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Teaching The Haunting of Hill House

We're sorry Ms. Jackson, we are for real…scared.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 146

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson has been creeping readers out for generations, and we don't see why the party shouldn't continue. In a nutshell, it's the chilling tale of socially repressed Eleanor Vance, who heads to Hill House to partake in an experiment involving paranormal activities. But the horrors don't come in the form of ghosts or vampires or werewolves. Instead, Eleanor and company must contend with the House itself—and with their own haunted histories—if they're to survive.

If you're in for a good scare, Hill House won't disappoint. But it also encompasses so much more, as its fanbase—students, academics, and weirdo horror enthusiasts—can testify. One critic said that Jackson's ability to "[detect] horror in the everyday" and her "rapier-sharp prose" made her a 20th-century Ambrose Bierce. Famed author Stephen King called Hill House one of the two great horror novels of the past hundred years.

Our point? If it's good enough for Stephen, it's good enough for you and your high school students. Shmoop will take you on a tour to get to the bottom of all that Hill House has to offer—don't forget to pack your flashlights and stick together.

In this guide, you'll find

  • an analysis of Eleanor and whether she's a good candidate for spending time at Hill House.
  • a chance to pitch Hill House to Eleanor as a new home.
  • an opportunity to decide whether the supernatural was really involved in the whole mess, or even something even more chilling is going on.

The fears Eleanor & Co. encounter in Hill House are the intimate fears we all deal with at some point in our lives: fear of loneliness, fear of love, fear of ourselves, fear of the unknown, and so on. The book doesn't provide easy answers, but our guide should calm your fear of a dark, spooky, lesson plan-less mansion.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
  • A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Teaching The Haunting of Hill House?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Eleanor isn't too taken by Hill House when she first arrives. In fact, she calls it vile. A little harsh, but okay.

But, as the novel goes on, she begins to like it there: it makes her feel good, even if she's not sure why. Soon it seems likely she'll be shacking up there for real, at least for the near future.

In this hour-long activity, which can take place after everyone has read the fifth chapter, the students try to to sell Hill House to Eleanor. But they're not selling the house itself: they're selling the experience of living here, as this is what's caught her attention.

Let's get to it; no real estate licenses needed.

Materials Needed: a copy of the text and/or our Shmoop summary page

Step 1: Whatever you're selling, you need to know your customer first. So first up is for your students to see what's up with Eleanor.

Have students work with partners to list or write a paragraph about what Eleanor might want in a house. Here are the areas they should consider:

  • Why Eleanor's looking for a new house
  • Is there anything in particular she's looking for in a house (pros)?
  • Is there anything in particular that would put her off (cons)?

All ideas must be supported by specific reference to the text, obvi.

Step 2: We've got the lowdown on Eleanor and what her ideal home is. Now it's time to sell her on Hill House.

The students will write a conversation where a salesperson pitches Hill House to Eleanor, describing why it might be her perfect home. They'll want to focus on the following areas:

  • How living in Hill House would improve Eleanor's emotional mindset
  • Parts of the house that will make her happiest
  • Some acknowledgment of the house's downsides

The dialogue should be approximately 300 words long, and each "character" should speak in the first person. There should be detailed reference to the text to support ideas and at least two direct quotes. The conversation can consider that Eleanor has been living in the house and is now being offered the opportunity to buy the place, or base ideas on her time at Hill House but imagine she's never been there. Whatever's clever.

Here's an example of how the conversation could go:

Eleanor: "Hill House sure sounds right up my alley. But are there any downsides to living there?"

Salesperson: "Well, there are some, though luckily not many. One place you probably don't want to go to is the Library. It's quite unsettling, and you'll probably feel a little uncomfortable there: the temperature drops, what with that "cold air of mold and earth." It might just overwhelm you: you're probably better off hanging down near that babbling brook where you can chill out and have picnics."

Step 3: Once everyone's done, you can pick a couple of lucky students to share their pieces, and then have the class vote on whether they think Eleanor would go for it after hearing their pitches.

Instructions for Your Students

Eleanor isn't too taken by Hill House when she first arrives. In fact, she calls it vile. A little harsh, but okay.

But, as the novel goes on, she begins to like hanging out there: it makes her feel good, even if she's not sure why. Soon it seems likely she'll be shacking up there for real, at least for the near future.

Today you'll imagine you're trying to sell Hill House to Eleanor. But you're not just selling the house itself: you're selling the experience of living here, since this is what's caught her attention.

Let's get to it; no real estate licenses needed.

Step 1: Whatever you're selling, you need to know your customer first. So you need to see what's up with Eleanor.

You'll work with a partner to list or write a paragraph about what Eleanor might want in a house. Here are the areas you should consider:

  • Why Eleanor's looking for a new house
  • Is there anything in particular she's looking for in a house (pros)?
  • Is there anything in particular that would put her off (cons)?

All ideas must be supported by specific reference to the text, obvi.

Step 2: So we've got the lowdown on Eleanor and what her ideal home is like. Now it's time to sell her on Hill House.

You're going to write out a conversation where a salesperson pitches Hill House to Eleanor, describing why it might be her perfect home. You'll want to focus on the following areas:

  • How living in Hill House could improve Eleanor's emotional mindset
  • Parts of the house that will make her happiest
  • Some acknowledgment of the house's downsides

The dialogue should be approximately 300 words long, and each "character" should speak in the first person. There should be detailed reference to the text to support ideas and at least two direct quotes. The conversation can consider that Eleanor has been living in the house and is now being offered the opportunity to buy the place, or base ideas on her time at Hill House but imagine she's never been there. Whatever's clever.

Here's an example of how the conversation could go:

Eleanor: "Hill House sure sounds right up my alley. But are there any downsides to living there?"

Salesperson: "Well, there are some, though luckily not many. One place you probably don't want to go to is the Library. It's quite unsettling, and you'll probably feel a little uncomfortable there: the temperature drops, what with that "cold air of mold and earth." It might just overwhelm you: you're probably better off hanging down near that babbling brook where you can chill out and have picnics."

Step 3: Once everyone's done, teach will pick a couple of lucky students to share their pieces, and then have the class vote on whether they think Eleanor would go all in after hearing their pitches.