My DREAM is to be invited to spend not just a night, but an extended period of time in the most haunted of all haunted houses. I want so much to believe but sadly have never experienced anything even remotely  supernatural despite being very open to it. My dream is played out by the fictional characters in 1963’s The Haunting.

A researcher interested in the possibility of the supernatural rents the mother of all haunted houses - Hill House - and invites six seemingly random people to him there, three of them accept and almost immediately begin experiencing strange noises and cold drafts within. What makes this haunted house unusual is that it’s the house itself that’s the bad guy. There may not even be any ghosts inside!

“Hill House”, you say? The 2018 Netflix miniseries The Haunting of Hill House and this 1963 feature were based on the same book written by American novelist Shirley Jackson in 1959. While this film sticks pretty close to the story, the miniseries really runs in many different directions. There are key similarities but if you’re looking for a good adaptation of the book, this is it.

Well acted and suitably scary enough by 1963 standards, this should be a staple for fans of the genre.