The Haunting of Hill House puts its ghost-filled mansion on the center stage, because the story revolves around this home. We’re willing to look past the supernatural components of this house considering its impressive decor and architecture, which includes “towers and turrets and buttresses and wooden lace on them, even sometimes Gothic spires and gargoyles,” as author Shirley Jackson wrote. Also in the novel is a description of Hill House from one of the main characters, Eleanor Vance, who says, “Almost any house, caught unexpectedly or at an odd angle, can turn a deeply humorous look on a watching person; even a mischievous little chimney, or a dormer like a dimple, can catch up a beholder with a sense of fellowship; but a house arrogant and hating, never off guard, can only be evil.”
Hill House is said to have been inspired by the Winchester Mystery House, a Victorian mansion in San Jose, California, that has its very own supernatural stories. The former owner of this home, Sarah Winchester, was the widow of William Wirt Winchester, who built his fortune through his firearm company. It’s believed that the Winchester Mystery House is haunted by the spirits of those who lost their lives because of the Winchester rifle (and we really can’t blame the spirits, if this is true).
Follow House Beautiful on Instagram.