If The Haunting of Hill House was a little too scary for you, you might want to think twice before watching its follow-up The Haunting of Bly Manor, which is set for release next year.
Series creator Mike Flanagan spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the new season and revealed, “It’s scarier. It’s a lot more frightening, just on a visceral level.”
As someone who barely made it through watching The Haunting of Hill House by myself, I’m both terrified and intrigued by Bly Manor – especially considering how good season one was.
The Haunting of Hill House was based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name, while The Haunting of Bly Manor is inspired by work written by The Turn of the Screw author Henry James.
Flanagan explained how James’ work was inspiring the story, “We’re about a third of the way through. It’s such a treat to play in the world of Henry James. It’s a whole different vibe from Shirley Jackson. Turn of the Screw is kind of the backbone of the season. But that’s been adapted so many times, and so well, like in the case of The Innocents and others. There’s a new adaptation coming out in like a few weeks. You can skip rocks off of The Turn of the Screw.
“So, we were able to open up his entire library of ghost stories, stuff that’s never been adapted, and build the whole season out with the entirety of Henry James’ supernatural library. And that has been a real treat, because we really get to do things that I’ve never gotten to see before. Turn of the Screw is really just our way in.”
He added that cast members from The Haunting of Hill House will also appear in the new show, but the two shows aren’t technically linked.
“There’s not a narrative connection, but there are little Easter eggs, for sure, not only in small details but in moments of dialogue and in some of the ideas from Hill House,” he says.
“There are definitely going to be things that will set off that little dopamine rush that those kind of connections create. But it’s not a direct connection from a story point of view.”
At this stage, we know Victoria Pedretti, AKA Nell Crain, will lead the new season as the governess Dani who, according to Buzzfeed, is looking after two unusual children.
She’ll be joined by Oliver Jackson-Cohen, AKA Luke Crain, as Peter, “a charming young man who lives at Bly” and makes things difficult for everyone that lives there.
Kate Siegel, AKA Theo Crain, and Henry Thomas, AKA young Hugh Crain, also return in secret roles.
Among the new stars joining the show is iZombie actor Rahul Kohli who plays “a small town guy with a worldly mindset who has returned to the country to take care of his ailing mother”. Years and Years star T’Nia Miller is also joining in a secret role.