EPISODE 8 | The Haunting of Hill House | FIRST TIME WATCHING | REACTION 

Congrats on surviving the jumpscare! Some people say their heart stopped, others say their soul left their bodies, others give themselves whiplash, and some become hysterical!!😀

The 1963 film "The Haunting" is a fairly close adaptation of Shirley Jackson's book The Haunting of Hill House". 60 years later it is still considered one of the best "haunted house" films ever made. The storyline is completely different, but you will see where Mike Flanagan got his inspiration for this series.

Nice reaction as always. At the fertility centre, Steve sees his mother, Olivia, in the window. Again, Steve sees ghosts all the time, but he refuses to admit it, ascribing it to mental illness. I also have a theory that when Steve sleeps, he sees future and past ghostly happenings. He might not realize it, but that's what helped him write his book, and that's why Theo made the "you slept through it" remark in the context of his book. All Hugh and Olivia's children have some sort of psychic ability along with Olivia and, maybe, Hugh, too. I wonder if this is what the House feeds off. "The Shining" has a similar storyline, and is it possible Stephen King cribbed it from Shirley Jackson's earlier book "Hill House?" You might consider watching "The Shining" after Hill House to compare/contrast. Note when Hugh got into the car with Steve, Hugh says "I just want to help." Steve used to say that to Hugh when he was a kid. Remember all the black mould in Hill House? That was what was on the destroyed "Forever House." It seems Hill House = Forever House. There was also black mould on the bottom of the vanity/dressing table that Steve fixed up for Olivia, the one whose mirror Olivia cracked whereupon you said: "She's cracking up." That was quite a pun, I thought. When Steve mentioned Luke's drawing ghouls (the thing he saw in the basement), I had the thought that whatever that was didn't really hurt Luke, and it must've sent him back up in the dumbwaiter. Despite being horrible looking and frightening Luke, it may have been benign. Just a thought. By the way, the actresses playing Shirley and Theo didn't know Nell was going to pop out then, so they were genuinely taken-aback. When Luke sees Olivia at Hill House, she's wearing a red dress. That connects Olivia to the Red Room. Of course, red symbolises blood, danger, desire, passion, love etc. So, maybe Olivia is dangerous love? The women who attacked Luke was the same woman in the picture Mrs. Dudley showed Steve, insane Poppy Hill. That was her vanity/dressing table iirc. Poppy had children, a boy and a girl. She poisoned them. Unlike Nell, Luke may have been grabbed straightaway by Poppy because he attacked the House. Remember Olivia held the screwdriver to Hugh's throat after he attacked the Red Room door, I think. Things look dire for Luke because Nell saw him dead on the motel ceiling. That's why she was calling everyone, she was concerned about him. Also, Olivia tried to pull Luke into Nell's grave. Olivia clearly wanted Nell and Luke dead and, probably, the other kids, too.

I love the scene with Steve and the dad, it gives me chills every time!

I could see ever cell in your face tremble 😂 great reaction

Best jump scare I have seen. You, as the viewer, get lulled into the family drama of it all and then BAM... Scream!! Great job and reaction. I hope you plan on continuing the Flanagan'verse after you finish this series. In-fact, I hope you have never seen the Shining so you can watch that and then Flanagan's Doctor Sleep (which is a good one to watch after that Shining classic)