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Haunting of Hill House season 2 will be 'much scarier' than season 1

The Haunting of Bly Manor will be "unbelievably scary," director Mike Flanagan says.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper
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The Haunting of Hill House.

Steve Dietl/Netflix

Did The Haunting of Hill House, the unnerving 2018 Netflix series based on Shirley Jackson's novel, keep you up at night? Better brace for more sleepless hours, because director Mike Flanagan says the second season, The Haunting of Bly Manor, is even more terrifying.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is a similar multi-episode horror series, but it's not based on another work by Jackson, hence the new name. This season takes inspiration from the ghost stories of acclaimed author Henry James, including ghostly governess tale The Turn of the Screw.

"(The new season) very much is a whole new deal," Flanagan told the Birth. Movies. Death. website. "It's a cool way to expand on some of the things I loved about season one, but within the framework of a new story, without having to be restrained by the decisions we made last time."

New, but just as heart-pounding, he promises.

"For Henry James fans, it's going to be pretty wild, and for people who aren't familiar with his work, it's going to be unbelievably scary," Flanagan says. "I already think it's much scarier than season one, so I'm very excited about it."

Some of the Hill House actors, including Victoria Pedretti and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, will play roles in the new season, the director says.

The Haunting of Bly Manor is scheduled for a 2020 release.

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