The thunder booms through the sky but there’s no rain. A sound is heard from the kitchen but you’re home alone. The shadow in your room starts to look more and more like a person.  

Cut off from the outside world by its remote location and shunned by all who know its forbidding and sinister reputation, “The Haunting of Hill House” has remained empty and silent for decades, except for the daily visits of its grumbling caretaker, Mrs. Dudley.

Its isolation is broken by the arrival of Dr. Montague, an investigator of supernatural phenomena who has been granted a short lease by the present owner. His mission is to delve into the morbid history of the house and to come to grips with the forces that have made it uninhabitable for years. 

He is joined by three others, all having their particular reasons for accepting Dr. Montague’s invitation to share “The Haunting of Hill House.” Their visit begins in informality, but their sensibilities are soon jolted by strange and eerie occurrences. As they struggle to disguise their mounting fears they are joined by Dr. Montague’s wife and  friend, who have come to “The Haunting of Hill House” for purposes of their own. 

The play leaves the audience wondering, is the house haunted? 

Or are the people the haunted ones?

These were the questions people wondered when entering the auditorium on Oct. 24, the opening night of “The Haunting of Hill House”. 

The Theater department has been working tirelessly for more than two months on making this show what it was.

On August 21, over 40 people auditioned for “The Haunting of Hill House” and for many of them, including Sophomore Olivia Klipstine who played lead role Eleanor Vance, it was their first time auditioning for a play.

“My experience with ‘Sweeney Todd’ made me realize I don’t want to just do the musicals, I don’t want that to be my sole experience here,” Klipstine said. “I want to be involved in the community. I want to do everything I can and even though I had never acted before, I went for it and I think it worked out very well.’”

As rehearsals started, the many merits of the play came with struggles.

“It’s hard to go through someone else’s life and have to create your own personal experiences,” sophomore Ellie Steinberg, who played the voice of Eleanor’s sister, said.

Struggling with connections of the characters was the biggest hardship for many of the ensemble members. 

Considering the ensemble didn’t exist in the original play, being added in by director Mr. Justin Baldridge, the ensemble could only use clues from the original book for help.

“Being in an ensemble comes with a lot of focus,” sophomore Amelia Probst, who played one of the ghosts in “The Haunting of Hill House”, said. “You have to do so much while still figuring out your character.”

Another issue senior cast and crew members are facing, is the challenge of working full time on a production, and applying for college. 

“I wrote my entire common application essay during rehearsal, “ said Pankowski. “Still, having to balance rehearsal vs. free time is hard, so I have to take a step back and realize I should be doing my college stuff. It’s a big priority.”

The leads had some on-stage feats to overcome as well.

“My enunciation was a big issue for me,” junior Chris Ruiz, who played the role of Luke Sanderson said. “Also, committing to the role. My character is really goofy and I really had to work on not laughing.”

For many of the actors, they found themselves referring to the original book “The Haunting of “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirly Jackson, written in 1959. 

“Reading the book, watching the original movie, seeing how everyone is portrayed differently helped me a lot.” Klipstine said. 

Senior Deven Martinez played Dr. John Montague and, as doctors do, talked a lot.

“The workload for a lead is miles different than the ensemble,” they commented. “Line memorization has been a big struggle, but it has also been my favorite part. Through learning lines, I’ve been able to do great characterization.”

Yet the cast believes despite this, “The Haunting of Hill House” has been one of the least stressful productions. With a bigger budget, the more ambitions the department can fulfill. 

After the success of “Sweeney Todd” in March 2024, the budget for the entire theater department has increased, allowing “The Haunting of Hill House” to be performed to live up to its full potential.

 “The extra money that we made from “Sweeny Todd” was great; it helped us with our current budget. Still, I’m gonna make it complicated with moving set pieces and walls that flip! And that obviously affects our budget.” 

However, the difference in the show is not just from the budget, it’s from the genre as well.

“It’s a dramatic play,” senior April Cho, who played Theo, said. “I feel like a lot of the shows we’ve done are very fun and very over the top, so audiences are seeing something new.”

The world of “The Haunting of Hill House” is frightening and different from the many plays and musicals the department has done before, which worked in the department’s favor, with audience numbers shooting through the roof.

“I told myself that I’d only audition if it sounded cool,” Ruiz said. “And I saw it, looked it up, saw it was scary and signed up.”

In addition to the story itself, the sound effects and lighting added to the overall mystery and fear of the production.

“Working with the lighting designer, coming up with different colors for different scenes, different textures that can go on the walls, to make it more ‘spooky’ in a way, being creative in a new light,” Senior Cameron Struble, who worked the light board for “The Haunting of Hill House.” said.

Creativity is just as prevalent behind the scenes.

“I’m a very creative person so I like to do the painting of the set and all of the making of the little crafty stuff,” Sophomore Lucy Tallman, Head of Props, said.

“The Haunting of Hill House,”with its haunting aesthetic and hard work from every member, created a beautiful show in the books for the VNHS Theatre Department.

“With such good material and such an interesting story, the play just reels you in,” Steinberg said. “It’s so suspenseful, and you have no idea where it’s going to go,” says Ellie Steinberg.