10 Shows To Watch if You Love ‘The Haunting of Hill House’
Even though The Haunting of Hill House debuted on Netflix back in 2018, the dark and moody series is still considered by many of its fans as the best horror show of the last decade. The legacy will no doubt hold for the years to come, as The Haunting of Hill House evokes a timeless quality to it that does justice to the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name.
Creator Mike Flanagan introduced a modern masterpiece with his often tragic story of the Crain family, and it opened the doors for other series to follow, both by other gifted creators and Flanagan himself. Here’s a list of some other fantastic options if The Haunting of Hill House is your definition of horror perfection.
10
‘Dark Shadows’ (1966–1971)
Created by Dan Curtis
For a dose of retro supernatural drama, the vampire soap opera Dark Shadows might be worth unearthing for a lengthy binge. Following the lives of the Collins family, the series is widely remembered for the character of Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), a vampiric member of the family. While it was considered a genuine attempt at drama at the time, the series would hold more campy value as seen by modern eyes.
If the only point of reference for Dark Shadows is the Tim Burton movie starring Johnny Depp, don’t let that influence your decision for better or worse. Daytime TV might seem like an odd place for a supernatural-themed soap, but Dark Shadows received a cult following over the years. Despite the series having aged, Dark Shadows is still an influential piece of gothic supernatural television, using classic horror elements for its inspiration.
- Release Date
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1966 – 1970
- Network
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ABC
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Grayson Hall
Julia Hoffman
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Joan Bennett
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard / Naomi Collins
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David Selby
Quentin Collins
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Lara Parker
Angelique Bouchard Collins
9
‘Channel Zero’ (2016–2018)
Created by Nick Acosta
Horror fans seeking more slow-burn dread would do well to check out the anthology TV series Channel Zero. The Syfy series used the internet horror stories known as creepypastas for the basis of its seasons, adapting stories like “Candle Cove” and “Butcher’s Block” into on-screen productions. Rather than each episode being a new story, Channel Zero commits a full season to each creepypasta adaptation, expanding on the original story to provide a more complete narrative.
With a limited budget for production and an even smaller one for marketing, Channel Zero didn’t make a large impact, but it should have. Channel Zero managed legitimate scares with a shoestring budget by focusing on telling a good story and being less concerned with visual horrors. All four seasons of Channel Zero work as separate pieces of fiction, so each topic might hold its own unique appeal and can be skipped ahead to.
- Release Date
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January 5, 2015
- Director
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John Nicol
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Christian Bellsmith
Darlan L’Enfant
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Christopher Reynolds
Theron Jameson
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Danielle Baker
Jovian / The Phantom
8
‘Castle Rock’ (2018–2019)
Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason
The stories of Stephen King are the basis for the unique Hulu original series, Castle Rock. After various interpretations of King’s novels and short stories, Castle Rock went in a different direction to combine characters and references from different works to have it all converge in the often referenced town of Castle Rock. Each season focused on a new narrative, but there was plenty of inspiration to pull from given King’s vast body of work.
The new approach to King’s allowed for fun surprises that an audience familiar with the novels wouldn’t be able to predict. One part fan-service and one part slow-burn thriller, the series was similar to Twin Peaks with a slow-burn approach to storytelling. Castle Rock gave fans another chance to see Misery’s Annie Wilkes, this time played by Lizzy Caplan, before calling it quits after two seasons.
7
‘American Horror Story’ (2011–)
Created by Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, and Halley Feiffer
For stories that also use Shirley Jackson’s novel as an inspiration, the first season of American Horror Story is a pulpy option for a quick horror show binge. While each season of American Horror Story explores a new outlandish horror scenario, the first season, now referred to as “Murder House,” still stands as one of the best entries in the long-running show. The first season follows the Harmon family, who move into an old house for a fresh start, unaware of the dark history they will soon be a part of.
The first season’s focus on an old house and the malevolent ghosts trapped within its walls takes the concept in a much wilder and more aggressive direction than The Haunting of Hill House. Featuring powerful performances from actors like Connie Britton, Evan Peters, and Jessica Lange, there was a cinematic quality to American Horror Story that quickly made it one of FX’s most watched shows.
6
‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)
Created by Mike Flanagan
It probably won’t be much of a surprise that Flanagan’s name will pop up a few times since his work on Netflix amassed a loyal following with outstanding creations such as Midnight Mass. The series starts as two individuals come to the dying fishing town of Crockett Island; one bringing personal shame and the other hope of religious salvation. As the empty church seats begin to fill, death creeps in the shadows of the island, preparing to make a mark on everyone that remains.
Flanagan uses the greats of horror literature as his inspiration, so it’s fitting that Midnight Mass feels like the lost novel of Stephen King. Without going into spoilers, the reveal of the threat to the island is one aspect of the story, but the exploration of faith and the sacrifices made for it adds an incredible amount of depth to the already well-fleshed-out characters. The acting is top-notch across the board, but a special mention needs to be made of Hamish Linklater as Father Paul Hill, who is a powerhouse in his scenes.
5
‘Servant’ (2019–2023)
Created by Tony Basgallop
For viewers trying to find that same indescribable creepy feeling they had when watching The Haunting of Hill House, Apple TV+’s Servant is a show worth considering. Servant follows a wealthy couple who are struggling to pick up the pieces of their life after the loss of an infant child. Wife Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) has used a doll as a therapeutic replacement, but when she hires a nanny to care for the doll, supernatural and unexplained events begin to plague the household.
Servant is perfect for the person who wants a slow-built mystery over traditional horror theatrics. Much like The Haunting of Hill House established a disdain for jump scares in favor of setting moods, Servant excels at creating an atmosphere of eerie calmness. Each character is carrying so much pain right under the surface of their cracking normalcy that their attempts to cope with what’s happening to them add to the tension.
4
‘The Enfield Haunting’ (2015)
Created by Joshua St. Johnston
The Enfield Haunting is a fantastic quick watch that features another family in the throes of supernatural hardships. The three-episode miniseries dramatizes the true events of a family who claimed to be haunted by an aggressive poltergeist. When investigators arrive to verify the claims, they’ll have to determine if 11-year-old Janet (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) is actually in danger, or rather a very good actor.
Even though there are many adaptations and documentaries about the Enfield Poltergeist, The Enfield Haunting boasts strong performances from Timothy Spall as amateur investigator Maurice Grosse and Matthew Macfadyen as initially skeptical paranormal expert Guy Lyon Playfair. While there are presumably liberties taken with the events, the less sensationalized version of The Enfield Haunting gives a more realistic and frightening foundation to telling the story.
3
‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (2023)
Created by Mike Flanagan
The last project of Flanagan’s with the streamer Netflix is possibly his most fun one, with the slightly campy and always entertaining The Fall of the House of Usher. The eight-episode series follows the life of Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), the CEO of a soulless pharmaceutical company, and his spoiled family. When his adult children begin to die one by one, Roderick realizes decisions in his past are finally coming back to haunt him.
Loosely inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name, The Fall of the House of Usher incorporates many of the author’s works into the tale of the cursed Ushers. There’s A Nightmare on Elm Street quality to the way each Usher meets their creative fate, tailored specifically to their own vices or weaknesses. In that approach, each episode feels like an entry in a tightly plotted anthology, making The Fall of the House of Usher feel fast-paced and satisfying.
2
‘Marianne’ (2019)
Created by Samuel Bodin
Truth and fiction are hard to separate for writer Emma Larsimon (Victoire Du Bois) in the Netflix horror series Marianne. Emma is a popular horror writer who finally decides to retire her fan-favorite character, Marianne, a witch who stars in her books. The decision kicks off a chain of events that reveal Emma’s stories may be more real than she realized, and her muse may be an evil force that is tied to her past.
Although Marianne was canceled before the planned story could be finished, the first and only season ends with enough resolution that viewers won’t leave disappointed. It’s unbelievable, though, that the series was canceled, as Marianne produced genuinely frightening scenes over the course of its eight episodes. Beautifully acted with masterfully drawn out tension, Marianne is a horror story that should be appointment viewing for fans of the genre.
Marianne
- Release Date
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September 13, 2019
- Network
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Netflix
1
‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ (2020)
Created by Mike Flanagan
As the follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor is required viewing for lovers of Flanagan’s work, horror, or both. The Haunting of Bly Manor follows a young American woman, Dani (Victoria Pedretti), who is hired as an au pair for two small children on a rural English estate. As the children exhibit increasingly odd behavior, Dani begins to see ghostly visitors who each hold information about the history of Bly Manor.
After Pedretti’s heartbreaking and unforgettable role in The Haunting of Hill House, she confidently stepped in as the lead for the second Flanagan-created Netflix series. She’s joined by a few newcomers, including T’Nia Miller as housekeeper Hannah Grose, who turned in one of the best performances of the last decade as a woman desperately holding on to fleeting memories. The Haunting of Bly Manor is a profound examination of loss, how to live after it, and how to honor those lost.
