The Haunting Of Hill House - What We Know So Far

Netflix's horror hit The Haunting of Hill House had viewers on the edge of their seats, gnawing away at their nails for 10 straight supernatural-packed episodes. While that season marks the end of the road for the troubled Crain family, a second season of The Haunting of Hill House is happening. While season 1 of the horror series was an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same title, season 2 will have a different setting, characters, a new haunted home, and even a new name... The Haunting of Bly Manor. This means even bigger things for the Netflix series: it's becoming an anthology series touch, similar to FX's American Horror Story. Fans mostly want to know if that means casting will receive the same anthology treatment, bringing back familiar faces yet different characters. The short answer: yes.

As a result of season 1 earning praise and nightmares alike, season 2 was ordered up and we can't wait for it to arrive. Will the new season further explore loss and childhood trauma, or go in a different mind-altering direction altogether? Here's everything we know about The Haunting of Hill House season 2 so far.

The exact release date has yet to be announced, but the Twitter page for The Haunting of Bly Manor already said the new saga is coming in 2020 and has yet to change that timeline despite the coronavirus pandemic halting production sets worldwide. Even without a release date set in stone as of this writing, we can take an educated guess as to when Bly Manor will debut.

Season 2 production started on September 30, 2019, and wrapped on February 21, 2020. The series premiered on Netflix on October 12, 2018. Since only one season has been released, it's tough to pinpoint a definitive release pattern. However, we know The Haunting of Bly Manor will be released in 2020, and if season 1 left a trail of ghostly breadcrumbs, season 2 should drop in October to match its predecessor's release window. That's the ideal scenario with Halloween in the air. Not to mention, the first season was a success and could draw more bodies in as a result of viewers looking for something eerie with All Saints' Eve in the near and eerie future.

On April 21, 2020, producer Mike Flanagan reiterated via Twitter that The Haunting of Bly Manor is still on track for a 2020 release.

While the exact cast has yet to be released and surprise members could join the show upon each episode's viewing, The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan hasn't been shy about introducing cast members to the world. Plus, as previously mentioned, The Haunting of Hill House will get the American Horror Story treatment in terms of casting actors from the previous season. Yes, that means season 1 alums can be expected on season 2.

Flanagan has been spreading his cheerful news about the sinister TV series' casting via Twitter. He's already announced that Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Catherine Parker, T'Nia Miller (Years and Years), Rahul Kohli (iZombie), and Amelia Eve will be joining the cast of season 2. Benjamin Ainsworth and Amelie Smith were also announced and will play the haunted children Miles and Flora.

While Nellie Crain won't be in Bly Manor, the actress who played her, Victoria Pedretti, announced she's returning for the madness as Dani, "a governess who takes care of two very unusual children." Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who played Luke Crain on season 1, will be back for another bloody round as Peter — described as "a resident of Bly Manor, who makes life very difficult for everyone who lives there."

With a cast like that, The Haunting of Hill House season 2 is going to be wicked. In the meantime, we can only hope Carla Gugino and more season 1 favorites return as well.

There's only one bad part about anthologies, and that's having to wait to see what the new season is about and where it takes place. Haunting fans don't have to wait any longer, though, as it's already been said that Bly Manor will be loosely based on Henry James' 1898 horror novella The Turn of the Screw. The novella takes place at Bly, a fictional country house in England. To the surprise of no one, the mansion is haunted. If you can believe it, as we're still trembling from season 1, The Haunting of Bly Manor is supposed to be even scarier than The Haunting of Hill House. 

"We're looking at all the ghost stories of Henry James as the jumping-off point for the season, so it very much is a whole new deal," Flanagan told Birth.Movies.Death. "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. 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. I already think it's much scarier than season one, so I'm very excited about it."

Bly Manor can't come soon enough. Be sure to bookmark this page, as more Haunting news will be added as it's made available.