The Hill House legacy returns—just in time for the Halloween season. This week, Netflix dropped a teaser trailer plus release dates for the highly anticipated The Haunting of Bly Manor, Mike Flanagan's follow-up to 2018's The Haunting of Hill House. All nine episodes will hit the streaming service on October 9, making for a truly terrifying streaming experience as you gear up for Halloween.
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Flanagan's first entry in the horror anthology series, The Haunting of Hill House, was based on the works of Shirley Jackson. Bly Manor also draws its inspiration from tales of terror—in particular, Henry James's ghost stories and his haunted house masterpiece, The Turn of the Screw. Doubly exciting for Hill House fans? Many of the performers from Hill House that we know, love, and fear will portray new characters in The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Set in 1980s England, Bly Manor follows a young American nanny named Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti, who portrayed Hill House's Nell Crain). Dani is hired by Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas, who portrayed Hill House's Hugh Crain in flashback) to take care of his orphaned niece Flora Wingrave (Amelie Smith) and nephew Miles Wingrave (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). Dani accepts the au pair position and moves into Bly Manor. But darkness hangs over the old abode. For one, Dani's predecessor died a tragic death on the estate grounds. As Dani tries to settle in, it soon becomes clear that she is not alone. Centuries of tragedy and secrets haunt the darkened halls of Bly Manor, waiting to emerge from the gloom.
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Also residing at Bly Manor is the estate’s chef Owen (Rahul Kohli), its groundskeeper Jamie (Amelia Eve) and the housekeeper Mrs. Grose (T’Nia Miller). Hill House alums Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Kate Siegel round out the cast for the upcoming horror anthology. Intriguingly, Netflix describes The Haunting of Bly Manor as a "chilling gothic romance", likely tapping into themes of haunted heartbreak that course through James's literary works. As Den of Geek points out, Bly Manor's first official trailer is soundtracked by an eerie rendition of "O Willow Waly", a tune that appeared in 1961's psychological horror movie The Innocents, which was itself an adaptation of James's The Turn of the Screw.
As for the ghosts of Bly Manor? While we're thus far in the dark about the specifics of Bly Manor's haunting, paranormal activity is certainly present. Just take a look at the pile of dolls behind Dani, and the swivel-headed figurine that watches her every step...
[via Den of Geek]
The Haunting of Bly Manor arrives on Netflix on October 9, 2020.
Featured still from'The Haunting of Bly Manor' via Netflix
