Halloween might be over, but The Haunting of Hill House still has me spooked and confused.
Netflix’s new horror series The Haunting of Hill House is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, a psychological horror queen in my opinion.
Although different from the book, people have claimed the series has made them vomit, cry, pass out and keep them up at night, fearing a house full of ghouls.
I’m mostly haunted by my unanswered questions.
The show follows the Crain family who moved into Hill House to renovate and resell it for a profit, however, unexpected repairs keep the family in the house – not to mention there’s a giant red door at the end of a hallway that remains locked for no apparent reason (with no key to be found, of course).
What could be behind door number one? I figured it would be a room filled with dead bodies (I wasn’t entirely wrong).
I started binging the series in the middle of the day because I expected it to be filled with jump scares, but I was mistaken. Sure, there were a few, but they didn’t make the show unbearably horrifying.
I had seen the tweets about people vomiting and passing out while watching it – I made nachos and cried.
The story switches between two timelines, one where the young Crain family is living in the house and one where the children are adults who have left Hill House behind.
The twins in the series, Nellie and Luke, face hardships in adulthood. Nellie is plagued by the woman with the crooked neck, the same one that hovered above her at night as a child. Meanwhile, Luke is a recovering drug addict, plagued by a hovering man in a trench coat with a cane.
The ghosts of Hill House like to hover, I guess.
Here are some thoughts I had while watching the first few episodes:
- Floating woman over youngest daughter – spooky.
- Didn’t appreciate the dead kittens.
- Death is an overarching theme, I see. (Update: still haven’t vomited)
- I never thought I’d hear the words, “Crispy kid with the runny egg eyes,” but here we are.
- THERE’S A GUY ON THE CEILING (Also, I’m crying).
I gave up after episode five because what I thought would be a funny horror review, turned into me crying.
Although there is a fair share of hovering ghouls, the show focuses on real-life themes like addiction, mental illness, suicide and family.
This is what made me cry. I cried at the pain each family member felt, as well as their pain created by the ghosts that haunt them.
As I watched the family drama unfold, I couldn’t help myself from saying “mood” and “relatable.”
What I originally thought was going to be a series of jump scares and horrid sights plaguing a family, turned into a series about a family facing their own ghosts in a house meant to keep families together for eternity.
By the last episode, most of my questions had been answered (like what was in the “red room” and if the mother was actually dead or not) and the series had a satisfying ending, leaving me to speculate only my sanity.
Keep in mind, if you watch The Haunting of Hill House, you are in for an emotional roller coaster, with a sprinkling of horror.
