Others: Overwhelmingly positive First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers— and soon, it will choose one of them to make its own.
Genres: horror
Lists: …
Shirley Jackson
1962 · 189 pages · 14 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveShirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
What made the match, strongest first
Sarah Waters
2009 · 512 pages · 2 reviews
Others: Leaning positiveAbundantly atmospheric and elegantly told, The Little Stranger is Sarah Waterss most thrilling and ambitious novel yet. After her award-winning trilogy of victorian novels, sarah waters turned to the 1940s and wrote the night watch, a tender and tragic novel set against the backdrop of wartime britain shortlisted for both the orange and the man booker, it went straight to number one in the bestseller chart in a dusty post-war summer in rural warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at hundreds hall home to the ayres family for over two centuries, the georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine but are the ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life little does dr faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his prepare yourself from this wonderful writer who continues to astonish us, now comes a chilling ghost story.
What made the match, strongest first
Anne Rice
1672 · 346 pages · 7 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveThis is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are. Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined. Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power.
What made the match, strongest first
Mark Z. Danielewski
1998 · 736 pages · 21 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveNothing, in all it's entirety.
What made the match, strongest first
Josh Malerman
2001 · 149 pages · 8 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveIn an apocalyptic near-future world, a mother and her two small children are followed as they make their way down a river, blindfolded, in order to avoid seeing a terrifying entity. The plot contains profanity and graphic violence.
What made the match, strongest first
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
1892 · 34 pages · 2 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveSpecially printed limited edition release for the Miskatonic Literary Society.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itThe Haunting of Hill House is arguably the classic American haunted house novel, but on the other hand, it's not your average haunted house story. Instead, it's a deeply ambiguous portrayal of a woman's descent into either madness or possession.
Loved itI really thought I was getting a spooky scary story. But what I got was a much more mature human story.
Loved itThe Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson. I've only read Haunting of Hill House, but I thought it was superb.
Loved itthis novel is about a woman desperate to live her life but she just does not know how and isn't that all of us
Loved itshirley jackson is a wonderful writer i've only read two of her books but both of them are in this list
Loved iti think shirley jackson is a fantastic writer there's so much suspense and claustrophobia and intrigue and eeriness to this book that i just love it
Loved itactually it was amazing like I listened to the audiobook and it's so cool the things that the show drew from the book
Loved itI thought one of the best parts of this book although I do find it very scary were the sound effects that were added and also the banter between the characters which I found really funny
