The Haunting of Hill House

• Genre: Fiction; Gothic horror/suspense
• Originally Published: 1959
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 9 chapters; approx. 208 pages; approx. 7 hours, 27 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Thirty-two-year-old Eleanor Vance, occult expert Dr. Montague, and two other acquaintances experience supernatural phenomena and personal reckonings with the past at Hill House, an abandoned, foreboding property.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Suicide; mental illness

Shirley Jackson, Author

• Bio: 1916-1965; born in San Francisco, CA; attended Syracuse University; later moved permanently to Vermont; pursued writing while raising four children; novelist, memoirist, and short story writer; horror stories and settings known for their atmospheric suspense and psychological depth
• Other Works: The Bird’s Nest (1954); We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962); Dark Tales (short story collection; 2017)
• Awards: National Book Award (finalist; 1960)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Futility of Human Nature
• The Fragility of Identity
• Imagination and the Dangers of the Human Mind

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the characteristics of Gothic literature; analyze the ways setting and plot in The Haunting of Hill House exemplify a Gothic story.
• Read/study short, paired texts and other resources to deepen understanding of themes related to Human Nature, Identity, and Dangers of the Human Mind.