12 of the Scariest ‘Haunting of Hill House’ Moments

The Haunting of Hill House stands out as one of Netflix‘s best original series of 2018 for its ambitious storytelling, stellar writing and overall scary themes.

It wouldn’t be a ghost story without some over-the-top frights, moments of intense suspense and just creepy sights that left even the strongest of users leaving more than one light on the night they first tuned in to the series.

The show, inspired by Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name, has even led to some viewers experiencing sleep loss and anxiety.

Take a look at some of the show’s scariest moments, and look for them on your next Hill House rewatch.

12. Finding the Body

It’s never fun to be surprised by what you find at your house, but Hill House sure made it dramatic.

Determined to find the rats wreaking havoc behind the walls of the basement, Hugh pulls off some brick from the wall and finds the long-missing remains of William Hill. The man had bricked himself in the room in 1948.

The scratching sounds that could be heard were the man tragically attempting to scratch himself out of his prison, realizing he couldn’t escape his demons even there.

11. Sleep Paralysis

Episode 5 had a lot of terrifying moments, but we will not be able to unsee the look on Nell’s face when she realized she was having a Sleep Paralysis moment.

In one particularly chilling sequence, Nell is paralyzed in her bed and she sees as her husband Arthur drops dead in front of her from an aneurysm. She then sees the Bent-Neck lady watching her from in front of her window.

10. Poppy Appears

Luke was the first to return to Hill House after Nell’s death, and he was determined to bring the house to the ground.

After his attempts to burn down the house are thwarted, Luke is surprised to see his mother standing in front of him. She reaches out to him, as he says, “Mom.”

The moment is interrupted when flapper girl Poppy’s ghost appears behind him and grabs him by the head with both hands.

9. Nell Disappears

As the storm hits Hill House, leading the Cranes to gather together, Theo and Nell are seen standing nearby, holding hands. The camera moves back and we realize that Theo is now standing alone, and Nell is nowhere to be found.

After the family looks for her frantically throughout the house, Nell returns later with a terrible reveal: “I was right here. I was screaming and shouting and none of you could see me.”

8. Theo’s Vision

Episode 3 had the mission of explaining Theo’s reluctance to touch others.

Her power is displayed when she sits outside the house of a child abuser she reported and she remembers when her mother touched her hand as a  child, bringing with the supposedly tender moment a disturbing vision of her mother’s bloody corpse.

7. Bad Timing

What mother doesn’t want to be reunited with their children? Olivia, however, could’ve picked a better moment.

As Luke kneels by his twin sister’s grave to say goodbye, he looks up and sees his sister as the Bent-Neck Lady, standing over him. As she talks to him, Luke is grabbed by a hand from the grave. It is Olivia begging him to stay with her.

6. Getting Closer

Luke’s haunting by the ghost of William Hill, and his hat, had a particularly scary moment in Episode 4.

As Luke waited for Steve to pick him up, Luke starts to count to seven, as he and Nell would do when they were kids to keep themselves safe, and viewers see the ghost sliding closer and closer to him.

5. Nell is Dead

Steven finally saw a ghost, and it sure was a scary one.

When Episode 1 reaches its climactic end, Steven gets a call that Nell is dead, which is scary news to him considering she is standing in his kitchen in that moment. The episode ends as Nell’s face changes to a terrifying shade of blue.

4. Lost Your Eyes

The dreams the Crane siblings have while trapped in the Red Room res all bone-chilling, but when Luke sees Joey again, the twist is scary and gross.

She recalls the rehab monologue she gave. “You can see the little girl,” she tells Luke. “The little girl with the runny egg eyes,” and her eyes melt down her face.

3. What’s in the Basement?

Cute little Luke deserved better than to be stuck in that basement.

After he finds himself trapped in the scary room, Luke shouts for help as his flashlight begins to flicker on and off. Then the little boy sees something emerge from behind a barrel at the back of the room, which turns out to the ghost of William Hill crawling toward him.

2. Bent-Neck Reveal

A truly astounding scene to end one of the best episodes of the series comes from the reveal that Nell is the Bent-Neck Lady.

After she hangs herself in the house, her body drops on the noose into every scene where the Bent-Neck Lady had previously appeared. The sequence is definitely one of the ones that will keep you up at night.

1. Can’t See It Coming

The scariest moment in the entire series comes as Shirley and Theo are having a tense argument in the car, which is very rudely interrupted by a screaming ghost Nell.

No matter how many times you rewatch Episode 8, the scene will always catch you by surprise, as the conversation between the two sisters is designed to draw you in so that Nell scares you every time. But hey, at least the sisters made amends after the terrifying moment.