Plot
The film begins with a voiceover by Dr. John Markway (Richard Johnson). Hill House was constructed by Hugh Crain as a home for his wife. She died in an accident as she approached the house for the first time. Crain remarried. His second wife died after falling down the stairs. Crain's daughter, Abigail, lived in the house the rest of her life, never moving out of the nursery. She died calling for her absent nurse-companion. The companion inherited the house, but hanged herself in the library. Mrs. Sannerson inherited Hill House. It has stood empty for some time. The voiceover ends.
Dr. Markway is investigating paranormal activity. He wins permission from Mrs. Sannerson to occupy the house, but must take Luke Sannerson (Russ Tamblyn) (her heir) with him. Markway chooses two individuals to accompany him. One is the psychic, Theodora (Claire Bloom), who is also known as "Theo". The other is meek Eleanor "Nell" Lance (Julie Harris). Eleanor spent her adult life caring for her invalid mother, and her recent death left Eleanor feeling severe guilt.
Two caretakers—Mr. Dudley (Valentine Dyall) and his wife (Rosalie Crutchley)—care for the house. The large, maze-like mansion contains few right angles, perspective is off, and doors open and close by themselves. The house has a library with a spiral staircase and a conservatory with some eerie statues. Eleanor feels at home at Hill House as well as unsettled by it. That night, Eleanor and Theo are terrified by ghostly occurrences outside of Theo's bedroom door. In a well-known scene, supernatural forces bang loudly on the door as if trying to gain entry.
The team explores Hill House the next day, discovering a cold spot and encountering other supernatural phenomena. Dr. Markway reveals more about the hauntings which have allegedly occurred at Hill House. The team discovers the words "HELP ELEANOR COME HOME" on a wall. Eleanor becomes mentally unstable. Something grips Eleanor's hand tightly in the night, terrifying Eleanor and Theo. The following day, Mrs. Grace Markway (Lois Maxwell) arrives at Hill House to warn her husband that a reporter has learned of Dr. Markway's investigation of Hill House. The doctor is concerned when his wife announces that she plans to join the group for the duration of the stay. She demands a bed in the nursery despite her husband's protests that it is unsafe. That night, Grace Markway disappears. Eleanor's mental instability worsens as she falls further under the spell of Hill House. She goes into the library where she climbs the metal spiral staircase. In a critical scene, Grace Markway appears unexpectedly from a trapdoor at the top of the staircase and Eleanor almost falls to her death. Dr. Markway climbs the unstable staircase and rescues her.
Dr. Markway, Luke, and Theo become frightened as Eleanor becomes separated from the group and Grace cannot be found. When they locate Eleanor, Dr. Markway insists that she leave Hill House at once. He asks Luke to drive her away but before Luke can get in the car Eleanor drives off without him. As she speeds down the road to the front gates, something takes control of the steering wheel and the car starts driving erratically. Eleanor pleads with the supernatural entity to stop as she trys to drive the car. Suddenly, Grace Markway steps out from behing a tree and appears in front of Eleanor's car. Eleanor swerves to miss her, hits a tree, and dies. When Dr. Markway, Luke and Theo arrive at the crash site on foot Dr. Markway asserts that something was in the car with Eleanor. He notes that the tree that claimed Eleanor's life was the same one that killed the first Mrs. Crain. The doctor says "There was something in the car with her, I'm sure of it. Call it what you like but Hill House is haunted." As the members of the group look back at the ominous abode, Luke remarks "It ought to be burned down and the ground sowed with salt."
The final words in the movie are a narrative by Eleanor:
Hill House has stood for 90 years and might stand for 90 more. Within, walls continue upright, bricks meet...floors are firm, and doors are sensibly shut. Silence lies steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House. And we who walk here walk alone.
Read more about this topic: The Haunting (1963 film)
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