While even the thought of ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ scares us, but we wonder why Olivia Crain killed herself in the show?
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is one of the finest Horror shows of this decade. This Netflix show, which is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, does a phenomenal job of giving chills while telling a worthy story. One of the key elements in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is Olivia Crain. She is a key character, and a key horror element as well. Even though she died decades ago as per the current timeline of the show, she drives the show through the flashbacks and her horror presence. However, what fans fail to understand is the reason why did Olivia kill herself in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’. So, let’s discuss what happened with her.
Highlights —
- Why did Olivia kill herself in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
- The Hill House tricked Olivia.
- Why the loving mother killed herself?
- What happens with Olivia later in the story?
Why did Olivia kill herself in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
Olivia was a loving mother, and she loved her kids like anything. Because of her love, and for the fact that she stays the key horror element in the series, her character becomes the most interesting one. However, some fans are still confused about the reason why Olivia killed herself. While there were many things into play in her suicide, but the key element was her being in delusion because of The Hill House.
The Hill House tricked Olivia.
In ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, the true horror resided in the house itself. The Hill House was haunted, and it lured the family and whoever came in the house into believing realities that weren’t true. The Hill House behaved individually for everyone. It took different appearances for different members of the family and made them believe in the things that weren’t true. This led to some really terrible happenings.
The death of Olivia Crain was also the doing of the Hill House. While Olivia, Hugh, and their kids Steven, Shirley, Theodora, Luke, and Eleanor (Nell) were living in the Hill House, they all were facing the horrors of the house. However, Olivia was living in the delusion that his kids Luke and Nell are living in an eternal nightmare, and the only way to save them is to kill them.
There was another little girl named Abigail. Because she was the daughter of the caretakers of the Hill House, and they kept her hidden, Olivia was unaware of her existence. But when she came to know about Luke being friends with Abigail, she in her delusion thought that Abigail is a ghost and is haunting Luke.
Because whoever dies in the Hill House, becomes part of the spooky legend.
Why the loving mother killed herself?
Olivia represented love and horror both in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’. In her delusion, she brings Luke, Nell, and Abigail into the Red Room. While she planned to kill both his kids by poisoning them, it is Abigail who gets killed first after drinking the poisoned tea. This reveals that Abigail is, in fact, an actual girl and not a ghost.
At the very moment, Hugh arrives, and he sees what Olivia did to the caretakers’ daughter, and what she was about to do to their own kids. Hugh takes away the kids from the house.
In the meantime, Olivia is coaxed by the Hill House to take her own life. She jumps from the balcony and commits suicide. Hugh returns to find her wife died. While we see Olivia’s ghost walking back into the Hill House, Hugh isn’t aware that whoever dies in the Hill House becomes a part of it. Hugh and the kids then escape from there, for forever, until they return after 26 years.
What happens with Olivia later in the story?
Years later, when Nell returns to The Hill House, we find out that Olivia had been waiting for her kids all these years. She missed her family and she now wants all of them with her. The only way to it is to kill them. Olivia kills Nell, and thus Nell becomes part of the house. Olivia intends to do the same with all of her grown-up kids. She traps them all in the Red Room. But Hugh convinces her to let them free and take him instead. Hugh takes his own life and thus becomes part of the house. He stays there forever with Olivia and Nell, and their kids get to live a free life.
