Exactly how steamy is this story?
PG-13
Let's just get it out of the way: there is no overt sex in The Haunting of Hill House. Truth be told, nothing in this novel is overt, but since this is the steaminess section, we're going to stick to the lack of sexy sex.
Sexual issues are an important aspect of the novel, as Eleanor's struggle for self-discovery is intricately linked to sexuality. Her sexual repression results from a life of family obligations, and much of the struggle Eleanor undergoes during her time at Hill House is an attempt to gain insight into her—let's say—intimate dimensions. Even the invitation to Hill House is replete with sexual innuendo:
Perhaps, Eleanor's sister whispered in the privacy of the marital bedroom, perhaps Dr. Montague—if that really was his name, after all—perhaps this Dr. Montague used these women for some—well—experiments. You know—experiments, the way they do. (1.6)
(And those are the only whisperings happening in that marital bedroom, if you know what we mean.)
The rest of the sexual content in the novel plays out in a similarly enigmatic fashion. Is Eleanor in love with Luke, or isn't she? Are she and Theodora only friends? Do they want to be more? Like, is Mrs. Montague totally in love with that Arthur guy, or what? Like any worthwhile ghost story, the power of the novel's sexual haunts lies in what you hear creeping down the hall, not in what stumbles into the light. We're tantalized by mystery.
So, why PG-13, then? It's not because we think the sexuality is too much for a PG rating. We just believe an older audience is required to not only get a lot of the sexual references but to appreciate their ambiguity—and to appreciate the thematic purpose this ambiguity serves in the novel.