Boos and Booze: Read The Haunting of Hill House while sipping a spooky cocktail
By Carla Davis
Boos and Booze is a series dedicated to recommending a great book for Halloween with a drink pairing. Our first novel is Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House which bears very little resemblance to the 2018 Netflix series.
The Haunting of Hill House is a slim volume, so it’s a fairly quick read, but it packs a lot of eerie atmosphere in those pages. Netflix’s series borrowed the setting, a few events and a lot of character names from the book, but it really is quite a different story (one that is followed closely in 1963’s The Haunting).
Dr. Montague is intrigued by the supernatural, and invites people who have experienced paranormal events to join him at Hill House. Hill House has a history of death and despair, and Montague wants to find out if his guests might stir up the spirits in the house.
Montague’s guests are Eleanor and Thodora, and also joining them is Luke, the heir to Hill House. As the group begins to settle in, spooky things start to happen. Strange noises and footsteps are heard at night, writing appears on the walls, and at one point, Theo and Nell are terrified when something tries to open their bedroom door.
The Haunting of Hill House is a beautifully written, eerie haunted house story, which leaves you uncertain as to whether it’s the house itself or one of its occupants that is actually haunted. It is absolutely perfect Halloween reading material.
When The Haunting of Hill House starts to get under your skin, Orlando bartender Armando Morales has created a spooky adult beverage to steady your nerves. Armando is a 15-year veteran in the hospitality industry, working as everything from dishwasher to bar manager but his goal has always been to ensure that guests enjoy their experience with him. He says that food and drink have a story, can tell a story and can help create new stories.