First look images: Welcome to Bly Manor on Netflix

New information regarding The Haunting of Bly Manor has been released, and it looks like the predecessor to Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House will be available to stream sometime this fall.

The Haunting of Bly Manor seems to be taking its cue from American Horror Story, since it will be telling a new story with characters, while still featuring many of the same actors. Returning to the Mike Flanagan-created series will be The Haunting of Hill House cast members Victoria Pedretti, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Catherine Parker and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

Previously released statements indicated that The Haunting of Bly Manor would be a re-telling of the Henry James classic novella The Turn of the Screw, but Flanagan is now saying that other ghostly Henry James stories will be interwoven as well. The two stories mentioned in a recent interview with Vanity Fair are The Romance of Certain Old Clothes and The Jolly Corner.

While The Turn of the Screw was originally released in 1898, Bly Manor is set in the late 1980s, but it features many of the same characters. The governess (played by Pedretti) is hired to care for two children by their uncle (Thomas), who is emotionally detached from them, and only wants to go about his life without the bother of kids.

The newly released images include a poster, which features a young woman standing in a lake, with the imposing Bly Manor in the background. The description tweeted with the poster reads: “The Haunting of Bly Manor arrives this fall. Until then…look beneath the surface.” Taking a closer look at the poster, the viewer can see faces beneath the water the woman is standing in.

Other still shots from the series show Pedretti in a basement filled with dolls; that’s really intriguing (and creepy). There is also a photo of Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s Peter Quint, a much more villainous character than his last Haunting role, that of the adult Luke Crain. While a drug addict, Luke was very sympathetic, having been traumatized as a child by the extremely haunted and dangerous Hill House.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that any of the child actors from Hill House have moved into Bly Manor. While there are two child characters, Miles will be played by Benjamin Evans Ainsworth and Flora is portrayed by Amelie Bea Smith.

Flanagan confirmed that The Haunting of Bly Manor will continue the viral trend that began with Hill House’s “hidden ghosts,” wisely realizing that the game encourages repeat viewings of the series. But he promises that we will learn more about these ghosts, stating, “By the end of the season, you’re going to know who they are and why they’re there.”

No release date has been announced as of yet for The Haunting of Bly Manor, but Hill House was released in October of 2018, so it stands to reason that we can hope to spend this Halloween with the ghosts in Bly Manor. That would be a real Halloween treat!

Are you excited about the upcoming premiere of The Haunting of Bly Manor? Tell us what you liked most about The Haunting of Hill House in the comments section.