The Haunting of Hill House star Oliver Jackson-Cohen promises fans that season 2 of the series, The Haunting of Bly Manor, is equally as brilliant. The Haunting of Hill House debuted on Netflix in 2018 and quickly earned its way into the hearts and minds of horror fans with its reimagining of the 1959 Shirley Jackson novel of the same name. It presented its story in both the past and present, following the broken Crain family as they confront their demons, both real and imagined.
Although it seemed The Haunting of Hill House was a one-season series, Netflix couldn’t deny the success of the show and ordered a second season. However, the second season would not continue with the story following the Crains. Instead, the streaming subscription service announced that it was an anthology series with the second season being called The Haunting of Bly Manor. This season will take inspiration from the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw, which follows a governess assigned to a house that she soon believes to be haunted. Although the TV series won’t be a direct adaptation, its plot will probably feature some of these elements. Fortunately, the show’s creator, Mike Flanagan, continues to reiterate that the new season will be scarier than the first.
Jackson-Cohen promises that The Haunting of Bly Manor will be as equally as brilliant as its predecessor. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, he recognized the brilliance of The Haunting of Hill House, while expressing confidence in season 2. He said:
Some of the original cast of The Haunting of Hill House is returning for Bly Manor. However, they will portray different characters in the new season, much like how the similarly horrific American Horror Story works. This includes Jackson-Cohen, along with Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti and Catherine Parker. Actress Carla Gugino has also expressed interest in returning to the series in a new role. There are several new faces this time around, too, including T’Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, Amelia Eve, Amelie Smith, and Benjamin Ainsworth.
The hard thing is, is The Haunting of Hill House was - this makes me sound like arrogant - such a brilliant show. I really loved it. It was such an incredible story, what Mike had done. And so the hard thing was, how’s he going to kind of make a second one and it be equally as brilliant?
And he has, which is just phenomenal. We finished shooting. …I left The Invisible Man shoot to go and start on Bly Manor, and it’s quite the story. He’s so clever, Mike Flanagan.
Part of what made The Haunting of Hill House so scary was the level of detail put into the series. Sure, there were jump scares and horrifying images of the “Bent-Neck Lady” that would leave viewers screaming. However, the scariest part of the series involved the ghosts hidden in plain sight in the backgrounds of scenes - those glimpses of the supernatural would keep fans up all night. Bly Manor will likely feature some of the same details, perhaps in a new and even more frightening way.
Next: What Is Bly Manor? Haunting Of Hill House Season 2 Story Explained
