My First Article For ClassicBecky's Brain Food, 2 Years Ago Today--"The Most Terrifying Book I Have Ever Read"



Then as now ... autumn is my time

Two years ago today, October 6, 2009, I posted my first article on my new blog.  I wrote about my favorite book of fright, which also was made into the best supernatural horror movie ever made, in my opinion -- The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson.  So, without further ado, I am re-printing that inaugural article for ClassicBecky's Brain Food, just for auld lang syne ...
  
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10/6/09
It's October, the wind is sighing through trees, leaves are swirling and the night seems darker somehow.  Halloween is coming with its reminders of the demonic and divine.  This is the perfect time to scare yourself to death with one of the best horror novels ever written.

Shirley Jackson, Author

Shirley Jackson wrote The Haunting of Hill House in 1959, and readers ever since have found themselves unable to put down the book even though goosebumps literally run up and down their arms and they are reluctant to look behind them.  Director Robert Wise was given the book to read in 1962 by a friend.  He took it into his office and sat down to read.  He was about half way through when the friend came into his office and spoke.  Wise jumped halfway out of his chair.  He told the friend "I'm going to make a movie of this."


The Haunting of Hill House is the quintessential haunted house story.  The book tells of Dr. Montague, a parapsychologist, who has brought together three people to stay with him in the massive house, the reputation of which is so bad that people from the nearby village will barely speak of it, and never go there.  Since the death of the original owner, the house has been unoccupied because no one who has ever tried has been able to stay.  According to the professor, the house is diseased, leprous with the evil of the man who built it, Hugh Crane.  It is his determination to record the supernatural activity in the house in pursuit of proof of "the other side."


Dr. Montague and his invited guests Eleanor, Theodora and Luke, find their deepest fears and sensitivities challenged by the chilling atmosphere of the house.  Eleanor is a lonely, shy woman, insecure and vulnerable.  Theo is a bright, vivacious woman with the gift of ESP.  Luke is the nephew of the house's current owner, and only sees the house as a future gold mine for himself.  The relationships between these four people, the imposing housekeeper, Mrs. Dudley and her caretaker husband, and the addition of Dr. Montague's wife, a medium, and her stuffy friend Arthur, are all changed by their stay in the house.  The insensitive suffer no ill effects, but others are not so lucky. 

I will not go further into the plot, because it is exactly the events that transpire in the house that will give you the heebie-jeebies.  No spoilers here!  Robert Wise did indeed make the movie in 1963, called simply The Haunting.  It had a stellar cast, with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn. The four main characters were altered in personality and relationship, others were changed or completely left out, and for some unknown reason the doctor's name is changed to Markway.  However, the movie is a stunning experience of terror, and does justice to Shirley Jackson's magnificent writing.


Do yourself an October favor and get The Haunting of Hill House.  Read it at night with just one reading light on.  Then turn on all the lights before you go to sleep, and don't forget to keep your hands well under the covers.....
10/6/09
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It's been a real journey during the two years since I made this first attempt.  I knew only a few people who had come together at the TCM site, and decided to break off and make a group of our own, inspired and led by Rick of Classic Film and TV Cafe.  We are still friends, and have made so many others as the Classic Movie Blog Association grew to the wonderful group it is today.  I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people and finding something I love to do.  Happy autumn, everyone!  Don't forget to read this book, see the movie, and find out, in the words of the great Vincent Price, "how wonderful it is to be scared to death."