fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3952 ]

[ SECRET POST #3952 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3952 ⌋

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Notes:

Really early, sorry!

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Hey all, I overslept and looks like secrets went up early! I'm going to get a bit of breakfast and open my laptop and write out some of my thoughts in a couple minutes. In the mean time feel free to share yours!

So, my thoughts...

My thoughts are not numerous. I'm not quite sure what I expected from this book, but it didn't do anything particularly exciting or outlandish. I did expect it to be a harder or more tedious read than it was; it wasn't really difficult to get through. I enjoyed it more at the beginning, when I was anticipating what might happen, but the actual "scary" parts were a bit of a letdown.

I think maybe that has more to do with me than the book - I'm not good at visualizing things and I'm definitely not good at abstract thinking, so psychological horror in a fictional setting that's described rather vaguely is just kind of "...huh? ok" to me. In general I guess I don't really get the appeal of horror books largely for that reason - they're often just kind of boring. The book wasn't badly written at all, and I rather liked the author's style, but there was no plot to speak of outside of the first few chapters and the last few pages. I guess we were supposed to follow Eleanor's crazed descent into the clutches of the house, but so much of what happened to her was left open to interpretation. Did the house possess her? Was it all in her own mind? How much was imagined vs real? Obviously not all of it was real, since things like the house starting to come down around them couldn't have happened unless it magically repaired itself.

Most of the characters irritated me. In the end the only one I really liked was Dr. Montague, and that only in a vague sort of way - I didn't particularly like him so much as I didn't dislike him. I guess I also kind of liked Mr. Dudley, for the atmosphere she added to the house and the occasional humor, but I was disappointed she didn't turn out herself to be a possession of the house, which was sort of what I was suspecting of her early on. I guess maybe she might have been if she didn't sleep away from the house. Luke was somewhat charming at first but later on just kind of...boring? and Eleanor's assessment of him as selfish and immature was spot on. He reminded me of some people I know IRL, men who are in their 20s and ostensibly adults but aren't actually very grown up. Theodora I liked quite a lot early on, but she was such a massive jerk to Eleanor later :/ though I wonder if any of that was also the house. Or maybe she was just a backstabbing queen bee. I shipped her and Eleanor for a little while; it's too bad that didn't pan out. (Did anyone else really get the vibe that Theo was not gay or bi? The book was written in the 50s, so it had to be heavily coded. Maybe just me.)

Mrs. Montague and Arthur were both completely obnoxious, but I suppose they were written to be that way.

At the end I was honestly rooting for Eleanor to stay at the house and become completely possessed and go around scaring the bejeezus out of everyone else. Like that was the happy ending I wanted. It would have been better than what actually happened too. (Though maybe Eleanor's ghost will hang around? Doesn't matter much, I guess, since everyone else apparently left right after, and I don't see the Dudleys being much perturbed, especially not at night.)

How does everyone else feel about it? How do you feel about the characters? Did you get any chills or fear while reading? Personally I'd like to see at least one of the movies now that the book is based on; maybe with the sound and visuals the creepy effect will work a little better...

I really like the book personally, but I can see why it might not have worked for you. I definitely was scared by it - all of the really intense psychological stuff *does* work for me, quite a bit, and I was able to get really into it. Similarly, the ambiguity in what we see - how much of it is Eleanor's perception, how much of it is the house driving Eleanor insane, how much of it is objectively haunting - all of that worked for me really well. And also just the atmosphere of the house - the description, for instance, of stuff like doors being unable to stay open, and things like that, and the really intense feeling of isolation in the scenes where the characters are all holed up in one room trying to pretend to be happy. It really carried across a feeling of intense psychological horror to me. It felt like the house was evil, I thought that aspect was really well done.

With regards to the characters, I think the most important character is Eleanor, and I thought she was really well done - a very sympathetic character, especially at the beginning, wanting to be free to start her own life. And that really helped me get into the horror aspect of the novel as well - because I identified with Eleanor to a certain extent, I got really caught up in her descent into the clutches of the house. With regards to the other characters, I do think that a certain amount of Theodora and Luke coming across as bitch was a result of Eleanor's perceptions being warped by the house - so much of that is interpretation - but there is definitely also some bitchiness there. Also, I'm pretty sure that Theodora being queer coded is intentional - I believe some of the adaptations actually make it explicit. Which is nice and interesting.

In general, I thought the book was really affecting, it definitely spooked me out, it had a really scary atmosphere, and I thought it was fantastically well written. I do come down on the side that there was a real haunting - the house was psychologically affecting the people inside it and causing them to act crazy and ultimately causing Eleanor to lose her mind, which I thought was a pretty tragic ending but also satisfying in its own way.

I don't know. I liked it a lot. I thought it was really well written and had a lot of cool ideas. But it's definitely a very psychological book, all about perceptions and Eleanor's subjective experience - not really plot-driven - so I can see how it might not have worked for you.

I agree a lot with your interpretation, especially of Eleanor as sympathetic and I loved her at the beginning when she was leaving and trying to start her new life.

Vagueness in general leaves me feeling unsatisfied, but I can see why the book is a classic and why it works for people who can get more easily into that kind of stuff. :) And yeah to some extent Luke and Theodora being jerks may have been from Eleanor's perspective, but it was their intentions she was warping, not their actual words, and some of the words were not nice.

The scary atmosphere could work much better for me if I were more absorbed, which is why I really want to watch one or both of the movies.

I appreciate your insight and detailed response. This is a good comment :)

Watch the 1963 version. It's good and quite creepy at times. The 1999 film makes the supernatural elements over the top and it's really silly rather than scary.

Also, just read that they're making a series for Netflix. Can't wait to see it.

And yeah to some extent Luke and Theodora being jerks may have been from Eleanor's perspective, but it was their intentions she was warping, not their actual words, and some of the words were not nice.

That's true. It's really hard to tell how much of it is Eleanor's perception being warped because of the house, how much of it is them being jerks, and how much of it is them being jerks because of the house.

I think, too, some of it was good-natured teasing that sounds malicious viewed from an extremely cynical lens.

One additional thought:

the house is the best haunted house in literature, and one of the top 5 best houses in literature

I agree. Out of curiosity, what are the other best houses in literature?

I don't know the full list. Bag End is definitely on the list. Dracula's Castle is probably on the list. The Burrow in Harry Potter I would argue for. Manderley in Rebecca.

Those are good houses!

I love it. It's my favorite haunted house novel. I agree with the other anon about Eleanor. She was sympathetic and I related to her desire to find a better life. I didn't like Luke much. I don't know whether I like Theodora. Sometimes she's fun but then she can be a jerk too.

I like to think that the haunting was real and not just in Eleanor's mind. That one scene with Theodora seems to imply that there was something there.

Which scene with Theodora?

I definitely think the haunting is real, and it's also more fun that way. But the house played with Eleanor's mind, so some of what she experienced might have been different from the others.

There was a scene where Theodora sees something and tells Eleanor to run and "don't look back!" We never find out what she saw, but it does show that whatever's happening isn't just in Eleanor's mind.

Right! I wish I could have seen what it was.

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[ SECRET POST #3952 ]

Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House

Re: Book club - October discussion - The Haunting of Hill House