“The idea was to completely pull us out of the established aesthetic,” Flanagan said. “Every frame of it is so carefully considered to take maximum advantage of that beautiful, candle-lit gothic black and white horror aesthetic.”
And though Bly Manor was inspired by the 1898 Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw, Flanagan specifically took inspiration from James’ short story The Romance of Certain Old Clothes for episode eight.
Siegel also shared that she became emotional once she learned of Viola’s backstory. “I cried when they told it to me, I cried when I read it and I cried when it was done,” Siegel said. “The heartbreak and the misery and the loss and the stubborn willfulness in Viola’s heart become this gravity well in all of Bly Manor. She’s created a world in which ghosts cannot move on.”
And after watching, we can’t say we’ve moved on either.
The Haunting of Bly Manor is now streaming on Netflix.