Netflix’s The Haunting series premiered back in the summer of 2018 with its first installment; The Haunting Of Hill House. 2 years on, series creator, writer, and director Mike Flanagan conjured up another installment to the series: The Haunting Of Bly Manor. Bly Manor is loosely based on the 1898 horror novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and will see both the return of some fan-favorite and new cast members in different and varying roles.
Even though this second series will not follow The Haunting Of Hill House storyline, The Haunting Of Bly Manor will still follow through with Flanagan’s favorite filmmaking themes of family trauma and grief presented in ghost haunting manners. The series, which has been hailed for its haunting writing, performance, and cinematography is sure to keep fans and new watchers alike on the edge of their seats. In preparation for The Haunting Of Bly Manor's premiere this October, here are 10 Things To Know Before Watching Netflix’s The Haunting Of Bly Manor.
Returning Cast Members and Some Haunting Of Hill House Easter Eggs
Despite entertaining a different storyline, Bly Manor will still feature some of the series’ previous cast members. This includes Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, and Henry Thomas. The actors will of course be returning in completely new roles with Pedretti stepping up to the titular role of Dani Clayton, a governess left to care for 2 young orphans. Even though showrunner Mike Flanagan has stated that there will be no contextual and storyline connections between the two series, he did state that there will also be easter eggs and moments of dialogue that will serve as a nod to Hill House. This means that Bly Manor will be both exciting and nostalgic for both new audiences and fans of The Haunting series.
Loosely Based On The 1898 Horror Novella The Turn of the Screw By Henry James
Just like The Haunting Of Hill House, Bly Manor will also be loosely based on a horror novel, more specifically the Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Flanagan has confirmed his long-lasting interest in the Henry James series and wanted to provide a more in-depth look into this 1989 horror novella.
For those unfamiliar with the story, The Turn Of The Screw has also been previously adapted for theatre, film, and television most notably back in 2009 by the BBC in a manner that differs from Flanagan’s approach. Reading up on the novel or looking into these adaptations might get fans and audiences prepared for season 2 of The Haunting series.
Clues In The Trailer
The teaser and trailer for The Haunting of Bly Manor had many clues about the upcoming season, specifically relating to how the main characters will be haunted and tried. From mysterious lake creatures to doll possessed creatures, the trailer did not shy away from showing the audience the sort of danger lurking beneath and within Bly Manor. The trailer also alluded to mysterious figures residing in the Bly Manor house and lake which appears to physically and emotionally envelope our characters. This is just another extension of the varied themes that will be presented in Bly Manor certifying for the audience that there are terrors that lie both within, beneath, and outside of the Bly Manor house.
A Romance Gothic Storyline
This season of The Haunting series will focus more on romantic connections between characters. In the 'behind the scenes' Netflix excerpt for Bly Manor, Mike Flanagan said that he considered this season more of a ‘romance gothic story’, a change from the 1st series which contained a more family-centered storyline. This ‘romantic gothic story’ approach explains how each character, who are mostly strangers at the Bly Manor house, will be connected to one another. Whatever this season has in store, audiences can be assured that the series creator and writers have planned something unprecedented for viewers whilst also maintaining the deep metaphorical and symbolic meaning of the ghost presence.
Fresh New Storyline But Watching The First Series Is A Bonus
The Haunting Of Hill House was one of Netflix’s most viewed shows in 2018. It garnered critical acclaim and amassed a great fan presence for its compelling and haunting of the Crain family residing in Hill House. Haunting’s first season was unlike any other and truly set the tone for the quality of work fans can expect from the mind of Mike Flanagan.
Though it is not contextually necessary to watch the first installment in preparation for Bly Manor, it is a bonus for both fans and new watchers of the show alike who want to be exposed to the show’s haunting track record of phenomenal storytelling and cinematography.
A ‘Created’ Family Unit
The Haunting Of Bly Manor will introduce audiences to a whole new living arrangement. Unlike the first series, the residents of Bly Manor are strangers and have to create a family unit rather than be born into one. This means that some characters would be introduced into The Haunting universe with new faces such as T’Nia Miller, who fans may recognize from HBO/BBC’s dystopian series Years and Years, in the role of Hannah Gross and Rahul Kohli from IZombie, in the role Owen. Though not much is known about each of these characters, the story promises to show audiences how each of the characters is hauntingly linked to one another.
More Child Actor’s Performances
The Haunting series would not be what it is without the poignant performances of the series’ child actors. In series one, the performances of Violet McGraw and Julian Hilliard who respectively portrayed Young Nell and Young Luke Crain, were what made the series’ ghostly appearances so much more frightening and evocative. Bly Manor will also feature some new young talent who will serve as physical and metaphorical representations of the audience's and young characters' loss of innocence amidst the haunting situation at hand. Child actors' performances also centralize the element of unpredictability that lie within a story like Bly Manor, which will be both exciting and compelling for the audience.
Characters Can Often Be More Haunting Than Ghosts
To appreciate supernatural horror dramas, viewers must be willing to look directly into what truly haunts the characters and identify which is more frightening: the unknown or the way characters react to the unknown? Classic horror flicks like The Blair Witch Project and It always do a great job of reminding the audience that what is scarier is not what can be seen but rather what is felt and reflected through each character as confusion and uncertainty strikes.
Audiences saw this in Ep 6 of The Haunting Of Hill House where the past grief of losing their mother and current grief of losing their sister Nell sends the Crane family into overdrive creating an even scarier and haunting atmosphere than any ghost could have. The invisible pain and feelings of regret, shame, and devastation carried by each character are often the focal point behind the audience's moments of scares in The Haunting series, one which will be further explored in Bly Manor.
A Deeper Meaning
Just like the first haunting series, Bly Manor will continue to tackle themes of family trauma, grief, and past pain. Though The Haunting series provides audiences with harrowing and vivid ghost presence, it is the emotional burden which every character carries that haunts them the most. In a series of interviews, Flanagan has always stressed the deeper significance of The Haunting series as it is more than it is just about the visitations of ghosts and the presence of paranormal activity. He stated in an interview that Bly Manor will focus on the idea that the emotional trauma and “wounds” which people tend to carry usually haunt them more than actual ghosts. In Ep1 of The Haunting Of Hill House, the character of Steven even alludes to this stating that ghosts are a reflection of what people fear most. Hence, Bly Manor will also tackle some of these issues looking deeper into romantic connections between the characters and the way past secrets haunt us.
Bly Manor Won’t Be The Last Of The Haunting Installments
With the success of The Haunting Of Hill House and the excitement for the upcoming The Haunting Of Bly Manor, it is highly unlikely that the latter will be the last of Mike Flanagan’s work. Though there is no news of a Season 3 renewal as of yet, it was announced in 2019 that Flanagan and Haunting Series producer Trevor Macy signed on to a series deal with Netflix to produce The Haunting Anthology. This means that The Haunting series could see us revisiting either another Shirley Jackson or Henry James novel or a completely different horror novella series for adaptation. Whatever the creators decide, audiences should be rest assured, knowing that there will be more haunting stories to be explored.