Hell House by Richard Matheson - Short Review
Hell House
I recently had the opportunity to enjoy HELL HOUSE by Richard Matheson on unabridged audio. This is one of the classic haunted house tales of all time. Not only does the author deliver a chilling, violent tale with enough sex and blood to satisfy even the darkest tastes, but he manages to tackle the phenomenon of haunting and spiritualism from several different angles and provide a glimpse into several possible answers to a question man has been striving to get to the bottom of since the first flicker of thought. What happens when we die?
In Hell House, an old, dying rich man hires Lionel Barrett, Florence Tanner, and Franklin Fisher to investigate “Hell House,” built by a man named Belasco around the turn of the century. Barrett is a physicist with a theory about the energy behind haunting; Fisher is the only survivor of the two previous attempts to solve the haunting of the house; Tanner is a spiritualist and deeply religious medium. They are diametrically opposed in their beliefs and their approach to the house, and the house itself seems to sense this. Also present is Edith, Barrett’s sexually repressed wife, who is so frail she can’t remain at home without her husband.
Throughout this book the reader is drawn from one conclusion to the next as the house, and whatever power possesses it, toys with first one medium, then the other, and then the scientist and his wife as well. Every answer leads to more twists and turns that bring the reader full circle to the questions he or she started with. The story of the original owner, as it unfurls, is fantastic to a degree that makes one wonder at its veracity. Along the way, that veracity seems pounded home by the appearance of a group of perverted photographs, and a body trapped in the walls. Each revelation seems to set matters straight, and then unravels in the face of still more discoveries.
You’ll think of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House as you read, and before you are done you’ll see traces of every haunted house movie you’ve ever seen – and might even be reminded of The Wizard of Oz.
What I find most interesting about this book is that it was written in 1971. The level of darkly erotic violence in some parts would have been even more of a shock in its day, and stands up even now against masters of modern dark fiction with their serial killers, axe murderers and genetically altered beasties.
The narration by Ray Porter is solid. He manages to create unique voices and personalities for the cast, and to add the proper amount of emotion and terror to his tone. Highly recommended in the audio book format. I downloaded it from Audible.com.
Hell House is a traditional horror novel in every sense, and a must-read classic for any aspiring horror author.
08/13/08, 8:09 AM |
Very good review. I just finished this audiobook myself and wholehearted agree. As someone who was first exposed to (and enjoyed) the earlier British film adaptation of this work, I easily got into this. The reader Ray Porter was especially good–although, he sounds very much like the renowned audiobook narrator, Scott Brick.
If you enjoyed this Matheson classic, you should partake in Blackstone Audio’s ‘I am Legend’ unabridged recording. Not only is it another great work of the author (along with his mix of classic horror and science fiction), but it is performed masterfully by the reader, Robertson Dean. It’s also available via Audible.