|
The opening of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. Arguably the best paragraph/opening in all of horror literature. No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone. Stephen King spent a good deal talking about THHH in Danse Macabre (which I recommend if you have an interest in the horror genre), including the quoted intro. "There are few if any descriptive passages in the English language that are any finer than this; it is the sort of quiet epiphany every writer hopes for.” google books link Stephen King posted:It begins by suggesting Hill House is a living organism; tells us that this live organism does not exist under conditions of absolute reality; that because (although here I should add that I may be making an induction Miss Jackson did not intend) it does not dream, it is not sane. The paragraph tells us how long its history has been, immediately establishing that historical context that is so important to the haunted-house story, and it concludes by telling us that something walks in the rooms and halls of Hill House. All in two sentences.
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2015 18:16
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 18:56 |
|