The Haunting of Hill House (Jackson Shirley); Penguin, 2009

The best-known of Shirley Jacksons novels and a major inspiration for writers like Neil Gaiman and Stephen King as well as the hit Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House is a chilling story of the power of fear

Shirley Jacksons stories are among the most terrifying ever written Donna Tartt

Alone in the world, Eleanor is delighted to take up Dr Montagues invitation to spend a summer in the mysterious Hill House. Joining them are Theodora, an artistic sensitive, and Luke, heir to the house. But what begins as a light-hearted experiment is swiftly proven to be a trip into their darkest nightmares, and an investigation that one of their number may not survive. Twice filmed as The Haunting, and the inspiration for a 10-part Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House is a powerful work of slow-burning psychological horror.

An amazing writer ... If you havent read her you have missed out on something marvellous Neil Gaiman

As nearly perfect a haunted-house tale as I have ever read Stephen King

The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable A. M. Homes

Shirley Jackson is one of those highly idiosyncratic, inimitable writers...whose work exerts an enduring spell Joyce Carol Oates