NetflixIn a move which is definitely a massive coincidence, and totally not a well thought out marketing plan just in time for Halloween, Netflix has released loads of spooky shows recently.
From the reboot of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, now known as The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, to the turn of the century horror Apostle, Netflix has slowly but surely been upping its horror game.
However, no show seems to have captured the public’s attention quite like The Haunting of Hill House, a modern day ghost story which flits between the present and the early 90s.
Loosely based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel of the same name, The Haunting of Hill House follows the Crain family who, after a tragedy occurs within their family, are forced to reunite 26 years later and confront that dark period in their lives.
Naturally, such a show coinciding with such a time of year as Halloween, means some fresh inspiration for fancy dress parties.
The Haunting of Hill House is full of scary characters, from Bent-Neck Lady, to the 1920s flapper girl, to the tall bloke with a top hat, as well as the Crains themselves.
This means there’s plenty to choose from for that all-important Halloween party.
Check out a couple of these scarily good recreations:
The show isn’t just getting rave reviews from viewers, however, Stephen King himself tweeted about it, and he knows a thing or too about the genre.
He said:
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodeled by Mike Flanagan. [sic]
I don’t usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure.
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodeled by Mike Flanagan. I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 17, 2018
High praise from the King of Horror!
After taking by the genre by storm, you’d think director Mike Flanagan might want to take a break from horror.
However, as well as a potential second series of The Haunting of Hill House, he’s also undertaking a sequel to King’s 1977 novel, The Shining, which was made into a film in 1980.
King wrote the follow-up to The Shining, titled Doctor Sleep, in 2013. It follows Danny, the son of Jack Torrance who hauntingly succumbed to cabin fever in the original novel, decades later, now an adult and still battling the demons which haunted his family during their time at the Overlook Hotel.
Ewan McGregor will be taking up the lead role as Danny. The story is said to follow Danny, now an adult, as he struggles with the issues that plagued his father – alcohol and anger – as he tries to start a new life in New Hampshire.
However, still seeing his gift – known as ‘shining’ – as both a blessing and a curse, Danny encounters new people, both good and evil, human and otherworldly, who he must confront.
The Haunting Of Hill House crept onto Netflix as of October 12.
Doctor Sleep will arrive in cinemas January 24, 2020.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.