I had been wanting to read this book since I read Neil Gaiman's review of it years ago. I had already watched the 2018 series which, btw, is one of my most favorite horror show ever. So I was thoroughly excited to see how it read in print. I knew it was very different than the show, but I found the book nowhere close to its excellence. Sure, I can appreciate the fact that this book provided the template for the whole "haunting house" genre and that Shirley Jackson is an ingenious writer who can depict the horror of a house and the human mind without losing subtlety, and sure I loved Elenor's character. Her inner monologues are one of the most complicated reflections of the human psyche that I have ever read on paper BUT nothing, NOTHING happens until you reach almost the middle of the book. Even after it, I do not find any "haunting" of the Hill House. The characters are talking more about the horror of the house than actually experiencing it. The addition of Mrs. Montague and Arthur was completely needless too. Nope, not at all as I expected.