This book is about our expectations, the lies we tell ourselves and others, and how we covet. Early in the book, Hand tells us that Hill House plays with people’s expectations. As readers, we always go in with at least some expectations for what’s to come, and often times we are let down, or even manipulated. Perhaps both. Hill House manipulates, too. It takes our characters’ insecurities, fears, and anxieties, then twists them into reality. Likewise, the book so manipulates our assumptions as readers, dredging up a sense of unease that deepens into captivation.