Everyone’s threshold for what really scares them is different, but a new Netflix series is apparently pushing that boundary for lots of folks. If that’s the test of what makes a successful horror show, The Haunting of Hill House is passing with flying colors.
The series is loosely based on a 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson. It centers around five siblings who return to their childhood home, aka Hill House, to face the traumatic events that transpired there.
https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1042441072591298562
Even the master of horror himself, novelist Stephen King, approves of the show.
“I don’t usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great,” he tweeted on Tuesday. “Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure.”
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodeled by Mike Flanagan. I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 17, 2018
The show is getting high marks from critics—it currently has an IMDb rank of 9.1 out of 10 while 91 percent of Rotten Tomatoes critics rated it positively—and plenty of other people on Twitter seem to like it. That is, if visceral reactions to horror can be counted as positive.
As CTV News reports, Twitter users are saying the series is causing them to lose sleep and feel nauseous—or even scaring them to the point of nearly passing out.
The Haunting of Hill House was brilliant but terrifying and I’ll never sleep again
— Madeleine Florence Taylor (@maddie__taylor) October 14, 2018
i've been watching the haunting of hill house for like 4 hours and now i dont wanna go to sleep pic.twitter.com/37G8R7aFOa
— soph 💫 ia (@hunschoice) October 17, 2018
Haunting of hill house is making me terror vomit in joyful confusion. So I love it.
— Spooky Lukey (@RupaulFTompkins) October 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/RadioWires/status/1051960849722744834
5 minutes into haunting of hill house
— Lyss (@alyssaneumann_) October 18, 2018
Em: “I’m gonna vomit”
https://twitter.com/babyjanequeen/status/1051107028800888832
The Haunting of Hill House is BY FAR the best series I’ve seen in a long time and I’m going to need some time to recover pic.twitter.com/LGQRddZ8yR
— Kat (@itskatzilla) October 16, 2018
It’s safe to say The Haunting of Hill House isn’t for the faint of heart. But if you’re looking to get some horrific thrills this Halloween season, this could be the show for you.
READ MORE:
- The scariest movies on Netflix for Halloween
- Netflix original horror: The best scary movies to watch
- The best Netflix original series
H/T CTV News