House Hunting

House Hunting

Year: 2006

Runtime: 12 mins

Language: Japanese

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

AdventureAnimation

A girl goes exploring to find a new house. Along the way, she encounters many of Japan’s guardian spirits.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline – House Hunting (2006)

Trace every key event in House Hunting (2006) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Two families move into a foreclosed house

Two families, the Hayses and the Thomsons, view a secluded seventy-acre house as a fresh start. They bring hopes of healing and a chance for Emmy and Susan to bridge their mutual dislike. The house’s beauty hints at perfection, but its eerie stillness suggests it may hide danger.

Opening night The house
2

Hanna appears on the road

A distraught, mute girl named Hanna materializes on the road as the families prepare to take her to the hospital. Her sudden presence unsettles everyone and hints at a deeper intrusion into the house’s illusion of safety. The moment foreshadows that the house may not be empty.

Early in the story Road to the house
3

The looping mystery begins

The group fetches the realtor’s number, returns to the house, and finds the same place again as if time were looping. The uncanny repetition fractures their bearings and makes the house feel alive with intention. This loop marks the first clear sign that something supernatural is at work.

Soon after Hanna arrives Outside and inside the house
4

Don seeks resolution; night seals them inside

Don pushes for a practical solution, but their car runs dry and the night closes around them. They are trapped inside the house with no way out, amplifying paranoia and fear. The setting shifts from curiosity to claustrophobic tension that will define their days there.

Night Inside the house
5

The house feeds itself

Dawn reveals the house seems to sustain itself on seven cans for seven people, as if it has a hunger and a plan of its own. The eerie self-sufficiency deepens their unease and makes any escape seem impossible. The miracle turns into a warning of the house’s predatory logic.

First days Kitchen / pantry
6

Deterioration and visions begin

As days blur into a feverish month, the families’ dynamics fracture under pressure. Emmy senses a man who killed his own son, and Charlie faces visions of Emmy’s mother with a throat-slash prophecy. Susan hints she knows more than she reveals, deepening mistrust.

During the month House
7

Emmy follows Hanna’s clues toward escape

Clues from mute Hanna and a puzzling jigsaw piece pull Emmy toward the road, offering a potential exit. The plan to leave is fragile, because the house seems to anticipate every move. The search for a doorway back to normal life becomes a dangerous obsession.

Midpoint Inside/near the road
8

Hanna acts; Don grows paranoid

Hanna’s intervention with a log turns violent, escalating the house’s threats. Don becomes increasingly paranoid and desperately tries to free everyone, even as Jason’s injuries underscore the growing danger. The tension between control and release tightens its grip.

Midpoint Inside the house
9

Jason’s confession shatters trust

Jason reveals a haunting truth: he struck a jogging woman with his car, not a deer—she was a resident of the house. The revelation fractures the fragile trust holding the group together and heightens the sense that anyone could be implicated. The house’s past crimes loom over them all.

Late stage Inside the house
10

Don departs and Susan acts

Don leaves to regain some control, but returns only to be struck down by Susan with an axe. The violence exposes how quickly alliances collapse under pressure. The house’s hunger continues to press in as the living turn on one another.

Later still Inside the house
11

The house screams louder; Charlie loses grip

Food stops arriving as the house’s presence grows stronger and more oppressive. Charlie’s grip on reality unravels under the ghostly pressure of the woman Jason killed who seems to close in. The tension peaks as the house demands a sacrifice.

Night Inside the house
12

Susan, Hanna, Emmy confront tragedy; murder follows

In a flare of jealousy and fear, Charlie murders Susan, thinking she betrayed Emmy. Emmy and Hanna flee again, but the house’s horror continues to chase them through the frame of reality and memory. The cycle seems to enforce another sacrifice.

Climax Inside/outside the house
13

The cycle resets as the haunting persists

Emmy and Hanna stagger toward the road, hoping for safety, only to trigger the house’s endless cycle anew. The caretaker Realtor with scissors slips in and severs Emmy’s tongue, sealing the loop and ensuring the haunting waits for another chance to begin again. The road remains a cruel joke as the film ends on the anticipation of the next cycle.

Endgame Road / house entrance

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:45

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House Hunting Summary

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House Hunting Summary

Characters, Settings & Themes in House Hunting

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Characters, Settings & Themes in House Hunting

House Hunting Spoiler-Free Summary

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House Hunting Spoiler-Free Summary

More About House Hunting

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