Like everybody else, I binged my way hard through The Haunting of Hillhouse on Netflix. I absolutely adored it. As I watched, there were times when it felt like they had taken all the things I love directly from my brain and put them on the screen. It was an intense experience. And the big jump scare? I mean come on! You know the one, in episode 8? I literally leapt off the couch, the cat was not amused.
I know I’m not alone in liking things that are a little bit creepy, weird and fantastical. So if you’re like me and you’ve already watched all of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and feel like reading something, here are five books to fill the void.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
This is a classic gothic masterpiece. Netflix should make this one into a series too. The opening line, “Last night I dreamt I went to
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Bring on the creepy, gothic, possibly murderous children! Written by the woman who wrote The Haunting of Hill House, this book hit all the right notes for me; strong characters, a wonderfully creepy setting, and a whole mess of people
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
A more modern take on the gothic novel, this book came out in 2007. It’s about a famous and reclusive author who wrote a best-selling novel called The Thirteenth Tale, which only featured twelve tales. Now, the author has contacted a young woman to come and hear her thirteenth tale. That’s all I can say without giving too much away. There are so many twists, turns, and reveals in this novel. It is indeed a page-turner.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s books are in general wonderful quick reads, and this is no exception. It’s an excellent ‘locked in’ mystery, a great read for a stormy night.
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
A family escapes their cramped city apartment to spend the summer looking after an almost empty seaside manor. They just need to leave three meals a day upstairs, outside a locked room, for the old lady that lives there. But they must never knock, they must never disturb her. And it just gets more creepy from there as they become more obsessed with the woman behind the locked door.
I hope these books help you fill your Hill House void until the next dark piece of magic is released by Netflix. If you’ve read any of them, share your thoughts in the comments, and if you can think of another book that fits in with these, please leave the title in the comments too. Then we can all continue to scare ourselves silly and stay up far too late. : D
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