here aren't many productions that have the audience screaming within seconds of curtain up. But this is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's chilling 1959 novel, which Stephen King deemed "as nearly perfect ­­­a haunted-house tale as I have ever read". It has some seriously spooky shoes to fill.

There is certainly the heart-quickening rumble of threat throughout (even terror, for some – the person in front of me spent the whole performance clutching their neighbour, muttering "No, no, no, I do not like this at all"). This is largely thanks to slick, inventive stagecraft from director Martin Constantine. As a trio of guests arrives at the abandoned Hill House ­– invited by Dr Montague to investigate its rumoured supernatural affliction ­– a soundscape of unsettling music, creaky hinges and unidentified thuds accompanies an intensifying stream of jump scares. Bulbs blow, blankets hover, menacing scrawls appear on walls, and furniture slides about unaided – a disquieting suggestion that even the set changes are the work of ghosts.

Excellent lighting and video projections (from Chris Davey and Duncan McLean respectively) on a panelled backdrop conjure the many rooms of the troubled mansion, and ratchet up the fright-factor as events hurtle towards their climax.

But the real horror of Jackson's novel lies in the psychological disintegration of Eleanor, who joins Theodora (here, a slinking, seductive Sophie Lenglinger) and the house's heir Luke (Robin Morrissey, cocksure yet brittle) after 11 years caring for her bullying and recently deceased mother. Clancy Ryan captures Eleanor's giddy freedom, gnawing insecurity and yearning for a place in the world. And Stef Smith's adaptation makes a strong stab at exploring the complexities of Eleanor's unravelling: her conviction that the house is both haunted by her mother, and the home she has craved; her growing dejection as she is accused of orchestrating events.

But it's a tall order without the novel's access to Eleanor's inner world. And a tweaked ending and added twist on the mother-daughter theme take things in a less nuanced, albeit enjoyably creepy, direction.

For those coming to the story fresh though, this technically impressive production offers a transporting fright night at the theatre.