Hell House - Book Review

A few years back, I had the great joy and privilege of reading Richard Matheson's I Am Legend and immediately found myself wanting more. Matheson's ability to convey a sense of isolation while also presenting the absurd idea of a vampire plague upon mankind felt fresh and engaging despite the countless tropes of both epidemics and vampires that 21st Century pop culture is now plagued with (yes, I am aware that I Am Legend came out well before most of the current garbage was even conceived). Unlike the popular film (starring Will Smith), the book ended on a much more interesting note by having its protagonist, Robert Neville, discover that he was actually the monster. In my opinion, any author that can get his/her readers to continue to dwell on a book after they're done reading it deserves a standing ovation.

So with that being said, I wanted to check out some of Matheson's other works, but wanted to avoid short stories (of which Matheson is well-known for). After some research, I finally got my hands on Hell House and although I typically find ghost/possession stories to be incredibly boring, I thought this one warranted a review.

General Information

Hell House was published in 1971 and is a horror novel with some minor science fiction elements thrown in. In 1973, it was adapted for film as The Legend of Hell House with Matheson authoring the screenplay of it. I regret to say that I have not seen the movie at the time of writing this review.

1

Setting

The book is set in modern day (so the 1970's in this case) in which a dying aristocrat hires three experts in parapsychology to investigate a haunted house, nicknamed "Hell House," so that they can definitively state whether there is life after death. The house had previously been investigated twice before with both past groups either dying or going mad (with the exception of one person). The group of experts have exactly one week to investigate and essentially have unlimited financial resources to complete the job.

Although three experts are hired, four people actually go in the house. The first two is the physician Dr. Lionel Barrett and his wife Edith. The third member is Florence Tanner who is a mental medium (she reacts to spiritual activity via thought and visions) and the final member is Benjamin Fischer who is a physical medium (he conjures physical manifestations of spiritual activity). Fischer is the sole-surviving member of the last group of investigators sent to check out Hell House.

Overall, the book almost entirely takes place at Hell House, and Matheson does a fantastic job of really bringing the setting to life. The mansion is well described as a foul-looking building surrounded by a tarn where apparently bastard children were thrown in. The description of rooms is also foreboding, and I was glad that Matheson provides an organic layout the mansion's interior relatively early on in the story. The mansion genuinely felt like another character and there was never a point in the book where I was unsure of where one room was in comparison to another. 

The Characters

Considering the limited cast of characters, Hell House is built on the backs of the four main investigators previously mentioned. Matheson does a fantastic job of cycling through each character's point of view so that the reader can check in with each investigator, as well as learn about their individual motivations. Matheson's presentation of the four fantastically as each character gets plenty of time in the spotlight, while also having their backstories and motivations organically described.

I was especially fond of the relationship between Dr. Barrett and Florence Tanner as they were constantly at polite odds with one another. Dr. Barrett rooted his investigation purely in measurable science while Tanner was the exact opposite as she was quick to believe anything involving the supernatural. Edith and Fischer both added quite a bit to the story too as Edith acted as a vehicle for the reader as much of the paranormal was new to her, while Fischer was the grizzled veteran.

If I were to have a complaint about the characters it might be that Edith is a bit too willing to stay in Hell House (especially in the later chapters). As she's not hired to investigate the house, she simply tags along because she suffers from separation anxiety from Dr. Barrett. Now, there are other factors that are explained later on in the story, however I felt it somewhat strange that Edith stuck around for as long as she did considering some of the truly horrific things that she experienced as the book went on. The characters were never locked in the mansion, however all but Edith had something to lose if they gave up. 

The Story

As one can imagine, the story of Hell House is incredibly dark. I expected some spookiness, but the level of madness Matheson presents is both graphic and delightfully disturbing. There's a great deal of violence, sexual depravity, and morbidity in the book that I felt really helped demonstrate just how crazy the characters were becoming as they stayed in the house.

One question that the book had me ponder (especially closer to the end) was essentially what the limitations of the "spirits" of the house had. There are moments where they're capable of manifesting kinetic attacks and throwing furniture, while other situations only have them rocking chairs and casting shadows. It essentially made me wonder "if the house can turn the party into hamburger from the onset, why does it wait numerous days before it starts to demonstrate this capability?" Matheson provides somewhat of an explanation behind this, but I'm not sure if it sticks the landing perfectly.

The use of each character as a means of investigating the house gave a multifaceted approach to the story, which really made me start to think as the story went on. There is no clear indication as to which character is right in their theories on the house's haunting (at least, until the very end), despite the fact that some characters were able to obtain physical proof of their claims. This kept me guessing as to who was right and who was wrong as the story progressed, and I really liked that it wasn't a situation where one character was clearly right all along.

My biggest gripe with the story might be a sense of hesitation in some of the characters' actions. Dr. Barrett was especially frustrating as his section of the story centers around a device he built that is supposed to erase any supernatural beings from the house. The machine is frequently discussed, but it takes an incredible amount of time before it even shows up in the story. Considering it was supposed to prove Dr. Barrett's argument that the supernatural is actually just leftover radiation, it just felt a little annoying that he took his sweet time in actually trying to use it.

Some other aspects of this hesitation was certain parts where one or more investigators would leave the house, sit in the car, and then go back in. There was at least two different points in the story where I honestly thought the investigation was over, but then the characters would find a new reason to be back inside the house. It got to the point where I started to think of The Clash's "Should I stay or should I go."

The Best of the Best

The four main characters of the book truly carry this book. Some of the best parts of it are when the group is just sitting at a table trying to make sense of the insane antics going on in the house.

The Worst of the Worst

Dr. Barrett bragging about how his machine will prove his point but then waiting multiple days before even attempting to use it.

Calhooey Score: 8/10 - great

Would I Recommend?

As mentioned before, this book is incredibly graphic. People that are uncomfortable reading stuff that involves stuff like rape or sexual assault will likely not find this book appealing. With that being said, those that are looking for a good ghost story or a plot with excellently crafted characters, this is a solid choice. If you like horror, this one is a classic.

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

(1) Hell House. (n.d.). Book cover image. Amazon.com. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Hell-House-Richard-Matheson-ebook/dp/B001OLRMXC.