The 2018 Netflix miniseriesThe Haunting of Hill Houseis one of Mike Flanagan’s best projects and has a haunting, sad, and hopeful ending. The Crain family’s ties to the house that they grew up in can never truly be broken, and over the course of 10 beautifully crafted episodes, the truth about the ghosts in this mansion is revealed.
With a perfectly scary setting, strong performances from the main cast, and a smart ending that sees everyone in a better place than when they started,The Haunting of Hill Houseremains one of the most compelling horror series of the past few years.
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What Happens In The Haunting Of Hill House?
Netflix’sThe Haunting of Hill Houseworks so well because of the strong character development, which is aMike Flanagan trademark. Olivia (Carla Gugino) and Hugh (Timothy Hutton/Henry Thomas) are in love, but they realize that living at Hill House is destroying their family. Their children Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser/Lulu Wilson), Theo (Kate Siegel/McKenna Grace), Nell (Victoria Pedretti/Violet McGraw), Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Julian Hilliard) and Steven (Michiel Huisman/Paxton Singleton) have never gotten over the ghosts they saw in the house when they were kids.
Every episode is equally sad and scary, as it becomes clear that Luke saw a very tall man at the foot of his bed most nights, and Nell wasterrified of a figure called The Bent-Neck Lady. The reveal in episode 5 that Nell is this figure and that she goes back in time to haunt herself is a brilliant and memorable plot twist that proves the house has gotten into her bones and she can never escape.
Episode 1, “Steven Sees a Ghost,” shares that the siblings aren’t thrilled that Steven wrote a memoir about growing up in a mansion that had several spirits and sheds light on what they have been up to since. While they have been trying to move on from what they saw as children and have partners and careers and lives, they are still freaked out and find it hard to be happy.
The Haunting of Hill Houseexamines family dynamics, trauma, and the aftermath of tragedy. Luke struggles with alcoholism and Nell mourns the loss of her husband Arthur Vance (Jordane Christie).The Haunting ofHill Houseis a perfect Halloween showbecause of the setting, a truly mysterious and horrifying mansion that the child characters want to move out of right away but can’t help but feel drawn to. The show suggests that people are haunted by their bad experiences and sad family moments just like a ghost can frighten them, and every storyline is as deep as it is scary.
How Does The Haunting Of Hill House End?
The Haunting of Hill Houseending allows the siblings to finally accept that they have lost their parents and that they can’t change the horrible things that happened here. The Netflix series will always be one ofMike Flanagan’s scariest showsbecause the setting is undeniably unsettling. And the finale of the miniseries sums up the theme of the show: no one can choose their family or stop tragedy from happening, but they can find comfort and warmth in one another.
In season 1, episode 10 called “Silence Lay Steadily,” Luke, Shirley, Theo, and Steven are trapped in the scariest room in Hill House: the Red Room. The spirit of Nell protects them and says that the Red Room is the house’s “stomach” and pretends to look like other rooms so they can feel a sense of peace.
The Haunting of Hill Houseending is moving, with Nell and her siblings talking about how much they care. While Nell knows that they have to go back to their lives so they can be happy and free, the ghost of Olivia is scared to let that happen.The Haunting of Hill Houseending is both devastating and hopeful. Hugh takes his own life so he and Olivia can be ghosts in the house together.
The final scene sees Theo, Luke, Shirley, and their partners gathering together two years in the future because Luke is sober now and doing much better. It’s so moving to see the Crain siblings finally happy thatThe Haunting of Hill Houseis definitely a contender forMike Flanagan’s best TV show.
How Is The Ending Different In The Haunting Of Hill House Book?
The ending of Shirley Jackson’s bookThe Haunting of Hill Houseis different. The other characters realize that Eleanor Vance has been taken over by Hill House itself. Luke and a character who isn’t in the TV series, Dr. John Montague who is looking into the supernatural happenings in the mansion, want Eleanor to move out. When she tries to drive away from the house, she hits a tree and dies.
WhileThe Haunting of Hill Houseending isn’t the same as in Jackson’s novel, the spirit of it remains the same, as Nell dies in both stories. And in both cases, she is unable to forget the hold that the home has on her. Like thebest haunted house horror movies, Netflix’sThe Haunting of Hill Housepaints an intense and emotional picture of one family’s bad luck and the ways they can and can’t let go of the past.
