After The Haunting of Hill House successfully scared the pants off every Netflix subscriber who made the mistake of watching the show with the lights off, a follow-up was inevitable.
Even though season one brought the story of the unfortunate Crain’s to a satisfying conclusion, legions of ghost-loving adrenaline junkies wanted more from the show’s creators. And topping their efforts was always going to take some doing.
Despite the pressure associated with a sequel, show-runner Mike Flanagan has come out swinging with his predictions for season two. It has already been revealed that the new series is titled "The Haunting of Bly Manor", and will take inspiration from Henry James’ much-loved novella "Turn of the Screw", but Flanagan has gone even further in offering audiences a taste of what is to come.
Victoria Pedretti confirms that she is returning for The Haunting of Bly Manor"It's scarier", said Flanagan, per Entertainment Weekly. "It’s a lot more frightening, just on a visceral level."
"It’s going great," Flanagan continued. "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 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."
Flanagan has also confirmed that the second season will also rely on the tried and tested formula of practical effects and scares, something that both he and the crew feel extremely passionate about. In another interview, he asserted:
“That’s part of the DNA of ‘The Haunting’ for me - that old-school approach to the ghosts. In particular, we’re having an enormous amount of fun talking about how to take some of the ideas from season one about hidden ghosts and things like that, and find new gears for them this time. It’ll be the same type of story, and we’ll treat the ghosts very much the same way.”
Well, if it’s anywhere near as successful as The Haunting of Hill House, Flanagan fans could well be in for a treat.