The Haunting of Hill House audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Shirley Jackson’s 1959 ghost story about four people who come to stay in a house to study it, read by Bernadette Dunne.
Short answer: for The Haunting of Hill House audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (65% confidence, leaning). Bernadette Dunne’s reading won an AudioFile Earphones Award, which favours audio. The strange, distinctive prose could favour print, but no source calls it dense, and with only one check confirmed, confidence is held at 65%.
Listen on Audible
Bernadette Dunne's reading won an AudioFile Earphones Award, and AudioFile calls it “so eerily superb that she breathes new life into the 1959 ghost story”, so it's a reading worth hearing.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes a verdict.
Confidence 65%, which puts it in the leaning band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above. Is listening the same as reading? See what the research says.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict | US edition |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Bernadette Dunne | Bernadette Dunne |
| Length | 7 hours 27 minutes (7h 27m), unabridged | 7 hours 27 minutes (7h 27m), unabridged |
| At 1.5x | about 4h 58m | about 4h 58m |
| At 2x | about 3h 44m | about 3h 44m |
| Audio publisher and date | Blackstone Audio, 4 October 2010 | Blackstone Audio, 4 October 2010 |
| Audiobook price | £11.71 on Audible UK | $15.96 on Audible US |
| Kindle price | £8.99 on Amazon UK | Not confirmed |
| Penguin Modern Classics paperback, 256 pages | Penguin Classics paperback, 208 pages | |
| Listener rating | Performance 4.24 from 1,432 ratings | Performance 4.32 from 10,361 ratings |
Bernadette Dunne’s is the only English recording of the novel found on Audible UK or US. Whether the UK and US listings are one recording is not confirmed. A 1997 BBC Radio 4 reading by Emma Fielding is abridged and not on Audible.
Ratings and prices checked 2 November 2026. They change often. Amazon US does not show Kindle prices outside the US, so US Kindle prices are not given.
Lengths checked 2 November 2026. Speed times are calculated.
The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson
- Genre
- Horror
- First published
- 1959
- Length
- 256 pages (UK paperback)
- On audio
- 7 hrs 27 mins, Bernadette Dunne
- Award
- AudioFile Earphones Award (audiobook)
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: award-winning or praised narration (6), 6 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 65% confidence (leaning). Only 6 points could be confirmed, so confidence is held at 65% until more evidence is found.
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Bernadette Dunne, Blackstone Audio, 2010, 7h 27m, unabridged
- Critic review
- AudioFile Earphones Award; AudioFile: “so eerily superb that she breathes new life into the 1959 ghost story”
- Alternatives
- None in English
- What you miss
- Nothing confirmed
What this book actually is
The Haunting of Hill House is a ghost story by Shirley Jackson, first published in 1959. Dr Montague invites a small group to stay in Hill House to look for evidence of the supernatural, and the story stays mostly with one of them, Eleanor Vance.
Stephen King called it one of “the only two great novels of the supernatural in the last hundred years” (Penguin Classics). It is not the same story as the 2018 Netflix series, which uses the title. The book deals with grief, fear and isolation. The ending is not covered here.
The case for reading it
Critics single out the prose: Counter Craft calls it “alluring and crooked”, and Tor.com says its rhythm is “off-putting in its strangeness, yet catching”. In print you can slow down and notice how the sentences unsettle you.
The book is short, at 256 pages in the UK paperback. No source confirmed a print-only feature such as a map or notes.
The case for listening to it
The recording won an AudioFile Earphones Award, and AudioFile says the performance is “so eerily superb that she breathes new life into the 1959 ghost story”. Listeners rate it 4.24 on Audible UK and 4.32 on Audible US.
A narrator sets the pace, so you cannot skim ahead to see what the house does next. At 7 hours 27 minutes it comes down to about 4 hours 58 minutes at 1.5x.
The audiobook in detail
Blackstone Audio publishes the unabridged recording on both Audible UK and Audible US, read by Bernadette Dunne at 7 hours 27 minutes. It is the only English recording of the novel found on either store.
No PDF companion is listed.
Who should ignore this verdict
Lean towards print if Jackson’s odd, shifting sentences are what you came for and you want to take them slowly. Lean towards audio if you want an award-winning reading that sets the pace for you.
Audiobook
- Read by Bernadette Dunne
- 7h 27m, or about 4h 58m at 1.5x
- Unabridged; AudioFile Earphones Award
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
The Shining
Stephen King praises Hill House as one of the great supernatural novels.
Mexican Gothic
Another haunted house.
Dracula
A long book (over 400 pages) pulls towards listening; the notes and introduction in the print edition pull towards reading.
Solace House
A cipher hidden in the printed verse is central to the plot, which points to print. The length is the only confirmed point for audio.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates The Haunting of Hill House audiobook?
Bernadette Dunne reads the unabridged audiobook on Audible UK and US.
How long is The Haunting of Hill House audiobook?
7 hours 27 minutes on Audible, or about 4 hours 58 minutes at 1.5x.
Is The Haunting of Hill House audiobook abridged?
No. The Audible edition is unabridged. A shorter BBC Radio 4 reading by Emma Fielding from 1997 is abridged.
How many pages is The Haunting of Hill House?
The UK Penguin Modern Classics paperback has 256 pages.
Has The Haunting of Hill House been adapted?
Yes. It was filmed as The Haunting in 1963 and again in 1999. A UK stage tour adapted by Stef Smith ran until 14 November 2026.
Is the Netflix series the same as the book?
No. The 2018 Netflix series by Mike Flanagan uses the title but tells a different story, about the Crain family.
Should I read or listen?
Listen, at 65%, leaning. The award-winning reading is the one confirmed check, and nothing confirmed points to print.
Do you agree with this verdict?
We said listen on Audible. One tap, no sign-up.
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: Audible UK and US, Amazon UK, AudioFile (via Blackstone Library), Tor.com (14 September 2012), Counter Craft (8 October 2025), Penguin UK, Book Passage, WhatsOnStage and Wikipedia.
- Verdict last reviewed: 2 November 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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