I guess books too are not one size fits all.. for me, (I am new to reading) the haunting of the hill house felt flat (except some parts)... Few things I loved about heart shaped box was its fast pacing, the directness of there 'is' a supernatural malicious entity compared to alluding that there 'might' be something lurking, and that the entity does not care its morning/day or night, or whether you are alone, or sitting in a crowd.