The Summer People

by Shirley Jackson

'The Summer People' is a rather creepy and mysterious short story by author Shirley Jackson. A New York City couple encounter sinister resistance when they decide to stay at their summer cottage past Labor Day.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Adult

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Shirley Jackson was an influential American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years. She has influenced such writers as Stephen King, Nigel Kneale, and Richard Matheson.

She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."

Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".

In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.

Reviews

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it after Labor Day

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Allisons love their summer cottage, but they always regret having to leave when summer’s over. One day they decide to not go back to the city. They’re excited about it. But the locals aren’t.


The couple in this story basically overstays their welcome, which turns the locals against them. It reminds me a bit of the protests against tourists in popular vacation destinations. Tourism is their economic lifeline, though the locals also don’t want to be overrun with tourists. When the fragile balance is broken, a warm welcome can quickly change into something else.


It’s a short story that isn’t exactly a horror story per se, but there’s this quiet dark undertone with the local people slowly but surely turning against the couple.

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

"la gente del campo, con su desconfianza instintiva de cualquier cosa que no pareciera tan permanente como los árboles, las rocas y el cielo"

Una pareja adulta de la ciudad que todos los años veranean en su cabaña en un pueblo distante.En esta ocasión deciden extender su viaje por un tiempo prolongado, y en este punto es cuando se percatan que la gente el pueblo no es tan amable y servicial como de costumbre durante el verano, les hacen sentir que no los esperaban por mas tiempo, incluso tal vez no los quieran ahí. Se van sucediendo una serie de hechos que en principio parecen coincidencia, pero tales casualidades no existen .
Un gran relato sutil e inquietante .
Ejemplifica algunas cotidianidades y diferencias que posee la sociedad llevándolas a su máxima expresión y con algunos detalles que dan lugar a la interpretación

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thank you to my good friend, Terris, who steered me to this short story by Shirley Jackson and reminded me why I loved her in the first place. All recovered from my disappointment with The Sundial now that I have read this wonderfully eerie piece.

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a for-real short story. I love Shirley Jackson. She quickly became a favorite after I read the Haunting of Hill House for the first time. Have read a lot of her work by now, which I have highly rated. This was a bit too brief for my tastes. It’s good! But, I was left wanting a bit more. I want to know what happened to those ppl! Great mood and atmosphere.

I always (ALWAYS) do a All Hallows Eve Reading Challenge. It it my favorite genre and time of year. So, I started early, not tooo early tho. And this is my second selection for it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending definitely sneaks up on you. This is a very short story, with really no suspicions or feelings of dread until nearly the end.

Mostly about an older couple who decide to stay a month longer after their summer vacation and everyone in town is surprised because NO ONE stays after.

It does finish with the kinda ending that could be interpreted as mildly annoying (small issues like groceries can't be delivered, out of gas, car busted, phone problems) or could be interpreted as much more sinister (car tampered with, phone lines cut, letter from son is not what it seems)... Given Jackson wrote it, and her frequent theme of people being untrustworthy/generally sinister, the latter is the more likely.

The great thing about Jackson is her skill in portraying subtle suspense. In this story the reader is mostly waiting for something to happen and then it kiiiiiinda does and then it's over. I can definitely see that being disappointing for most readers but I still like the skillfull way Jackson incorporates subtle dread.

[Federico DN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never overstay your welcome.

This was ok, but not going to review it.

For the moment at least.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1950] [32p] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
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★★☆☆☆ The Lottery and Other Stories.
???????? Dark Tales. <--

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Nunca presiones el ser bienvenido.

Esto estuvo ok, pero no voy a reseñarlo.

Al menos por ahora.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1950] [32p] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
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[Kansas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un cuento muy turbador quizás porque lo más inquietante se encuentre en el terreno de lo cotidiano. Los Allison deciden alargar su estancia en la casa del lago más allá de la temporada de verano, pero pronto se dan cuenta de que las facilidades que les dan los habitantes del pueblo en verano, ya no son las mismas una vez acabada la temporada. Ellos con su vena arrogante neoyorquina, que se sienten por encima de los habitantes locales y que incluso, los miran con cierto desprecio, pronto se dan cuenta de que una atmósfera extraña se respira en el pueblo. Un cuento de estos tiempos de ahora, y que me sorprende por lo superactual que es. El caso es que parece un cuento que lo tienes controlado, pero casi sin darte cuenta, ha ido dando un giro y ha cambiado completamente la atmósfera y la tensión de lo que te va contando.Fantástico.

[Terris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I was needing to start this Halloween season: mysterious and creepy. Is it normal end-of-the-season shut-down or is it supernatural.....?

I liked it!

[Jay C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third story I've read by Shirley Jackson, and all three have been superb. This one has really gotten me thinking about how well we really know the "worlds" with which we believe ourselves familiar, and how infused our own vision of them might be depending on the specifics of season or time of day...

A couple from new york spend their summers at a country house on a lake. One year, despite the incredulity of their seasonal neighbors, they decide to stay an extra month ("past Labor Day") and find that their 'summer eden' can be a very, very different place.

[Lianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to think the story ends with the townspeople throwing the old couple a surprise party and then their children show up too. Apple pie for everyone!

Or maybe the townspeople really want to wear white after Labor Day and not get made fun of by high-falutin' city folk.

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painfully slow and aggressively uneventful. It felt like waiting for something to happen… and then realizing this was the thing. By the end, boredom wasn’t a side effect—it was the entire plot

[Jo Berry ☀️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of Shirley Jackson after reading three of her novels and finding them all quite disappointing. I thought I’d try this short story though, and I was enjoying the strange building tension and eerie feel, but then it just stops. So…what happened? I couldn’t even extrapolate a guess. Ok, so the locals don’t want folks staying after Labor Day and won’t make it easy for our couple of protagonists, but are they in danger? And why would they receive a fake letter encouraging them to stay on at the summer house, if the locals wanted them gone? The author set up mysteries they couldn’t be bothered to find solutions for. Just a bit lazy, really.

[cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

what happened to them after that? whaaatttt??!?


aaarggghhh..... mrs jackson, you are messing with my head again!! (-_-)

[Agustina de Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terror a la luz del día. Excelente cuento.

[hafsah ོ · Rating 3 out of 5]

definitely eerie, but ended wayy too abruptly :/

[Skylar Phelps · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Yeah, I’m mildly suspicious of my neighbors now...
and I live on a lane surrounded by family in the country. I guess I better stock up on kerosene, just in case.

[Klowey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Shirley Jackson, and I was impressed. The writing is accessible and enjoyable, while subtly building suspense. I thought she successfully created the atmosphere and characteristics of a small town feel. If you're not used to The Weird as a genre of horror, you might be disappointed. Weird fiction is more about atmosphere and ambiguity than resolution. It's a subtle kind of creeping horror, that leaves you feeling uneasy, uncertain, and perhaps haunted. It would have made an exquisite Twilight Zone episode!

[Vero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia que comienza como cualquier otra , una familia que se va de vacaciones, una más como otra, poco a poco y sin dar ningún tipo de pista a la vista del lector, van apareciendo hechos que pueden ser extraños o no.. o estamos muy sugestivos?
Los Allison han han transgredido un código no escrito y que desconocían, y por ello han firmado su propia sentencia. Qué es lo que les espera, sólo podemos conjeturarlo.
Simplemente muy bien logrado el ambiente. Sin artificios, todo está sobre la mesa, lo que provoca el verdadero miedo y eso es lo que da el verdadero miedo, imperdible de leer y más si estas planeando unas futuras vacaciones… piénsalo

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lesson Learned: Once Labor Day rolls around, don’t stay in your summer cottage. You’ll regret it.

[José Cruz Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working class people take revenge on bourgeois couple who overstay their welcome at a countryside cottage.

[Rachel (Into a Story) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my least favorite Jackson story so far, but it was a fun Labor Day read.

BTW, you can listen to it for free on the It’s Always Halloween podcast!

[Sharini · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible tale that is thrilling and scary surface level, but rewards you so much when you pause to look deeper.

Shirley Jackson is beautifully subtle and masterful at doing more with less.

[t · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is what happens when you plan poorly!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jackson's gift at developing gradual, darkening suspense is stellar here. An aging couple decide to stay on at their summer cottage after Labor Day instead of retuning to their winter home (NYC) for the first time in many years. When they verbalize this to the small town locals, it's met with odd suspicion and concern. The ending of this story comes quickly and edged. Left me longing for more of an outcome, but alas, that is the brilliance of Jackson's literary prowess, knowing just where to drop the chilling scare.

[Enid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize it was a very short story until it was over and then I said, "What?". Not sure I should even give it three stars...just seemed to end and left me dissatisfied.

[Olga Kowalska (WielkiBuk) · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those stories that makes reader freaked out with fear when there is nothing that obvious to fear really. Or maybe there is... Creeping and closing, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

[Yoana · Rating 4 out of 5]

An author recommended this in a Guardian article about the scariest stories writers have read. It's creepy and funny, and a typical "city people at the mercy of country savages" story except the city people are the ones satirised herr. The suspense builds very slowly and calculatedly, with casual mentions of things that are off by the smallest degree. Fun read

[Ray Pezzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone living in a small tourist town in northern Michigan that gets overwhelmed by summer visitors (aka "fudgies") every year, this was absolutely delicious!

[Maria Fernanda Gama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of her best short stories. I think I'll wonder about the ending for a really long time.

P.S. I just realized that today is labor day in the US and now I'm extra scared :|