Mike Flanagan Reveals Scrapped Plans for Netflix's Haunting Season 3

After The Haunting of Hill House was a runaway success at Netflix talks of continuing the series began, the problem of course is the story was over. Netflix and creator Mike Flanagan took a page out of the American Horror Story playbook though and turned "The Haunting of..." into an anthology show. The first season of the show was adapted from Shirley Jackson's novel, while season 2 became The Haunting of Bly Manor, based on short stories by Henry James. Though the relationship between Mike Flanagan and Netflix continued (and has sadly come to an end), a third season never came to be despite a sizable fandom. Now however, Flanagan has confirmed what his plans were for Haunting season 3.

Bloody Disgusting brings word of Suntup Editions, a publishing hosue that has annoucned "a fine press limited edition of the 1971 novel Hell House by Richard Matheson," which includes not only a forward by Mike Flanagan, but confirmation from the writer/director that the classic book was in the cards to be adapted for television. He writes:

"Had there been a third season, I wanted that season to be The Haunting of Hell House. It was actually the first title we explored when Hill House was over, but the rights were spoken for and there did not seem to be a path forward...I don't know that there has ever been a haunted house story as downright cinematic as Hell House. It is written by a man who thought visually, who had a flair for cinematic set pieces, audience expectations, and visceral thrills that eluded many of his literary predecessors. That is one of the reasons I Am Legend [also by Richard Matheson] resonates so deeply, and Stephen King is correct when he says: 'Without his I Am Legend, there would have been no Night of the Living Dead.' Without Hell House, I'd argue that there would be no Poltergeist, no The Conjuring, no Insidious."

Richard Matheson's Hell House has only been adapted one time, the 1973 feature film The Legend of Hell House s tarring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, and Clive Revill.

After releasing the two seasons of Haunting on Netflix, Mike Flanagan stuck with the streamer in a first-look deal that brought us three more horror shows including Midnight Mass in 2021, The Midnight Club in 2022, and this year's The Fall of the House of Usher. Despite his most recent release already becoming a major ratings hit for the streamer, Flanagan and his production company are no longer present at Netflix and instead have set-up a new first look deal at Amazon's Prime Video.

"Amazon is a studio that we have long admired," Flanagan and his production partner Trevor Macy said in a statement last year. "Their commitment to engaging in groundbreaking series and content aligns with the ethos of what we have built at Intrepid. We are looking forward to working with the entire Amazon team as we bring our brand of genre productions to the service and audiences around the globe."