My fellow Spirit of Cecilian, the brilliant and prolific Bradley Birzer, recently posted a fine essay on SubStack on the excellence of Shirley Jackson’s classic horror novel, The Haunting of Hill House. It was so interesting, I decided to read it myself. Besides, it’s Halloween season!

The story is narrated by 32-year-old Eleanor Vance, who is unmarried and has spent the past eleven years caring for her ailing mother. Her mother has recently passed away, and now she lives with her sister, her brother-in-law, and their children in a very unhappy arrangement. Desperate to strike out on her own, but too timid to do anything about it, Eleanor receives, out of the blue, a letter from a Dr. John Montague, who is doing research on psychical/supernatural phenomena. He is aware of a nearby house, Hill House, that has stood empty for years due to its very dark and troubling history.

To read the full review, click here.