Perfect for spooky season, join us for a discussion of Shirley Jackson’s classic haunted house novel, The Haunting of Hill House, where you'll think about the novel as both a reader AND a writer.
Through robust conversation, we’ll discuss the novel’s themes, characters, and setting, and explore how Jackson establishes dread and suspense before diving into the supernatural. We’ll pay close attention to the novel's extremely famous opening lines and how haunt the novel’s pages through to the very end. Finally, we'll look at how the novel, and horror writing more generally, activates the reader's emotions on a craft level, through the concepts of terror, horror, the uncanny, and — in the best writing of the genre — the use of humor for comic relief. You’ll have a chance to play with craft during a writing exercise. Whether you’re a Halloween buff, a fan of psychological horror, or a lover of gothic tales, Jackson’s book delivers compelling characters and genuine frights.
Please have the novel (approx. 200 pages) read in its entirety prior to the class. Instructor will be reading from the Penguin Classics paperback edition with an introduction by Laura Miller, but you’re welcome to read any edition of the book.
Lacey N. Dunham is the author of The Belles (2025), named a Best Book of 2025 by Library Journal and Crime Reads, and the forthcoming Fall of the House of Graystone (2027), both from Atria/S&S. Dunham is a Poets & Writers 2025 Writer to Watch and has received fellowships from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the DC Arts Commission, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and Catapult. A queer and low-income first-generation college graduate of Hollins University, she believes in the necessity of creating equity, access, and welcoming environments for people traditionally excluded from literary spaces. She lives in Washington, DC with too many books, but only two cats. Find her at laceyndunham.com.
Lacey is new to The Porch. Welcome!
