The Haunting Of Hill House

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. How long does Dr. Montague plan to stay at Hill House?

2. Why does Dr. Montague rent Hill House?

3. How many years has Eleanor taken care of her mother?

4. Why does Dr. Montague invite Eleanor?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How is Hill House described in the opening paragraph, and how does this description differ from typical descriptions of haunted houses?

2. How does the narrator describe Eleanor in the first chapter of the novel?

3. How does the narrator describe Theodora, and how is her character similar to or different from Eleanor’s?

4. How do Carrie and her husband treat Eleanor when she attempts to take the car to Hill House?

5. How does Theodora’s attitude toward Hill House differ from Eleanor’s?

6. By the end of Chapter 2, how would you describe Theodora and Eleanor’s relationship?

Paired Resource

“Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders: What Is Dissociation?”

• This resource defines dissociation and explains its causes.
• Connects to the theme of The Fragility of Identity
• In Chapters 1 and 2 of The Haunting of Hill House, Eleanor spends much time fantasizing, and she even thinks about taking on a new identity as she approaches the house. Do you believe Eleanor may be dissociating? Why or why not? Why does she fantasize and take on a new Identity?

Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. What happened to the last person who tried to leave Hill House?

2. Where does Dr. Montague tell his colleagues that he went for the summer?

3. What is Eleanor’s reaction to Theodora painting her toes?

4. What does Eleanor believe she hears when she wakes from her second sleep at Hill House?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. As Eleanor gets settled in Hill House, how does she feel about her relationship with the other guests?

2. What does Eleanor think about as she stares into the fire, and why?

3. Where does Eleanor claim to live, and why does she make this claim?

4. Why is Eleanor bothered by Theodora calling the house by name?

5. What is Dr. Montague’s fear about the house, and what does he make Eleanor promise?

6. What do Theodora and Eleanor experience while Luke and Dr. Montague are outside? How do the two react in the moment and then afterward?

Paired Resource

“4 Reasons Someone Might Pretend Not to Need Anyone”

• This PsychologyToday article explains why many people do not allow themselves to be vulnerable or open to emotional connection with others.
• In The Haunting of Hill House, Eleanor feels as if everyone except herself is pretending not to be afraid. Eleanor, however, also hides her fear. Why does Eleanor fear vulnerability? Consider her past and her deep desire to belong.

Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. What does the chalk writing on the wall say?

2. What happens to Theodora’s clothes and room, and how does Eleanor react?

3. What does Luke reveal to Eleanor about his past?

4. What do Theodora and Eleanor experience in the garden?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Eleanor’s attitude toward Hill House when she wakes up in the beginning of Chapter 5, and how is her response to the house surprising?

2. Who is blamed for the writing on the wall, and how does this affect the relationships in the house?

3. What does Eleanor admit to the others she would like to do, and how do the others react?

4. How does Eleanor respond to the sensitive information Luke tells her about his past?

5. What do Theodora and Eleanor argue about as they walk out into the gardens of Hill House at night?

6. As Theodora and Eleanor walk outside, what do they each think about?

Paired Resource

“Perspectives on Psychological Disorders”

• A brief history of the conflation of psychological disorders and the supernatural
• Connects to the theme of Imagination and the Dangers of the Human Mind
• Do you believe what Eleanor experiences is primarily supernatural or psychological? Consider when she wakes up in a wonderful mood in the beginning of Chapter 5, for example. Is she joyful because of a controlling presence at Hill House, or because she has found a place to belong? Or, is Shirley Jackson presenting a combination of both?

Chapters 7-8

Reading Check

1. What happens when Eleanor picks a daisy in the hills?

2. Why does Mrs. Montague arrive at Hill House?

3. What future scenario does Eleanor propose to Theodora, and how does Theodora respond?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Eleanor envy the trees for being rooted in the ground?

2. What does Mrs. Montague’s planchette reveal about the house’s connection to Eleanor?

3. How has the Hill House’s communication with Eleanor changed, and how does Eleanor feel about this?

4. When Theodora, Luke, and Eleanor go for a walk outside the house, what important information does Eleanor reveal about her mother, and how does this connect to what Eleanor has experienced in Hill House?

5. When Eleanor walks ahead of the others, what does she think about, and what does this reveal about Eleanor’s state of mind?

Paired Resource

“Making Sense of Belonging”

• This article from the Australian Psychological Society explains the psychological need to belong, including the history of belonging, the pain of rejection, our biological need to belong, and its importance in youth.
• Connects to the theme of The Fragility of Identity
• Why does Eleanor feel so compelled to live with Theodora? How have her childhood and young adulthood created this need? When Theodora and Luke shun Eleanor, what impact does this have on her connection with the house?

Chapter 9

Reading Check

1. Whom does Eleanor hear calling to her in the middle of the night?

2. What does Eleanor do to Theodora’s scarf?

3. What does Eleanor finally explain to the others when they tell her she must go home?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who bangs on the doors of Hill House during the night, and why?

2. Why does Eleanor dance with the statue of Hugh Crain?

3. How does Eleanor describe her connection with Hill House at this point?

4. Why doesn't Eleanor recognize Theodora as she stands at the top of the stairs in the tower?

5. What does Eleanor think about as she crashes the car into the tree outside Hill House? Why is this significant?

Recommended Next Reads

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

• The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella about a governess who believes that the grounds she lives on are haunted.
• The Turn of the Screw is often compared to The Haunting of Hill House as they both deal with a combination of psychological and supernatural elements.
• The Turn of the Screw on SuperSummary

Dracula by Bram Stoker

• Dracula is an 1897 Gothic novel with similar themes and ideas to those in The Haunting of Hill House.
• Many of the characters in Dracula have become archetypes that reappear throughout Gothic and horror literature.
• Dracula on SuperSummary