The Haunting of Hill House (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Open Casket - full transcript

Nellie's in the Red Room.

Shirl.

What did you say?

Grandma's dead.

I know Grandma's dead.

But she still comes to my room at night,
and she still sits on my bed,

even though Mommy and Daddy
said she wouldn't.

And I told her not to,
but she was there again last night.

And last night was bad.

She looked different.

Her fingers were purple,



she didn't have teeth,
and she did not have hair.

I don't want to see her again,
especially like that.

So, I'm not gonna
look at her tomorrow,

and I don't want to see her
in the open castle.

The open casket.

I understand, Max.

I'm guessing your parents
have talked to you

about why you might be
having these dreams.

- They're not dreams.
- And I'm guessing you're a smart boy.

You're so smart, you probably know

that your grandmother
wore a wig, is that right?

You probably saw her in the hospital
a few times when she wasn't wearing it.

- Yeah.
- And you probably also know

that she had fake teeth.



Maybe she took 'em out
once to show you. Made you laugh.

The thing about an open casket,
and I know it sounds scary,

is that it's a great chance to take
all of those pictures in your head

of Grandma in the hospital,
or Grandma without her hair or teeth,

or anything else in your imagination

and cover it all up
with a better picture.

- Better picture?
- That's right.

Before she's ever even in the casket,
I'm gonna fix her.

That's what I do.

How?

First, we give her a bath,

make sure she's clean and soft.

Then we put special chemicals in
so she stays fixed forever.

Then, we put her
in her favorite clothes.

And finally, I take extra special care

to make sure she looks
just like she's supposed to.

So, when I'm done,
she will look just like she always did,

just like you remember her.

Just like she is supposed to.

- Is that Hill House?
- No.

Come here, take a look.

This is our forever house.

You made this?

I designed it, yeah.

- I design them and...
- Daddy builds them.

It just looks like a lot of lines.

Hmm. That's true.

But when I look at it,

I see a family running
to a dinner table,

from all three directions.

This dining room
is the heart of the house.

Everything flows in and out, see?

Every house needs a heart,
and this is ours,

because that's where we spend
the most time together.

You know, a house is like
a person's body.

The walls are like bones,

the pipes are veins.
It needs to breathe.

It needs light and flow,

and it all works together
to keep us safe and healthy inside.

- I don't see any of that.
- It's okay.

When you're little, you learn
how to see things that aren't there.

And when you grow up,
you learn how to make them real.

Which is my room?

Mmm. That's where you'll be.

But on the second floor.
This is the ground floor.

When we finish fixing up this house...

And sell it for a lot of money.

You don't miss a thing. Yes.

Then we're gonna build the forever
house, and we won't have to move,

ever again.

Shirley? Shirley?

Where'd you go?

Nellie, I told you,
I'm too old for tea parties.

Mommy, will you please
have a tea party with me?

Everyone keeps saying no.

Sweetheart, I'd love to
have a tea party with you,

but I have to finish working,
I'm afraid.

- How about we play outside instead?
- I guess.

How about a tea party outside?

You can play outside until dinner,

but when I flash
the porch light twice...

Time to come home.

That's the rule.
Nellie, let me hear you say it.

Porch light means
it's time to come home.

'Kay. Go have fun.

Did you know that princesses
and queens and kings had tea parties?

It sounds like a kid thing,
but it isn't.

It's very grown-up and uh-fisticated.

"Sophisticated."

Ask Theo.

Maybe she'll have one with you.

Theo! Theo!

Will you have a tea party
with me? Please?

- No.
- Why?

- You good, Luke?
- Uh-huh.

Don't forget the rule.
Lights flash...

Time to come home.

I appreciate
your advice. I mean, I...

I know you've worked
this house for so long.

- You stay close, now.
- Okay.

Oh. Uh, another question.

That master key you had didn't work.

You have any other ideas about that...
That red door upstairs?

- Um, afraid not.
- Not for that one.

Oh.

Hi.

Where's your mommy?

Hey.

Hey, how'd you get in here, huh?

Where's your mommy cat?

She couldn't be far.
She needs to feed you.

But you're just
the cutest little things.

Well, look at that.

You think it's empty?

We'd have seen some.
Probably dead.

Come here, Shirley,
you gotta see this.

It's okay. It's okay.

It's a wasp nest.

- Probably an old one.
- Uh, very old.

You see, sometimes they build
their nest around things.

I've seen a nest built
around a wind chime.

It looked so cool.

Ah, there it is.

Haven't seen
one like this, though.

I don't blame you for screaming.

There. Built it around this.

You know what that is?

- A mask?
- Yup.

A Halloween mask.

- Old one.
- You see? Nothing scary at all.

You're lucky those wasps are long gone.

You might have something
to really scream about.

These little kittens
don't have a mommy.

You don't know that.
She could be out there somewhere.

Odd, her leaving them alone.

Especially close to dark like this.

Well, we can't just leave them here.

The dogs.

- Dogs?
- I don't know, Shirl.

Please.

Mr. Dudley, have you
ever seen those dogs?

Do you think they'd go after kittens?

- No dogs on the property.
- Well, sure there are.

The kids have been
hearing 'em at night.

They've heard them every night
since we got here.

I couldn't say.

The missus and I, we don't stay
on the property after dark.

But...

No.

I've never seen dogs.

Please, Daddy?

Please?

Come on, Mom. I told you
I wanted to be Daredevil.

That's why I got you that,
so you can decorate it however you want.

I don't want to decorate.
I just want to be Daredevil.

It's more fun
when you get to be creative

instead of buying
what every other kid buys.

Mom, you're killing me.

Killing me, Mom.

Can't you just decorate that
to look like Devil Man?

- Devil... Devil Man.
- Or... Whoever?

It means more
when you make it yourself.

Hey, guys.

It's almost Halloween.

I need a costume I can wear
to Austin's party,

not some craft project.

Try it.

But Austin said if our masks
don't look good enough,

the ghosts will know it's us,

- and they'll come after me.
- Jayden.

There's no such thing as ghosts,
and you know that.

Go upstairs. We're working in here.

Watch out for the...

Forever House.

That went well.

Like a charm.

- How's Tyson?
- He's worried.

We went over it all, and again...

- We're in the black, though?
- We are, but barely.

And Tyson's saying it again,
just like last quarter.

- We're in the black.
- We have to do better.

Okay? Which means you can't

just keep cutting prices
whenever you feel like it.

- Kevin.
- I'm sorry, you handle the funerals,

I handle the books.
That was the deal, right?

We're doing more than well enough

to give a little relief to
families who need it the most.

It's not relief, Shirl, it's charity.

I mean, you're giving
stuff away at cost, below cost.

- Only for special cases.
- More than half.

No way.

More than half of our intakes
last quarter were special cases.

If it's more than half,
it's not special, it's normal.

I have the whole thing in here.
I'll show you.

- Bullshit, "more than half."
- Here, I will show you.

Hello.

Uh, right back here.

- Sorry, we didn't hear the door.
- It's okay.

I just wanted to drop these off,
like we discussed.

There's some jewelry in here,
some pictures of Mom, like you asked.

I couldn't decide, so I just
put a bunch in.

Thank you for dropping these by.

They'll be really helpful.

Is Max feeling better
about tomorrow?

A little.

Your wife definitely helped,
but he's still nervous.

I can tell.

Did you ever connect with Nell?

No, but Steve checked in with Luke.
He's fine in rehab.

Ugh.

- How many is this for him?
- I don't know. I lost track.

You want me to bring this downstairs?

Yes, please.

I hate going downstairs.

On the phone,
you said he had insurance.

Right.

We thought so. He told us so.

And, this morning,
we tried to get the info...

It had lapsed a few months back.

- He didn't...
- He just didn't tell us.

It happens all the time, I'm afraid,
especially with first-timers.

We can still do this.
We're gonna split the cost.

He needs to be here.

It's fine.

Without an insurance policy,
it's $6,000 a month,

and we do recommend
a four-to-six month commitment.

- I'm sorry, did you say $6,000?
- A month.

That's right.

And obviously, if he had insurance...

it would be in the ballpark of
what we discussed on the phone.

Yes, but if his policy is lapsed...

I know.

The first month for sure,
and I can come back in two weeks

with some more,
if I move some things around.

That's fine. We can see
how the first month goes.

I'm sorry, Shirl. I...

- It's fine.
- I can still do...

You can pay me back
when you're a famous writer.

You might not
wanna hold your breath.

Apparently, historical fiction
is out of vogue.

- You're all set.
- Yeah.

- What do I, uh...
- We're all set.

I'm gonna need a UA.

What?

Urine analysis.

First time, huh?

Did you know they have horseback riding?
They have horseback riding.

Uh, UA, right. Um...

What... What if there's still...

It's okay if you're not clean.

We just need to know how dirty.

All right.

Aw, shit. Wish me luck.

We love you so much.

You can do this.

Thanks.

Anything you need.

You got this.

Yeah.

They have horses.

He can do it.

He's gonna do it.

I don't know, I kind of
like the Captain Lame mask.

It's all yours.

- Where'd you get those, Allie?
- At the mall.

Practically begged me.

She has to be like
her cool Aunt Theo.

I did not!

Nope, you're finishing
the Brussels sprouts.

You're on fire today, Mom.

Watch it, Captain Lame.

Both of you.
They're delicious.

They smell like cat piss.

- Jayden.
- I said watch your tone.

Unless you want to spend
Halloween as Captain Grounded.

Great.

I don't know, it was weird.

Solo account. His name's
on the checkbook.

So?

So, we only have
joint accounts.

I don't know that account.

- It was just in his briefcase.
- You're going through his briefcase?

Looking at quarterlies, not like...

It was just there.

It surprised me.

Ask him.

- I'm sure it's nothing.
- I don't want to seem like...

I don't know. It's probably
nothing. It's just...

...weird.

Well, be sure to let your imagination
get the best of you.

That's the first step.

Imagine the worst thing possible,
assume it's true, and go from there.

Can I have cookies and milk
for dessert?

Did you eat all of your food?

Yes.

There's five of them
like there's five of us.

That one's me.

Like this.

You get just enough,
and you drop a little on their nose,

because their eyes aren't open yet,
and they need to know it.

See?

And then, when they open...

Wow.

Do you want to try it?

What?

- Huh?
- What do you want?

- I don't need...
- Why are you banging on the wall?

- I'm not.
- You are.

And calling my name.

What do you want?

There they are again.

You're banging on the wall
to tell me about stupid dogs?

What was that?

What is that?

Shirley...

What is it?

Help!

Hey. Hey, what's...
What's with the screaming?

- Did you hear that?
- What was that?

What was what?

There were these loud bangs
all over the walls.

I didn't hear it. I don't...

It was so loud!
How could you not hear it?

I believe you.

I believe you.

I know. I know.

Listen,
there's nothing to be...

Pipes.

The hot water pipes, they're old.

They can bang and jump in the walls.
I bet that's what it was.

Look.

It's over now, right?

It's o...

Just the pipes.

Jesus.

Steve.

- It's...
- It's Nell.

It's the middle of the night.

She's dead.

Shut up.

She's dead, Shirl.

I'm not so

good.

What? What the fuck do you mean?

She killed herself.

It's so weird. I...
I came home tonight...

And I was in my living room...

And...

And she was...

Well, you're wrong.
Someone...

They got it wrong.

I mean, she was just...

Um... Who told you this?

- Dad called me.
- Well, he's wrong.

He was the last person
she talked to before she did it.

He was the last person she called.

Bullshit.

What did he say?

That she killed herself.

And I didn't... I mean...

He didn't exactly tell me, I...

I... I couldn't really
hear him, because I, uh...

I saw...

No, no, he wouldn't know.

She wouldn't...
She wouldn't call him.

He can't... He can't...

Do that again.

He can't just not tell us
what happened. He can't.

I'm sorry, Shirl.

But she is gone.

I told you.

I told you she was in trouble.

I told you to find her. I told you!

I gotta go.

What is it? What happened?

Good morning.

Wake up.

Hey.

I found this upstairs.

Decorated it a little bit for her.

Why?

Well, because
she was a very special cat,

and she deserves
a special place to rest.

Is she in there?

Yep.

Can I see her?

Do you want to say
something about her?

- Should I?
- You could.

People usually do.

It's called a eulogy.

Well, what do I say?

It's up to you.

Some people say goodbye.

Or

- you could tell a story.
- Mmm-hmm.

What kind of story?

Whatever you like.

You know how
when you take one of your pictures,

you capture something forever,
just the way it is?

Stories do that, too.

So when things...

When we die,

we turn into stories.

And every time someone tells
one of those stories,

it's like we're still here,

for them.

We're all

stories in the end.

Now, try.

This kitten grew up
in a tool shed and my room.

I'm not sure what her name was

because her brothers
and sisters all looked the same,

but I think she was
the one I called Jasper.

Hmm.

She was a good kitten, and...

And she never hurt
a single thing in her whole life,

and not many people can say that.

- That's perfect, sweetie.
- Mmm-hmm.

Goodbye, little kitty.
I hope you have a safe trip to Heaven,

and when you get there,

there's some nice,
yummy milk waiting, and...

She's alive.

What?

She...

She... She's alive!

Honey, look, I know this is...

No, she... She is. She is...

- She... She really is. Look.
- Honey, I know...

- Honey, I know...
- Her lips are moving.

Hey, hey, hey...

- Hey, it's okay.
- Wait, wait a second.

Wake up, little kitty.
It's okay, I'm right here.

It's okay.

Yeah, yeah.

I'll need you to head up there,
pick up the body,

and bring her back here.

And pack her carefully.
It's a long drive.

Sure.

Listen, I'm very sorry.

- I don't know what to say in these...
- It...

It's fine, Andi.

Call me when you're on the road.

- I don't think it's a good idea.
- It's the right thing.

Why not send her to Carlisle?
They'll do a great job there.

- I think it's a bad idea, too.
- Honey, honey, let someone else do it.

- You need to focus on you...
- She's my sister.

I'm hosting her funeral. That's that.

Is it going to give everyone time?

What do you mean?

I mean, Steven, Luke, Dad.

Dad's the reason
Nell was so fucked up to begin with,

and Luke's probably high as a kite.

- I thought he was in rehab.
- He was, apparently, until this morning.

They said he flew the coop.
No idea where he is.

- Does he even know that she's dead?
- No idea.

If he doesn't, that's on him.

He deserves to be here.
You're not giving him time to get here.

He missed her wedding. We're not gonna
let him miss her funeral, too.

He has time, but I'm not
leaving her in a freezer

until Luke gets his shit together.

She'll be there forever.

I'm... I gotta get to work.

Shirl... Shirl.

Sweetie,
we've talked about this.

Max, you can do it.
I know you can.

You can.

Good morning.

It's the moment of truth, Max.

It's okay.

I don't want to.

If you don't,
you'll be upset later.

I promise,

this is a good thing,
and you're a good boy.

And you can do this.

I'll go with you.

Shirley...

It's gonna be okay, Shirley.

I don't want to see her.

It's important.

Look, even Nellie's up there.

- No. No, I don't want to go.
- Shirley...

No.

Is everything okay?

- She's just a little scared, I think.
- Oh, that's okay.

Here, come with me.

Absolutely not.

- Shirl, she's fantastic.
- I promise you,

- you have nothing to worry about.
- You don't know her.

You don't have to know someone
to do the cosmetics.

And restoration.
The coroner ruled it a suicide,

and there's restorative work
I've gotta do.

Shirl...

She was in that house
for hours.

She's... The blood pooled,
insects, her injuries...

She was only refrigerated
for a couple of hours,

and then in transport, the level of...

In the time it will take me
to explain to you what to do with her,

I could just do it myself,
so I'm doing her myself.

This is insane.

Excuse us, please.

I owe her this.

This is too much for anyone.

The hours, the bugs...

I'm doing it, Kevin.

I'll fix her.

I gotta go.

I'm sorry, I

just can't, Shirl.

Let's take her down.

- Can I feed the kittens?
- Sure thing.

Just, remember how I showed you.

Are they still sleeping?

No... No...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No.

Shirley?

Well, that's
what's happening, Steve.

I don't care how you get here,

- just get here.
- You're taking on too much.

- You've gotta just be able to grieve.
- Don't talk to me that way.

I don't even know where Luke is.
We've been looking.

- You and Dad?
- That's right.

We've been looking,
but they don't know where he went.

Apparently, he went out
of a goddamn window.

Steve, do you know
what I'm doing right now?

I'm elbow-deep
in our sister's chest cavity,

pulling out a bag of
her internal organs.

That's what happens
when a body's autopsied,

and I have to take it out.

You have to get two grown men
to a goddamn airport.

Get it done.

She's doing it herself.

She isn't.

She's doing it herself.

This kind of thing happens.

Kittens aren't supposed to be
without their mommies.

And no matter how much you love them,
you're not their mommy.

And they're...

They're better now.

They're where they're supposed to be.

What about the little one?

You know? The one with the eyes.

We found it a new home.

But why didn't you
let me take care of it?

- Or at least say goodbye?
- Shirl, we have no idea

what was wrong with those kittens.

They were very sick.

We couldn't let you try to
take care of a pet who was so sick.

But you gave it to someone else?

- We...
- I don't believe you.

Shirl...

- Um...
- Just tell me.

Just... Just...

Why would you give away
the last one, the only one left?

- Just quiet...
- It's not fair!

- Just stop it! Stop it!
- It's not fair!

It's been a minute
since you had one of your color storms.

That's the thing.

There was no color at all.

It was pitch black.

Like...

Like

fireworks, but

black.

And it hit me like a...

- It's never come that fast before.
- Mmm.

First migraine in, what, a year?

And it happens
at the worst possible moment.

- And you're better?
- Mmm.

Codeine's finally kicking in.

I wish I had been part
of that conversation.

Would you have said different?

Probably not.

I got it.

Would you have said
you had to go to the woods

and put this sick little kitten
out of its misery?

No, of course not, but it's a tough
thing for a kid, and we should...

Look, she's gonna have
a pretty messed-up view of death

coming out of this, no matter what,

which wouldn't have happened
if you hadn't have...

Go ahead.

No, it was unfair.

Go ahead anyway.

Why the hell did you let her
keep those kittens?

Well, I didn't know
that they were all gonna die.

You let her keep a box
of diseased kittens in her bedroom.

And now
she's traumatized.

Her first real brush with death,
and now she's...

And then, I have one chance
to pull it back,

and I lie to her face
and lock up with a migraine.

This was not
our finest hour, no doubt.

Shit.

Sorry.

You're not allowed down here.
You know that.

- I know, we were just...
- It's okay.

It's just Auntie Nell.

I know.

I know you're curious.

And sad.

I'm sad, too.

So sad I can't even tell you.

What do you want to know?

I won't lie to you.

Any questions you have
are completely normal, okay?

What are you doing to her?

I just finished embalming her,
and it helps her look

how we remember her.

Why did she die?

I don't know.

Just so sad that she did.

She loved you both so much.

- Where is she now?
- I don't know, Allie.

Nobody knows.

I can tell you what I think,
maybe, sometime tomorrow.

But mostly, I'm just sad.

I know you're curious about her,
but this part isn't for people to see.

I can tell you everything I'm doing,
but some other time.

Right now...

Why don't you two go pick
your favorite picture of Auntie Nell

from one of the albums...

And I... I can hang it at the funeral?

Okay?

Okay.

I'm so excited.

You're gonna look amazing.

You already look amazing.

You know what I mean.

Gorgeous. Oh!

- Come on, we still got a ways to go.
- I know, but you do.

I'm so happy for you, Nellie.

Come in.

Hey.

Hey.

Wow. You look amazing.

Thanks.

- How's Arthur?
- Oh, him?

He's great. I handcuffed him
to a radiator downstairs.

- He's not going anywhere.
- Steve.

He's as happy
as I've ever seen a guy.

And he should be.

Well, anyway, I just wanted
to say break a leg.

And if you make a run for it...

- ...I'll keep the car running, okay?
- Okay.

How lucky for us,
a famous author at your wedding.

You promised.

I know. Not another word, I promise.

What is it?

Nothing. I should be right back.
We'll finish up.

Hey.

Hey, I didn't know if this was...

- The hell, Luke?
- What?

- Hold on!
- What? Hey, I'm fine.

I'm fine.

I just...

I just wanted to make sure
I got to tell her that I was happy...

Look at me.

- What?
- Look at me.

You're high.

No. No, I'm not.

- So you got the day pass?
- Yeah, yeah.

- They're very supportive.
- Luke, I paid for rehab.

Guess who they called
when you ran away last week?

Last week.

Shirl, um, she's expecting me
to be here.

Oh, no, she's not.

Nobody is.

Today's about Nell.

- Yeah.
- Do... Do you get that?

This is her day.

You're not smearing your shit
all over her day, Luke.

- Shirl...
- You're not.

I'm level, I just...
I just really want to be here for her.

Should've thought about that
before you put the needle in your arm.

What's the cab? Twenty? Thirty?

Here's a hundred.

You can shoot up the rest,
I don't care.

This is the last I ever give you.

No more loans, no more
treatment centers, nothing.

The store's closed. I'm done.

I...

Um...

Sorry.
Bridesmaid stuff.

- Is everything okay?
- Everything's perfect.

You're gonna have
the perfect wedding, Nellie.

Almost perfect.

I'm sorry.

You...

You fixed her.

Well, that's what I do.

You fixed her.

You fixed her.