I got about half way thru this one and then DNFd it was so boring and I felt like it focused more on the characters drama than the house. Also I didn’t like any of the characters which made it so hard for me to get into. As a lover of the haunting of hill house I was so excited for this one, but maybe my expectations were set too high.

A revisiting of Shirley Jackson's classic featuring the haunted Hill House. Not much happens for the first three quarters of the book which was a disappointment.

Elizabeth Hand is a master of unease, and her sequel to Shirley Jackson’s 1959 gothic horror classic The Haunting of Hill House (the only one authorized by the late author’s estate) is an exhilarating, disturbing successor to the original.

In the wake of the COVID pandemic, a group of theatre artists undertake a self-imposed residency to work on a new play at an isolated mansion. The cast of characters includes a struggling playwright; her singer-songwriter girlfriend; a sound designer with a sordid history; and an older actress angling for a comeback. They all have things to hide, and their complex tangle of egos, ambitions, and secrets would make for compelling reading even if they weren’t staying in a haunted house. But almost immediately something uncanny begins to make its presence known, and things quickly escalate.

Hand has a gift for unsettling images that linger in the mind’s eye: a lipstick with tiny tooth marks at the tip, a tiny hidden door set into a wall, a black hare smiling with bloody red teeth. Familiarity with the original book’s sinister history enhances the experience, but readers new to Hill House won’t feel lost in the dark (though they may wish to read with all the lights on).

(Published in the print and online editions of BUST Magazine, winter 2024 issue)

A great, big, gigantic thank you to Mulholland for the opportunity to read and review this book!!!

Synopsis: head back to Shirley Jackson's famous Hill House in this eerie, authorized follow up to the classic. This book follows a playwright, Holly, close to her big break, in need of space to bring the vision of her new play to light. She and her girlfriend, Nisa, discover Hill House and are immediately drawn to its Gothic ornateness - it's the perfect place to rehearse the play. Holly and Nisa, along with two actors, rent Hill House for two weeks to rehearse, despite warnings from locals to leave. Soon, eerie things begin happening - strange creatures, unexplainable voices, disappearing doors... the house has awoken, and the group beings to find themselves at odds with the house itself.

Review: an authorized follow up to a Shirley Jackson novel?? YES, PLEASE! This book was simply perfect for fall/winter. It's creepy from the very start and Hand does an immaculate job of maintaining the mood throughout the book. It's reminiscent of the original in that the mood of the story and the paranoia of the characters form the majority of the scariness. It's a ghost story for people like me who don't usually like ghost stories (but love Shirley Jackson). If you're looking for something to curl up with, something haunting, something with Halloween or depth-of-winter vibes, you've found it.

Returning to the world of The Haunting of Hill House? Excitement doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. This is set in the same world as Hill House, but I wouldn’t call it a sequel. It’s been years since I read the original novel, so I can’t comment on Easter eggs or make direct comparisons.

Holly is a struggling playwright who’s sure her current play will be her big break. She rents Hill House for two weeks so the cast (her girlfriend, best friend, and an experienced actress) can rehearse. The realtor, who also owns the house, tries to dissuade Holly from staying there, but Holly is adamant and the realtor takes her money. Warnings and odd happenings surround this group, but it wouldn’t be a horror story if they immediately gave up and left.

This novel had positives and negatives for me. I love the colorful, sinister cover. You just know bad things happen inside the house. I’m a sucker for a good haunted house story, and this one provides tense moments that make you skim through the paragraph because you’re anxious to see what happens. Or if you’re another kind of reader, maybe skim through the paragraph because you’re too terrified to read it. The author does a fantastic job with atmosphere and imagery – the use of candles, rooms and corridors that seem to spring up out of nowhere, the black hares that keep watch. I also liked that the housekeeper and handyman tell the group they never come to the house after dark.

The premise of actors gathering in a house to rehearse didn’t really grab me. It also didn’t help that none of them are particularly likeable, and I found myself rooting for the house. The original version where the characters are looking for evidence of supernatural activity appeals more to me, but that’s just personal preference.

The Haunting of Hill House is an iconic novel, and kudos to the author for having the courage to create a story set in the same world. Although this novel didn’t check all my boxes, reviews are mixed. Several reviewers mentioned the audiobook narrator is outstanding, and the sound effects add to the suspense.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Shirley Jackson is my favorite all time writer, so when I saw that Hill House was once again opening its doors, I jumped at the chance to read this! I was NOT disappointed! Eerie, spooky, and a fabulous tale! Elizabeth Hand's writing is just mesmerizing,! Thank you so much!

What an amazing story! I was so excited to see that the first title that was officially allowed to take place in the world of Hill House after Shirley Jackson was here! Who even knew such a thing was possible?

I was really interested in this one, I love a great horror book, especially so the this being based off Shirley Jackson’s Hill House. Elizabeth Hand did a good job of bringing the house to life and slowly adding in the little nuances. I did feel a little let down and wished that there was a bit more to the story and the ending left me a little underwhelmed.

What is thrilling adventure! I really enjoyed this book and the authors writing will definitely be checking out more from them. 3 stars!

Having recently read The Haunting of Hill House for the first time, I was excited to see how this book stacked up against the original. While I wasn’t disappointed, I was not blown away either.

The setting and descriptions were great and I definitely started out with an uneasy feeling. The characters were unique and some quite unlikeable, but that added well to the tension among the group. But the book lost its way around the halfway mark or so and I was just waiting for something more to happen.

I have never read Jackson’s original work but I have watched and adored the Netflix adaptation for The Haunting of Hill House.

I very much admired this story although the first few chapters were hard for me to get through.

Every aspect of the palpable dread and horrror came through smashingly and also remnants of Stephen King’s Rose Red peeked through.

I was saddened that there wasn’t more of the story! I definitely wanted more!

I went into this book with expectations that is was going to be a retelling of The Haunting Of Hill House. If I didn’t love the classic horror novel by Shirley Jackson, and went into this book blind, I may have enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, if you’re doing a retelling, reimagining, or a continuation of a loved story, you have to blow it out the park. This book, didn’t for me.
I didn’t find it scary, and barely creepy. I was completely distracted by the constant inner monologues of the main characters, and their narcissism. Maybe throwing a bunch of actors/ playwrights together in a haunted mansion wasn’t a good idea. I don’t think they even intended to get work done, yet they kept trying and it took away from the creepiness of the book. I also didn’t care for any of the characters, at all. You need to make atleast one of them personable, to care about what the house is doing to them. I was cheering for the house the whole time!
I have a really hard time with songs in books. If you’re not listening to the book on audio, then you don’t get the tone or rhythm of the song, and it’s just reading words. I assume the songs were meant to add to the atmosphere of the story, but they didn’t translate for me.
I did enjoy the witch down the road, lol. Maybe if it was all her, I would have loved the book.

I had a hard time getting into this one. And when I think about it, the original was never something that really excited me either, so I’m not sure why I decided to read this one in the first place.

This one was an incredibly anticipated read for me. I definitely think Hand did an incredible job at bringing in the gothic horror factor. She also made me really dislike her characters and I assume that was intentional (Bravo if that's the case). I definitely expected a bit more drama between the characters though and wished certain things were explored more in depth.

Very disappointed in this one:( Shirley Jackson and The Haunting of Hill House are my favorite novelist/novel and so I was really looking forward to this novel. I think this book was very well written but the plot was too slow to hold my attention. And the characters were fairly unlikeable. It is hard to read books when you can't relate with any. of the characters. Thank you for the opportunity and I am sorry this one fell flat for. me!

I was very excited to read this book but it ended up not being my favorite. I couldn’t get into it or the writing style. I also found the characters to be very unlikeable. I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Elizabeth and Mulholland Books for the ARC!

This was easily my most anticipated book of the year. I am a huge Shirley Jackson fan. I am also an Elizabeth Hand fan (if you haven’t read her wonderful gothic folk horror novel, Wylding Hall you are missing out on an amazing book). So, you can imagine that my expectations were unbelievably high. So high, I was a little scared to read it for fear of disappointment.

I needn’t have worried. Is this book going to reach the beloved heights of Jackson’s Hill House? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a damn good novel. I was happy to see that Hand didn’t try to write a sequel, prequel or retelling. Instead this book is an homage to Jackson and her classic novel and I think that was very smart on Hand’s part.

I really loved so many things about this book. There are witches, familiars, demonic possession and of course a haunting. All of my favorite things combined to make for a wonderfully atmospheric and spooky read. The character’s back stories were highlighted and this fleshed out their characters and added layers so that I was able to really understand them. Did I like them all? No, but then I don’t like all people either. The point is they feel real. Did I mention that this book is spooky? Well, it is. Hand has an incredible ability to create atmosphere and it is on full display in this book. It is probably the most important component in telling a ghost story and Hand does a wonderful job.

Was this book as good as Jackson’s? No. But it was still really, really well done and a great tribute to Jackson’s masterpiece. Thank you to @netgalley and @mulhollandbooks

This was my first time reading this book but it is ok. I didnt really like it. It was a horror book and a boring book.

Shirley Jackson treads a fine line in the way that the best gothic stories do. There is the faintest hint of unease at the open. There's a lot happening in the background, none of it quite coming into focus until the book is nearly done. This is a legacy that most authors would fear being compared to but Elizabeth Hand jumps in quite knowledgably and forges her own path with the setting of A Haunting on the Hill.

I think there's the potential for this to be somewhat divisive among fans of Shirley Jackson. A Haunting on the Hill is much more modern thriller than it is the classic old school gothic. I think there's a lot to appreciate here, including how Hand takes on the eerie feeling of Hill House, but those looking for a Shirley Jackson redux will not find that here.

Shirley Jackson is a favorite of mine, particularly We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House. So when I found out this author specifically got authorization to revisit the world of Jackson's Hill House, I could not wait to read it. As of the writing of this review, I am shocked at the middling review average I see on Goodreads. I thought the book was a really good gothic/light-horror/ghost story. All I can think of is that people are reviewing it based on maybe it not evoking the same awe Jackson's work did when they first read it. From that perspective it is understandable. I almost think the marketing would have been better to NOT focus on that link as I believe the story was a good modern gothic novel on its own merit that maybe only falls short in comparison. In any case, I love the setting of Hill House and its mysteries. I also liked the idea of a writer choosing that house to finish her play and having her cast start rehearsing there to create the right atmosphere. So many gothic novels fail to live up to my gothic-loving expectations, but the setting did not fail at all in this novel. For good gothic vibes: 5 stars. The reason for my 4 star rating would probably boil down mostly to lack of character development. While the characters weren't as important as the house in Shirley Jackson's novel, the motives of each character were definitely something I felt lacking in this one. Decisions were made and actions were taken that I wanted to know more about what was driving them.

My advice to anyone who thinks about reading this is to try to ignore anything about Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House other than the house itself. A Haunting on the Hill is a completely new story just borrowing the fabulous setting.