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Shirley Jackson




I decided to write about Shirley Jackson, not that I have read a ton of her stuff, but that which I have read has had an impact on me. When I say I haven’t read a lot of her stuff, that is partly because she didn’t write a whole lot of stuff. Just 6 novels. Her short stories might be a better representation. She wrote over 200 of them.

 Who is Shirley Jackson, some of you are asking? She is an author from the 1950’s and 60’s (she died in 1965). Her influence on such writers as Stephen king is obvious. She did write horror stories, but not exclusively horror stories. Yet many of her stories, even some of her non-horror ones, had a certain creepy feel to them. That did not stop her from being witty and humorous at times.  Her most famous novel was The Haunting of Hill House which has been made into a couple of movies and a television series. It has been called the best ghost story ever written. Another novel, the dark mystery, We Have always Lived in the Castle, was made into a play and a movie.

But one work that surpasses even these, is a little short story she wrote in 1948 called The Lottery. It is frequently on lists of the best short stories ever written. You may have read it in school. If you haven’t, I wont spoil it for you: go read it. Stories like it have been written since, but I don’t think anybody had ever written anything like it before. This is why it had such an impact. I saw a short film adaptation of The Lottery when I was in school and it stuck with me ever after.

Some of her stories have held up better than others. I just finished reading Hangsaman which was written in 1951. I felt it was a story where not much happened. Some events in the story would have been shocking to a 1951 audience, but are not very shocking to a 21st Century audience. Still, even in one of her lesser works like this, the characters are well-drawn and she pulls you into the main character’s life. And her stories are thought-provoking, not always wrapping up each question with a nice tidy answer. 

If you are unfamiliar with Jackson, I encourage you to give her a try, especially if you like things a little on the dark side. She deserves to be read.

(My novel Star Liner, is now available in paperback or as an e-book through Amazon and other online sources)


Link to Star Liner

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