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Unnatural SelectionAuthor: Emma Shannon
Unnatural Selection is a monthly podcast about film adaptations of books, the weird choices Hollywood makes, and what actually constitutes a "good" adaptation. Each episode is hosted by Emma Shannon and a rotating cast of special guests. Language: en-us Genres: Film History, Film Reviews, TV & Film Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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The Haunting of Hill House feat. Kaylee Rowena
Thursday, 15 October, 2026
This month on Unnatural Selection, join Emma and Kaylee on a journey through Hill House, not sane, as they compare Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House to its first film adaptation, 1963’s The Haunting. Let’s see how two men in the 1960’s managed to portray the lesbian situationship at the heart of this harrowing story, what makes black and white film such an interesting choice, and how sound design kind of goes hard. And don’t worry, our old friend the Hays Code makes an appearance. Content warnings for The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson include: suicide, death of a parent, death of a loved one, abandonment issues, a labyrinthine house, mild gaslighting, and repressed lesbianism. Content warnings for The Haunting (1963) include: suicide, death of a parent, death of a loved one, abandonment issues, a labyrinthine house, mild gaslighting, and repressed lesbianism (but in a slightly different way). The articles and book Emma references in this episode can be found here: The Films of Robert Wise by Richard C. Keenan https://www.tcm.com/articles/behind-the-classics/961615/behind-the-classics-the-haunting-1963 https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/in-retrospect-robert-wise-and-julie-harris-converge-on-hill-house-33927.html https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1208-terror-suspense-and-the-power-of-suggestion-in-the-haunting/ https://thelastdrivein.com/category/literature-the-novel-and-the-screenplay/nelson-gidding/ http://www.monsterzine.com/200201/haunting.php You can find Emma on bluesky @crabmoney.bsky.social and Kaylee most anywhere @kayleerowena. You can find more of her work at https://kayleerowena.com, including preorder information for her debut graphic novel with Jordan Alsaqa, Affairs of the Haunt, which releases April 2027. Unnatural Selection is a part of the Moonshot Network. If you like what you’ve heard and want to support, you can become a patron at https://patreon.com/moonshotnetwork The music for this podcast was composed by Jake Loranger. You can check out more of his work at https://amaranthine.bandcamp.com
