10 of the scariest moments in The Haunting of Hill House

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

The Attack on Young Luke in the Basement Room

As children in Hill House, exploring the secret rooms and unique aspects of the house is a recipe for chills (for us and the kids). The scene where Theo and Luke are playing with the dumbwaiter seems like a bad idea from almost the very beginning. And we have no problem admitting that we are just as jumpy as young Luke is.

After getting in the dumbwaiter, Luke ends up going down to a basement room that no one knows anything nothing about. With no light except for that of the flashlight he is holding, the room is creepy and dusty, with mice and cobwebs both easily visible. But that’s not all that’s down there.

As his flashlight flickers, we first see a limb come from behind what seemed to be a barrel. And as the light goes in and out and Luke screams for help, we watch as what appears to be a rotted male corpse comes crawling towards him.

From the zombie-looking ghost, to young Luke’s screams, this is a scene that practically has to be on our list of scares. And seeing his shirt ripped up once he’s brought back up from the basement seems to prove that some of the spirits in Hill House are clearly malevolent.