If you’re an avid Netflix watcher and horror fanatic, you should be familiar with the popular 2018 horror show, A Haunting Of Hill House. The tale of a small town family with many difficulties of their own, who come together after a tragedy that hits too close to home.
As children, they resided in their new family home, Hill House. Their parents were set on fixing up the home and reselling, until misfortune began to unfold causing family trauma that would last decades. I won’t give away any spoilers in case you’re planning on watching but the moral of the story is, if you’re looking for a good spooky TV show to watch, this one is it. Although if you’ve read the book and are expecting the same story to unfold, you’re mistaken.
Now, if you’re familiar with the Netflix series, you may also know that the show itself is based off of the late 1950’s novel by Shirly Jackson, also named A Haunting of Hill House. The characters in the Netflix series are loosely based off of the characters from the book, residing in the same Hill House, as well as sharing the same names and loosely fitting the same personalities. The Novel though, is centered around the main character, Eleanor, who has the chance to be part of a notorious doctors experiment to catch paranormal happenings within the house. Granted, the doctor only chooses people who have experienced these happenings at least once in their lives. Along with Eleanor, Dr. John Montague invites three other’s to the infamous house to reside for the summer. The guests include Eleanor, Luke, and Theodora. All three of the individuals ultimately become close within the one week they stay at Hill House.
If you’re like me and you’ve watched the Netflix series first, without knowing there was a novel behind it’s storyline, you might be expecting the same story to unfold within the pages of the book. This is a misconception on the consumers part. The show is mainly supported to be a haunting ghost story with a small underlying psychological horror tucked in beneath its production, and the book is entirely a psychological horror itself. Do yourself the favor of reading the novel and experience a completely different outlook on the story of Hill House.