The Haunting of Bly Manor will be “scarier” than Hill House

The Haunting of Bly Manor, the sequel to Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, won’t be out for a while, but creator Mike Flanagan has a dire warning for those looking forward to it: “It’s scarier. It’s a lot more frightening, just on a visceral level.”

So far, we’ve haven’t heard much about Bly Manor, except that Hill House alums Henry Thomas (Hugh Crain), Victoria Pedretti (Eleanor “Nell” Crain) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Luke Crain) will be returning in new roles.

Season 2 is based on Turn of the Screw, the classic horror novella by Henry James. (Season 1 was based on Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House.) So how goes the production of this follow-up season? “It’s going great,” Flanagan told Entertainment Weekly. “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."

Just like Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story horror anthology has a recurring cast, as well as hidden clues and connections from season to season, Flanagan says his show will follow a similar path. “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 said. “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.”

So you’re saying Bent-Neck Lady won’t drop in to say hello? Okay, I can watch easier.

The Haunting of Bly Manor will premiere on Netflix sometime next year.

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