Easily the most recognizable, widely read work of folk horror in literature, Jackson’s story (published in 1948) begins in the folksy tone of any other quick pastoral sketch, with a group of recognizable characters getting ready for their annual town ritual involving an old box, a three-legged stool, and a random drawing of slips of paper. But the beauty of the tale lies in what isn’t explained, and all the unanswered questions that are continually raised by the whole affair, soon revealed to be quite sordid indeed. The Lottery's display of violence and inhumanity shocks us because the prose is so outwardly pleasant. The characters seem innocent and to be upstanding citizens. What makes this so terrifying is that they give into an ancient ritual of sacrifice and murder due to mimetic desire. Shirley's story suggests that the desires of the collective whole (however irrational those desires may be) trump those of the individual.

A terrifying exercise in group think and a classic example of a perfect short story. ( )

Well, it was fine. I’d love more worldbuilding, but hey. I love you anyway, Shirley Jackson. ( )

There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said. I just finished “The Witch” by Shirley Jackson before rereading this and found that they touched on similar themes such as the ease with which people are influenced, children relishing violence, mothers in fear, and to a point ancient rituals and customs. I believe that many stories can be rewritten better even if the author doesn’t intend to rewrite it. I’m not sure which of the two came first but I have a suspicion that The Witch was somewhat a precursor to The Lottery. The Lottery incorporates pieces of The Witch and retools them to create a truly dread inducing environment. The Lottery also goes as far as it can with these ideas without wearing anything out.

I also think Shirley Jackson might have been scared of her kids. I understand that she had a deep fear of family life in the suburbs, but reading these two stories back to back adds a new twist to that for me. Thinking back to other stories and books I’ve read by her there’s almost always a power imbalance at home that is used to create a sense of fear. That goes both ways from parent to child, child to parent, child to child, and parent to parent. Pretty interesting to notice and I’m happy I read these back to back. Anyways, great story and it’s popular for a reason. Hopefully nobody looking to read this for the first time got any spoilers from this. Definitely read it if you haven’t. ( )

Slow build to a rather horrifying end. ( )

I love horror and Shirley Jackson is the queen. I had read this years ago, and it still scares me now. Current books and movies, like the Hunger Games, has used the plot that Shirley developed so well. This is one of the greats. ( )