Halloween is on the horizon and naturally, horror abounds on TV and in the movies in the run-up to the popular holiday. Netflix chose this perfect time to release its original series “The Haunting of Hill House.” Warning, this series could haunt you all the way to Halloween and beyond.

Those of the older generation might find the name touches a few memory chords, as it is based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel “The Haunting of Hill House.” With Mike Flanagan behind the wheel (“Gerald’s Game,” “Ouija,” “Oculus” and “Origin of Evil” to name a few of his horror classics), the Netflix Original series is sure to scare and make you jump out of your chair occasionally.

Flashbacks and forwards in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’

You will be forgiven for getting a tad confused in the first episode as you get used to the idea that the series covers the life of the Crain family in the past and present. However, and as noted by SyFy Wire, this is artfully done to ensure you understand what the family went through when they first moved into Hill House.

The Crain family moved into Hill House to renovate it and sell it on, but they got more than their share of scares during the first few days alone.

There are definitely ghosts, and while you only get a glimpse, this is quite enough to scare you. As Cosmopolitan’s reviewer says, the ghosts have so much pain, desperation and loneliness in their scary faces, you will want to hang on to someone on the couch and make sure all the lights are on. You will soon understand why the family goes through so much pain in their lives, directly attributed to the horrible haunted house.

Major cast in ‘The Haunting of Hill House’

Flanagan and his crew came up with the perfect cast for the adaptation of the horror novel with Henry Thomas and Timothy Hutton playing the role of the family’s young and older patriarch. The mother is played by Carla Gugino, who excelled in the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel “Gerald’s Game” under Flanagan’s leadership.

The family’s siblings are played by Michiel Huisman, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Elizabeth Reaser and Katie Siegel.

Warning, minor spoilers ahead! In the present day, they are brought together again after their youngest sister (played by Victoria Pedretti) commits suicide. Once you are used to it, the way the Netflix horror series bounces between the past and present works extremely well. Each episode highlights new information about the family and how their lives have been defined by tragedy. Often scenes reappear from another character’s viewpoint to keep them interesting and fresh.

As for the house, it isn’t just the ghosts that haunt it, as the house seems to be alive all in itself, with creaking and other scary sounds coming out along the way and a sense something is directly watching you. However, it’s not just about ghosts and a scary house, as the series also reveals a family dealing with trauma, betrayals, and resentments along the way.

Each of the beautifully filmed 10 episodes of “The Haunting of Hill House” will take up an hour of your time. Bear that in mind before you decide to binge the whole thing in one go! Enjoy watching the Netflix trailer included below.