The Haunting of Hill House, perhaps the most-written-about of Shirley Jackson’s longform horror works, will become a 10-episode series on Netflix. The streaming service has given a straight-to-series order for a television adaptation of Jackson’s 1959 novel, written, directed, and executive produced by genre filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, an upcoming Netflix adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game), and also produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV and Paramount TV.
One summer, four brave souls decide to enter the foreboding Hill House to explore its supposed supernatural phenomena: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for a haunting; bohemian artist Theodora; Eleanor, a fragile young woman who has lived as a recluse after caring for her elderly mother; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House.
The novel has been adapted for the big screen twice, in 1963 and 1999. While the former was considered a pretty faithful (and enduringly scary) adaptation, the latter departed from the novel’s plot in places and was critically panned. Flanagan’s take will be a modern reimagining, according to Deadline, though we don’t know any other details at the moment. As io9 points out, the 10-episode structure would provide more opportunity to flesh out the four main characters and their lives before arriving at Hill House.
This as-yet-untitled adaptation is the first scripted Netflix series for Amblin TV and the third for Paramount TV, after the recently released 13 Reasons Why and upcoming Maniac (starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill). In the meantime, read Lee Mandelo’s take on The Haunting of Hill House from Shirley Jackson’s centennial at the end of 2016.