Every genre provides certain expectations for the viewers. A person watching a horror has different expectations compared to a person watching a comedy. After a while, each niche within the horror genre finds some things to be more popular than others and horror films and series begin to share similar aspects, commonalities interwoven in their unique storylines.
The Haunting Of Bly Manor is more of a drama than a conventional horror, depending on which niche it fits into. It is darker and sorrowful with less gore and jumps scares, but it still has many things in common with other films and series of the horror genre.
Creepy Children
Directors and writers of many horror films, books, and series have taken to using children as a means of creeping people out. And the actors don't disappoint. In The Haunting Of Bly Manor, there is something unsettling about Flora and Miles's behavior.
Their innocence mingling with their unpredictability. Their odd actions and speech are explained in later episodes, but even with an explanation it still has an effect on the viewers.
Ghosts
Ghosts, zombies, and werewolves! The ghost has appeared on many a screen and is used in many ways with different forms and temperaments. It is a humble creature of old in the horror world but still manages to make a bold statement when used right.
Shocking moments of ghost discovery, hiding from ghosts, learning how a person became a ghost, unaware of who is or isn't a ghost, ghost memories, seeing things that may or may not be ghosts; it's all ghost-tastic. The series also combines ghosts and children creating ghost children.
A Secluded Location
Who needs a safe location meters away from help? Bly Manor is a large property so even if it is in close proximity to other houses, the long drive down the lane and the copious surrounding land could be the difference between life and death.
An isolated location is also used in The Haunting Of Hill House with Hill House being avoided by many.
The Mansion With A History
A place can't simply be haunted, at least, not for a satisfying viewing experience. But then again, not always. In the case of Hill House, it was simply haunted, or at least, there was no clear explanation.
However, Bly Manor is another story entirely. There had to be a reason for the haunting, a reason for all these deaths, for the lady of the lake, and so, cue the backstory.
An Old Well
A well on the property you say? Well, what a coincidence. Wells have great potential in horror stories. It's something about their cold, deep, dark depths.
Whether they are the center of an ancient ritual, the resting place of lost remains, the home of a creature, a passageway, a place for skeleton keys, or a place to trap a possessed object, wells hold more potential than just homing water.
A Malevolent Presence
The Haunting Of Bly Manor is a series haunted by many things. But it is mainly haunted by grief. It is the type of grief welded to the soul and motivated by lost love.
Viola Willoughby's grief formed the gravity well engulfing Bly Manor. She unknowingly became the malevolent presence from which every event post her death was rooted.
Orphans
Flora and Miles's parents died during a trip to India. Their uncle neglected to be there for them due to a falling out he had with his brother over an affair he had with his brother's wife.
He neglected to take full responsibility for his niece and nephew, choosing instead to hire an au pair. Despite choosing their family and having many people care for them during the show's duration, Miles and Flora were orphans.
Religious Ties
It's interesting to find most horrors have ties to religion or what is perceived of religion. The role of spirituality, sacred grounds, priests, exorcisms, life after death, what people believe to be evil, if true horror, is created from grief, how someone seeks sanctuary, faith, the role of innocence, the role of confession, self-made rituals, and prayer.
Dolls
It seems no one can escape creepy dolls. Chucky, Annabelle, clown dolls, child dolls, dummy dolls, the list goes on. In The Haunting Of Bly Manor, Flora was given a dollhouse as a gift. This dollhouse went on to be a map of the goings-on in Bly Manor.
Flora created handmade dolls seemingly imbued with their own animation, and Rebecca made Talismans. Dolls could also be found skewed and scattered in the attic and basement.
The Sacrifice
It's a dangerous thing to become attached to characters within the horror genre. But it happens all the time. The writing is too good, the characters too loveable, and the storyline too gripping.
Getting through a film or series without a character dying is rare. Some die heroically, making the sacrifice that ends it all with them, while others die unaware of the presence, simply doomed to be a victim.