10 Small Details You Only Notice Rewatching The Haunting Of Hill House

8. Each Of The Crain Children Represent A Different Stage Of Grief

Haunting Of Hill House Spooky Pooky
Netflix

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. While also describing the experience viewers shared watching the Game of Thrones finale, these terms are more commonly referred to as the stages of grief. After a loss, or some other kind of remorseful event, it is believed that most people will experience each of these stages of grief in order to cope with, and eventually, resolve their heartache.

Viewers of The Haunting of Hill House who are familiar with the stages of grief may have noticed that each of the Crain children appear to represent a different stage. Big brother Steve represents denial through his unwillingness to acknowledge the existence of the paranormal. Shirley represents anger with her frequent outbursts at the rest of her family. Theo demonstrates bargaining through her attempts to resolve her own traumas by helping others as a psychologist whilst denying her own desire for connection. Depression fits Luke like a glove because… you know… heroin addict. Finally, in her death, Nell represents acceptance by having come to terms with her trauma by the end of the series.

Though this observation could be passed off as pure conjecture, series creator Mike Flanagan has confirmed it. Who would have thought that a show about a haunted house would be so complex?

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Dan is a writer and actor originally from South Australia who now lives in a constant state of anxiety... and Los Angeles. Whether writing about movies, watching movies, or binging the Great British Bake-off, Dan approaches any endeavour with a steely resolve which is rivalled only by his ability to lie about his strengths. For professional inquiries, call Melissa Cropley - Dan's mum; she wishes he would call more often and you'd really be doing him a favour.