Director says: Haunting of Bly Manor is going to be unbelievably scary

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Netflix and Mike Flanagan's 10-part adaptation of Shirley Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE was far and away the best piece of genre entertainment of last year. Season 2 will be called The Haunting of Bly Manor and will be an adaptation of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. 

And today we hear that series creator/director Mike Flanagan thinks this new season is "going to be unbelievably scary" and is already "much scarier than season one." Specifically, Flanagan says about BLY MANOR:

We’re looking at all the ghost stories of Henry James as the jumping-off point for the season, so it very much is a whole new deal. It’s a cool way to expand on some of the things I loved about season one, but within the framework of a new story, without having to be restrained by the decisions we made last time. For Henry James fans, it’s going to be pretty wild, and for people who aren’t familiar with his work, it’s going to be unbelievably scary. I already think it’s much scarier than season one, so I’m very excited about it.

Based on the Henry James story The Turn of the Screw, season two might follow the novel's synopsis, which is

a psychological thriller about a woman who takes a governess job for two orphans in a Victorian home. She begins to see what she believes are ghosts and suspects the children's bizarre behavior is the result of supernatural powers.

Victoria Pedretti will play the governess looking after the two unique children. Oliver Jackson-Cohen returns as well.

The book The Turn of the Screw was perhaps most famously adapted back in 1961 as THE INNOCENTS directed by Jack Clayton (SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES). That version starred Deborah Kerr as Miss Giddens, Martin Stephens as Miles, and Pamela Franklin as Flora.

This second season comes as part of a multi-year overall television deal Netflix has signed with Flanagan and producer Trevor Macy. Flanagan and Macy will develop and produce new series exclusively for Netflix, including this all-new chapter in The Haunting anthology. The Haunting of Hill House is a modern reimagining of Shirley Jackson's iconic novel, produced with Paramount Television and Amblin Television. In addition to Flanagan and Macy, the show was executive produced by Meredith Averill and Co-Presidents of Amblin Television Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey.

THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR begins filming next month and hits Nexflix in 2020. How are excited are YOU? Let us know below!