The Haunting : was the house haunted or not ???

or was it all in the mind of Eleanor ?? I didn't get it.

How could it have all been in Nell's when everyone else was experiencing the same things?

RingRing hooka RingRing

I meant was she creating it as in "Carrie"

It's not 100% clear if the haunting occurrences are caused by ghosts, the house, Eleanor or a combination of them. We hear that the house has a long macabre history, and the locals are afraid of it. We hear that Eleanor in her past supposedly caused a rain of rocks to fall out of the sky onto a neighbor's house. It's obviously the reason Dr. Markway had her on his list of invitees for his paranormal investigation- the event had made the papers so he found out about it in his research. Eleanor having telekinetic powers would lead one to conclude that it was very possible that she could have been responsible for most or everything that occurred at Hill House that we (and the other 3 in the house) see or hear- the door bending, the pounding noises, doors closing by themselves, etc. Then again the house could still be evil or inhabited by ghosts or spirits and interacting with Eleanor. Or she is just plain crazy and we are hearing the internal thoughts of someone on the brink of insanity. I keep waffling myself on how much she is responsible for in the time that she is occupying the house- but it seems like she was born with this telekinetic power and has so far in her life been wrestling with it mightily- it must be quite an emotional burden to keep it under control while dealing with (in her case) sad family issues and feelings of being different.

Interestingly it's said that Stephen King's "Carrie" was inspired by Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" which he greatly admired.

Telekinesis wouldn't explain the cold spot though

No, nor the past history of the house. As for the OP's question I think the house is indeed haunted and/or "born bad" or evil.

The Haunting made me think more of The Shining than Carrie in one sense: I had the impression that yes, Hill House was haunted "whatever walked there, walked alone" but that Eleanor charged up its batteries like Danny charged up the Overlook Hotel.

The house was haunted. It came alive in Nell's presence because she was highly susceptible and it wanted to take possession of her.

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rouge silk,
fierce concentrated joy,
fires the blood

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PoppyTransfusion: "it wanted to take possession of her."

And drag her down the ash chute in the old bricked-up fireplace and turn her into a hollow-eyed prune-faced little demon and make her into one of them

Oops, wrong movie.

And the purpose of your sarcasm - ?

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rouge silk,
fierce concentrated joy,
fires the blood

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PoppyTransfusion: "And the purpose of your sarcasm - ?"

Not sarcasm, or an attempt to be mean at all. It was just an attempt at humor probably a failed attempt. The idea of the house trying to keep Eleanor's soul forever just reminded me of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, that's all.

I suppose I was really whistling in the graveyard. It's a horrifying idea.

I'm sorry. That's one of the disadvantages of the internet, I misinterpret the tone of your post. I haven't seen the film you reference, so that probably didn't help either.

What's a horrifying idea: whistling in the graveyard, or the house keeping Eleanor's soul?

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rouge silk,
fierce concentrated joy,
fires the blood

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PoppyTransfusion: "That's one of the disadvantages of the internet, I misinterpret the tone of your post."

It happens. I should have realized that what I wrote could have been interpreted as me making fun of what you wrote, but I wasn't.

PoppyTransfusion: "I haven't seen the film you reference, so that probably didn't help either."

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark was a fairly famous made-for-TV movie from 1973, and has recently been re-made. The theatrical release is scheduled for later this year. I was just a kid when the original first aired, and people still remember it because it SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF US! There were a handful of made-for-TV movies back then that really were extremely good, and it was one of them. Steven Spielberg's Duel (1971) was another one. That was Spielberg's first feature-length film.

PoppyTransfusion: "What's a horrifying idea: whistling in the graveyard, or the house keeping Eleanor's soul?"

"Whistling in the graveyard" is just an old expression. It means one is trying to stay lighthearted when he's on the verge of panic. The house keeping Eleanor's soul is what I found horrifying. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is frightening in exactly the same way. For that matter, so is The Shining.

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Added in Edit: Incidentally, if you run a search on the original Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, don't consider the campy makeup on the "demons" (if that's what they were) as an indication of how scary it was. Unlike the still photographs on the internet, you never saw them clearly. The fact that TV resolution was pretty crappy in the 'seventies definitely helped, too. The way it was directed, they could've used people wearing bedsheets over their heads and it still would have been frightening.

Another thing that creeped people out was that the movie never explained what the "demons" were. They were just things that lived in the bottom of the ash chute, and they wanted to drag the heroine down into the bowels of the house to live with them forever.

It traumatized a whole generation of kids. Most made-for-TV movies pull their punches. That one didn't.

Hi racroen, thanks for your reply. I will look out for that film, it sounds creepy. And if it's anything of the quality of Duel then it must be good.

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The house keeping Eleanor's soul is what I found horrifying. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is frightening in exactly the same way. For that matter, so is The Shining.

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Agreed to the first and last; obviously the second I've yet to see.

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rouge silk,
fierce concentrated joy,
fires the blood

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PoppyTransfusion: "if it's anything of the quality of Duel then it must be good."

I'd be exaggerating if I said it was as good as Duel, but Duel was the king of made-for-TV movies. It was the standard against which all others are judged. I'd put Don't Be Afraid of the Dark on par with the first The Night Stalker (1972), or even a little above it. The Night Stalker (which spawned an entire series) was a very good made-for-TV movie, too.

It's a shame that the networks don't produce anything with that kind of quality anymore.

That's a good point and one I've thought on. Something was definitely going in that house. Was it tied to Crain? Dis his personality shape the "atmosphere" or the house? Demons?

Was the house a conduit?

I did start to question whether there are actually souls trapped in that house though I think the dialogue throughout plus the narrative strongly indicates that the house wants and "holds" souls.

I think we can assume the house was haunted. Don't forget. Nell experienced things along with others. So unless the entire movie was inside her head, then yes. The house was haunted.

Not haunted. All in her mind. Clearly. Like in Turn of the Screw.

"You couldn't be much further from the truth" - several

The House was haunted but Eleanor's presense gave the paranormal atmosphere an extra dynamic. As Eleanor states time and time again the House is after her but by the House, she means her deep emotions. Eleanor at heart is a well mannered and sensitive person who deep down has more dark feelings and desires. She is attrated to Dr Markway yet can not truly reveal or animate her urges. The House is a metaphor for Eleanor's darker side which she does not want to accept but eventually gives in. By embracing her darker side (ending in her death) Eleanor found a source of solance which she felt was home. On the part of the audience it raises questions regarding Eleanor's state of mind.

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".

Shirley Jackson, who co-wrote the screenplay, did exactly what she did in her book; left the interpretation up to the viewer/reader. It is possible that Eleanor is causing all of the disturbances that the others experience, or that she is amplifying them - or maybe Hill House is actually haunted (and boy is it EVER, then!)The voice-over makes it seem that much of the story is being generated in Eleanor's head, (this works better in the novel) but it becomes a matter of the chicken and egg, psychological versus supernatural (but definitely leaning towards the supernatural.)

I was able to see a new print of this film at the Alex, a large theater in Glendale, (which has its own ghost stories) a few years back, and returning it to a big screen in a dark theater with the pounding echoing throughout showed that it has lost none of its visceral power over the many decades since it was released, though every successful horror film made since has blatantly stolen from it and the shocks, therefore, have lessened a bit.

Stephen King's "The Shining" actually quotes "The Haunting of Hill House" at the beginning.

"No fate but what we make." -Terminator II

Shirley Jackson had nothing to do with the screenplay (Nelson Giddings wrote it) or the movie production. The screenplay was adapted from Jackson's novel.

She is listed as "writer" both on this page and on her own IMDb page. How much involvement she had is still debatable.

"No fate but what we make." -Terminator II

Shirley Jackson IMDb page:
"The Haunting (based on the novel by: "The Haunting of Hill House")"

The Haunting IMDb page:
"Writers: Nelson Gidding (screenplay), Shirley Jackson (based on the novel by: "The Haunting of Hill House")"

Gidding wrote the movie screenplay, which was adapted from Jackson's novel. If Jackson had co-written the screenplay she would have shared that credit with Gidding. There is nothing I have ever come across that claims Jackson participated in the movie production at all. Director Robert Wise bought the film rights from Jackson and Jackson attended the film's premiere. Wise has been quoted as saying, in either a biography or interview(s), that he had spoken with Jackson (I believe before the production started) about the decision to shorten the title to The Haunting, from her novel's The Haunting of Hill House, and she said that was actually something she had considered herself for the novel. Other than her short comments to the press about the film after the premiere I can't recall her having much involvement with the movie.

Mark Twain or any other author whose work was adapted for a movie will be listed on IMDb under "writers". Obviously he wasn't around to write a screenplay for an adaptation of one of his stories/books. But he IS listed as a writer because his work was adapted for the screenplay. If a living author (at the time of a movie production) adapted his/her own book for the screen they will be listed as having written the screenplay.

Jackson actually did give an answer to this question, a straightforward and unambiguous one, but to be honest I regret hearing of it. I think the ambiguity is half the fun. :)

I think it was fairly apparent the house was haunted. Dr Markway's historical narrative of strange occurances, Luke's aunt's testimony during her meeting with Dr Markway on the house and we see from the viewer's perspective all the other strange phenomena.

The telekinesis aspect is an afterthought - but it's there (or the author wouldn't have left that option open.) The house very definitely IS haunted, however, and the addition of Eleanor's power seemed to be its goal. It did not, however, expect her to bring it down around her (as in "Carrie") and had to dispatch with the physical body before too much damage was inflicted by it. The house and its 'inhabitants' would not have willingly participated in the seeming destruction going on at the end.

"No fate but what we make." -Terminator II

There was clearly something going on in that house long before Eleanor ever showed up. Dr Markway's narrative on the history of Hill House gave the viewer the back history on the house and weird things were already happening.

What exactly is in the house? We don't know. It's not clear if the house actually has any spirits or it's just *echos* of previous inhabitants. I got the sense the house was a predator. It preyed and fed off certain people. Maybe it trapped souls but I'm not so sure.

The child's laughter couldn't have been that of a soul for example.

No child died there. So it seems like the house was mimicking.

Only in the movie, at the end, Elanor acts as if something is grabbing the steering wheel

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The Haunting is a ghost story where the fear doesnt just come from spirits but from the idea that our past could literally come back to haunt us.

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Whether it's about ghosts or not is entirely open to debate. It's still a gripping psychological thriller, Gothic story, and character study.

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HAUNTED!!!!!

Yes and no. I think its meant to be up to the eye of beholder.

A definateMaybe.
Which is rather the point.

Any plan that involves losing your hat is a BAD plan.