tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post8264970749311402656..comments2024-03-06T11:11:48.095-08:00Comments on Too Much Horror Fiction: Hell House by Richard Matheson (1971): Come On Up to the Devil's WhorehouseWill Erricksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-39382803722354444952015-10-19T12:13:12.326-07:002015-10-19T12:13:12.326-07:00Just read this for the first time and really enjoy...Just read this for the first time and really enjoyed it. I thought it was suspenseful and Gothic, and I thought the whole scientific angle made it stand out from a lot of haunted house stories. It was certainly a page-turner, in my opinion, and I found little about it to criticize. Definitely a classic I wish I had read sooner. And I was pleased to discover just how faithful (for the most part) Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05701963371017623787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-2515796516730681922015-10-13T08:49:58.734-07:002015-10-13T08:49:58.734-07:00THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR is by Anne Rivers Siddons. THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR is by Anne Rivers Siddons. Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-46356235161639522362015-10-12T13:17:39.125-07:002015-10-12T13:17:39.125-07:00@Will Errickson, who is the author of The House Ne...@Will Errickson, who is the author of The House Next Door that you commented on Sept. 26th?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865082288500180236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-43892979926844501362015-10-11T19:09:40.691-07:002015-10-11T19:09:40.691-07:00I've just finished reading this book and wante...I've just finished reading this book and wanted to have a look at some reviews of it, which led me here. Love your posting of the different covers, very interesting to see how they reflect the times they were published. I enjoyed the book and found it to be quite a page-turner, despite its limitations. The characters aren't great but each one has its own voice. It's certainly a WakizashiGrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05861098576910250911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-5631877454900679292015-09-26T11:24:39.561-07:002015-09-26T11:24:39.561-07:00I see your point Will. I'm just being an anal ...I see your point Will. I'm just being an anal contrarian! lol<br />And yes, def The House Next Door should be on there.highwaykneeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00458606266831050852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-13110900012873031112015-09-26T10:15:24.161-07:002015-09-26T10:15:24.161-07:00Since all original paperbacks of HAUNTING OF HILL ...Since all original paperbacks of HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE date from the 1960s I think it can be argued it's a classic 1960s horror novel! <br /><br />Two other haunted house novels to put on the must-read list are THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR and THE ELEMENTALS. Happy haunted reading!<br /><br />Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-65530363194032709332015-09-25T19:35:09.580-07:002015-09-25T19:35:09.580-07:00@omni-bibliophilia: Not to nit-pick but when you s...@omni-bibliophilia: Not to nit-pick but when you say you are rediscovering "60s & 70s horror classics" and mentioned The Haunting of Hill House- well it is a 50s classic! Perhaps you are thinking of the movie from the early 60s?<br /><br />Have fun with Hell House! It might have been my age at the time but you are in for a real scarey time! BoogaBooga!!!highwaykneeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00458606266831050852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-57134917941402905492015-09-20T10:14:54.774-07:002015-09-20T10:14:54.774-07:00What an interesting show of covers! I think I like...What an interesting show of covers! I think I like the 1999 best, being female myself the scared girl in her negligé doesn't do much for me (except maybe vaguely annoy me). How strange that a book like Hell House used such slightly trashy covers when it already had achieved the status of "classic novel" - maybe because "classic" isn't the same as "bestseller"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-54507165836816352482012-02-10T02:35:05.649-08:002012-02-10T02:35:05.649-08:00This is a perfect example of that even if the movi...This is a perfect example of that even if the movie is fine, the novel is soooo much better!Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10899692178606630762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-52244343245124573242012-01-27T08:12:11.393-08:002012-01-27T08:12:11.393-08:00One of my all-time faves. I got the 99 cover art e...One of my all-time faves. I got the 99 cover art edition--or I used to. Might have to dig around for it and reread it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15675220785164388203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-80360456932500848772012-01-24T08:41:31.124-08:002012-01-24T08:41:31.124-08:00Rereading the review I guess I do seem overly hars...Rereading the review I guess I do seem overly harsh on HH, so I will say there were lots of graphic horror aspects I liked about it, but they were pretty much overshadowed by the psychic phenom stuff. I also wish the book were simply more <i>fun</i>. It's so dour.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-79294818881458063962012-01-24T07:10:49.425-08:002012-01-24T07:10:49.425-08:00Great rundown on the covers and style changes! I f...Great rundown on the covers and style changes! I first caught the movie version at a New Jersey drive-in. Fog ruined the second half of the movie enough for us to leave. I didn't catch the full movie until years later.jmcozzolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04816003842587967599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-62799640786841137172012-01-23T10:20:41.827-08:002012-01-23T10:20:41.827-08:00I was a huge Matheson fan as a kid. I read Hell Ho...I was a huge Matheson fan as a kid. I read Hell House when it came out in HB. Breathlessly, I might add. It scared me silly. Of course I was 15 or 16 at the time.<br /><br />My best Matheson novel experience up until that time had been The Incredible Shrinking Man, which is a more complex read than the movie version- of course. And much more harrowing. I'd say it's his masterpiece. <br />highwaykneeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00458606266831050852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-48967278082416741312012-01-22T17:29:32.910-08:002012-01-22T17:29:32.910-08:00Big fan of both the book and movie version. Yes th...Big fan of both the book and movie version. Yes the psuedo-scientific reverse overthruster stuff gets a little thick, but the rest of the book holds up.Tim Mayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16191899859528990414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-34647167638112495052012-01-19T15:50:52.707-08:002012-01-19T15:50:52.707-08:00Necrorotica?Necrorotica?Barrymore Tebbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08881955849732740126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-21999042760645191932012-01-19T11:34:30.630-08:002012-01-19T11:34:30.630-08:00Haven't read Hell House but was surprised by y...Haven't read Hell House but was surprised by your lukewarm review since it's considered such a classic and often ends up in "ten best" lists. Even so, I'll give it a try if I come across a vintage copy, especially if it's the '72 or '73 covers.Luishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07631388281199815121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-67628200717881848302012-01-19T09:52:22.580-08:002012-01-19T09:52:22.580-08:00I think the review's a little too harsh on it,...I think the review's a little too harsh on it, but I do agree it's not the Matheson classic that many purport it to be. I think it's well worth reading, but only after one has read the dozen-plus Matheson novels that are considerably better (though he's written a number that are worse, certainly (e.g. HUNGER AND THIRST, WOMAN, THE LINK, et al))...I'd put HELL HOUSE somewhere Ron Clintonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433028755791230589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-37139176632667360382012-01-19T09:51:28.868-08:002012-01-19T09:51:28.868-08:00After seeing the movie as a teen (quite frightenin...After seeing the movie as a teen (quite frightening at the time), I found the '73 edition at a local department store. I devoured it and was thrilled, not to mention titillated. I was 15, so the graphic sexual stuff was like reading a book I shouldn't have been reading. And, I don't remember, but it may have been my introduction to Matheson.<br /><br />I've long considered it a Jeff Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05996773290453294035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-68403759731341263002012-01-19T06:19:36.566-08:002012-01-19T06:19:36.566-08:00Is there a subgenre called Gothic Ghost-Rape? That...Is there a subgenre called Gothic Ghost-Rape? That would fit.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-9530658091424852782012-01-19T04:59:44.455-08:002012-01-19T04:59:44.455-08:00LOVE the Bantam '72 cover. Which proves a poin...LOVE the Bantam '72 cover. Which proves a point, that the GRs in that era were in such heavy demand that MANY books were marketed as GR to fill the need. I've seen the movie twice and it has never compelled me to read the book. Gothic, yes. Gothic Romance, no.Barrymore Tebbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08881955849732740126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-58692592080079066162012-01-18T19:16:52.455-08:002012-01-18T19:16:52.455-08:00I've missed this but i'm going to give it ...I've missed this but i'm going to give it a shot based on your lukewarm review. Despite the tedious bits you describe, that climax sounds intriguing.Mac Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18025256806783821913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-19519653457176521862012-01-18T18:37:13.391-08:002012-01-18T18:37:13.391-08:00I too was underwhelmed by Hell House. It's fin...I too was underwhelmed by Hell House. It's fine but but no classic in my book. Thanks for saying it, Will.Rob K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09241314629038688364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-825351661748594023.post-28588825511675397852012-01-18T16:11:04.886-08:002012-01-18T16:11:04.886-08:00Great post. I want to reread this novel since it ...Great post. I want to reread this novel since it has been so long. My second time around with I Am Legend several months ago caused me to dig out all my old Matheson books. Stir of Echoes is another that I read but can't remember much from.William Malmborghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04261043345510784469noreply@blogger.com