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3. The Haunting of Hill House The Bent Neck Lady (Season 1, Episode 5) (2018)

When one thinks of psychological horror in television, its forgivable to chalk it all up to jump scares and gross outs. Thats what the majority of it is these days. Director Mike Flanagan, however, was able to revitalize that genre with his series of horror anthologies, starting with the Haunting of Hill House. The show follows five adult siblings whose paranormal experiences at Hill House continue to haunt them in the present day. The show utilizes flashbacks throughout the series, going back and forth from past (when a pivotal night changed everything for the family) to present (where the children, now adults, all deal with their own personal demons). A tragedy in the present brings them all together, where they have to confront Hill House, and how it affected them all.

I myself am only a casual horror fan. Its not my favorite genre, but Im sometimes up for a scare. The problem is, I hadnt been truly scared or affected by a horror show in a long time. Just jump scares and gross outs. Nothing that stuck with me. That is, until I was introduced to the bent-neck lady. At first glance, shes just another jump scare. But this one has backstory and a complexity that when unwound at the end of the episode, left me horrified at what I just witnessed. The episode is centered around Nell, one of the five siblings that are center to the series. She is haunted, since childhood, specifically since living in Hill House, by a shadowy figure she names the bent-neck lady. We see it multiple times throughout the episode, showing up at impactful moments of Nells life, well into her adulthood. In the end, she is drawn back to Hill House, where we see the full illusionary power of the house, and Nell meets her untimely end, while the identity of the bent-neck lady is revealed. If that wasnt shocking enough, a second twist is revealed right after, that adds to the horror of the moment.

I remember the first time I saw this episode. That night, as I got in bed, surrounded by darkness, I felt a little different. A little unsettled. That episode got to me in a way horror tv had been unable to do since I was a child. And for that, it is well deserving of a spot in my top 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHkX4gNuSOI

(Honorable Mention: Lost Pilot)