Hell House Bantam Horror, N7277 Horror Book Review

Richard Matheson (1928) is a well known novelist and screenwriter mainly in sci-fi, horror, and western themes. Arguably his finest opuses are “I Am Legend” (1954), “The Shrinking Man” (1956) and “Bid Time Return” (1975). The present book written in 1971 is one step behind his best.


This is a classic haunted-house & horror novel with enough meat to keep the reader fascinated and unable to put the book down. So, you may ask, why I give it only three stars? Well… due to its clumsy ending with some big loopholes in it.

Matheson realize this shortcoming and when he produced the script for the film based on the novel (“The Legend of Hell House”) he gives a slightly different ending but much more satisfactory.


The story is as follows: a millionaire is dying and wants desperately to know if there is afterlife survival. He hires three experts, two sensitive and a scientist to obtain an answer from the Belasco House known as Hell House.

So these three poor souls plus the scientist’s wife are compelled to spend a week of their lives in the haunted place.

The House obliges its fame and receives them with all sort of nefarious occurrences and psychic pressure trying to destroy them.


It is a very commendable horror story with lumbering ending, be warned.


Reviewed by Max Yofre.