Mike Flanagan's 'The Bent-Neck Lady' Is a Horror Masterpiece

Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House has inspired several screen versions: the 1963 film The Haunting, a 1999 adaptation also called The Haunting (which Collider calls a "dumpster fire of a horror movie"), and even Scary Movie 2. In 2018, Netflix released a 10-episode miniseries, The Haunting of Hill House, a loose adaptation by Mike Flanagan that broadened the story to follow the Crain family and the lasting effects of their time in the titular house.

The series found a strong audience and positive reviews. Episode five, "The Bent-Neck Lady," focuses on Nell Crain (Victoria Pedretti) and is frequently singled out as the most frightening and tragic installment. As a child Nell is repeatedly visited by a woman with an unnaturally crooked neck, the Bent-Neck Lady, whose appearances bring sleep paralysis that leaves Nell unable to move or look away.

During those episodes she can do nothing but hear the spirit cry "no, no, no" in an inhuman voice. The torment follows Nell into adulthood.

mike flanagan, shirley jackson, hill house, bent-neck, nell crain, victoria pedretti, netflix, miniseries, sleep paralysis, crain family