10 of the scariest moments in The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House season 1 production still. Photo: Steve Dietl/Netflix

Ghosts in the Hall

When we finally get to see what happened the night that Olivia died in Hill House, we see who witnesses Hugh trying to save his children from the horror of the house and what his wife has done — and most of those witnesses are dead. In this moment, we see ghosts that have been haunting the house and the Crain family seem to come out of nowhere, filling the spaces up, barely leaving room for the living to run. There are so many that it is hard to know if some of these ghosts are new or old.

And it is certainly terrifying in this moment to realize how close Olivia comes to almost killing her youngest children — and the only reason they seem to live is because Abigail Dudley gets served and thus drinks first. But it is all these ghosts, haunting not just Olivia but also dogging Hugh’s steps as he tries to save all of his children, that really made our skin crawl as we watched.

On a more meta level, this scene scares us because it leads leads to Olivia’s suicide/murder. And yes, we consider it a murder when we think about the fact that the house itself, using the ghost of Poppy Hill, leads Olivia to her death. The evil of Hill House and some of the ghosts inhabiting the many rooms and halls of this home cause this moment.

That’s as heartbreaking as it is scary.