The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's book has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly place called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. Hill House will soon choose one of them to make its own.