Gosh I loved this novel a lot. While We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a subtler and more masterful tale, this one is significantly more fun and has had a much greater impact on the horror genre and popular culture. 
 "No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone." 
 This book made me seek out the 1963 film adaptation, and I was stunned at how faithful an adaptation it was (while making the necessary changes for translation of medium) and also at how amazingly well it held up. Even with a less than impressive streaming experience, the tension, pacing, characters, and visuals were amazing. For example, when this line from the novel was used "I am like a small creature swallowed whole by a monster, and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside." The shot had Eleanor framed by bed canopy that resembled an open maw waiting to consume her. Also, there are so many shots from this film that Sam Raimi has made an homage to, particularly in the Evil Dead series. 
 I couldn't help but think about how this novel is the cornerstone of the American Gothic tradition. The house is monstrous and "born bad" with its wrong angles creating a sense of disorientation and unease, and preventing the doors from remaining open or shut when you want them. The European castle has been replaced by the country manor built by an eccentric, and the characters are distinctly of the New World. 
 We can also draw some straight lines between this novel and King's Carrie. I know King has cited Jackson as an inspiration, but I was unaware that Eleanor is the mold from which Carrie sprang. The oppressive mother and rain of rocks are straight homage. 
 I also couldn't help but think about Cabin in the Woods. We have our archetypes of the virgin, the whore, the scholar, and the fool. They have been warned multiple times and been provided opportunities to turn around. This novel sets up everything that Cabin in the Woods deconstructs, and yet still comes out all the smarter and surprises with the layers and the conclusion.