Review: Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House

I felt it my duty as a fan of all things horror to partake in a binge-watch of Netflix’s take on Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. 

Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House was first published in 1959.  It’s a true classic horror, filled to the brim with unnerving terror.  In it, four characters – Dr. Montague, an occult scholar; his assistant, Theodora; Eleanor, a young woman quite familiar with poltergeists; and Luke, the heir of Hill House.  There, instances of inexplicable phenomena quickly turn into terror, the House feeding on it’s most recent victims.

Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House shares nothing with the classic horror great, other than the title and the characters’ names.  In this most recent take on this horror great, a family consisting of five children moves into Hill House over the summer.  They don’t plan on staying long, rather they intend to fix up the long-vacant house to flip and sell once again.  The supernatural acts aren’t as chilling to start off with, but soon it’s revealed that some of the Crains have “sensitivities” that lend them to be more affected by the House.  Told in alternating time periods (then and now) and in ten episodes, you are better off watching without any sort of preconceived notions or comparisons to the Shirley Jackson classic.

I discovered just a few episodes in that this is nothing like the Shirley Jackson classic.  That’s not to say that this isn’t a truly outstanding series, it is.  How many, other than those already obsessed with Shirley Jackson, would be aware that there was a book of the same title?  I was able to shut down all my preconceived notions and comparisons to Jackson’s classic and enjoy this for what it was: a chilling series perfectly for the Halloween season!

So, throw out any hopes of what it’s going to be and just sit back and enjoy! You won’t regret it!