'Haunted Hotel' Season 1 Ending Explained: Catch Up Before S2
With Haunted Hotel Season 2 finally here, there's nothing wrong with needing a little refresher. After all, Season 1 aired in September 2025. And even though it's a good show to rewatch if you need a laugh, this Haunted Hotel Season 1 ending explainer will provide all the information you may need in a pinch.
Below, I'll discuss the Acolytes of Abaddon and how they actually found him. But more importantly, I want to talk about how that epic finale changed because he chose friendship over glory. Then, I'll wrap it up with a preview of what you can expect in Haunted Hotel Season 2, which drops on Netflix on October 9th.
How Does 'Haunted Hotel' Season 1 End?
Haunted Hotel Season 1 ends with Abaddon choosing friendship over Hell on Earth. The Acolytes of Abaddon appear as a seemingly random group of cult followers who want to rent out some rooms at the Undervale Hotel. But their true purpose becomes clear when Abaddon makes an appearance. They reveal that they serve Abaddon, how they found him, and that they're ready to take him home.
Abaddon, who has continuously lamented about not being able to go back to Hell and not being trapped in this body, agrees with them and tells Esther that his time with the Freeling family was nothing but a blip. When the ritual actually happens, the Acolytes reveal that they aren't taking Abaddon to Hell. They're bringing Hell to Abaddon.
As the apocalypse reigns upon them, one by one the Freeling family dies until Esther and Abaddon are left. By this point, Abaddon is free and has powers. Esther tells Abaddon that if he ever cared for her, he'd make this right. They go to do their special handshake, but before they can complete it, Esther dies.
From there, Abaddon uses the relic they found in the swamp to return to the dawn of time. But every single time he makes it to the pivotal point where the apocalypse starts or is about to start, he loses the Freeling family, and they die. It gets to a point where he has gone back 100 times, and he's burnt out.
After a conversation with Esther about choosing between glory and friendship, he chooses the latter. When the Acolytes of Abaddon appear at the front of the hotel, just like they did at the beginning of the Haunted Hotel Season 1 finale, Abaddon beats them up, they flee, and Abaddon goes inside with Esther to prank Ben.
How Did the Acolytes of Abaddon Find Abaddon?
The Acolytes of Abaddon have been around for decades. However, if it weren't for a pair of ghost hunters named Lonny and Jib, they would never have found Abaddon or enacted their plan to bring Hell on Earth. Back in Haunted Hotel Season 1, Episode 6, two ghost hunters came to the hotel after Nathan applied to be the next destination explored on their show, Ghost Hunters. This reality TV show eventually arrived at the hotel, leading to a disastrous adventure with a memory-stealing fish ghost.
The ghost hunters lost their memories, meaning they didn't remember that Abaddon had stolen one of their cameras to make content to spread his message as the "Cobra King." When Esther uploaded his video to the internet, the Acolytes found him. The final shot of Haunted Hotel Season 1 showed his followers watching the video and a corkboard full of photos of Abaddon.
Why Did Abaddon Save the Freeling Family?
Simply put, Abaddon saved the Freeling family (Esther, Nathan, Katherine, and Ben) because it's not just a blip for him, like he claimed. Earlier in the Season 1 finale, the thought of the Acolytes coming to free Abaddon delights him. Thus, he willingly allows the ritual to take him home. However, when the apocalypse actually happens, and he loses Esther, Nathan, Katherine, and Ben, it doesn't feel right.
So Abaddon uses the swamp relic to go back to the dawn of time. From there, he lives the entirety of this planet's existence 100 times, continuously making mistakes because he wants to have his powers and save the Freeling family at the same time. When Esther asks him what's wrong, he replies, "I have a choice to make between glory and friendship."
After a lot of back and forth, he realizes that having the glory isn't worth it if the Freeling family dies. Also, it doesn't feel right because he wants friendship, the thing these humans have provided for him at the hotel. So maybe it's not an admission of love from Abaddon to the family, but it's close enough.
What Is 'Haunted Hotel' Season 2 About?
Haunted Hotel Season 2 is all about what comes next after the hotel starts booking guests. Not just any guests, though. Paying guests.
That means it's also time to hire new employees. Based on Haunted Hotel's Season 2 trailer, there are two new employees at the Undervale Hotel. One of them is an older woman who looks like someone straight out of a storybook, with how perfect and nanny-like she seems. The other is a young woman who has been hiding in the attic since the family came to the Undervale Hotel.
Besides that, the residents of this hotel will be dealing with entities that look like the Cenobites from Hellraiser (1987), scary-looking puppets, melting mirrors, and pink goop all over the hotel walls and floors. As for our fan-favorite Abaddon, he seems to be fighting dinnerware, setting gazebos on fire, and going on his most treacherous mission yet: making mac and cheese.
