Ellen Datlow, Advisory Board member of The Shirley Jackson Awards, writes that there is an online auction of a rare book to benefit the award. “Peter Schneider has kindly donated a first edition of the 1899 publication of The Alleged Haunting of B—— House.” The auction is running at this link on eBay, and ends at 6:09AM PDT on 28 April. Minimum bid is $100, and all proceeds from the sale go to the Shirley Jackson Awards.
The Alleged Haunting of B—— House is edited by A. Goodrich-Freer and John, Marquess of Bute. This particular copy was not owned by Shirley Jackson, but “this important book in early psychical research is purported to be the book upon which Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is based.
“The story of how Shirley Jackson was inspired to write The Haunting of Hill House is readily available in the many biographies and articles dealing with her work: While rummaging through boxes of books in a Vermont barn sale, Jackson came across a small volume that contained an account of a haunted house, as reported by a group of nineteenth-century psychic researchers. This non-fiction narrative provided her with the basic framework for what became her next novel.
“After considerable research, it has been established that the book Jackson unearthed that day in the barn can be identified as The Alleged Haunting of B—— House, published by the British firm George Redway in 1899 and sponsored by the Society for Psychical Research. The book recounts the experiences of a group of Society members who spent several days in Ballechin House, situated in the Scottish highlands. This dryly clinical report of the supernatural manifestations they experienced during their stay will be instantly familiar to any reader of The Haunting of Hill House, including: a haunted Blue Room, a cold spot, the girl in the tower, messages scrawled on walls, and nightly crashings, and patterings at doors.
“The auction of this book presents a rare opportunity. The volume offered is the true first edition of The Alleged Haunting of B—— House. It does not appear that any further printings were made by Redway and until recently the book was available only in this one edition.
“The donor has fashioned a custom hand-made slipcase with scalloped edges to facilitate removal. The slipcase is covered in a ribbed burgundy Japanese silk fabric and features especially sturdy construction.”
Datlow also provides this link to a history of the Ballechin House from a Scottish tourism web site.