“Journeys don’t end. Not if you love someone. They don’t end at all.” But then, how and why did the journey of Olivia, the mother, end in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
Olivia Crain in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ was one of her kind. Hardly ever do horror creations receive a character as caring and sympathetic as her, and yet tragic and horrific. What makes her character great is the fact that love and horror go together in her arc, while still carrying the necessary contrast. However, it’s still hard for fans to truly understand what happened with her character, and what happened at the end of the series. Thus, Dkoding is going to Dkode Olivia from ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ for you.
What happened to Olivia in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
Highlights —
- What happened to Olivia (Mother) in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
- Olivia became a part of the Hill House.
- Olivia waited through all the years.
How did Olivia become a ghost in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
What happened to Olivia (Mother) in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’?
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is Netflix’s horror drama series, the first in ‘The Haunting’ anthology, followed by ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’. The series is created by Mike Flanagan and is loosely based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson. ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ premiered on Netflix on October 12, 2018, and to everyone’s surprise, it was haunting, unlike most of the horror creations lately. The show revolves around the Crain family.

Hugh Crain (Timothy Hutton and Henry Thomas) and Olivia Crain (Carla Gugino) move to the Hill House with their kids Steven, Shirley, Theodora, Luke, and Eleanor (Nell) to renovate and sell it. The house haunts them then, and again after 26 years when they reunite.
The most interesting, fan-favourite, and yet tragic character of ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ is Olivia, the mother. But the truth of her tragedy is still unclear to many fans of the show.
Olivia became a part of the Hill House
It’s no surprise that the Hill House is haunted. The Hill House can pull you into believing distinct realities. It appeals to everyone individually in the family, in different ways and different appearances. With a series of haunting events in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, Olivia is tricked to believe that Luke has an “imaginary friend” Abigail. She believes it’s the ghost. Olivia, in her delusions, also believes that Nell and Luke need to die to be saved from the nightmare they are living in.
She brings Nell, Luke, and Abigail to the Red Room, and pours them poisoned tea. Surprisingly enough, Abigail drinks the tea first and dies, proving wrong the perception of the audience and Olivia that she was the ghost. In fact, she was the daughter of the caretakers of the house who kept her hidden. When Hugh arrives to face this horrifying situation, he takes the children away.
Olivia is then pursued by the house to jump off the balcony. Nell is also provoked to take her own life. Hugh returns to find his wife dead. They all fly away from the house. What they didn’t know was the fact that whoever dies in the Hill House becomes a part of the house and its haunting phenomenon. And that’s what happened with Olivia as we see her ghost walking towards the house.
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ has a happy ending for the Crain family.
Olivia waited through all the years
Olivia, after becoming a part of the Hill House, waits for her kids and family all these years. Towards the end of ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’ we find out that Olivia misses her kids and family and wants them back. It’s only 26 years later that her kids find out about all the happenings of the past as an adult.
When Hugh and the kids return to the Hill House after years, Olivia traps the kids in the Red Room, and she doesn’t want them to leave her. She tells Hugh: “We’re safe now. This is our forever house. Nothing bad will ever touch us here.”
To save his children, Hugh convinces Olivia and strikes a deal with her, which involves him staying with her forever. Hugh thus takes his own life and becomes the part of the Hill House to stay forever with Olivia and Nell. While their children get to escape alive.
