A Haunting on the Hill
A Haunting on the Hill is a Gothic horror novel by Elizabeth Hand. It is an authorized sequel to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. The story follows Holly Sherwin, a struggling playwright who wins a $10,000 grant to develop Witching Night, a feminist retelling of Elizabeth Sawyer, who was hanged for witchcraft in 1621. Holly leaves her teaching job and travels to upstate New York to live in Hill House for a month while she works on her play. She invites her girlfriend Nisa and a small theater troupe, including Stevie and Amanda, to rehearse.
Strange phenomena soon plague the group: bloodstains, unexplained banging, a giant black hare, cold spots, eerie voices, and a locked tower that suddenly opens. At first skeptical, they gradually fear the house may be haunted.
A Haunting on the Hill is the first official sequel to Shirley Jackson’s novel. The Shirley Jackson estate asked several writers to pen an authorized sequel; Hand was chosen. After a pause, the estate revisited the project in 2020 and Hand developed the idea of a small group of theater people experiencing supernatural events. She drew on her own experiences as a playwright and used Jackson’s drawings of Hill House and the original novel to keep the setting authentic while preserving her own voice.
It was published in October 2023 in the United States by Mulholland Books, in both e-book and hardback formats, with an audiobook narrated by Carol Monda released the same day.
Critics were favorable. NPR’s Gabino Iglesias called it a loving homage that also stands on its own. The New York Times and The New Yorker gave positive notes as well, with reviewers highlighting Hand’s balance between echoing Jackson and using her own style.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:51 (CET).