A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand is the first approved return to the Hill House in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House from Shirley Jackson’s estate. Hill House is a character that Elizabeth Hand respects and adds more mystery to it. No characters from the original The Haunting of Hill House or relatives of characters make an appearance. There is a bit of dialogue that Shirley Jackson had in the original that was used in a cool way. The history of Hill House was glossed over with only a little bit added in the 64 years from the original, which I feel was a wasted opportunity. The book is very female-centric with only one male in the new cast of characters, which I liked since Hill House has had a deeper connection to females. The LGTBQ longing or relationship that was read between the lines in the original The Haunting of Hill House is front and center with a lesbian couple and a bisexual. The narrative is told from the perspective of the four main characters which usually change with every chapter. The pacing of the story is very slow at the beginning, a couple of times I thought about not finishing. The pace finally picks up a little after halfway when the stuff at the house starts happening. The second half is way better-paced than the first half and leads into an exciting climax. The horror aspect is my psychological and leans more into the threat of horror that only slightly manifests. This is the same thing I said about The Haunting of Hill House which I found slightly more terrifying than A Haunting on the Hill. I read A Haunting on the Hill thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland Books in exchange for a review. A Haunting on the Hill was published on October 3, 2023.

Plot Summary: Holly is a writer/theatre director and has just received a grant to be used for her play which is an old stage play about a witch and a devil that she is turning into a musical. Nisa her girlfriend is a singer-songwriter who will bring soul to the musical influenced by jazz and blues. Holly has tried and failed at staging a production before and wants everything to go smoothly and have a retreat to finely tune the writing, acting, and songs. Holly on a trip ends up getting lost and discovers Hill House which draws her in with its gothic look and knows this will be the perfect location for her workshop. Holly is warned slightly about the history but is determined to rent the place and the owner gives in. Holly is accompanied by Nisa, Stevie, a bisexual actor/soundman that Nisa has had an affair with but Holly doesn’t know, and Amanda, an aging star who has been out of work since her castmate was killed as she pushed them from the catwalk and the rigging failed. Hill House at first welcomes them, then starts revealing secrets that will mess with the guest’s psyche. Practicing a play about a devil possessing a witch is just what guests think they need from Hill House, but Hill House needs its guests to stay forever.

What I Liked: I Liked the LGTBQ relationship was out front and harkens back to the original The Haunting of Hill House secret between-the-lines lesbian relationship. The comparisons to acting as embodying the souls of those who passed. The descriptions of Hill House and how it is treated like a character. The neighbor Evadne is a witch who tries to protect others from the house and is the best character (only in three scenes) if only she were in more scenes or forced to enter the house. The musical numbers were very poetic. The climax was exciting and well done. I liked how Jackson’s dialogue was worked into the story I picked up on it right away.

What I Disliked: The story goes all in with a mysterious hare. I never found it to be creepy or scary and yet the hare is in so many scenes. There is a verse that I did not find that compelling that does talk about hares, but too many hares. The one scene in the fireplace was the only time it was needed and would have been creepy if it was the first time the reader saw it. The play within the story sounds like a mess I needed a lot more explaining to get behind the story. The pace was way too slow at the beginning. The lack of history of Hill House in the last 64 years was disappointing. All the characters seemed very wishy-washy and could not connect to any of them. I wanted more connection to the original novel than what we got. Stevie’s psychical description was all over the place from muscular to scrawny, I did read an early copy so hopefully this was caught and changed on publication.

Recommendation: The original is classic because of its characters, dialogue, and creepy setting which is Hill House. A Haunting on the Hill has one of those elements Hill House, and it wasn’t enough for me to recommend this to all of my followers. The people who will like this novel are thespians with great introspection on acting and what it does for and with the soul. I don’t think there is enough for me to recommend this to fans of the original. I liked the LGTBQ representation but it needed more interesting characters to hold the reader’s attention. This is the second book I have read by Elizabeth Hand would recommend Curious Toys over A Haunting on the Hill.

Rating: I rated A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand 2 out of 5. The novel was close to the two-and-a-half mark but not enough to change my rating to a three.