Following a group of people participating in an investigation into ‘supernatural manifestations’ at a reportedly haunted mansion, The Haunting of Hill House is an iconic piece of horror fiction. Now, Shirley Jackson’s terrifying haunted house tale is getting The Folio Society treatment, featuring seven unnerving images by Angie Hoffmeister.
When Dr. John Montague decides to undergo a social analysis on paranormal activity, Hill House is the perfect fit. Nestled between remote hills, the house is ideal for the people in his experiment: shy Eleanor who has been caring for her disabled mother and artist Theodora. Both have been chosen for their past experiences with the supernatural and they, along with the doctor and Luke, the young heir to Hill House, decide to spend the summer at the spooky mansion with a chequered history. Soon, strange events begin to happen that are certain to end in tragedy…
Written in 1959, The Haunting of Hill House is a seminal haunted house novel, inspiring many novelists and spawning feature films, a play and, more recently, a Netflix series. With iconic imagery (Jackson herself tracked down the perfect-looking mansion in California… which turned out to be built by great-great-grandfather!), it’s no wonder the novel has inspired re-tellings in various mediums and now readers can experience it along with seven new images by artist Angie Hoffmeister in this latest Folio edition. Check out some of them here…
The book’s wraparound immediately pulls no punches, depicting a haunting image of a woman (is it Eleanor? Or Old Miss Crain herself?), which leads to a cover that’s as imposing as Hill House itself. Inside, the seven illustrations range from spooky revelations around the fire, to spectral hand-holding, to poor Eleanor (is the house haunted? Or is she going mad?). There are also small drawings at the end of each chapter, which linger with you long after the contents of that chapter have been read.
The book also contains an introduction from multiple Bram Stoker Award-winner, Joyce Carol Oates, who delves into the history of the novel, noting its many re-tellings (Oates includes the 1963 adaptation, with actress Julie Harris as Eleanor, and compares that with Harris’ similarly heartbreaking role in 1952’s The Member Of The Wedding). Oates also explores Jackson’s own history, including her relationship with her own mother and her abiding theme of the destruction of the female by the actions of others.
The Folio Society edition of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, illustrated by Angie Hoffmeister and introduced by Joyce Carol Oates is available exclusively from www.FolioSociety.com
