The Haunting of Hill House

No live organism can continue to exist sanely

under conditions of absolute reality.

Even larks and katydids are supposed by some to dream.

Hill House, not sane...

stood by itself against its hills holding darkness within.

It had stood so for a hundred years before my family moved in...

and might stand a hundred more.

Within, walls stood upright,

bricks met neatly,

floors were firm.

Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House.

And whatever walked there...

walked alone.

It's okay, Theo. Go back to bed.

Should I wake up Mom and Dad?

I've got it.

You okay, Nellie?

You scared?

That's okay.

I get scared too sometimes.

Why are you awake, Luke?

'Cause Nellie's awake.

What was it?

The Bent-Neck Lady.

Oh, her again?

Where was she?

Oh, boy.

Guess we better take a look.

Here, huh?

Your big brother must have scared her away.

Big brothers are good like that.

What if she's hiding?

She's long gone.

I guess everybody can go back to bed now.

There you go.

You remember what we talked about before?

About our dreams?

They can spill.

That's right.

Yeah,

just like a cup of water can spill sometimes.

But kids' dreams are special.

- They're like... - An ocean.

- An ocean. - That's right.

And the big dreams...

can spill out sometimes.

Back to bed, Stevie.

Now, I know that Bent-Neck Lady is really scary.

But that's all she is.

She's just a little spill.

How long do we have to live here, Daddy?

Well,

your mother and I, we have to finish fixing this house,

and then someone has to buy it.

Then we can go?

Yep, and then we can go, just like the last house.

Now, you get back to sleep, both of you.

I love you, sweetie.

Sweet dreams.

Dancing in the Red Room.

Dancing in the Red Room.

You're dreaming, Shirl.

The pandas aren't dreaming.

Pandas, huh?

Pandas don't eat macaroni.

Noted.

- Hmm. -

Everyone alive?

- Nellie had a nightmare. -

And Shirley is sleep talking again.

Anything good?

- Pandas don't like macaroni, Liv. - Hmm.

Luke?

Carl was driving on Rural 86 during the storm.

Do you remember that storm?

Of course not, you were in L.A. It was a bad one.

It was cats and dogs, the worst I'd seen in ten years.

He was up in the boons when he lost control of the car.

He went over a guardrail and went down a ravine.

The car flipped over and you couldn't see it from the road,

especially because of the rain.

He was hanging there the whole time.

Hours.

Upside-down, tangled up in his seat belt.

They said he could reach the horn, but...

he couldn't press it for long 'cause, you see, his arm was broken.

And that's how he died.

Upside-down, pressing on that horn for as long as he could stand to.

So when did it start?

The night after he died.

It started with drops of water.

Like raindrops...

falling onto my face.

I started to hear a car horn.

Short bursts.

Distant, I think, but close enough to wake me,

and then, finally...

now, this was right after the funeral itself.

This was the night after the burial, you see.

I felt the water...

on my cheeks,

and I heard the car horn,

and then I looked up at the ceiling...

And there he was...

hanging there...

upside-down.

I could... I could see the water...

dripping off of his hair,

and his face was a...

a deep purple, like the blood had all just...

pooled into his cheeks.

It's funny, you'd think you'd scream after seeing something like that,

but you don't.

You just stare.

You just stare at it like you're an idiot.

And then his mouth fell open,

but it wasn't a scream.

It was a car horn...

coming from his mouth...

so loud.

So loud that I fell off the bed.

And then I screamed.

I screamed because I hit the floor and it startled me,

and it was like I only just remembered, "Oh, right.

I can scream.

I should probably scream." And I screamed, all right.

And I ran, and I tripped in the hallway,

and I looked back and he wasn't there, and then I laid there and I cried.

And that was the last time I've slept in that room.

That's a very interesting story. Mrs. Walker.

Irene.

Irene...

This is what I'd like to do.

I'd like to look around your house.

I'd like to set up some equipment.

I'd also like to sleep in that room tonight.

Goodness.

I'll be fine.

I can't promise I'll include your story in my book.

- Of course. - But it's possible.

And I thank you for sharing it with me.

I'm sorry, I should have told you I'm a fan.

That's my favorite, the first one.

"Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone at Hill House

and whatever walked there walked alone."

I can't imagine what it was like living there.

The most famous haunted house in America.

In fairness,

it wasn't famous when we moved in.

And besides, you've got me beat.

What do you mean?

I mean, if you actually saw your husband hanging upside-down over your bed,

you've seen more than I ever have.

I've never seen a ghost.

- But your books. - Ah, not in Arlington.

Danvers, Alcatraz,

on the Queen Mary or in Williamsburg.

And not in Hill House.

The way you write, I just assumed...

Other people's stories. People like you, Irene.

I give them the right voice, that's all.

Well...

I hope tonight is a game-changer for you.

- How so? - Maybe my Carl

will finally give you a story of your own.

You were one of his favorite writers, so maybe...

that's the reason... for all this.

You know, I can tell you one thing about Hill House

that isn't in the book.

Yes, please.

All those years trying to understand what happened in that house,

you know what I never found?

A reason.

So, don't expect one.

How are your brother and sisters doing, I wondered, since the book?

How are they doing these days?

You know who I wish would write a book?

Your dad.

Just tonight.

Won't you miss your brother?

I'd rather sleep here,

in case she comes back.

Alright.

Just tonight then.

I'll stay with her a bit.

Goodnight.

Hey, will you grab her blanket?

- Yeah. - Thanks.

I'm sorry. Uh...

So...

Are you saying you'd prefer not to do a viewing?

No.

We want to. It's not that.

It's part of your mother's pre-need, so, it's already taken care of.

And we want to.

It's Max.

- I think he's just a little, um... - A little nervous about it?

I'd say adamantly opposed.

Sorry, excuse me.

Hi, Max. I'm Shirley.