Red Room

Lore & Background

The source describes Hill House as having a grim history: its original owner, Hugh Crain, a 19th-century textile tycoon, constructed the home for his wife Renee. All of Crain's children were stillborns, and Renee, devastated by the multiple losses, killed herself, while Crain became a recluse. Nell later finds Crain's hidden study and learns that he extensively used child labor in his cotton mills, tortured and killed orphans in his home, then burned their bodies in the fireplace. She surmises that these children's spirits are trapped in the house, providing Crain with an 'eternal family'. Crain had a second wife named Carolyn, from whom Nell is descended. The source does not describe a specific 'Red Room' or its function as a prison or focal point.

In Their Own Story

The source does not describe a specific 'Red Room' or any scene set within it. The story includes supernatural events: Nell sees apparitions of children; a large portrait of Hugh Crain is vandalized with the words 'Welcome Home Eleanor' written in blood; a statue comes to life and tries to drown Dr. Marrow; Luke is decapitated by a large chimney flue; Hugh Crain's ghost is cast into a decorative bronze door depicting the distressed children in purgatory; Nell dies and her soul, along with those of the freed children, ascends to heaven.

Reader's Guide

The source does not provide a guide for the Red Room. The film's plot involves participants in an insomnia study at Hill House. Dr. Marrow's true purpose is to study the psychological response to fear, intending to expose his subjects to terror. The group tries to leave Hill House but Hugh Crain's ghost traps them inside. Nell realizes that Crain thrived on the fear he created in children and declares that she is not afraid of him, which weakens the ghost. The source does not describe rules for entering or leaving a specific 'Red Room'.

Did You Know?

• The film is based on the 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
• It is the second feature film adaptation of the source material after Robert Wise's 1963 film adaptation of the same name.
• The film's plot follows a group of people who gather at Hill House for an apparent volunteer study on insomnia.
• The original owner of Hill House, Hugh Crain, tortured and killed orphans in his home, then burned their bodies in the fireplace.
• Nell, a main character, is descended from Hugh Crain's second wife, Carolyn.