Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson 1919-65, American writer, b. San Francisco. She is best known for her stories and novels of horror and the occult, rendered more terrifying because they are set against realistic, everyday backgrounds. Her works include "The Lottery" (a short story first published in The New Yorker, 1948), The Haunting of Hill House (1959), and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962). The Magic of Shirley Jackson (1966) and Come Along With Me (1968) are posthumous collections of her stories. She was married to the critic Stanley Edgar Hyman.

Jackson, Shirley [Hardie] (1916–65), California‐born author, educated at Syracuse University, lived in Vermont, where her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman (1919–70), a literary critic, taught at Bennington College. Her novels include The Road Through the Wall (1948), Hangsaman (1951), and The Bird's Nest (1954), all depicting adolescents in disturbed states of mind. Other novels are The Sundial (1958), about people who believe the end of the world is near; The Haunting of Hill House (1959), concerning occult experiences; We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962), presenting a woman writer who poisons her family; and Come Along with Me (1968), a posthumously published fragment. The Lottery (1949) collects stories of weird or psychopathic subjects placed in direct, realistic settings. Life Among the Savages (1953) and Raising Demons (1957) are amusing accounts of her life with her children. The Witchcraft of Salem Village (1956); The Bad Children (1959), a play; and Nine Magic Wishes (1963) are works for children.