The Haunting of Hill House EP#10 Full Length Reaction

Hey guys! I've thoroughly enjoyed watching you watch this series. And now that it's come to an end I'm going to share my overall theory of Hill House. Please read! And give it some thought. I believe that it is literally the house itself that is alive, that is causing the sort of home for lost souls that were easily seduced by the house. There were many many background ghosts, and demons in this show. And I believe most of them are souls of the dead who are trapped by the House, and a few are actual spirits of wood & stone. Mythological speaking trees & stone have spirits within. And in many cases the spirit doesn't die, it simply changes when these resources are used to build anything, but especially a house. This is where the house itself takes on a personality, if it so choses. In the case of Hill House, it did. And for whatever reason, perhaps the hands that built the house were too vulnerable in some way to it. And this fed those spirits and kept them around. Kept themselves from changing and that is when it began to become a sort of purgatory. Thereafter whomever loved within the house, take the Hills for example, these spirits became attached to the Hills. They chose Poppy to be a sort of host or face or perhaps even a sort of scape goat if you will, the one everyone can blame for the so called evil force within the house because Poppy can take it. She was always out of her mind anyway and her husband William Hill (the man who bricked himself within the walls) only made her further insane. William Hill literally the came the structure of the house. The literal walls. Which means he isn't easily seen. Or blamed even though when he died he became so so tall. And I believe this is metaphorical for his narcissistic personality and bipolar. But his intentions aren't as clear. But that doesn't mean he isn't 100% in control of everything. Picking and choosing the next souls he wishes to become part of the home front. He simply makes Poppy do the dirty work as he hides out in the basement. The deepest pit of his own hell. This character is much more interesting than I believe we know. And is truly the main ghost who is behind everything. Hazel, is another who seems to be a passerby but is also a large hand at work. It is her force that influenced the teacup to be used as the weapon. As I believe it belonged to her daughter, Jacqueline? Either way these two characters I believe we're very close to William Hill. And not so close to Poppy Hill. Poppy Hill I feel was more so a victim than we know. Not to say she isn't or wasn't insane. But she was driven more mad and more to question herself untill she didn't question herself anymore. This is why her and Olivia Crane resonate with each other so well and why we see their connection more so than the others. Because Olivia completely surrendered to what the house really wanted no matter what face it took on. She agreed to it even if she saw through it, she didn't care. Very similar to Poppy. Their children were used to manipulate them even if it wasn't real. They made it real. Back to William Hill and his magnificent influence. He influenced Luke very much, I do believe that William was an addict to pain medication, he did have some kind of leg problem. And I think it became a heroin addiction but it coincides with his toxic love with Poppy Hill also. Which is interesting since Poppy is a plant I believe that is related to heroine I believe? William Hill snatched Luke by being the most upfront with him. The feeling of not being seen, and embracing that to a fault. To the point of isolation and bitterness or depression. Getting high for Luke allowed William to sort of live vicariously through him. Fed again to his own addiction to destruction and feeling of powerlessness. And wanting to feel that false sense of euphoria which inspires the large and very tall feeling. Until he shrinks once more and becomes the wall and bricks therein. The bricks William Hill used to become the very strength and structure of the house is very connected to Theo Crane first. Then Shirley. But first Theo is a beauty that William doesn't necessarily want to die he enjoys her out and about and I would say Theo is actually the most possessed character than the rest of them. Many things about her is influenced by William Hill. Which ties into and is supported by the empathy by touch she relies heavily on to define her even if she doesn't like it, she relies on the power to show her how different she is from the rest. Very strange relationship there is between Theo and William but it's strong. Theo is like the female he never had in any and all ways. He fits within her like a glove and she fits him too. However William I feel is a bit in love with Theo, it does bring Theo an advantage. But they are spiritually both within those walls. And next to them is Shirley. More appropriately Shirley is on the other side of that wall. Shirley is the same way but on the other side of the spectrum. She too is the wall but the outside surface of the wall instead of the inside. Shirley is all about the ambient energy. Space. She always needs her space. This is why her house turned into Hill House for Hugh in episode 6. Her sort of power is intuition. Feeling the space around her without touching. Without even seeing or understanding but knowing it's there. But she is in denial as she believes she is in control of the trauma while the trauma has always been controlling her. This is why she's such a control freak and self righteous. Steven Crane is actually a bit of all the ghosts but more so Poppy energy than not. He has always took after his mother even tho he looked up to his father. But it's Poppy's energy as well as Olivia's that has had their claws in his direction. Blaming his father and believing him to be the villain and dangerous. And his Mother, the wrong parent who died. However William Hill has some claws in his background. But Steven is great because he was never completely taken over even tho he is the most influential by the fact that he was such a doubter. But what we all need to realize is that the viewpoint that all of them had played it's part. Everything that happened can be explained by one or all of their perceptions or opinions on it all. It was true that th Cranes were a bit crazy, sensitive and vulnerable. It was true that Nellie did kill herself. She did have a choice. It wasn't all the influence of the house. The house cannot make anyone do what they don't want to do. It doesn't do that. But it does prey upon their weaknesses. It will show them situations and images in order to suggest the truth to them. When it doesn't have any real truth. There is a moment with Nellie when at the house just before she puts the noose around her neck. She looks down at the rope and turns to face her mother but as she turns we, the audience, don't see the noose. But she did just before turning to face her Mother. This suggests that she knew on some level what she was really doing. Which doesn't make her experience with her mother and the house any less real. But she was making a conscious choice to make the influence of the house her reality instead of the noose she knew was in her hand before accepting the necklace from her mother. That moment is probably one of my favorites. It speaks alot. Same with Olivia when she dies. She has a similar moment where she was going to walk down the spiral staircase but then she stops and walks over to the area where she decides to jump instead of walk down the stairs. I just think it's such a beautiful way of the director, Mike Flanagan of clearly showing the choices these two women literally make and are aware of in the moment and we get to see what they chose to do with their reality both in their heads and around them. And how it's so interwoven and it's all real but it also doesn't have to be real at the same time. Because our experiences are all real. They all exist. But the point is... Do we put faith in our perspectives? And what happens when we do that. Nellie, I believe became the savior in the end because she didn't succumb to complete corruption. She didn't fall to the house. She surrendered to her love for her mother despite the corruption that her own mother was falling to. Nellie did become weak yes. And in some way the house was in control but only to a point. This is why the house could only influence Nellie by showing her, her own inner demons that could and did gaunt her to the bitter end. However she chose to be bent neck lady but not because of the house but because she wanted to accept the truth of her mother. Which was she was planning to kill her that night. Nellie is very important. I tend to feel like Nellie and Hugh's angelic side to them is somehow connected to William Hills could have been innocent side if he hadn't have fucked his life up. It's a dream to him. A dream that Poppy says it's time to wake up from. The episode 6 Two Storms. I feel is very deep and metaphorical. I believe the whole episode in the past at Hill House is truly the house taken over their steps, direction and future. It was almost a stone setting episode for the crane family in the past. And the present funeral they were attending is apart of the most pivotal moment for all of them. Nellie and Luke, as Poppy said it, are the elephants eyebrows. The expression of the house. The definition of the house. The houses purpose in its amoral little house life. Lol this is why when Nellie looks at the house, the windows are showing a sort of heavenly glow. And she feels she is coming home and is content with seeing the hard truth because she embraces her mother. Luke looks to the house and sees a sort of hellish firey glow from the windows. Which means in his expression the house is hell. It where time sits still and never gets better as every problem he holds he feels began and ended there. And he is trapped by it. He knows what it is and wishes to move beyond it but everything he experienced there as a child, technically he was the most sensitive child. He saw the most. He saw the truth and the real villain of the house. William Hill, where he was acting all nonshalant pretending to look for his bowler hat in Luke's room? All of that? It was a front. He was playing with Luke. Ever wonder why Luke is the only one who really sees William except for Steve in the end. William is attempting to appear uninterested. Or harmless. Or unaware. But there is a thin line between indifference and cold hearted. Remember the song that Theo was dancing too as a child in the red room, was Cold Hearted Snake by Paula Abdul. Lol It all overlaps. Lukes redroom was a treehouse which was different from everyone else's room. The treehouse was a much more realistic choice. And he shared the treehouse with Steven. Wanting Steve to see what he was seeing. Everyone went to the redroom to avoid the truth of the red room. Which is where Olivia wanted to kill her children. And where the house wanted to kill it's inhabitants. By seducing them first with whatever they wanted to see. But Luke was the only one who was looking and dealing with what he was experiencing outside of the red room. By drawing pix of the ghosts and shit. He wasn't pretending like the rest of them were. Yet he was the most disbelieved by his father, "big boys know the difference between what's real and what's imaginary". This speaks volumes to why he became an addict. He grew up to not trust his instincts. And to not trust his imagination however by oppressing it, he made it worse by doing drugs to feel in control of his imagination. And he depended on Steve to tell him what was real since he shared his tree house with Steven he needs Steve to be on the same page with him and understand his addiction but Steve denies or criticises too much because he is desperately holding onto the structure of the tree house and beyond as he runs out being carried by his father while seeing the most terrifying thing than any of them ever witnessed in that house which was his very own mother limping and running. I always said that was literally the most real and terrifying moment and makes me love Steve and understand his point of view. No one else saw that. Not Olivia, not like that, and at Steve's age? And his father refuses to tell him anything? It's no wonder. He was depending on that real experience to support his fear of his father that was growing by the minute after that night and sight. Real life terrified Steven Crane. And is why he is trying to rely on real life to tell him the truth even tho he isn't sure what the real life is since his family members keep referring to ghosts and haunted houses to communicate a harsh truth that only he knows his father knows for certain. The Duddlys. They were more controlled than they realized. The house will compromise with you. It will hold off for years and barely interact with you until the very moment it needs to. It needs only for you to agree to die there. Your reasons are your own. But in the end the reason the crane family did suffer front he influence of this house after they were kids? Is because of Abigail. You were right Shaun. Thank you for reading!

Just a fun fact: Some of the show was shot here in Georgia. The house you see in the exterior shots is a real manor not too far from where I live in Atlanta and is called Bisham Manor. It’s amazing & some believe to be haunted 👻 Think it’s used for weddings & catering now. Give it a google lol Btw love the channel!

Eric Horstman