Still up for some scare? “The Haunting of Hill House” has them

Marisa Butler, Staff Writer

As Halloween celebrations (finally) come to an end, people cannot stop talking about “The Haunting of Hill House.” And by people, I do not just mean my roommates. Rotten Tomatoes has rated this series a 92 percent, and also ranks the last episode number four on the scariest TV episodes ever.

If you have not seen this show yet, I would highly recommend it. This new show on Netflix was adapted from Shirley Jackson’s novel, written in 1959. One of the reasons that I think this series is so highly rated is because it actually has substance.

Many times, horror films try too hard to get a really good scare out of the audience and lack a decent plot. In addition, the horror films sometimes just miss the mark on being scary at all. There may be a few jumps here and there, but predictability is usually what ends up being the ultimate downfall of most movies. In my opinion, they just all seem to be the same. “The Haunting of Hill House” has its share of jumps, scares and things hiding around the corner, but it also leaves you on the edge of your seat, unable to predict what is going on inside someone else’s head.

The attention to detail in this series also puts it high above the rest. If you look hard enough, there is a ghost lurking in almost every scene that can be almost impossible to see if you are not paying attention. Few horror movies or TV shows leave you wanting more when they are all over, but “Hill House” definitely makes the cut.

The story follows the Crain siblings – Steven, Shirley, Theodora, Nell and Lucas – who move into a mansion in Massachusetts known as Hill House. Their parents plan to fix up the house, make a lot of money and eventually leave and build their “forever home.”

The story consists of a series of flashbacks. To understand why certain things are happening them as adults, we have to understand what happened to them during their time at Hill House. Steve, the oldest child and an author of multiple ghost novels, ironically does not believe in ghosts. Therefore, he obviously does not believe that his younger, twin siblings, Nell and Lucas, actually saw ghosts while they were at Hill House. The only thing that he seems to be haunted by is what really happened to his mother.

After her apparent suicide, all his father ever told the children was that “the house killed her.” Most of the Crain’s came to terms that this would always be their answer. When Nell makes her way back to the house and is found hanging from the ceiling, the remaining siblings must figure out what really happened, not just to Nell, but to their mother as well. In order to understand what this really means, the Crain’s must come to terms with what they have been trying to forget for their entire lives.

Each flashback provides us with an inside look at the last few days that the Crain family spent at Hill House, with a different perspective from each child. So if you are just not ready to let Halloween go, I suggest giving “The Haunting of Hill House” a try.