[theme music playing]
-[thunder rumbles] -[rain patters]
[Shirley breathing shakily]
In movies, they always say that they, uh,
look like they're sleeping.
She doesn't look like she's sleeping. She looks dead.
I mean, you, um...
She looks great. You did a really good job, as usual.
-Thanks. -But she doesn't look like she's sleeping.
[sniffles] I don't know why people say that.
Most of what people say at a funeral is a wish.
They're...
in a better place, they're at peace, they're smiling down.
People just wishing out loud.
How bad was it?
I mean, when she... got here, how did she look?
Are you really asking?
No.
You're right.
You might wanna slow down.
It's gonna be a long night. You've been at that all day.
[sighs]
There's a stupid amount of food. It keeps showing up.
[Shirley] Hope they didn't eat dinner.
-[Kevin] Can I have one? -[Theo] Mm-hmm.
[Shirley] Should've told them not to eat dinner.
There's plenty in the kitchen if we burn through that.
[sniffles]
[sighs]
-Thank you. -[Theo] Yeah.
Did you connect with a florist for tomorrow?
Yeah, it's all set.
I promise.
This gonna be a problem for Luke?
If he tries for it, Steve can take him back to the hotel.
[Theo] So, Luke's fresh off the streets?
[Shirley] Steve says he didn't even have shoes when he found him.
[Theo] Great.
We get to watch him come down.
He flies across the country to puke on his dead sister.
Jesus, Theo.
Might as well hide our purses, though.
[Theo] What about Dad?
They flew in together, I know that, so he's here.
Has he been here before?
I was trying to remember that, too.
He hasn't, has he?
-Or if he has, I can't remember it. -[doorbell rings]
-[Theo sighs] -I got it. You guys relax.
-[Kevin exhales] -Please, Luke.
Don't fuck this up.
It's funny, Nellie was always trying to get all of us together in one place.
[Steve] Hey.
-Even Dad tried for years. -[Kevin] Can I get your coat?
[Steve] Yeah.
Someone should've told her she didn't have to try this hard.
-[Shirley] Hi. -Hey.
-[Shirley] It's pretty bad out there. -Yeah. [sighs]
It's just a little rain.
-[Theo sighs] -Hi, Shirl.
Hey.
Still not a hugger?
Flight's good?
It was... It was not too bad.
Long.
[Shirley clears throat]
Dad's not with you?
Uh, he's still at the hotel. He told us to go ahead.
He kept changing his clothes.
He's nervous, I guess.
Luke, can I get you some water or something to eat?
We've got a mountain of food. Anything you want.
[sighs]
I'm sorry.
[stammering] I can't-- I can't-- I can't...
He seems a lot better than I expected.
I know.
I think he's, like, actually clean, a little while now.
-So what was with the jailbreak? -Long story.
Hey, Luke.
[sighs]
-You okay? -Yeah.
-Yeah? -Yeah, I, um...
[breathing shakily] I... [sniffles]
I thought... I thought I could do it.
-I know. -She's right there.
Take your time.
We can wait.
Yeah.
There's no rush.
I...
-[sighs] -It's okay. Come on.
[breathing shakily]
So, where's Leigh?
What?
Um, she'll be here tomorrow. We're, um...
We didn't travel together.
Why not?
We're taking a... break.
Luke, you sure I can't get you an iced tea or something?
-That might be good. -Yeah.
-Want some iced tea? -Yeah.
-Iced tea, you got it. -That'd be great. Thanks, Kev.
-You're taking a what? -A break.
-Like a separation? -Like... [scoffs]
If it's all the same to you,
maybe we can save this conversation for a little later.
I... I mean, I think we got bigger things to tackle tonight
than my marital... [sighs]
If you were married,
you'd know that sometimes people need a little room.
I mean, I... Theo, I'm not...
This is coming out wrong. I...
I just think it's not unusual for people in a relationship as long as us--
I don't care.
-Getting you a drink. -[sighs] Thank Christ.
[breathing shakily] Thank you.
-Okay. -[exhales deeply]
-Yeah? -Yeah.
Just rip off the Band-Aid.
Yeah, let's, um...
-Let's do it. -Okay.
-[breathes shakily] -I'm with you.
We got this.
It's not as bad as it is in your head,
but... she doesn't look like she's sleeping,
-so forget that. -Right. Right, right.
And... and if you're not ready, we'll just go back.
-That's all right. Come on. -Okay.
[thunder rumbling]
[both breathing shakily]
Yep.
That's... that's her, detective.
Positive.
Positive ID.
[stuttering] That's Nellie, all right, and she's dead.
[sighs]
Jesus.
Jesus!
Shit, Shirl.
[exhales deeply]
[breathing shakily] I'm sorry, I don't know what that was.
I changed every light bulb in the house this afternoon,
because if one went out tonight or tomorrow,
I wouldn't have time to change it with everything going.
It's... it's... crazy.
I get it.
-It's... it's crazy. -[sighs]
Right.
We don't have to stay in here.
Let's sit.
-She's okay. -Yeah.
That'd be good.
Thank you.
I'm drinking every time I feel like punching something.
[Luke] It's just not fucking fair.
-Fuck! -[exhales]
-[Shirley] Okay, Steve? -Yeah, I'll be right there.
[sighs deeply]
[thunder rumbling]
Oh, fuck.
[inhales sharply] Come on, get it together.
[breathing shakily] Get it together.
[thunder rumbling]
[sighs]
Oh, okay, okay!
Okay.
You okay?
-[Steve] Huh? -Spill it.
-What? -The details.
Um, I... I don't know much more than you. I...
She killed herself at that goddamn house.
-[Luke] I don't think it's that simple. -Thanks. That clears it all right up.
I... Listen, I'm not saying it's simple. That's all I know.
-No, I mean the suicide part. -[chuckles]
Luke, she went back to the house,
she didn't tell anybody, and she...
-You spoke to the coroner, right? -Right.
[Steve] So you probably know more than I do.
She-- she hung herself. Her neck... was broken.
[sighs]
Her neck?
Here you go.
I still don't get why she'd go there in the first place.
-Well... Mom. -She barely remembered Mom.
Luke...
how much do you remember Mom?
-Yeah, I don't know. -She was like six years old.
Well, what then, Dr. Crain?
Punch.
I want to know what Mrs. Dudley said to him. [sighs]
-Me too. -He didn't tell you?
[Steve] What do you think?
Six hours on a plane?
Didn't come up?
No.
[Luke] Dad was in coach.
Wait...
you put yourself... in first class?
I put him there, too.
-And made Dad fly coach? -[chuckles]
He insisted.
-That's-- -Look, Shirl, he wanted to...
-That's just-- -...pay for his own ticket.
-So, yeah, he was in coach. -Hmm.
It's not like we were really talking each other's ears off before that.
-[doorbell rings] -[sighs]
[sighs] God.
I got it.
[door creaks open]
[thunder rumbles]
-[Kevin] Hey, welcome. Hi. -[Hugh] Hi.
Hey.
Boy, it's... [sniffles]
-...it's coming down out there. -Yeah, yeah.
I know, I know, I know. It's...
How are you, Kevin?
I'm...
so sorry.
Yeah, yeah. Thanks.
Me-- me-- me too.
Wow.
Hey, sorry, I'm... a little late.
[Young Shirley] That's okay.
[Young Theo] How was your flight?
Uh...
Well, it was...
It was, uh...
fine.
-You know. -[Shirley] Thanks for being here.
[Hugh] Hey.
Thank you.
You-- you have a beautiful home.
Oh, this is the... this is the business side of the...
The residential side is over in the...
Thank you. [chuckles]
God. [exhales deeply]
Look at you girls.
It's been a minute.
Yeah, it has.
Longer than a minute.
Or a long...
-minute. -[chuckles softly]
-I'm not sure... which. -[chuckles]
Can I get you anything? We got tons to eat, plenty to drink.
This is Kevin's coping mechanism. He turns into a waiter.
No, uh, thanks, I'm fine. I... I don't really know...
-what to say, uh... -Mm-hmm
...really.
Other than, um...
you know, to see all of you in the same...
room. Well, not all.
I'm just sorry that...
that we have to... be here...
under...
Neither can I. Look at them, they're all grown up.
What?
Hmm?
Under these circumstances,
that we have to be here under these circumstances--
Wow, well put. You want to do the eulogy tomorrow?
-'Cause it's-- -You wanna go see her?
-Yes, actually, if you'll excuse me. -Of course.
That's why we're here.
[thunder rumbles]
[Hugh] Oh, Shirley.
Shirley.
You... [inhales] You-- you... did a...
She looks beautiful.
Not too much makeup.
Sometimes they put too much makeup on them,
but she looks, uh...
[clicks tongue]
You did a...
Thank you for...
taking care of her, and if there's a...
Is there...?
I could use a bathroom. Where would be the closest?
-Just head up that hall. -Okay.
-To your left at your-- the end. -Okay.
[thunder rumbling]
[thunder roaring]
[loud crash]
[sighs]
Oh, man.
[sighs deeply]
Great.
[Olivia] Honey?
[Younger Hugh] There you are. You weren't in bed. Where'd you go?
-[Olivia] Jesus Christ. -Yeah.
Oh, that makes sense.
It sounded like a car crash.
I guess, but I don't know why it would fall.
Where-- Where'd you go?
I don't know. I guess I was... wandering.
Maybe I was sleepwalking.
I had the strangest dream.
-[Young Nell] Jesus Christ! -[Olivia] Honey, don't say that.
-[Young Nell] You just said it. -[both chuckle]
You're right. I'm sorry.
-You guys hear a scary noise? -So many scary noises.
Yeah. It's okay, see? It was that.
-Someone broke the sannadeer! -"Chandelier." It just fell.
-[Young Theo] What the hell happened? -[Young Nell] Language.
-[Olivia] We don't know. -That explains the noise.
-I don't like this. -[sighs]
It's just a silly old storm, sweetheart.
[Younger Hugh] Your mother hates storms, too.
-[Young Nell] You do? -Mm-hmm.
Since I was a little girl, just like you.
But you know what storms do?
-Do they pass? -They pass.
[Younger Hugh] Stevie, give me a hand.
-What do you need? -Just grab that other side.
I wanna move this out of the way, so no one's tripping on it.
Got it.
Ready?
[Steve] Yep.
[Young Nell] How did it fall?
Did it get hit by lightning?
[Olivia] No, no, nothing like that, honey.
[Younger Hugh] Gently, gently.
[grunts] Okay.
[hail pouring rapidly]
[Young Theo] What's that?
That's hail.
Yep, it is. [chuckles]
It's really loud, huh? [chuckles]
All right, come with me. Let's go sit down.
[Young Nell] Hail?
Yeah. Well, sometimes in thunderstorms,
the wind can push the storm up into the sky really, really high...
and the rain can freeze.
So it's ice?
Exactly.
Explains why my room is freezing.
And the ice balls fall back down to Earth and they pick up more water
and they get bigger and bigger.
[glass shatters]
[Young Theo] What was that?
[Olivia] Um, sounded like a window.
Which is fine.
-Everything's fine, okay? -Yeah.
My window just broke.
-Seriously? -It exploded.
-[Olivia] You okay? -I'm-- I'm fine.
-[Younger Hugh] Let me check it out. -[Young Steve] Can I come?
Um, sure.
But the rest of you, stay down here and stay away from the windows.
Watch your step. There's glass on the floor.
-Like someone threw a rock through it. -[Younger Hugh] Great.
-Ice. -The hell happened to the chandelier?
-The wind turned it into ice. -Hey, Shirl?
Can you do me a favor? Go in the kitchen and make some cocoa.
Seriously?
You know how to do it, and your brother and sister are scared.
Fine.
-Theo, you can help. Take Luke, too. -[Young Theo] Mom.
Thank you. Go ahead.
-Go with your sisters. -[Young Theo] Come on.
[Olivia sighs]
[Shirley] You wearing those gloves to bed now?
-Wanna play a game? -[Young Theo] Shut up.
So, when there's another flash of lightning,
let's count how long it takes until we hear thunder.
That way, we can tell how far away it is.
Okay?
So for every five seconds, that's one whole mile away.
All right, let's wait for the next one.
There.
-Okay, one, two-- -[thunderclap]
Two miles.
Uh, no, okay, not quite.
So, for every five seconds, that's only one mile away,
so that one was actually closer.
-[Shirley] Mom! [screams] -It's okay.
-It's just the power. -[Theo] Mommy! Mommy!
The power went out. I'm right here, you guys.
-Come here. -[Younger Hugh] It's all right.
-[Olivia] It's a really old house. -[Younger Hugh] It's all right.
Flashlight's in the kitchen.
[Olivia] Okay, you got it?
All right.
[Young Nell screams]
Bent-Neck Lady! Bent-Neck Lady!
-[Olivia] It's okay. -[Younger Hugh] You okay?
-[Olivia] We're okay. -She's there.
-[Olivia] It's all right. Shh. -With the statue.
-[Olivia] It's all right, baby. It's okay. -She's here again.
Here, listen to me, my love.
[inhales deeply] Mommy's seen things, too.
Sometimes, Mommy sees people here, too.
But they won't hurt us, okay? They're not here to hurt us.
[Young Nell] What did you see?
-Everybody okay in here? -[Olivia] Yeah, everybody's fine.
Well, this one's working, but these need batteries.
Theo's got you.
-Take your sister's hand. -[Young Theo] Mom.
Just for a second. I'll get a flashlight. I'll be right back. [sighs]
All right. I got yours, Luke.
[Young Theo] Let up on my hand. It's just a storm.
-[Young Shirley] A bad storm. -Yeah, this wasn't forecast. This is nuts.
Your stuff's all wet, Shirl. The hail's blowing right in the window.
-[Young Shirley] For real? -[Olivia] Very helpful, Steve.
-[Younger Hugh laughs] -[Olivia] We'll figure it out.
-[Younger Hugh] Fun, huh? -[Olivia] There.
When I was a kid, we used to go camping all the time.
I was a Life Scout.
What's a Life Scout?
Well, it's a group of, uh...
Anyway, we used to go camping.
And one time, there was a storm,
and it was such a bad storm that we took our packs,
and we tied them to the trees to keep them from washing away.
[thunderclap]
-Whoo! -[Young Nell] Stop it!
It's okay. We're totally safe, okay?
-That was a good one, huh? -[Olivia exhales deeply]
Are you sure we're safe?
The roof isn't gonna explode or whatever?
You know what, this house has been here for a long, long time.
It's seen plenty of storms and worse than this.
-It's gonna keep us safe. -[Younger Hugh] Yeah.
-I thought you hated this house. -[chuckles softly]
[sighs deeply]
-[Young Steve] That's something, anyway. -Uh-huh.
Okay, one...
-two, three... -[children] ...two, three...
-[faint rumble of thunder] -See?
It's moving away.
What'd I tell you, Nellie? That's what storms do. They...
[faint thunder]
Where's your sister?
Theo?
[stammers] She was right there. I was holding her hand the entire time.
[softly] Okay.
-Nellie? -[Young Theo] The whole time, I...
I could feel her hand until I looked down.
-[Olivia] Nellie? Honey? -[Younger Hugh] Nellie?
-[Young Shirley] Nellie? Nell. -[Olivia] Sweetheart?
Where could she have gone? It was only a few seconds.
[Young Theo] Maybe she went to her room.
Maybe.
-[Young Theo] I could feel her hand-- -I know. It's not your fault.
[Young Shirley] Nellie!
-[Olivia] We're gonna find her. -What if something gets her?
Oh, I know you're scared, pal. I know you are.
-[Young Steve] Come on out. -Listen, she's just hiding from the storm.
-She's probably in her room under her bed. -[Olivia] Yeah.
We'll go and find her, we'll bring her back, okay? Okay?
-Maybe we should... -My sweet boy. Yes.
Ah, Steve, okay, you keep an eye on everyone.
-We'll be right back. -[Younger Hugh] We'll be back.
You guys stay here and stay away from the windows.
[Olivia] Keep hold of your flashlights.
[Younger Hugh] Think she went upstairs?
[Olivia] We would've seen her if she went for the halls.
-[Young Shirley] Come out, it's okay. -Don't worry.
-She's gonna be okay. -How do you know?
'Cause I won't let anything happen to her.
To any of you guys.
That's my whole job.
First thing they teach us in Big Brother School.
[Young Shirley] Nell?
I'm with you.
We got this.
Okay?
Luke. Luke?
[Young Steve] Luke.
[Steve] Luke?
Luke. [scoffs]
Do you remember what it was, that word she made up?
-I'm not sure. -[scoffs]
This made-up word.
Aunt Janet kept correcting her, and she just went on using it.
-What the hell was that word? -Trying to remember.
[sighs]
Doesn't matter. Finally, Aunt Janet... [sniffles]
she gets fed up and tells Nellie to stop using whatever it was and speak properly.
"You're ten years old. Speak properly."
And Nellie just... looks at her.
Like beyond her years, patient... [inhales]
...and asks what she's doing wrong.
And Aunt Janet says, "It's a made-up word."
And Nellie looks her right in the eye and says...
"All words are made-up at first." [chuckles]
[sighs] God, I wish I could remember what the...
that word.
[Theo] "Puffalope."
[Steve] That's it. "Puffalope."
Padded, puffy envelope.
"Puffalope."
She would say she was running out of puffalopes for her letters
and she wanted Aunt Janet to pick up puffalopes at the store.
And that is the third story you've told about that one stupid summer.
I didn't live there after that. That's what I remember most, I guess.
I know those stories, 'cause I was there for those stories.
I just wanna hear some new stories.
Serious, Theo. You might wanna slow down.
I'm trying to drink her back to life. Would you like me to stop?
[Hugh] Yes.
She got that from your mother.
-You know. -Alcoholism?
No. Uh, "puffalope."
She used to...
She used to tell Nell that her letters, uh...
to Santa would be safe and warm in the North Pole
if she used a puffalope.
Yeah.
Nellie used to write letters to Santa.
Took it...
very seriously.
Formal letters.
Didn't want to call him, uh...
Santa, so she called him Mr. Claus.
She thought "Santa" would be rude. That's not how you... talk to grown-ups.
So...
"Dear Mr. Claus, this is, uh...
Nellie Crain." In whatever...
address we were at.
I told her she didn't need to include that, but she...
she insisted.
You know, 'cause she's... [sniffles]
[sobbing]
She said, uh, you know...
"Who knows how many Nells there are in the world?"
And we moved around so much.
Yeah, we moved around so much...
that, you know, he might get confused.
"Dear Mr. Claus, this is Nellie Crain in Boston.
[inhales deeply] And, uh...
[exhales] ...my brother, Steve...
he wants a typewriter.
And he's such a good brother," she would say.
"And my sister, Shirley, she could use a new camera,
'cause she's capturing our memories, you know, and they're so very precious."
And the thing is, guys, you know,
she'd never ask for anything for herself, ever.
Not once.
She'd only ask for presents for you guys. And God...
damn it, you know, we had to make sure...
we got you what... what you wanted,
what she... what she mentioned in those letters.
'Cause we weren't about... to discourage that instinct.
Your mom would say, "Oh no, we water that seed...
until that's her tree."
Well...
she used to write letters.
And, uh... [sniffles]
...always, you know, handwritten.
She wrote me once a month.
Always.
Just telling me...
the amazing things going on with you guys.
Two of us.
What do you mean?
I mean, two of us.
There were seven of us, and now there's five,
because two of us...
decided...
to die.
You know, some religions won't let you be buried in their cemeteries
if you kill yourself?
It's... it's monstrous.
Like you committed a crime.
When... when really it was just that you're in so much pain.
So much pain.
And Nellie knew that.
She knew the price the rest of us pay when someone does that,
and she did it anyway.
God.
I wish she felt like she could've talked to me.
I don't know why she didn't feel like she could talk to me.
There's nothing...
she was going through that wouldn't have been okay.
Nothing.
[Luke] You know, uh...
[breathing shakily] ...this one time, uh, Aunt Janet, she, um...
[clicks tongue] ...she let us camp out in the backyard, and...
[sniffles]
...set up a tent, you know, roasted marshmallows all night.
-I remember that. -Yeah, and, um...
Steve...
-Right, the bear thing. -Yeah.
-[sniffles] -Steve, uh...
he was outside, pretending to be a bear,
banging on the tent, and, uh...
You know, I'm freaking out, and Nellie says...
Nellie says, "Don't worry.
We're safe in here. This, uh...
this tent is magic.
It makes us indivisible."
And Steve... Steve stopped shaking the tent.
He says, "Hey," still in the bear voice, "I think you mean...
invisible."
And Nellie shouts at the bear,
"I meant what I said, bear."
[exhales sharply]
[inhales deeply] I'd like to go back to something you said.
[Luke] What?
[sighs] Not you, him.
You said Nellie...
wrote you a letter...
once a month?
Yeah, that's... that's right.
So maybe she mentioned something in one of her monthly letters that...
might have raised the flag about, I don't know,
her state of mind?
No, she just...
No, she would... You know, she'd...
talk about you guys, and just like the Santa letter,
-she'd just tell me about you guys. -You said that, but...
You see, we're all aware of how you like to hold back information
when a family member offs themselves.
-[Luke] Steve-- -So I'm just wondering
if there's a little more you're not telling us.
Do you want to do...
do this now, huh?
Yeah, I do.
We've all got questions,
and I think it'd be swell if you'd give us a few answers for a change.
[sighs]
All right.
Let's start with that call you got from Mrs. Dudley
-and what exactly she said about-- -She called me...
immediately after, she called-- called the police. [sniffs]
She said she'd noticed the car out front.
Well, she went inside, and she... she saw your sister, uh...
[sighs] ...hanging next to the spiral staircase in the library.
Oh, and...
Mrs. Dudley, she-- she also apologized,
because she said she threw up on the floor, and...
-[sighs] -[Hugh] What's... what's next?
Did Nellie mention in one of her puffalopes
that she crashed a book signing of mine about a month ago?
-[Hugh] She did not. -To scream at me.
-Wait, what? -Yeah.
-Does that sound like Nell to you? -No, it doesn't.
She wasn't herself.
She was seeing a new therapist since Arthur, I know that.
-That's right. -Anybody know anything about this doctor?
Any psychiatrist worth their shit would've kept her on a shorter leash.
-He's a fucking quack. -She was clearly off her meds
-when I saw her. -How did she sound when she called you?
-She called you? -Yeah, the day it happened.
-She called Steve, too. -Did you talk to her?
-No, I didn't get to. -[sighs] Me either.
She wasn't worried about herself; she was apparently worried about you.
[sighs]
[Hugh] I talked to her.
[thunder rumbles]
Yeah.
I talked to her that night.
And she was...
She was worried about a lot more than, uh, than Luke.
[Steve] Well... [breathing shakily]
Like what?
She said the Bent-Neck Lady was back.
[thunder rumbles]
[sighs] There it is.
Mental illness.
-No, no, Steve-- -Clear as day.
-[Hugh] No, you don't-- -Hereditary.
You let her believe all that bullshit.
-[Hugh] You don't-- -All that bullshit about Hill House,
and this is the inevitable conclusion, which makes you culpable.
-Who is the Bent-Neck Lady? -Frankly.
So you hear her spout some of the crazy stuff...
-[Hugh] It's not crazy. -...she said when she was six,
and you don't think that maybe you should get her some help?
I did. I called you immediately.
-Just like Mom, you ignore the signs. -That's not how it is.
You hope it'll go away, and then you hold back information!
If I held back anything, it was to protect you kids.
I don't need... Why do I need protection from the truth?
-[breathing heavily] -No...
She's... No. [stutters] He's entitled...
What... [stutters] What is that? What's that?
I said you're entitled.
-I'm entitled to the truth? -You're entitled to your anger.
Remember why we're here.
It's very generous of you to allow me to feel my anger.
[stuttering] All of you... you're entitled.
What else am I entitled to while you're being so fucking generous?
You might want to... check yourself...
before you start talking about the truth, Steve.
Oh... great, are we breaking this out?
-You're drunk. -[panting]
Theo's drunk; I'm just pissed.
And this is the part of the show where you break out my goddamn book?
[Shirley] Want to talk about propagating delusions?
-Why don't we just...? -There it is.
[Shirley] ...paranoid delusions for entertainment and profit.
-...gonna make-- -What about that, huh?
You took all that paranoia and craziness, and you mass-marketed it
-to jump-start your writing career. -[Steve] Really?
So don't stand in plain view of Nellie's casket
-and lecture us about responsibility. -Are you gonna stop the book fight?
-We're all real tired-- -You were happy enough
to exploit all of us for some blood money.
That's why none of us ever took your fucking money, Steve.
-Cut it out. -[Shirley] And you're fucking drunk!
While we're supposed to be honoring Nellie.
Real class act, Theo.
No, no, no.
No, you don't know. You don't know what I felt.
And you don't know what I feel.
And I am allowed to process that any way that I want to.
You don't just stand there and dictate how we all grieve our dead si--
-Fuck! -[Kevin] Fuck!
-Ow. -You okay?
I'm fine. God, don't touch me!
Don't fucking touch.
I have enough of my own grief. I...
I don't need yours, too.
[Shirley] Whatever that means. [sobs]
You know what?
I took the money, Shirl.
Yeah.
I took his fucking money.
-[Steve grunts] -I got my degree.
I started my career.
'Cause you know what? It's good fucking money.
The book was a hit.
The royalties still haven't dried up.
I'm fucking glad that I took it.
You took his money.
[Theo] You'd have to be a stubborn bitch not to, so...
Congratulations.
Shut up.
You're drunk.
Nope.
Yup... but I'm right.
So what now? You want to come after me?
So you just thought you'd live under my roof?
-Shirl-- -No, let me get this right.
Live under my roof, eat my food,
and lie to my face for how many years?
Guess we should've charged you rent after all.
I offered to pay rent, you sanctimonious bitch.
I guess you won't have a problem paying for a place of your own, will you?
You can use all your royalties.
[Kevin] Shirley.
-[Theo] Are you serious? -I am.
-[Kevin] She's not. -We agreed. All of us.
-We weren't going to participate-- -We didn't agree.
-You stood up and dictated-- -[Shirley] You don't get to lie
and live off me at the same time, and call me a bitch.
-[Steve] All right. -That's not gonna fly.
-Slow up, Shirl. -Fuck you!
Fuck both of you!
Blood money! Blood money!
You're out, Theo.
-Are you gonna stop this? -What am I--
After the funeral, you can fuck off back to Cali, Steven.
You can start looking for a new place to squat, Dr. Crain.
If I were you, I'd get off that high horse before I fall off.
[Shirley] If you were me, you wouldn't be such a fucking asshole.
You're just embarrassing yourself. You don't even know it.
She's falling on the goddamn ground, and I'm embarrassing myself?
We took the money, too.
I mean, I took the money, I guess.
We did.
No, you didn't.
I opened an account for it.
The checkbook that you found the other day...
Shirl, you keep cutting prices down to cost.
-Right? I mean-- -Don't you dare.
[stammers] The pro bono funerals, the special cases.
Don't put this on me.
How else was I supposed to keep the business going?
I mean, look, look, if you think about it,
we took that money and we changed it into something that helped people
-on the worst day of their lives. -Stop. Stop.
Do you have any idea how much you've humiliated me?
Look, honey...
Don't. [sighs]
Both of you.
[crying] Just... out. I can't...
[Kevin] Shirley...
I can't look at either one of you right now.
Get out.
[sniffles] We're just... We're done here. Everybody out.
-Do I really have to move out? -[Shirley sniffles]
-Out! -Just give her her space.
Look, I need...
I need some more vodka.
-I want more vodka. -There's more downstairs.
-I need another bottle-- -Okay. We gotta go, let's go.
Why don't we...
go back to the hotel and give your sister some space?
You know, she's wounded, we're all wounded.
-People lash out. It's perfectly-- -[Shirley] What? [crying]
What the hell? [whimpers]
[Hugh] What?
Who did this?
-[Luke] What? -[Hugh] What?
[Steve] Shirl.
-[Shirley sniffles] -[Steve] What?
[Shirley] Is this...
What is this? [sniffles]
[stammers] It's...
You think this is... this is cute?
-[Steve] I didn't... -[Shirley] Someone thought, what?
This was... funny? This was...
Who the fuck did this?
I swear to God, I didn't--
-You were the last one up here. -No, absolutely--
-You were standing here. -Why would I do something...
I...
What... the hell?
-[Steve] Did you blow a fuse? -[Shirley] I've got a backup generator.
[Steve] The storm's not that bad.
Goddamn tonight.
Just damn it.
[Steve] Where... where's your breaker box?
[Luke] Can I do anything?
[thunder rumbling]
[Nell] Daddy. [sobs]
[sighs]
Oh, Nell.
[sighs]
Nell.
Oh, no.
Nell.
Nell?
She's not in our room.
I don't know why she'd go anywhere else by herself.
Ah, the roof.
I know.
[sighs] The hail, they sounded like golf balls.
I don't even wanna think about what it did to this roof.
[Younger Hugh exhales]
I'll get Mullen over tomorrow to look.
[gasps]
I just put batteries in.
Okay, you get fresh ones, I'll keep looking.
All right.
I'll check the library and the kitchen, just to be sure.
-Be right back. -Okay.
Nellie?
Oh, shit.
Nellie?
You in here?
Come on.
Where did you go?
-[water dripping] -[Olivia sighs]
Really? [sighs]
-Oh. -[squeaks, clangs]
Okay.
[pants]
[doorknob rattling]
[rattling continues]
Nellie?
[sighs]
[footsteps approaching]
Liv?
Liv!
You kids okay down there?
[children] We're all right.
[Younger Hugh] Liv.
Hey!
Liv.
How the hell did you...
[windows rattling]
Liv, you better stay away from these windows.
This storm's getting really...
[glasses shattering]
Liv!
Get away from the windo--
Jesus Christ!
[panting]
Liv...
Liv!
Jesus!
Liv.
-What the hell? -Hon... honey?
Are you okay?
[stutters] I think so.
I looked in the rooms, but she wasn't up here.
-What were you doing? -[stutters] I looked in the bed...
bedrooms.
Honey. [chuckles]
-I'm having the strangest dream. -[children screaming]
[Olivia panting]
-[Olivia] Are you okay? -What's wrong?
[screaming continues]
[Olivia] We're coming!
[Olivia] What happened?
[Young Shirley] There's something in the house.
My flashlight stopped working,
and I heard it breathing, and I... I don't know what it was,
-but it was so close to us. -Okay.
Slow down, slow down.
Even I saw it. I... I think it was a big dog.
It ran right through here toward the kitchen.
It was like this big wolf and had red these glowing eyes.
I... I didn't see any glowing eyes, but it was in here.
-It was definitely something. -[Olivia] Okay.
[Younger Hugh] Where did it go?
[Young Shirley panting]
[Olivia] It's okay.
-[Younger Hugh grunts] -[taps flashlight]
Again?
[Young Nell coughs, whimpering]
[breathing shakily]
[Luke] Where'd you go?
No...
I just... nowhere.
Oh, you're just wandering around in the dark?
Well, aren't we all?
Steve and Shirl are still trying to get the lights back on.
Something tells me they won't.
Yeah.
Something tells me the same.
[Luke] Who do you think did this?
Well, if I'm honest, uh...
none of us.
But...
you, uh, probably know that already, don't you?
So...
The Bent-Neck Lady, you think she was...
I mean, this whole time was...
Yeah.
She didn't do this to herself.
No.
Neither did Mom, did she?
That's a...
that's a complicated question.
[Shirley] Doesn't make any sense.
We have a backup genny in the basement for the refrigeration.
This is... It's not even a storm.
The rest of the block's fine. It's just us.
-[Shirley] For real? -[Steve] Yeah.
-Why is it complicated? -It's been a long night.
-Why don't we... head back? -[Steve] All right.
I'd really like to know, Dad.
[Steve] Know what?
Nellie didn't kill herself.
[Steve] Oh, Luke.
-Let's not do this again. -She didn't.
-And Dad knows it, too. -[Steve] Oh, does he?
I don't think Mom did either. Dad said that--
"Dad said."
-Luke, Dad propped up Nell's crazy ideas. -No--
-[Steve] This is how that ended. -[Luke] It's not crazy.
As soon as we leave the room, you start working on him, too?
-No, Steve. -No, let's hear it.
No, I don't want to upset anyone any more than we're already upset.
-No, just... just get it all out. -It's not--
No, he's not gonna want to hear that from me.
[Steve] You see what I'm talking about?
I don't understand why this family has such a hard time
acknowledging mental illness.
Mom, Nell, Dad's talking to himself all night.
It's not like that.
-Then explain yourself, finally, please. -[Hugh sighs]
Okay.
Nell didn't kill herself, the house did.
You don't understand Hill House, Steve, you never did.
And Nell and Luke,
they could see its face clearer than you kids...
-Jesus, Dad. -...and your mother saw it, too.
And anything I did, I did it for a very good reason.
-All this bullshit about... -You want to hear this or not?
-...a haunted house. You don't get it. -I don't get it?
You don't get it. You're the ghost. You are, Dad.
-You're the spectral presence-- -Come on, Steve.
-I can see right through you. -Yeah?
And the only difference between you and the stuff of campfire stories
is that you keep getting older.
I just tried to keep your kids safe and to protect
what memories you kids still have of your poor mother.
-This is what got into her head! -You've never understood.
-This is what made her sick. -Your problem--
-It's always been your problem. -My problem?
You think you know what happened that night?
-You don't know-- -My problem is that the wrong parent died!
[crashes]
[Hugh] Let's... [panting]
-[Steve] One, two... -[Hugh] Let's go.
[Steve] ...three.
-[grunts] -Okay, down.
Set it down.
[Hugh sighs deeply]
I...
[tearfully] I have to fix her makeup.
[softly] I'll get my kit.
It's all right, boys.
Wait.
[Kevin] Shirley.
Shirley, wait.
-[Olivia] Nellie. -[whimpers]
There you are. We were worried sick.
[Olivia sighs]
-Where did you go? -I was... here.
I was right here.
Oh, honey, you're freezing.
I was right here and I was screaming and shouting,
and none of you could see me.
Why couldn't you see me?
-[Olivia] It's okay, baby. -I waved and jumped and screamed,
and you didn't even look.
-[Young Nell] None of you even looked. -[Olivia] So sorry.
We're so sorry.
[Steve sighs] Come on. We'll see her tomorrow.
Come on.
[Young Luke] Don't do that ever again.
Don't do that ever again.
Ever.
I thought the house things had got you. I thought they took you.
-I'm so glad you're okay. -[sobbing]
[Steve] Come on.
[Young Luke] I'll never let you go again. Never again.
I promise.
[Young Nell] I was right here.
I didn't go anywhere.
I was right here.
I was right here...
the whole time.
None of you could see me.
Nobody could see me.