Shirley Jackson is an American horror writer known for her atmospheric and scary stories.
Over the course of her career, she wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories. Her novels frequently explored the dark side of human nature, resulting in sometimes, often terrifying narratives that are still explored today.
Who is Shirley Jackson?
As a child, Jackson showed little inclination to fit in with other children, preferring instead to read and write, an interest she maintained throughout her life and led to her earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University in 1940.
After graduating, she and her husband moved to Vermont, where she began writing and he worked as a professor while establishing himself as a literary critic. The couple had a personal library of over 25,000 books.
They also made a special effort to surround themselves with other talented authors and writers, hosting talents like Ralph Ellison in their homes.
Jackson was not only a celebrated writer, but also a mother of four children. Through her writing, she eventually became the main breadwinner for the family.
Her children remember her sense of humor and her steadfastness, qualities that are reflected in her short stories about her marriage and home life.
These humorous novels were published in magazines such as Good housekeeping And Women’s Dayand differ drastically from the atmospheric horror that made her famous.
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Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California. She was the eldest child, but that didn’t necessarily make her the favorite.
In her debut novel, she emphasized her resentment at her mother’s narrow-minded views, for example, Jackson’s refusal to follow her mother’s conventional choices.
She grew up in San Francisco and moved to Rochester, New York, during her senior year. From there, she attended the University of Rochester before transferring to Syracuse University, where she met her future husband while working for the campus literary magazine.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read Jackson’s works that the author suffered from anxiety for most of her life.
That sense of nervousness, or feeling of never trusting that people can fully hide the horrors they can cause, is reflected in almost every aspect of her work. Escaping a horrific childhood only to end up in an unhappy marriage would weigh on anyone.
Despite her literary success and raising four happy children, Jackson could not escape her unhappiness. As her health declined with age, her anxieties worsened, leading to periods where she was so paralyzed with fear of the outside world that she could not leave her bedroom.
The lottery and other stories
“The Lottery” was published in The New Yorker on June 26, 1948. Of all the stories ever published in the magazine, “The Lottery” received more letters to the editor than any other fictional story printed in the magazine.
Readers wanted to know what it was about, some wondered where they could watch the ritual, and others simply berated Jackson for daring to write such a grim story. Many canceled their subscriptions, and throughout the summer of 1946, Jackson received at least ten letters a day.
The play quickly became one of the most discussed literary works of its time. “The Lottery” was adapted for radio, television, films, an opera and even a ballet.
Almost fifty years after its publication, the book was republished in a series of The Simpsonsand it continues to be taught in English classes in secondary schools across the country.
The story takes place in a small, nameless American village. On a typical summer day, all the villagers are preparing for a local ritual they call “the lottery.”
Jackson focuses on the day-to-day activities without revealing what the items are used for. Children collect rocks and adults prepare a slip of paper for the family. Everyone talks about the day and that other nearby towns have stopped their own lotteries, and speculates about what that means.
But when the ritual begins and each family draws a slip of paper, the truth slowly comes to light through the reaction of each family and it becomes clear what happens to the ultimate “winner” of the lottery.
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According to Jackson, her mother once told her she was the product of a botched abortion. She grew up a constant victim of her mother’s scorn, feeling inadequate and denigrated for everything from her early birth (her mother resented her for becoming pregnant so early in their marriage) to the fact that Jackson had no interest in being a typical housewife and mother.
While many of these resentments were already expressed in her debut novel, The Lottery aimed to show how evil conformity and groupthink can really be. Everything can be destructive, including traditions.
Despite receiving thousands of letters asking her to explain the intentions behind this dark piece, Jackson offered no answers.
She reportedly told a friend that the novel was based on anti-Semitism. Another friend said Jackson told them the novel was based on people from her town. She told a professor that it was inspired by an idea in his folklore class. The most likely answer, however, is her letter to the literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.
“The Lottery” was intended to shock readers of the story with the “senseless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.”
We always lived in the castle
Jackson’s latest work addresses her own struggle with agoraphobia. It is a gothic crime thriller set in the dilapidated Blackwood mansion, isolated from the rest of the city.
Six years earlier, a family tragedy occurred that left the two isolated and lonely. When a distant cousin comes to visit and gets closer to one of the sisters, the youngest becomes jealous and does not want any more changes.
As events come to a head, we learn the truth behind the events that led to the family’s tragic demise and are left to watch helplessly as further tragedies unfold.
The themes of isolation and the paralyzing feeling of being different are interwoven throughout Jackson’s work, but are particularly strong in We always lived in the castle.
She also explored the thin line between love and devotion and how quickly it can become toxic and overwhelming.
Haunting of Hill House
After reading about parapsychological researchers, Jackson decided to write a ghost story. She was intrigued by the fact that all the stories she read from these researchers were less about the haunted houses and instead focused more on the serious and misguided people.
The story follows four strangers who are chosen to spend the summer at Hill House to prove the existence of supernatural occurrences. Over the course of the summer, each of them experiences strange events that escalate to a terrifying climax as they all try to escape the house alive.
When it was published, it was nominated for a National Book Award. Over the years, it has been adapted several times for film, television, radio, and stage, and continues to inspire horror writers to this day.
In the late 1950s, Jackson’s health began to deteriorate seriously. After years of being a heavy smoker, she suffered from chronic asthma, joint pain, and dizziness.
Her doctors believed these were symptoms of a heart problem. Although she responded well to therapeutic measures and was able to return to her daily life, Jackson died in her sleep on August 8, 1965, at the age of 48.
To honor Jackson’s lasting influence and carry on her legacy, the Shirley Jackson Awards were established in 2007 with the permission of Jackson’s estate.
The awards are presented annually at Readercon in recognition of outstanding achievements in the fields of psychological thriller, horror and dark fantasy.
