2020 might feel like living in a horror show, but there have been a few good things happening here and there. Like, for example, learning that the sequel to Netflix’s horror hit The Haunting of Hill House is coming out this Fall to help it feel more like the Halloween we all wished we could have during a pandemic.
The Haunting of Bly Manor got its first poster today, with a young girl walking through the water. And as Netflix’s Twitter reveal of the poster prompts, you should take a closer look at the water, which does have a number of surprises:
According to an interview on Games Radar, show creator Mike Flanagan isn’t just adapting Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, which is how the season was original billed, but rather a number of James’ stories with a central theme:
“The Turn of the Screw has been adapted so many times. We know how perfectly it fits into a feature film format. We’re doing a whole season of television. The Turn of the Screw is only one of a dozen stories that we’re telling. All Henry James; all thematically linked….I think of Turn of the Screw as the backbone of this season – the through line that carries us from beginning to end. But we get to go off into The Jolly Corner and The Romance of Certain Old Clothes, and so many other of these wonderful ghost stories that people haven’t seen adapted before. It’s all wrapped up in what seems to be familiar, but that familiarity goes away really early in the first episode. It says, ‘We’re off on a whole other road.'”
And if all of that isn’t enough, Vanity Fair got access to exclusive first looks at the show. Here’s just one of the shots, showing the show’s star Victoria Pedretti with some creepy dolls in an even creepier basement:
Personally, I was worried the pandemic was going to put an indefinite delay on this new season, but the fact that we will be getting it in perhaps just a few weeks fills my heart with spooky, scary joy. Hopefully this also means a trailer will be out for it soon with a firm release date. Flanagan is a fantastic director, so hopefully this will be another excellent entry in the Haunting universe. The only question is, what will they adapt next?
The Haunting of Bly Manor is set to premiere on Netflix sometime in Fall 2020.
