“The Haunting of Hill House” Almost Definitely Referenced “Doctor Who”

"The Haunting of Hill House"

Did anyone else spot the Doctor Who reference in The Haunting of Hill House?

The latest and most terrifying horror series The Haunting of Hill House has just dropped on Netflix and critics are describing it as astounding. Mike Flanagan has adapted Shirley Jackson’s 1959 Gothic horror novel and transformed it into your next Netflix obsession.

The series premier coincides with the start of Doctor Who, where Jodie Whittaker is currently making her debut as the first female Doctor. Fans of the popular sci-fi series might have noticed the big Doctor Who reference in episode two.

When a young Shirley discovers one of her kittens has died, she does not know how to handle the death. Her mother tries to comfort her, telling her she ought to share a story about the kitten: “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,” she says. “We’re all stories in the end.

The quote is extremely similar to the Doctor’s words to Amelia Pond in the 2010 episode “The Big Bang.” He says: “I’ll be a story in your head. But that’s okay. We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?”

Steven Moffat, who wrote the line in Doctor Who, was contacted by Digital Spy about the reference. He said: “If that line is a deliberate tribute, I am extremely touched.”

“[But] if it’s just a case of two writers coming up with the same idea (happens all the time) then I’m hugely embarrassed to have been so presumptuous and will hide in this cupboard for the rest of the day. Now, go away, leave me alone.”

You can watch The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix now.