The Fall of the House of Usher Star Teases the Approach to Adapting Edgar Allan Poe Stories

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The upcoming The Fall of the House of Usher series from Mike Flanagan on Netflix is expected to deliver audiences an adaptation of not only the titular tale, but of a number of other unsettling stories from Edgar Allan Poe, with star Henry Thomas detailing how the series will navigate such a challenge. Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House was a relatively straightforward adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name, while The Haunting of Bly Manor drew inspiration from multiple Henry James stories. Thomas confirmed that this upcoming series is attempting to cover much more ground when lifting elements from Poe's vast library.

"All three things we're talking about, which are The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Fall of the House of Usher, they are all three limited series based on the literary works of an author," Thomas shared with /Film. "Shirley Jackson for Haunting of Hill House, Henry James and his short stories for Haunting of Bly Manor, and also for The Fall of the House of Usher, it's the collected works of Edgar Allan Poe told out in front of the backdrop of The Fall of the House of Usher." 

He continued, "Then each of the episodes are sort of one, or two, or a conglomeration of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The various characters are based on different characters in the writings and things. But yeah, it's going to be really cool, and it's very darkly comedic, and it's, I think, going to be something that audiences will really get a great kick out of."

What will surely excite audiences about the upcoming experience is the wealth of stories it will seemingly draw from, as Poe has dozens of recognizable tales to his name that could potentially all merge together in this adaptation.

House of Usher will also star frequent Flanagan collaborator Rahul Kohli, who previously teased how the director was pulling out all the stops for the new series.

"This one, for me, is Mike Flanagan's graphic novel, that's what it feels like. It feels like the most colorful, loud, and in your face," Kohli explained to ComicBook.com of how the project compares to previous collaborations. "I think Mike likened Usher to, if Midnight Mass was a symphony, this is a rock concert with Mike shredding on a f-cking electric guitar. That really does feel like it. Of all the things I've even spoken to him about, [I've said,] 'Hey, we should reach out to a publisher and have a graphic novel adaptation come out at the same time,' because the material suits it so well. It's so graphic and violent. It's very different from what people have become accustomed to."

Stay tuned for details on The Fall of the House of Usher.

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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