Hell House by Richard Matheson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hell House
Book Review: Couldn't put this one down
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was incredibly eerie, I couldn't put it down. Although a little cheesy in some parts, I had chills the entire time. If you're a scary story buff, you can't miss out on this book.Book Review: Better If You Haven't Seen the Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
Since there are numerous reader-reviews located here, I'll try to keep this short and just summarize some of the points I think are relevant to consider before purchasing Hell House. I have long appreciated the movie and wanted to read this book to gain detail and background where the movie fell short. For those that have seen the movie and recall the storyline, the book does provide background and detail but not to the extent you would expect. In fact, it appears Matheson had a screenplay in mind when writing this (as described in other reviews contained here). Whether it is worth it to you acquire and read it knowing it won't yield much story beyond the movie is your choice. I am straddling the fence on on whether that was the case, myself.
The story tells of a investigation of the house haunted by the vile former owner, Emeric Belasco. Good, old Emeric was of such evil nature that he used the house as his own evil proving ground and, therefore, created the Mt. Everest of haunted houses through his design. (Think a perverted Josef Mengele on LSD). Anyway, several of the reviews written here accuse the book of being based on soft porn. While I do agree that it might have gone a little far in sexual content, I do think it was relevant in developing the sexual deviance and evilness of the hauntings. If a sexual act or body part descriptions bother you, don't read the book. They don't permeate the storyline, but the hauntings revolve on their theme.
I thought it was a great read, but wish I not seen the movie first.
Book Review: A Satisfying Conventional Haunted House Tale.
Summary: 3 Stars
Hell House is a straight forward haunted house tale that uses a conventional set-up to deliver some authentic frightening moments.
An old man on his death bed enlists two paranormal scientists (a spiritualist medium and a parapsychologist), along with a previous survivor of Hell House and the wife of one of the scientists, to "establish the facts" that there is survival after death. The destination of this group is Hell House, the "Mt. Everest of haunted houses". The house has a long history of sheltering immoral and sinful behavior and has supposedly trapped these tortured souls within its walls.
The conventional set-up and conveniences of plot weakened the first quarter of the book, but all the pieces built nicely upon each other and before the reader knows it (much like the characters in Hell House), the tension and horror is upon you and it doesn't let go. There is a section about half way through the book where one of the characters takes inventory of what has occurred in Hell House during the first day. As he lists these odd and strange happenings, the reader is surprised to realize: "Yes, a lot of pretty strange things have happened already". From this point the horror is much more direct and much more intense.
The characters may not be as developed as most readers would like. However, they are developed enough that the reader is worried about their individual motivation, sanity and ability to survive this house. It is that constant questioning of each characters role in the changing atmosphere of Hell House that keeps the tension tight. The different paranormal "answers" each character believes, and contributes to the conclusion of the book, are a bit silly, but once the reader is trapped in the house with the characters - who cares.
Hell House seems to pay homage to many horror authors that may have influenced Richard Matheson. There were definite nods to Shirley Jackson (of course), Bran Stoker, Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecarft.
Have characters who are receptive to ghosts, throw them in a haunted house, have a lot of frightening things happen (voices, ghosts, bodies, possessions, mutilation...), build the tension and then see who survives. That is Hell House. And for what it is, it is damn good.
Book Review: In my top 10 horror books
Summary: 4 Stars
I love horror books, especially ghost stories. My husband researched this one and found it for my birthday.
Without any spoilers this one wont likely dissappoint, with a rather timeless creepiness, but it does have a mildly unsatisfying ending.
Overall very good, keeping in mind that I RARELY give 5 stars.
Book Review: Pretty scary, but I've read better
Summary: 3 Stars
I was drawn to this book after first reading I am Legend, also by Matheson. Since IAL was such an awesome book I thought I'd branch out and read more of Matheson's work. Hell House is a pretty good book about the Belasco mansion a.k.a. Hell House. A paraphyscologist and his wife and two mediums (one who was the only survivor of an earlier expedition into the house) enter to try discover what makes Hell House tick. Some pretty creepy stuffs goes on and Matheson is excellent at description. Still I didn't love this book as much as I am Legend. I am still reading Matheson and he is such a great talent that I would suggest everybody should pick up his stuff at some point. As for Hell House, I'd still say to read it. It was my absolute favorite but it's still a spooky, fast paced read.