REVIEW: Hell House

Hell House
Author: Richard Matheson

I absolutely love the early 70's movie version of this book, The Legend of Hell House with Roddy McDowell. But I never read the book it was based on. Following the spirit of my challenge to myself this year to read more books that I've always wanted to read but never have....I decided to delve into the evil that is Hell House. I have to admit that I saw the actors from the movie in my head as I read this story. I'm not sure I like the mixing of so much cheesy horror with what might have been a great haunted house tale. It worked in a cheesy 70's movie....not so much for the original book, in my opinion. I enjoyed the story......but I would have enjoyed it more had the plot just ..... not tried too hard. That's the best way I can word it. 

This story definitely brings a 1960's/early 1970's horror movie feel to the classic haunted house story. Lots of strange biofeedback-type pseudoscience reigning here, but it does make for a spooky and strangely demented story. The basics: Dr Lionel Barrett is a physicist. With backing from a wealthy (and terminally ill) patron, he heads an expedition to a haunted house. Not just any haunted house -- the last group that went into the Belasco House was almost entirely annihilated and the house was sealed for decades. The house is evil....evil caused by years of extreme debauchery and wickedness. Lionel wants to prove that the supernatural is not some magical spiritual thing, but a testable form of residual energy instead. It's good vs evil.....and science vs supernatural. Turns out that the house isn't amused.....

The over-the-top explanations of the evil doings of the original property owner took this story from scary to almost ridiculous. And the ridiculous origins led into cheesy displays of supernatural shenanigans ranging from ectoplasm to horny ghosts. Like I said earlier...for me, the plot just tried too hard. It took all the scare out of it for me and just made it creepy...not in the haunted house sense but in the sexual deviant weird guy on a park bench sense.

I'm glad I read the book. There were spooky moments....and I still love, love, love Roddy McDowell in the movie. The movie kept the debauchery but reined it in somewhat....70's horror movies are supposed to be cheese fests. The book version just dragged it out much longer....all the way to the ending that just fell a bit flat for me. Oh, I knew what was coming....but expected a bigger bang out of the book version.

In the end, my after thoughts amounted to a passing thought and chuckle about there being no diverse characters in this book. All of the people that enter the Belasco House to find out what makes it tick are white. But there is a reason for that --- all the people of color that were asked if they wanted anything to do with the house said NO.

There is bad language in this clip....but I have to add Eddie Murphy's take on this:

So, although this was a great nostalgia read for me because of the movie.....for the most part, this book was a miss for me. Too much cheese.....not enough actually scary moments. The mix of horror elements along with the haunted house just didn't work for me. Cheese overload. The 70's called....they want their physical mediums, seances and ectoplasm back.

I'm definitely going to read more by Richard Matheson though -- he's also the author of I am Legend and Stir of Echoes.