‘Haunting of Hill House’ Director Reveals How Hidden Ghosts Will Feature in ‘Bly Manor’

If director Mike Flanagan has his way, The Haunting of Bly Manor will be filled with just as many hidden ghosts as The Haunting of Hill House.

The second season of the newly dubbed “The Haunting” anthology, set to be based on Henry James’ 1898 horror novella The Turn of the Screw, will not feature a home vacant of ghoulish spirits. Responding to a tweet from a fan following the announcement last week that there would be a sophomore season, Flanagan, set to helm Season 2, revealed they are wanting to “up” their hidden ghost game.

“We are already discussing how to up our hidden ghost game,” he informed fans.

The Haunting of Hill House had been packed with dozens of ghosts hiding in the background of scenes, leaving fans scrambling to find them all as they watched and re-watched the series following its October debut.

“We actually hid dozens of ghosts throughout the series, in plain sight, in the deep background of shots. We don’t call any attention to them, but they’re there,” Flanagan had revealed. “If you look in a door frame, or under the piano, or behind a curtain in a lot of otherwise ordinary scenes, you’ll see someone there.”

The ghosts, appearing just as quick flashes or expertly camouflaged throughout the scenes, were everywhere throughout the halls of Hill House. Fans spotted some peering through the railing of the stairs, standing in doorframes, and even lurking in the backyard garden, and given the plot of The Turn of the Screw, it is not hard to imagine that Flanagan would have any shortage of specters to work with.

First appearing in serial format in Collier’s Weekly magazine, James’ novel tells the story of a governess who is hired to nanny two children at an old country mansion in England called Bly. The home, as the governess quickly discovers, is crowded with ghostly figures

Although fans can expect the unexpected ghoul in the background, they shouldn’t be expecting to see the Bent Neck Lady or the Bowler Hat ghost in Bly Manor. Along with the ghosts moving house to an entirely new setting, Season 2 of the anthology will see an entirely different set of characters. However, it is not known if the series will follow in the vein of American Horror Story and largely feature the same cast season-to-season or debut an entirely new roster of actors and actresses with each new story being told.

The Haunting of Hill House is currently available for streaming on Netflix. The Haunting of Bly Manor is set to debut sometime in 2020.