Known for her works of the horrific and macabre, Shirley Jackson led a successful writing career that spawned cinematic adaptations based on her work. Born on December 16, 1916 and passing away on August 8, 1965, Jackson was known as a reclusive woman. She was reluctant to talk about her work in public and never ventured out of the house often. Mostly known as a mystery to fans, her work is a look into her own personal torment.
Spanning over two decades, Jackson produced six novels, approximately 200 short stories, and two memoirs. She has notably influenced authors such as Neil Gaiman and Stephen King. Her stories often featured themes of isolation and the feeling of constantly being watched.
Jackson’s stories were a hit in the mid-20th century and continue to frighten audiences to this day. In 2018, two of her stories were adapted for a large audience. The Netflix original series The Haunting Of Hill House premiered in 2018 and influenced a large influx of mainstream popularity for Jackson and her stories. With a new found flair for all things Jackson, more adaptations of her work are expected to hit major streaming services and theaters in the near future. For now, here are the current adaptations of her work, ranked from worst to best.
5. The Haunting (1999)
Jan de Bont’s 1999 film, The Haunting, is one of the three adaptations of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel, The Haunting Of Hill House, on this list. The film stars Lili Taylor as Eleanor Vance, Liam Neeson as Doctor David Marrow, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Theo, and Owen Wilson as Luke Sanderson. It follows Eleanor as she investigates her late mother’s estate in Connecticut. Just as quickly as they arrive, the supernatural activity begins.
Hill House is haunted by the spirits of Hugh Crain and his wife, Renee. Due to her infertility, she committed suicide, and Crain died alone in the large home. Eleanor and Dr. Marrow uncover that he brutally tortured orphans and killed them. He trapped their souls in the home in order to have an eternal family. Ultimately, the film fell victim to an underwritten screenplay and an over reliance on horror clichés, and poorly done CGI. It stays fairly true to the source material, but fails to hold up to the standards of Jackson’s novel.
4. Lizzie (1957)
Hugo Haas’s 1957 drama is based on Shirley Jackson’s novel, The Bird’s Nest. Starring Eleanor Parker as Elizabeth Richmond, the film follows Elizabeth as she begins to receive letters from an unknown woman named Lizzie. As she suffers from insomnia, Dr. Wright (Richard Boone) uncovers the truth behind Elizabeth’s mental state. He finds that she has multiple personality disorder and one of her three personalities, Lizzie, has been sending the letters.
As this film was made in the 1950s, it could only accomplish so much with its source material. The original novel frames each chapter on one individual and their experience with the events. It turns out that her multiple personalities are far more extreme than in the film. Regardless, Haas captures the torment that Elizabeth Richmond experiences throughout the novel and offers a thrilling film that resembles Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but from a woman’s experience.
3. We Have Always Lived In The Castle (2018)
Directed by Stacie Passon, We Have Always Lived In The Castle is a mystery thriller based on Jackson’s novel of the same name. It was the last book Jackson wrote before she passed away. Passon’s film follows sisters Mary Katherine “Merricat” (Taissa Farmiga) and her older sister, Constance (Alexandra Daddario), as they care for their ill uncle Julian (Crispin Glover). They live in their family estate, and are taunted by the locals for supposedly being cursed.
The film offers a plethora of twists and turns, but it primarily focuses on the toxicity of Merricat and her desire to keep Constance to herself. Furthermore, Merricat is an unreliable narrator that tells only her side of the story. This adaptation is nearly the same as its source material; so much that it's difficult to find much of a difference between the two. We Have Always Lived In The Castle is a well made film that deserves every bit of praise it has received.
2. The Haunting Of Hill House: Season One (2018)
Created by Mike Flanagan, the Netflix original series, The Haunting of Hill House, is based off of Jackson’s novel of the same name. When the series released, it was immediately met with praise from both critics and fans. The series follows the Crain family as they move into Hill House and begin to renovate the massive home. It shifts from past to present events in order to tell the history of both the family and the house.
As it turns out, the home is deeply sinister and plans on keeping the family held within its walls. Luckily, most of the family escapes, but their mother Olivia perishes inside of the home. Years later, they are forced to confront the house. The series does not necessarily follow the source material whatsoever. The terror Jackson wanted to showcase in her novel was replaced with horror and jump scares with characters who are strangers to the source. Regardless, it is a very well done horror series that deserves high praise. Season 2 of the anthology will not be based on Shirley Jackson's text.
1. The Haunting (1963)
Director Robert Wise’s 1963 film The Haunting is the final adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House on this list. While there may be only a few ways to tell the same story, this one takes most of its content from the source. Narrated by Dr. Markway, the film follows his investigation of Hill House with Theodora and Eleanor Vance. The sisters experienced poltergeist activity as children and are believed to be psychics. Ultimately, the house takes over Eleanor’s thoughts and she becomes a spirit of Hill House for eternity.
Wise's film is a horror classic and with good reason. It is a unique and well crafted take on a classic novel that initially flopped when it released. Out of the three adaptations this is the one that remains the closest to its source. It does not provide additional characters for plot development and retains Jackson’s intent for the story. Shirley Jackson’s novel was meant to induce terror rather than horrify, Wise’s film accomplishes this where others do not.