6 Quick Rules To Enjoy The Haunting of Hill House

To mention The Haunting of the Hill House as a bone-chilling experience is a gross understatement. Being inquisitive by nature, I wanted to know how differently has the series been treated from the 1999 Liam Neeson starrer The Haunting that I had watched, based on the same Shirley Jackson novel? A movie understandably has a limited timeframe to tell the story whereas Netflix’s scope for a narrative is much larger, and hence the eagerness to see this novel cinematic approach. But, halfway through the first episode and I was getting the goose-bumps already, though that might be complimenting the show a lot. It’s horror after all! Trying as hard as I might to complete the series, I decided to create a simple 6-point plan based on my experiences, so that everyone can enjoy the show; ‘enjoyment’ is being ambitious here, but I do hope it works.

Rule #1. Instead of focussing on the screen just prefer to remain distracted in doing something else, stuff which requires focus & brain processing. This way you could avoid being totally numbed by the scary experiences, no guarantees though. Ha!

Rule #2. Definitely not worth watching during nighttime. Because that’s when the horror truly becomes mind-nerving and horrifying.

Rule #3. Without any discredit to the creators of the show, I’m going to constantly remind everyone it’s a work of fiction, with probably some creative freedom exercised. So let’s not try to take the plot & the visuals seriously, at all.

Rule #4. Lower the volume and avoid headphones if you can. There will be long moments of silence then a sudden a frightening scream. Eeek!

Rule #5. Binge-watching is a no-no, if you can. When you start watching any series you can’t help but watch all the episodes in rapid succession. But try not doing it with this one.

Rule #6. Not watching the episodes all alone and definitely not in complete silence. When you have both there’s a chance you might be scared to death easily.

The Haunting of Hill House has won some great reviews with none other than Stephen King posting his views in a tweet. Looking back, it’s a horror series, but it’s also a tragic saga of the Crain family that just isn’t about ghosts and goblins. Enjoy the chills!