Author Spotlight Shirley Jackson

 

Author Spotlight: Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson is a well known female author of popular works, such as her classic short story “The Lottery” and her ghost story “The Haunting of Hill House”. Before she became a writer, Jackson attended the University of Rochester and Syracuse University. At the latter school, Jackson worked on the school magazine as a fiction editor. After graduating, Jackson's works were being published in The New Yorker, The Saturday Evening Post and more. Her first novel was published in 1948, “The Road Through The Wall”. 1948 was also the year that Jackson's iconic short story “The Lottery” was published (Biography.com, 2014).

At the time of publishing The Lottery was a bit controversial. With her novels The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962),” Jackson's reputation as a “master of gothic horror and psychological suspense” was established (Britannica.com, 2021). Her novel “The Haunting of Hill House” is a traditional gothic horror and ghost story centered around the psychosis of a young women trapped in a haunted house with a group of a strangers. Jackson often wrote works that dealt with the themes of “evil and chaos just beneath the surface of ordinary everyday life” (Britannica.com, 2021).

Shirley Jackson is known for writing stories with female protagonists. At the time, Jackson was ahead of her peers. She was seen as a sort of proto-feminist. In 1962 Time Magazine called Jackson “Virginia Werewolf” because of her supernatural fiction centered on female characters (Bolick, 2016). Shirley Jackson lived in a time when feminine domesticity and sexism were widespread. She was able to not only be a mother and wife, but a notable author (Bolick, 2016). Her writing career stands out because of her forward thinking and psychological thrillers, and how those stories handle their female characters.

Even though she only wrote six novels, Jackson wrote over 200 short stories and two memoirs. Jackson won several awards for her short stories including the O'Henry Prize Stories in 1949 for The Lottery. The Haunting of Hill House was nominated for the National Book Award. Unfortunately, Jackson died due to health complications in 1965 at the age of 45, fairly young. Her husband had her story Come Along with Me published posthumously. Even though she passed away in 1965, many of Jacksons work continues to live. In 2018 Netflix released an adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House to great acclaim. If you haven't read any of Shirley Jackson's work and you're a fan of Gothic horror and Edgar Allan Poe, then I highly recommended reading some of her stories. Be sure to read my review for The Lottery and The Haunting of Hill House (not yet posted).

If you are a fan of Shirley Jackson or if you enjoyed this post, be sure to leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.

While I'm not as good a horror writer as Shirley Jackson, check out my spooky/thriller inspired stories on WattPad!

"Grave Little Witches"

"Through the Blackout"

Looking for a Halloween themed children's book? Check out my book “Who Scared Jack?” About a pumpkin named Jack who is scared on Halloween night. Join him as he makes his way through his house filled with all sorts of spooky creatures as he looks for the monster.

Buy “Who Scared Jack?” with this link 

Works Cited

The Biography.com, Biography.com Editors. A&E Television Networks, April 2, 2014. https://www.biography.com/writer/shirley-jackson. Accessed 25 October 2021.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Shirley Jackson". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Aug. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shirley-Jackson. Accessed 25 October 2021.

Bolick, Kate. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Werewolf?A biography reconsiders the misunderstood legacy of best-selling writer Shirley Jackson. Bookforum.com. 2016, https://www.bookforum.com/print/2303/a-biography-reconsiders-the-misunderstood-legacy-of-best-selling-writer-shirley-jackson-16493