--- product_id: 8510561 title: "Hell House: A Novel" price: "18969 Ft" currency: HUF in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.hu/products/8510561-hell-house-a-novel store_origin: HU region: Hungary --- # Hell House: A Novel **Price:** 18969 Ft **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Hell House: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** 18969 Ft with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hu](https://www.desertcart.hu/products/8510561-hell-house-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Review: The scariest haunted house novel I've read - Hell House is quite simply an outstanding horror novel. The pace is brisk, and the style does not seem dated. Matheson wrote several episodes of the old Twilight Zone show, and this novel has that disturbing kind of feel to it. To me, it far surpasses anything by Stephen King, John Saul, or Peter Straub. Matheson's prose is crisp yet detailed, and his plotting is very effective. In my opinion, gothic horror should be terrifying, and while that is always going to be a subjective quality, Hell House does not disappoint. Even the most jaded horror fan will find Matheson's depictions of potergeist activity creepy. But what sets Hell House apart from other stories in the genre is that it explores both psychological and the supernatural explanations for the haunting of Belasco's mansion, making it not only scary, but also thought provoking. A few words of warning, though. While most readers of horror are not likely to be offended by blasephemy, Matheson's malevolent ghost indulges in some of some of the most darkly depraved actions one can imagine, subjecting the female medium, Florence Tanner, to what has to be one of the most bizarre rape scenes ever imagined involving a large crucified Christ sporting an enormous wooden phallus. Nevertheless, such things are in keeping with Emeric Belasco's character as the most evil man in early twentieth century America. In fact, he seems almost like a fictional rendering of Aleister Crowley, and his mansion is similar to Crowley's own "anti-monestary" the Abbey of Thelema. Crowley and his followers lived lives spent not on laws, statutes, or rules, but according to their own free will and pleasure, growing so self-indulgent that Mussolini's government forced the group to leave Sicily in 1923; Matheson's anti-hero carries such hedonistic pleasure to sadistic extremes. All of this, of course, makes for fascinating reading, but I can imagine that some folks would find it offensive. Also, if you purchase the Kindle edition, be aware that the text is a VERY poor scan of the original text. Consequently, mistakes such as "Fie" for "He" and "nov/" for "now" abound. Most of them can be deciphered with some effort, and all of them are confusing and inexcusable. Nevertheless, Hell House is the best horror novel I've read in a long time, and it comes with my highest recommendation. Review: Scariest ever? … Eh. - This is a very well written book. Of course, it’s one of the classics in the horror genre. Still, as well told as the tale is, I just didn’t find the story overly frightening. By now, everyone who wants an outline of the plot can find it in numerous places, so I won’t bother delving into the storyline. The detailed descriptions are all but picturesque, and the four main characters are well developed. The author takes great care in artfully describing the settings, and halfway through the book, we find our imaginations can follow the creepy scenes from room to room. As the story progresses, there is an inordinate amount of time devoted to the debate over whether the paranormal occurrences are caused by electro magnetism or by the intervention of the spirit world. The discussion drags, and after a time, I didn't care which side of the debate prevailed, but only wished that the deliberation would end at some point. I think the reason I couldn't give Hell House five stars was because of the book’s slow pace. The action tends to plod along despite some very descriptive, well-written scenes that come close to tingling the spine, but don’t quite hit the mark. About three quarters of the way through the book, the action begins to build. But then, the ending seems to falter, as the auther reverts to his more comfortable pace. All in all the book is well worth reading, and I’m glad I finally got to it. At the same time, I certainly can’t rank it among the scariest I've ever read. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #929,348 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #48 in Horror Graphic Novels (Books) #64 in Ghost Fiction #212 in Horror Occult & Supernatural | | Customer Reviews | 4.1 out of 5 stars 8,013 Reviews | ## Images ![Hell House: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71xZ1OkM36L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The scariest haunted house novel I've read *by A***R on December 22, 2011* Hell House is quite simply an outstanding horror novel. The pace is brisk, and the style does not seem dated. Matheson wrote several episodes of the old Twilight Zone show, and this novel has that disturbing kind of feel to it. To me, it far surpasses anything by Stephen King, John Saul, or Peter Straub. Matheson's prose is crisp yet detailed, and his plotting is very effective. In my opinion, gothic horror should be terrifying, and while that is always going to be a subjective quality, Hell House does not disappoint. Even the most jaded horror fan will find Matheson's depictions of potergeist activity creepy. But what sets Hell House apart from other stories in the genre is that it explores both psychological and the supernatural explanations for the haunting of Belasco's mansion, making it not only scary, but also thought provoking. A few words of warning, though. While most readers of horror are not likely to be offended by blasephemy, Matheson's malevolent ghost indulges in some of some of the most darkly depraved actions one can imagine, subjecting the female medium, Florence Tanner, to what has to be one of the most bizarre rape scenes ever imagined involving a large crucified Christ sporting an enormous wooden phallus. Nevertheless, such things are in keeping with Emeric Belasco's character as the most evil man in early twentieth century America. In fact, he seems almost like a fictional rendering of Aleister Crowley, and his mansion is similar to Crowley's own "anti-monestary" the Abbey of Thelema. Crowley and his followers lived lives spent not on laws, statutes, or rules, but according to their own free will and pleasure, growing so self-indulgent that Mussolini's government forced the group to leave Sicily in 1923; Matheson's anti-hero carries such hedonistic pleasure to sadistic extremes. All of this, of course, makes for fascinating reading, but I can imagine that some folks would find it offensive. Also, if you purchase the Kindle edition, be aware that the text is a VERY poor scan of the original text. Consequently, mistakes such as "Fie" for "He" and "nov/" for "now" abound. Most of them can be deciphered with some effort, and all of them are confusing and inexcusable. Nevertheless, Hell House is the best horror novel I've read in a long time, and it comes with my highest recommendation. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scariest ever? … Eh. *by G***J on November 29, 2013* This is a very well written book. Of course, it’s one of the classics in the horror genre. Still, as well told as the tale is, I just didn’t find the story overly frightening. By now, everyone who wants an outline of the plot can find it in numerous places, so I won’t bother delving into the storyline. The detailed descriptions are all but picturesque, and the four main characters are well developed. The author takes great care in artfully describing the settings, and halfway through the book, we find our imaginations can follow the creepy scenes from room to room. As the story progresses, there is an inordinate amount of time devoted to the debate over whether the paranormal occurrences are caused by electro magnetism or by the intervention of the spirit world. The discussion drags, and after a time, I didn't care which side of the debate prevailed, but only wished that the deliberation would end at some point. I think the reason I couldn't give Hell House five stars was because of the book’s slow pace. The action tends to plod along despite some very descriptive, well-written scenes that come close to tingling the spine, but don’t quite hit the mark. About three quarters of the way through the book, the action begins to build. But then, the ending seems to falter, as the auther reverts to his more comfortable pace. All in all the book is well worth reading, and I’m glad I finally got to it. At the same time, I certainly can’t rank it among the scariest I've ever read. ### ⭐⭐⭐ Poor Characterization and Stilted Writing are the Only Things Haunting These Pages *by S***N on November 20, 2016* The ectoplasmic sh!t hits the fan in Richard Matheson’s brooding tale of paranormal phenomena and sexual repression. Set in the 1970s, Hell House begins as a wealthy octogenarian (with apparently too much money and too little time left) hires expert parapsychologist Dr. Lionel Barrett to answer the metaphysical question of life after death, promising Barrett and his fellow investigators each $100,000 to bring him the answer. As if proving survival post-death wasn’t tricky enough, the hapless team is dispatched to the long abandoned Belasco House somewhere in rural Maine, a decadent manor that fell into disrepute after a dark period of drug addiction, alcoholism, debauchery, with just a dash of cannibalism—all of which occurred there under the silent influence of Emeric Belasco. Armed with troves of scientific equipment and an orange cat, the good doctor, his insecure wife Edith, and two spiritual mediums named Florence and Fischer arrive to discover this creepy estate possesses all the amenities ranging from an icky tarn to a death-defying steam room. Things go horribly awry, the spooks come out, and this ragtag group soon finds their sanity being subtly undermined by the malevolent forces housed within. It’s pretty clear why this deserted manor was been dubbed "Hell House" by the good townsfolk. As Barrett and the others resolve to rid Belasco House of its evil affliction, they soon learn that the ghosts here won’t go down—at least not without one hell of a fight. I had high hopes for Hell House, which had glowing endorsements from such auspicious writers as Stephen King. Alas, save for a couple of gripping moments, the book was so-so at best. Matheson’s writing here is pedestrian, repetitive, and wrought with awkward adverbs. The narrative plods at a leaden pace. The fright elements are familiar by today’s standards (I realize the book was published in the 1970s, but so was ‘Salem Lot and The Shining—both of which continue to stand the test of time). Although the ending was unpredictable and rather fitting, it still felt anticlimactic and maybe even a little contrived. The characters are banal, their motives one-dimensional, and the reader is given little as to their lives outside of Hell House. Dr. Barrett is overly arrogant and his attempts at explaining the nature of ghostly phenomena through the lens of cold, scientific logic bridges on nonsensical techno-babble; Edith is meek and repressed; and Florence is stubborn and overeager to prove she’s correct about the source of the haunting, even at the expense of her own life. Of the quartet, Benjamin Franklin Fischer was perhaps the only likeable character. In addition to the characters' lack of depth, I found myself occasionally frustrated by both their strange behaviors and their rash decisions, some of which proved fatal. As I was reading Hell House, I had a hard time not drawing comparisons between this tale and Shirley Jackson’s seminal novel, The Haunting of Hill House (1959). While the plots of both stories surround four ghost seekers probing a notoriously unfriendly pile with only a single vowel to distinguish the two—Hill House v. Hell House—the more notable similarities are found in the principal protagonists. There’s little doubt that Matheson took some of the key traits and identities of Jackson’s players and injected them into his own. On the other hand, Matheson’s horrors are openly exposed while Jackson’s are implied and more frightening for that very reason. Moreover, Matheson's prose doesn’t even come close to reaching the poetry of Jackson's elegantly woven web of words. (Simply read the first paragraph of Hill House and you’ll see what I mean.) The story is so steeped in darkly twisted, depraved eroticism that some might argue there’s more sexual content going on here than horror. It’s true, there’s plenty of flesh on display and sexuality certainly plays a chief role in the backstories of both the characters and the Belasco House. I won’t mince words—there were times when I sensed the book was lewdly indulging in sex, much like a titillated teenager (unlike William Peter Blatley’s The Exorcist, which handles similar adult themes but with greater sophistication). But if you ask me, lurid sex actually sets the book apart from other forays into the haunted house genre. While I had no objection to Matheson’s depiction of spirit possession coupled with sexual kinks (hash-tag ghost sex), which have their place in books like these; however, readers may find the sexualization and brutal abuse of the female characters gratuitous at times. Despite being given high marks, I’m afraid Hell House doesn’t live up to its advance billing. Sure, there’s some memorable stuff found in the pages of this cinematic novel (which was later adapted into a 1973 film for which Matheson wrote the screenplay), and it’s a both beguiling feat for its time as well as a respectable contribution to the development of the modern horror genre. But is Belasco House the “Mount Everest of haunted houses”? Meh, let’s just go with K2 and call it a day, shall we? Unfortunately, the book suffers from poor characterization and stilted writing, but I’d still recommend this novel to all you Matheson appreciators or lovers of the haunted house plot…though I can’t promise you’ll like it. ## Frequently Bought Together - Hell House - Ghost Story - The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hu/products/8510561-hell-house-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.hu/products/8510561-hell-house-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Hungary* *Store origin: HU* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*