REVIEW: A Haunting on the Hill

 A Haunting on the Hill
Author: Elizabeth Hand

 

When I discovered this book is a sequel of sorts to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, I knew I had to read it. I fully realized that nobody could write a sequel to Jackson's book....but a return visit to Hill House? Yeah....had to read it. But, I read it as a completely separate story from Jackson's classic psychological horror masterpiece. There is just no "Hill House, Part 2" possible. This is a different story...set in the same place. 

That frame of mind is what allowed me to enjoy this book. If I had gone into the story expecting writing on the same par with Jackson's, I would have set myself up for disappointment. Elizabeth Hand writes a great creepy tale, but it isn't on the same level as Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. 

The basics: Holly is a struggling playwright who scribbles in the evenings when she comes home from her teaching job. Gotta pay the bills, right? Her play -- a modernization of an old play called The Witch of Edmonton -- just might be her ticket to The Big Time and away from the drudgery of teaching. Her partner, Nisa, has a lovely, almost magical, singing voice and has reworked some dark folk songs for the play. Their friend, Stevie, brings his acting skills and Shaggy-esque character to the group. And a once famous actress now in the downhill slide of her career, Amanda Greer, rounds out the cast of characters who come to Hill House. Holly comes across the house quite by chance and rents it for two weeks. The perfect place for tweaking her play. She sees it as an intense creative space for read-throughs before they do a public reading in the city. 

Renting Hill House trumps any horrific AirBnB story you've ever heard.Total mistake. But, they don't realize it until it's too late. 

I enjoyed this story. I checked out a hardback copy from my lovely local library and bought a copy of the audio book. I love to have creepy stories read out loud to me. The audio book has some cool sound effects in places and the narrator even sings several times. The sound effects don't drown out the narration but augment it. Creepy footsteps in the background or muffled scary voices while the characters are exploring Hill House really adds to the strangeness of this tale. 

While this is a very good story about an evil house, it doesn't have the psychological build of Jackson's original. And the ending was a bit lackluster. But, all in all, I enjoyed this story.

Hand's story weaves its way in between the 4 main characters.Theater people. Creative minds. Competitive edges. Actors. Writers. Performers. Some wanting their break. Others wanting to revive what they once had. In a place like Hill House? Of course the evil house eats them alive -- preys on their insecurities, secrets, ambitions...... It makes for a very dark story. 

 Enjoyed it! Not as good as Wylding Hall (another very good book by Elizabeth Hand), but still a great read!