
The book is no “120 Days of Sodom”, although that story is referenced as an example of Hell House’s deserved ill reputate, however, there are one or two scenes which readers may find distasteful or disturbing (honestly, I did not think that, one of them at least, was that well written, which was my only really issue with it as its relevent to the plot at the point it is featured).
The issue with the printing, which another reviewer mentioned, I did notice myself, although the copy which I had was never illegable and the inking did not prove too distracting. Its really great to see a popular copy of this in circulation again, not Matheson’s best but definitely as good as many other ghost stories and I thought a good read anyway.
by Sharron Joy Reads
The Belasco House is renowned for its haunting, once the home of a depraved man who encouraged his guests to participate in the worst excesses of humanity, it now sits like a demon in the landscape shrouded in mist and awaiting its next victim. Every investigation has ended in violence and death and now a new team are sent into find its secrets.
I can imagine this was controversial when it was released in the 70’s, some of the imagery is still shocking and explicit. It starts with building the atmosphere, introducing the characters and the house, then the hauntings start and become ever more violent and deviant as the story unfolds.
The parapsychologist, Dr Barratt who sees everything in purely scientific terms, his wife, Edith, younger, dependent and vulnerable. Then there are the two mediums, Florence who wants to save the trapped souls and Fischer who survived the house as a teenager. All of them have been offered money to find the secrets of the house and all have different motives for agreeing to stay for the 7 day experiment.
Both of the women experience sadistic carnal attacks especially Florence who suffers a bombardment of brutality. This is a great horror although the ending fell flat for me but still , there was enough action to keep the pace and revelations constant.