Although Disney’s Encanto is beloved by young viewers, the hit family animation secretly recreated the plot of co-writer Charise Castro Smith’s darker, more mature Netflix success, The Haunting of Hill House. Encanto’s magical realism is not entirely unfamiliar to many of those who love the horror and fantasy genres. The Disney musical’s tale of a family with magical gifts whose lives are thrown into disarray by a dark secret blends relatable family dynamics with more fantastical elements in much the same way that, for example, Twilight used vampire mythology to showcase the heightened emotions of teenage love on a literal level.
As such, it may not come as a big surprise for fans of Encanto to learn that one of the movie’s co-writers, playwright Charise Castro Smith, has a history with horror. Not only did Castro Smith pen a pair of acclaimed horror plays, but the screenwriter also worked on Netflix’s loose adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s classic horror novel, The Haunting of Hill House. What may surprise some viewers of Encanto, though, is finding out just how many similarities there are between the family-friendly hit and The Haunting of Hill House.
It’s the story of a supernaturally-powered family whose magical home turns against them, forcing the siblings to look past their differences and into the dark tragedy that defined their parent’s pasts. Encanto, or co-screenwriter Charise Castro Smith’s earlier hit, The Haunting of Hill House? Although Midnight Mass’s Mike Flanagan was also central to the creation of The Haunting of Hill House, Castro Smith served as both a writer and supervising producer on the critically acclaimed 2018 hit. Its influence on her later work is evident, as proven by a comparison between Encanto’s characters and those of The Haunting of Hill House.
Both Encanto and The Haunting of Hill House are about magical houses that are inhabited by a family of mismatched siblings who are seemingly afflicted with a generational curse (or blessing, in Encanto’s case), the nature of which is gradually revealed in the twisty story. Both families also feature some strikingly similar characters, which are particularly notable since - like later successor series The Haunting of Bly Manor - The Haunting of Hill House’s characters are not derived from the source material in a strict sense. The Crain family of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House gain their forenames from the Jackson novel, but their characters and their family relationships are entirely the Netflix show’s creation. With this in mind, their similarity to characters found in Castro Smith’s later Encanto is striking.
Numerous characters in The Haunting of Hill House can be paired with Encanto counterparts. Notably, Castro Smith is credited as the writer of numerous episodes of The Haunting of Hill House, whereas series creator Mike Flanagan has the sole writing credits for the later Netflix horror hit Midnight Mass. The Haunting of Hill House’s Theo has a counterpart in Encanto’s Luisa, with both being strong, self-contained sisters who refuse to let too much of the outside world in lest they feel crushed by it. The Haunting of Hill House’s tragic addict Luke has a counterpart in Encanto’s anti-villain Bruno, with both being the seemingly erratic, but secretly sweet and well-meaning little brother of the family who is blamed for many of its issues, while The Haunting of Hill House’s Nell has a mirror in Encanto’s Mirabel. Both characters are young heroines who draw the family’s attention to the house’s grip on their lives at great cost to themselves.
Encanto’s Luisa gained a vocal hit with her solo song about struggling with the weight of expectations placed on her by her family and the surrounding community. Similarly, future Midnight Mass heroine Kate Siegel’s Theo must balance attempting to keep her family together with maintaining her mental health while also repressing the traumatizing impact of her work as a children’s counselor. Both characters have ways of keeping the outside world at bay (Luisa’s physical strength and Theo’s alcoholism), but both of these coping strategies eventually fail them and see the seemingly strong young women forced to face their greatest fear, which is opening up to others about their insecurities and sharing the burden of their fears with loved ones.
Both scapegoats, Encanto’s Bruno and The Haunting of Hill House’s Luke are uncomfortable with their ability to see the realities behind glossy veneers. While Oliver Harper Jackson’s Invisible Man and The Haunting of Bly Manor villain roles made use of the actor’s intimidating stature to depict him as a traditional antagonist, Luke is portrayed as a tragic antihero whose huge frame and growling baritone mask a heart of gold and a disarmingly innocent disposition. Similarly, Bruno is made out to be a monstrous madman in his introductory song, only for the inimitable John Leguizamo’s spirited vocal performance to prove the character is a harmless, soulful sweetheart who has been misunderstood by his family.
They’re also both ostracized by their respective families as a result of their ability to see through cheerful facades, with Luke and Bruno being depicted as dangerous figures on the outskirts of the story at first. However, Encanto and The Haunting of Hill House both proceed to correct the record and show that Luke and Bruno are some of each family’s strongest and most well-intentioned members. In this respect, the two characters prove pivotal to the conclusions of each story.
Perhaps the saddest similarities between The Haunting of Hill House and Encanto’s stories come in the form of Nell and Mirabel’s contrasting plots. Both characters reunite their families by forcing them to face their collective trauma instead of continuing to ignore their past. However, Encanto not only sees Mirabel survive her attempts to uncover the family’s history, but the heroine even ends up being able to restore her family casa's magic in the movie’s conclusion. In contrast, The Haunting of Hill House’s Nell faces an ending about as optimistic as Midnight Mass’s downbeat conclusion. Although her self-sacrifice brings her family together, Nell reunites the Crains through her suicide. Her death is arguably the most heartbreaking moment in a deeply dark series, with The Haunting of Hill House inverting Encanto’s plot, since uprooting the family’s past is not enough to save the heroine in this version of events.
