The Haunting of Bly Manor Creator Confirms Episode Count

The debut of The Haunting of Bly Manor is only a few weeks away, though there are a number of mysteries still surrounding the new season, with creator Mike Flanagan recently confirming that, despite some rumors claiming the new season was only six episodes, it will actually consist of nine episodes. This will surely excite audiences who were bracing themselves for a shorter season, but given that the debut season, The Haunting of Hill House, consisted of 10 episodes, other audiences might be disappointed with the shorter storyline. All nine episodes of The Haunting of Bly Manor land on Netflix on October 9th.

“A few people reached out today for some clarification on Bly Manor, figured I’d just post it – it’s nine episodes,” Flanagan shared on Twitter. “Some websites incorrectly have it at six, not sure why, but it’s nine.”

In the new season, “From The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan and producer Trevor Macy comes The Haunting of Bly Manor, the next highly anticipated chapter of The Haunting anthology series, set in 1980s England. After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) hires a young American nanny (Victoria Pedretti) to care for his orphaned niece and nephew (Amelie Bea Smith, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) who reside at Bly Manor with the estate’s chef Owen (Rahul Kohli), groundskeeper Jamie (Amelia Eve) and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (T’Nia Miller). But all is not as it seems at the manor, and centuries of dark secrets of love and loss are waiting to be unearthed in this chilling gothic romance. At Bly Manor, dead doesn’t mean gone.”

While the first season of the series was based on the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name, the new season is based on the works of Henry James, largely The Turning of the Screw. However, given how short the source material is, Flanagan confirmed the new season is an homage to James’ extended library.

“It’s not about doing a straight adaptation anymore – that’s already been done,” Flanagan shared with Mick Garris during a panel for the Fantasia International Film Festival. “We’d cover two episodes, and then we’d have eight episodes of filler.”

He noted, “I need to make a 10-hour version of this.”

The Haunting of Bly Manor lands on Netflix on October 9th.

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