The Haunting of Bly Manor never got the respect it deserves, and that needs to change
- Carla Davis
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Thus far in my articles recommending horror series, I have chosen lesser-known material. But now I want to talk about Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Bly Manor, which was his follow-up series to the hugely successful The Haunting of Hill House.
The Haunting of Hill House really resonated with viewers, thanks to its emotional, truly scary storyline, an outstanding cast, and all of the hidden ghosts throughout. Entertainment Weekly named it the best Netflix original series ever.
So people were really excited about The Haunting of Bly Manor. Despite the fact that Flanagan repeatedly stated that it was not truly a “second season” or sequel to Hill House, that seems to be what the audience expected. So The Haunting of Bly Manor received an underwhelming response.
It’s a shame, because it really is a good series…but totally different from Hill House (and that’s not a bad thing). Just as he did with Hill House, Flanagan adapted the story from literature – in this case, a handful of stories from Henry James – most notably, his novel The Turn of the Screw. Interwoven in the plotline were elements from James’s stories The Jolly Corner and The Romance of Certain Old Clothes.
Many cast members from Hill House moved over to Bly Manor, including Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, and Carla Gugino, all of them great actors. Pedretti plays Dani, who moves to England after experiencing the traumatic loss of her fiancée. She takes on an au pair position caring for the two young wards of the emotionally shut down Henry Wingrave (Thomas).
Other important characters include Jamie the gardener (Amelia Eve), housekeeper Hannah Grose (T’Nia Miller), and Bly Manor’s cook Owen (Rahul Kohli), and of course, Henry’s niece and nephew Flora (Amelia Bea Smith) and creepy little Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). Again, fine actors all, and it is no mean feat to find realistic child performers…Smith and Ainsworth are fantastic.
As the title suggests, Bly Manor is haunted, and not by just one ghost. The children’s former au pair Rebecca, her lover and Henry’s co-worker Peter Quint, and most chillingly the white-clad “Lady in the Lake” are all seen on the premises, and we learn the back stories for each of them. We also learn that the ghosts who inhabit Bly Manor lose their facial features when they remain too long, which is so creepy!
Let’s talk about the scariest character of The Haunting of Bly Manor, the Lady in the Lake (played by Kate Siegel). In centuries past, she was Viola, a young woman dying from a lung disease. She refuses to give in and die, becoming a very ill, bitter, angry woman who makes the lives of her husband and sister pure hell. When she does die, her spirit is trapped in a chest full of her beautiful clothing…until the chest is opened, and her vengeful ghost kills the person who opened it.
Afterward, the chest is thrown into the lake, which is why Viola is there, only coming out at night in search of her child. Flora and Miles have learned to stay safely hidden in their rooms at night, but those who choose to walk around inside after dark are punished for it, with Viola walking sightlessly through and grabbing those in her way by the throat, dragging them into her lake. There, they become ghosts themselves.
The Haunting of Bly Manor is more than just a tale of horror
Intertwined with the ghost stories are multiple love stories, including that of Owen and Hannah, and just with other Flanagan projects, expect to experience deep emotions that will likely make you cry. It's one of his greatest strengths as a filmmaker.
Honestly, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a ghostly, gothic love story that deserves more respect, and if you haven’t seen it, please correct that by streaming it on Netflix.
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