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SHIRLEY JACKSON'S "THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE" AS A HORROR NOVEL: THE UNCANNY, THE MONSTROUS, THE SUDDEN

J. Semeneca, I. Presnakova, M. Ignatjeva

First published: 2019https://doi.org/10.5593/SWS.ISCAH.2019.1/S27.071View metrics

Abstract

Shirley Jackson is an author of many fictional and semi-fictional texts and had a great interest in the supernatural. Her novel “The Haunting of Hill House” (1959) is praised by many horror fiction writers, such as Stephen King, as one of the great novels of supernatural in the last hundred years. The notion of the literary genre of horror is based on the effect it produces on the reader: it provokes the reader’s emotional and/or physical response, such as fear, anxiety, revulsion, etc., by exposing him or her to the most disturbing things imaginable. Aalya Ahmad introduced a classification of ten characteristic features of the horror genre: a literary text may be regarded as an example of the horror genre if it contains at least one of the features. Shirley Jackson’s novel is frequently linked to the horror genre; however, several sources argue that “The Haunting of Hill House” is rather an example of the literary genre of gothic. In order to prove or disprove these views, it seems important to determine what makes the novel under study an example of horror fiction. Thus, the aim of the present study is to analyze Shirley Jackson’s novel “The Haunting of Hill House” as a horror novel taking into account the classification by A. Ahmad.

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Title
SHIRLEY JACKSON'S "THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE" AS A HORROR NOVEL: THE UNCANNY, THE MONSTROUS, THE SUDDEN
Authors
J. Semeneca, I. Presnakova, M. Ignatjeva
Proceedings
6th SWS International Scientific Conference on Arts and Humanities ISCAH 2019
Publisher
STEF92 Technology
Year
2019
Pages
563-570
SWS Citekey
Semeneca201927563570
ISSN
2682-9940
ISBN
978-619-7408-90-4
Language
en
Publication type
Proceedings Paper
Keywords
Shirley Jacksonhorror genrethe supernaturalAalya Ahmadelements of horror genre
References10

  1. Lovecraft, H. P. Supernatural Horror in Literature. In: Bloom, C. (ed.) Gothic Horror: A Reader’s Guide from Poe to King and Beyond. London: Macmillan Press, Ltd., 1998, p. 57-58;

  2. King, S. Danse Macabre. New York: Berkley Books, 1983, pp. 10-71;

  3. Mendlesohn, F. Rhetorics of Fantasy. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2008, p. 175;

  4. Todorov, T.; Howard, R. (translator) The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975, p. 47;

  5. Freud, S.; Riviere, J. (translator) Extract from “The Uncanny”. In: Bloom, C. (ed.) Gothic Horror: A Reader’s Guide from Poe to King and Beyond. London: Macmillan Press, Ltd., 1998, p. 50;

  6. Sage, V.; Smith, A. L. (ed.). Modern Gothic: A Reader. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996, p. 5;

  7. Ahmad, A. Bordering on Fear: A Comparative Literary Study of Horror Fiction. Ottawa: Carleton University, 2010;

  8. Backer, R.. Classic Horror Films and the Literature That Inspired Them. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2015, p. 278;

  9. See more in: Hattenhauer, D. 2003. Shirley Jackson’s American Gothic. Albany: State University of New York Press.

  10. Jackson, S. The Haunting of Hill House. London: Penguin Books, Ltd., 2009.

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