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Seasonal Chiller!

Brace yourselves. This shocking story will definitely leave you unable to sleep for days. Bishop DuBourg’s production of The Haunting Of Hill House sent chills down the audience’s spine with every spell of ghastly laughter. And what better time to see such a chilling tale than Halloween?

The Haunting Of Hill House, originally a novel by Shirley Jackson, was made into a film in 1963. The story follows Eleanor Vance (played by Laura Cole) as she stays at Hill House and faces the trauma of living there. Eleanor begins to see the paranormal activity as her deceased mother attempting to contact her from beyond the grave.

Phill Kosta gave an outstanding performance as Luke, Eleanor’s cocky but still loveable love interest. Other great performances came from James Haessig who played the charming Dr. Montague, Charlene Haparimwi who played the eccentric, psychic best friend of Eleanor, and Laura Cole as the seemingly normal Eleanor Vance herself. During the “ghost attacks” scenes, the audience tended to laugh, as people usually do during horror movies, but the four of them did a great job of still staying in character and being horrified.

The supporting cast was very enjoyable. Krista Leicht as Mrs. Montague, the arrogant wife of Dr. Montague who claims to have psychic abilities herself, Mario Meyer as Arthur, Mrs. Montague’s hilarious sidekick, and Rachel Heinrich as the grumpy housekeeper, Mrs. Dudley. The three of them added much needed comic relief to the stage.

The sound team did a phenomenal job at creating the sudden loud bangs and spooky sound effects that made the audience jump. Also, the make-up crew did a great job at making Dr. Montague’s hair grey, which looked very believable.

While there was room for more development in characters and their relationships, the actors acted with great conviction. And while everyone was clearly heard, even from the back of the house, the projection and annunciation sometimes came at the price of the believability of the dialogue.

The Haunting Of Hill House definitely did what it set out to do, which was to, simply frighten the audience. If you love suspense, especially around Halloween time, this is definitely the show to see.

by Caroline Kidwell of Clayton High School