Stephen King Gushes That New Netflix Show ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ Is ‘Close to Work of Genius’

Stephen King is giving Netflix’s new horror series The Haunting of Hill House some seriously high praise.

The renowned horror author, known for classic novels in the genre like It and The Shining and often dubbed the “King of Horror,” took to Twitter Tuesday night to describe the series as “close to a work of genius.”

Mike Flanagan’s lose re-imagining of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name, which was previously adapted into films in 1963 and 1999, is a mix between a chilling horror story and an emotional family drama.

The 10-episode series follows the Crain family in both their past and present lives – when they lived in Hill House, said to be the most haunted house in the country, for a single summer as children and now, when they are stretched between opposite coasts and still haunted by their past, brought together once again by the death of their youngest sibling.

Billed by Netflix as being “so scary” that the trailer had to be released “during the daytime,” fans have cited suffering from sleep anxiety and sleep loss after watching The Haunting of Hill House, with some claiming that they even passed out from fear.

With a 91 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the nightmare-inducing series has not only earned high praise from fans and Stephen King, but also a slew of critics, with the series being credited for reviving the horror genre.

“Its real potential lies in breaking the mold more than reapplying it. It’s the people who haunt viewers more than the ghosts, and emphasizing the stories of the living is what makes Netflix’s horror show come alive,” IndieWire‘s Ben Travers wrote.

“It’s not just the family premise that makes this series so brilliant, but the characters as individuals themselves,” the Daily Telegraph‘s Corrine Corrodus praised the series. “Flanagan spends entire episodes giving the audience deft yet scathing vignettes of his characters’ lives – and as always, it’s a winner.

All 10-episodes of The Haunting of Hill House are available for streaming on Netflix. While there is currently no news on whether or not the series will get a sophomore season, Flanagan reportedly dropped several Easter eggs in the finale that would set up season two.