Consumed by darkness, Nell sits crying in her bed unable to tell if her eyes are open or closed. As children, many held fears of monsters under their bed. In Nell’s case, she was right.
Published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s novel, readers’ enthusiasm instantly made The Haunting at Hill House a blood chilling thriller. For Halloween season, Netflix took interest in the story and turned it into a terrifying original series.
The Craine siblings, Steven, Shirley, Theo, Luke, and Nell, moved into a haunted house when they were all children. Little did their parents, Olivia and Hugh, know that Hill House would affect them into adulthood.
“It was too disturbing to go on,” said Sophomore, Emily Leach. She went on to say, “It’s truly terrifying and there are a lot of gross moments.”
With jump scares left and right, the new series is definitely going to make someone check under their bed before going to sleep. Demonic entities and decomposing bodies appearing right before the eyes create the sense that no one is safe in the dark.
If the constant fear of something popping out at any second is too much to bear, there is an appealing aspect of a family needing to come together to protect each other. However, the family aspect may not please all.
Sophomore Pierce Gentry, who has read the novel and seen the series said he found the show, “a little light on the ‘Haunting’ and ‘Hill House’, and heavy on the family drama genre.” He then went on to call the family aspect of the show “cliche” and “dull.”
Though he may not agree with all the rave, youths across America have fallen in love with the terrifying tale. The series provides a thrilling web of cause and effect relations leading to plot twist after plot twist.
While many remakes or book-to-show series don’t normally stray too far from the original, The Haunting at Hill House changed the story to add more intriguing characteristics to each person and more terror for the audience. The show adds demonic entities, such as “The Bent Neck Lady,” to draw in interesting story lines rather than focusing on the house itself.
Each episode dives deeper into the characters’ lives and how Hill House shaped them. The chilling story line mixed with the petrifying monsters that haunt the night and day make each of the ten episodes of The Haunting at Hill House a perfect thriller to watch in the dark on Halloween night. Just watch out for the Bent Neck Lady!
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