I finally read "The Haunting of Hill House".  I believe this is generally regarded as one of the best Gothic stories.  While I agree it was very well-written, I did not get the shivers and shakes as I was expecting.  It did not reach the standards of Barbara Michaels' haunted house stories in my opinion.  However, I would still give it an "A".  I hope I am not giving away the plot when I say that instead of feeling scared, I felt as if I was drawn into the mind of a mad woman.  I felt she was driven to madness by guilt and by the people around her.  Although the others may experience some of the same things she was, it was like she was suffering from an hallucinogenic agent.  What do the others think? I'll try to find a copy of the movie and see if it scares me.

Your reaction is probably typical of a modern reader, but remember how revolutionary this book was when it was written. I do think Jackson meant for you to find Eleanor's psychological state far more "scary" than anything regarding the house, etc.

This book really broke new ground for the genre. It's hard (now that it's been copied so much) to understand how influential it was.

I loved the Haunting of Hill House because it was very disturbing to me. It wasn't terrifying, but I was unnerved because I really didn't understand what was going on. And the end surprised me. I didn't see it coming at all.

I do agree that the power of the book lies in what is going on in Eleanor's mind. In that sense, it reminds me of The Turning of the Screw and The Yellow Wallpaper (ie. what is going on here.)

Absolutely! Jackson was working in that literary tradition. They make a good trio to read one after the other. (Or they might drive you insane!)