Why people recommend it
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a celebrated classic horror novel about a haunted mansion and psychological isolation. On The Book Review, Gilbert Cruz endorsed it as a must-read classic, noting that it is a beautifully written story about a very lonely woman in a very lonely house that he could see himself rereading multiple times. Cruz also directed listeners back to an earlier conversation with novelist Victor LaValle, who had named it the book he had read the most in his life, placing it alongside Henry James's The Turn of the Screw and Stephen King's The Shining. LaValle explained that as a young reader in love with Stephen King who was not yet deeply read, he treated King's work as a bibliography of essential reading, which led him straight to Jackson's masterpiece. Later in the podcast, Cruz asked LaValle to read the opening paragraph of the novel aloud. Additionally, podcast staff member Greg Coles mentioned reading the book during an episode, discussing it as part of the atmospheric horror landscape alongside other classic titles. The novel continues to be widely praised by hosts and guests alike for its enduring literary quality and its profound exploration of haunting, loneliness, and fragile human psychology.
Who recommended it
- Gilbert Cruz Recommended
- Victor LaValle Discussed
- Greg Coles Discussed
Gilbert Cruz — 5 mentions
“Victor, I'd love it if you can read the first paragraph of The Haunting of Hill House. I'm happy to.”
“there's the obvious one The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and I only mention that as a reason to direct listeners back to a conversation I had earlier this year with the novelist Victor Laval in which he talked about the book that he has read the most in his life and that is The Haunting of Hill”
“that book is The Haunting of Hill housee by Shirley Jackson alongside Henry James's the turn of the screw and Stephen King's The Shining”
“Victor I'd love it if you can read the first paragraph of The Haunting of Hill House”
“really I say at heart like do you want to read a beautifully written book about a very lonely woman in a very lonely house well this is definitely a book that I can see myself reading several more times in my life”
Victor LaValle — 3 mentions
“And as a kid who was in love with Stephen King at the time, but who was not supremely well read, I treated that book like, as many people did, I'm sure, like a just a list, a bibliography. Here's everything you got to read. And for better or worse, Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House was one of the”
“and For Better or Worse Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House was one of the first I picked up”
“well actually I mean rereading it again just over the weekend the opening bits I realized the beginning of Lone women is Eleanor's escape and the way that she's afraid of being caught like I absolutely lifted that feeling for Adelaide”
Greg Coles — 2 mentions
“I'm reading The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson which you for people who don't know”
“I'm reading The Haunting of Hill housee by Shirley Jackson”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And then after the break, Victor Laval, author of 2023's Lone Women, talks about the book he's read the most in his life, a book I have read many times, The Great Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.”
“I'm Gilbert Cruz, editor of the New York Times Book Review, and I am presenting you now with a conversation that I had with a great writer from two years ago, Victor Laval, who wrote a piece of historical horror fiction called Lone Women. He is talking about Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.”
“I've been speaking with Victor Laval about Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and about his new novel, Lone Women.”
“Mark Z Daniel's house of leaves and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson which is an old class that is a good creepy one”
“have you read uh The Haunting of Hill House as well I haven't actually I think the only thing I've read of hers is the lottery which of course I read in school like everyone else”