Hugh Crain
Encyclopedia
Hugh Crain is a backstory character from Shirley Jackson
's 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House
.
, Hugh Crain built Hill House eighty years ago meant as a country home for his small family: with the initial desire to see his children and grandchildren to grow up in comfortable luxury−and where he hoped to spend his last days in. Unfortunately, Hugh's first wife died in a horse carriage that was overturned in the mansion's driveway−leaving their two young daughters motherless. Eventually, Hugh remarried; but like Hugh's first wife, she died unexpectedly from a fall within the house. From where or why is never answered in the novel. Hugh remarried once more--luckily, she died from consumption shortly after his own death in Europe.
Hugh's two daughters were left to grow up alone in Hill House with a governess while he traveled Europe with his third wife. Eventually, Hugh decided to close Hill House so that he could remain abroad in Europe; because of this, his two daughters were sent to live with their mother's cousin until they were of age.
Hill House always expected the return of Hugh Crain, but he never came back and eventually died in Europe. The house was eventually left to the eldest Crain sister since the youngest was married off. Refusing to wed, the eldest sister took in a female companion from the neighboring town, Hillsdale−the house was still not considered haunted at this time since a lot of the residents of Hillsdale were happy to work within the walls of Hill House. Unfortunately, the two sisters often fought over the ownership of the residence: the eldest even began to accuse the sister of breaking into the house and stealing things from the home.
After the eventual death of the eldest sister, there was a nasty court battle over the ownership of Hill House. The younger sister loved the house just as much as the eldest did and fought her sister's companion. The companion left several complaints that the sister kept breaking into the home stealing things at night, but the youngest sister said that she had not, would not, come into the house at night, to steal or for any other reason. Unfortunately, the companion was moved to commit suicide, hanging herself from the mansion's tower and ownership of the house passed on over to the companion's cousins, who were the Sandersons. Therefore, this explains why Luke Sanderson would eventually inherit Hill House.
in the 1963 film
, and by Charles Gunning in the 1999 remake
.
The character has been spoofed in Scary Movie 2
.
Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson was an American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years...
's 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House
For the Richard Matheson novel, see Hell House, made into a film titled The Legend of Hell House.The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 novel by author Shirley Jackson. Finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the twentieth century,...
.
Novel
In Shirley Jackon's novel, The Haunting of Hill HouseThe Haunting of Hill House
For the Richard Matheson novel, see Hell House, made into a film titled The Legend of Hell House.The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 novel by author Shirley Jackson. Finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the twentieth century,...
, Hugh Crain built Hill House eighty years ago meant as a country home for his small family: with the initial desire to see his children and grandchildren to grow up in comfortable luxury−and where he hoped to spend his last days in. Unfortunately, Hugh's first wife died in a horse carriage that was overturned in the mansion's driveway−leaving their two young daughters motherless. Eventually, Hugh remarried; but like Hugh's first wife, she died unexpectedly from a fall within the house. From where or why is never answered in the novel. Hugh remarried once more--luckily, she died from consumption shortly after his own death in Europe.
Hugh's two daughters were left to grow up alone in Hill House with a governess while he traveled Europe with his third wife. Eventually, Hugh decided to close Hill House so that he could remain abroad in Europe; because of this, his two daughters were sent to live with their mother's cousin until they were of age.
Hill House always expected the return of Hugh Crain, but he never came back and eventually died in Europe. The house was eventually left to the eldest Crain sister since the youngest was married off. Refusing to wed, the eldest sister took in a female companion from the neighboring town, Hillsdale−the house was still not considered haunted at this time since a lot of the residents of Hillsdale were happy to work within the walls of Hill House. Unfortunately, the two sisters often fought over the ownership of the residence: the eldest even began to accuse the sister of breaking into the house and stealing things from the home.
After the eventual death of the eldest sister, there was a nasty court battle over the ownership of Hill House. The younger sister loved the house just as much as the eldest did and fought her sister's companion. The companion left several complaints that the sister kept breaking into the home stealing things at night, but the youngest sister said that she had not, would not, come into the house at night, to steal or for any other reason. Unfortunately, the companion was moved to commit suicide, hanging herself from the mansion's tower and ownership of the house passed on over to the companion's cousins, who were the Sandersons. Therefore, this explains why Luke Sanderson would eventually inherit Hill House.
In Other Media
Hugh Crain was portrayed by Howard LangHoward Lang
Howard Lang was a British actor best known for playing Captain William Baines in the BBC nautical drama The Onedin Line. He served for seven years in the Royal Navy during World War II....
in the 1963 film
The Haunting (1963 film)
The Haunting is a 1963 British psychological horror film by American director Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film centers around the conflict between...
, and by Charles Gunning in the 1999 remake
The Haunting (1999 film)
The Haunting is a 1999 remake of the 1963 horror film of the same name. Both films are based on the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, published in 1959. The Haunting was directed by Jan de Bont and stars Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor...
.
The character has been spoofed in Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 2 is a 2001 parody film. It is the second film of the Scary Movie franchise. Though part of the first Scary Movies tagline read "...No sequel," this film's tagline compensated by adding "We lied"....
.