The Haunting of Hill House TV Review (2025)

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • Positive Messages

    very little

    The show exists mainly to scare, but the familial bonds represented here (especially among siblings) does stand out as a positive.

  • Positive Role Models

    very little

    One of the main characters is a lesbian, who is portrayed in a way not often seen in mass media -- as a fully rounded character. She's flawed, yes, but overcomes a troubling childhood and some uniquely challenging personal issues of her own to help children in need through her work as a psychologist. Each of the family members deals with their own trauma but they all love and want to help each other.

  • Violence & Scariness

    a lot

    There's a pervading sense of dread and tension throughout the series -- watching with all the lights on isn't a bad idea! The family is besieged by spirits, and while some seem merely to want to frighten the living, others have no trouble reaching out and getting physical. There's a bit of upsetting content with animals, though none are hurt on purpose. A man is beaten up while roaming the city streets alone. A character hangs themselves, another attempts to poison children. Scenes of injecting heroin and overdosing. Someone wakes up to a screwdriver being held to their throat. Some graphic scenes in a mortuary as dead bodies are being embalmed.

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  • Sex, Romance & Nudity

    a little

    Implied sex scenes with women shown in their underwear, mainly from behind and with no full frontal nudity.

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  • Language

    a lot

    Though it's not particularly pervasive, the full gamut of swear words is used, including "f--k," and "s--t." One character makes a joke of wanting to swear in front of his kids and says "Fother Mucker" as a G-rated substitute.

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  • Products & Purchases

    none

    Close-ups of iPhone screens, iPads are seen and mentioned by name.

  • Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

    a lot

    Characters smoke and drink, some get falling-down drunk. A character struggles with heroin addiction as a result of PTSD and there are scenes of drugs being injected, none of this is seen as glamorous or cool. Scenes in a rehab facility with addicts talking about their low points, a scene where a character overdoses and vomits.

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  • Parents Need to Know

    Parents need to know that The Haunting of Hill House is a tense, eerie ghost story crossed with an affecting (and very mature) family drama. Though it draws inspiration from Shirley Jackson's excellent 1959 novel of the same name, the 10-episode horror series has very little in common with the source material plot-wise; it's used merely as a jumping-off point. The series touches on issues like addiction, trauma, and mental illness, and there's a sad storyline relating to baby animals that some may find upsetting. Suicide is a running theme, and a person is shown hanging themselves. There are a couple of brief sex scenes; women are seen in lingerie but not fully nude. One character is a mortician, which means there are several shots involving dead bodies being cut open and processed. Heroin addiction is depicted, with scenes of shooting up and overdosing. Adult characters swear, smoke, and drink, often to excess. Though not as consistently gory as some modern horror series and films, there are plenty of truly chilling scares and disturbing imagery that could cause nightmares for kids both young and old.

What's the Story?

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE centers on the Crain family, headed up by architect mom Olivia (Carla Gugino) and handyman dad Hugh (Henry Thomas), who support their family by rehabbing and selling old houses and hope the quick flip of the titular manse will bring in enough money to fund the building of their own future "Forever House". Their five kids -- practical Steven (Paxton Singleton), intense Shirley (Lulu Wilson), intuitive Theo (McKenna Grace), and the impressionable twins Nell (Violet McGraw) and Luke (Julian Hilliard) -- aren't all so sure about the place, seeing as several of them are beset by ghoulish specters and disturbing dreams from the moment they step foot in the place. The series uses a dual timeline format to expose the deeply traumatic events that went down in Hill House back in the day and examine how it has affected their lives twenty years later when the family is reunited by tragedy and called back to the house that started it all.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way The Haunting of Hill House is creepy, but not excessively gory -- especially in comparison to many modern day horror offerings. How does it manage to be so frightening without being graphic? What methods to the filmmakers use to set the tone?

  • Why are movies about ghosts and haunted house so enduringly popular? What is the appeal for audiences in being scared?

  • Was the Crain family likable? Did any characters stand out to you as particularly relatable or sympathetic? What did you think about the way the various family members handled what happens in Hill House -- and what would you do if you were in their shoes?

The Haunting of Hill House TV Review (2025)
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