‘The Haunting of Hill House’ Ending Explained

With its shifting perspectives, circular time structure, and dense plot, The Haunting of Hill House can be a little…hard to follow. In fact, the final episode features so many major reveals, it’s possible to find yourself a little bit lost. Who even was the Bent-Neck Lady? What exactly happened to Olivia (Carla Gugino)? How did the Red Room work?

If these are questions you have…don’t worry. We have answers. Here’s The Haunting of Hill House‘s ending…explained.

**SPOILERS FOR THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE AHEAD**

Who Was The Bent-Neck Lady?

In Episode 5, we discover that the “Bent-Neck Lady” who has been haunting Nell (Victoria Pedretti) throughout her life is none other than…Nell herself. When Nell returns to Hill House she is confronted with a hallucination of what she wishes her life could be: the Crain family is whole in the house, her mother and husband are alive, and Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is clean. Nell is lured to the top of the spiral staircase outside the Red Room and pushed by the ghost of her mother to commit suicide. She hangs herself and the trauma of the event leaves her with — you guessed it — a bent neck.

From then on, Nell takes it upon herself to try to warn her surviving family to stay clear of the house — and this includes herself. In the shock of her death, she flits backwards to every traumatic moment of her own life in an attempt to reach her younger, living self. Actress Victoria Pedretti told Decider that Nell was never trying to scare anyone but warn them.

Who Was Abigail? Luke’s Ghostly Little Friend In The Woods?

In a twist, it turns out that Luke’s mysterious friend Abigail wasn’t a ghost or a figment of his imagination. Abigail was real — and she was the Dudleys’ only living child. Mr. and Mrs. Dudley are the creepy caretakers at Hill House and it’s revealed that they homeschool Abigail for fear of losing another child. Abigail, however, is “good at sneaking out” and hangs out with Luke in the woods. Her old timey wardrobe is thanks to her parents’ conservatism.

Who Was Poppy?

We first hear about Poppy Hill (Catherine Parker) in Episode 8, “Witness Marks.” Mrs. Dudley (Annabeth Gish) tells young Steven about how Poppy was mentally ill and that she met William Hill in the insane asylum. In Episode 9, “Screaming Meemies,” we learn that Olivia began to have dreams with Poppy in them. Poppy, dressed as a flapper, suggests to Olivia that the only way to save her children from the nightmare of reality is to “wake them up.” That means kill them. It’s strongly hinted that Poppy murdered her own children in the cradle.

What Happened The Night Of The Storm?

Instead of flying to see her sister Janet, the troubled Olivia actually stayed at the hotel near the family and lied about her whereabouts. At this point, Olivia has been taken over by the machinations of Poppy, an insane ghost who lingers at Hill House. Poppy convinces Olivia that the only way to protect her children is to wake them up from the nightmare of reality. That is, the only way she can save the twins from their future fates is to kill them as children and stay in Hill House as ghosts forever.

So late at night, Olivia returns to Hill House. Shirley sees her mother in the kitchen and wakes her sleeping father Hugh up to ask why their mother isn’t with Aunt Janet. As this happens, Olivia has lured the twins — and Abigail who has snuck in for a sleepover — to the Red Room for a “tea party.” What’s actually in the tea is rat poison.

Realizing that his wife is not herself, and that ghosts are going wild in the house, Hugh (Henry Thomas) asks Shirley and Theo to wait in the car. He rushes to the Red Room and stops Olivia from poisoning the twins, but Abigail has already died from consuming the tea. He and Olivia have a violent fight that knocks her out and he takes the twins to the car. Finally, he returns to save Steven. At this point, the ghosts are out and Olivia is conscious, stumbling through Hill House. Luke sees a ghost version of Abigail from the car and Steven sees his mother in the house. Hugh leaves and when he returns he discovers that Olivia — with Poppy’s help — has thrown herself from the spiral staircase and is dead.

Olivia is also now a ghost — as is Abigail.

What’s In The Red Room?

What isn’t in the Red Room?

It turns out that the Red Room is like “the stomach” of Hill House. It lures people in with whatever that person needs to feel safe and vulnerable. Once inside, the house feeds on that person. When the Crain siblings return to Hill House, they are all coaxed there where they fall unconscious and are forced to confront their worst fears in the guise of fantasies. In each case, the spirit of Nell visits them right before the house takes them and they wake up.

Once all the Crain siblings are conscious, Nell’s ghost explains that they’ve all been in the Red Room before. It takes on a different shape for each person (like a twisted Room of Requirement). It was Steven’s “game room,” Shirley’s family room, Theo’s dance studio, Luke’s treehouse, and Olivia’s reading room.

How Does The Crain Family Escape Hill House?

Olivia’s spirit misses her children so much that she is helping to keep the Red Room’s door locked with Steven (Michiel Huisman), Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser), Theo (Kate Siegel), and an overdosing Luke inside. Hugh (Timothy Hutton) confronts Olivia and explains that even though the world is awful, it’s still better to let their kids live. He also strikes a bargain and cuts a deal with Olivia. The door opens.

After Shirley and Theo get Luke into their car, Hugh keeps Steven back. He explains to Steven what happened all those years ago. After he dropped the kids off at the hotel, Hugh returned to Hill House to find Olivia’s dead body. The Dudleys came in and discovered that Abigail was also dead. When Abigail’s ghost appears, the Dudleys realize that so long as Hill House is around, Abigail can live on inside. Hugh wants to burn it to the ground, but Mr. Dudley says they will cover up what happened so long as Hugh keeps Hill House in one piece.

Steven then realizes that his father has died. Hugh tells Steven that he is now the custodian of Hill House. He enters the Red Room, now brightly-lit, to join Olivia and Nell in the house forever.

Why Is Hill House…Like That?

Good question! And one that the show never really answers. In fact, The Haunting of Hill House leaves a lot of unanswered questions about Hill House’s history and what other ghosts live there. We also don’t know how Luke got the heroin that he almost overdosed on. We have clues, but nothing definitive. Feels like something that creator and director Mike Flanagan could tackle in a second season…

Watch The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix