‘The Haunting of Hill House’ Easter Eggs Tease Season 2

Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House may have ended its scares on a satisfying note, but several Easter eggs hidden in the Netflix horror series’ finale may have hinted at a second season.

Dubbed “close to a work of genius” by the King of Horror himself Stephen King, the Netflix original series, adapted by director Mike Flanagan from Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel, has drawn praise and scares from fans and critics alike, and it is already being teased that there could be more in the future.

“There’s a couple of Easter eggs at the end that allow it to [continue for a second season]. But they’re very, very slight, they’re not so obvious. Again it’s [writer] Mike [Flanagan] being a genius. There’s something in the background somewhere,” Luke Crain actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen told Digital Spy. “It probably feels like it closed a book but if you look closer it’s very much not closed.”

Michiel Huisman, who portrays the adult Steven Crain, confirmed Oliver-Jackson’s teasing of Easter eggs.

“I think I know what is referred to…That’s part of what happens in the finale of this season,” he said. “It’s also part of what explains a little bit of what has been happening to everyone that lived in that house for all those years. It sort of explains the power of the house.”

Although neither commented on what those Easter eggs may be, there are a number of possibilities, including Trish’s comment that “fear and guilt are sisters,” which could play out between Shirley and Theo in a possible second season. Poppy Hill’s nursery rhyme, “The Grottan Murders,” which refers to the deaths of three generations of a single family, could potentially signal a time jump in the series, with a sophomore run shifting focus to Shirley’s now-adult children.

Along with potentially setting up a second season, Flanagan revealed that The Haunting of Hill House contained Easter eggs to his other works, including Oculus.

“I always love to do that stuff. In my head, all of these things take place in the same world, and so that’s really fun for me to try to sneak anything in,” he told Thrillist. “I think fans of Oculus will definitely find stuff to spot. In general, fans of other movies I did prior to this will see at least one familiar cast member.”

That familiar cast member is the adult Theodora Crain, portrayed by Kate Siegel. Siegel has taken on the lead role in a number of Flanagan’s previous works, including 2016’s Hush, 2016’s Ouija: Pure Evil, and Netflix’s 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game.

The Haunting of Hill House is available for streaming on Netflix, along with Flanagan’s films Hush and Gerald’s Game. Flanagan’s next venture into horror, an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep, is set to premiere in theaters on January 24, 2020.