Unfortunately, Hell House is a book that reads more like a male sex fantasy than horror. As it turns out, the story is haunted by misogyny and sexism, not ghosts. There are more lines about the female characters boobs bouncing up and down stairs than scares.

Ironically, the title Hell House is apt for this book. The book has a great premise—foundation—but everything else making up the book is a hellish read at best.

Hell House is from the I Am Legend, legend, Richard Matheson. I’ve been a huge fan of his post-apocalyptic vampire novel for years, but never delved much into his other works… Until I found Hell House on sale at the local Dymocks—the Australian Angus & Robertson equivalent.

Hell House tells the story of the Belasco House, regarded as the Mount Everest of haunted houses.

The story begins with a rich, dying man who wants to know if the afterlife exists. So, he funds an investigation into the ever-terrifying Belasco House. There have been two previous attempts at investigating the house… All ending in death and disaster.

Maybe the third time is the charm? The new investigation team consists of a previous survivor and professional medium, Ben Fischer, a paranormal scientist, Dr. Lionel Barrett, his wife and sometimes assistant, Edith Barrett, and the aspiring medium, Florence Tanner.

The book has an interesting premise, even if it isn’t the most original. $100,000 to prove ghosts exist? It’s a fun idea, and while the story isn’t backed by the best prose to exist, it’s a quick and easy read.

For the most part, dialogue flows well and it isn’t hard to keep track of what is happening. There are times when sentences get awkwardly constructed together, like “tongues of flame leaped upward crackingly“, but it is easy to look past.

The story begins to quickly fall apart once the characters arrive at the Belasco House. The plot quickly goes nowhere, instead, focusing on sexual violence, and seeing how many times they can describe the female characters being inexplicably shirtless in a single paragraph.

The Horny House would’ve been a more fitting title. It’s a shame because, underneath all the sadistic misogyny, Matheson is a strong writer. The initial descriptions of the house are terrifying, and the scientific take on hauntings could’ve been fascinating.

When the book finally does tackle the ghost at hand in the final act… It’s underwhelming at best.

The climax—more like a whimper—is reminiscent of the ending in It Chapter Two. More or less, the survivors stand in a circle, bullying the ghost until it gets embarrassed and dies (again).

The characterisation of the main cast isn’t anything to write home about, either. The main characters’ fears are all one-dimensional, rooted in either: bigotry, sexual violence, or sometimes—both.

There are pages among pages dedicated to one of the main character’s biggest fear being someone thinking he is queer. When your book has more homophobia than hauntings, you know it’s an issue.

What’s disappointing is horror for over a century has been the genre at the forefront of pushing strong female leads and non-normative identities. Queerness and feminism are deeply intertwined in the genre, so it’s shocking for all the wrong reasons that Hell House took so many steps backwards.

If Sheridan Le Fanu could write a compelling, woman-loving-woman same-sex desire horror novel in 1871, there is no excuse for Richard Matheson.

If it already isn’t obvious with my Hell House review—this book isn’t worth the time.

A scathing review befitting a scathing haunting. Like the Hell House itself, this book stands alone, ominous, and waiting… And you can keep it waiting. While this book may have stood at the top of the haunted house subgenre back in 1971, it has not aged well.

Over the past half-century, haunted house books have come and gone—building on everything Hell House has to offer. Beyond just the blatant sexism, misogyny and bigotry, the book is just predictable and plain.

If you’re looking for a better, modern take on the classic haunted house tale—I recommend Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I’m Worthless or Grady Hendrix’s How to Sell a Haunted House.

Better yet, if you don’t mind films—the similarly named, Hell House LLC series is a better take on a similar idea. It’s a found-footed supernatural horror film series that does justice to the ‘Mount Everest of Haunted Houses’ idea.