The Haunting of Bly Manor adds another Hill House star

The Haunting of Hill House Season 1, Episode 5 Henry Thomas CR: Steve Dietl/Netflix
Photo: Steve Dietl/Netflix

The Haunting of Hill House reunion for the second season of this newly minted horror anthology series continues to grow.

Henry Thomas, who played a younger Hugh Crain, patriarch of the Crain family in season 1, officially joins the cast of The Haunting of Bly Manor, series creator Mike Flanagan announced on social media Wednesday. Details of his character aren’t currently known, but with the anthology format bestowed on the Netflix show, it comes with a new setting and new characters.

Thomas joins the previously announced cast members Victoria Pedretti and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who played older Nell and older Luke, respectively, in Hill House.

The Haunting of Bly Manor takes its name and inspiration from the 1898 Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw. The story follows two orphans looked after by a young governess named Dani (played by Pedretti). Jackson-Cohen plays Peter, described in an earlier announcement from Netflix as “a resident of Bly Manor, who makes life very difficult for everyone who lives there.”

At this point, we’re just waiting to see who else from Hill House will be returning for Bly Manor. The first season featured a tale told across two timelines, one when the Crain family first lived in the haunted estate and one when they were still suffering years later with their metaphorical and literal ghosts.

Flanagan and fellow executive producer Trevor Macy struck a multi-year deal with Netflix that includes extending the Hill House shelf life with an anthology format.

Carla Gugino played the mother, Olivia Crain, and has a solid working relationship with Flanagan. (The worked together prior in the film Gerald’s Game.) She seems like the next likely candidate for a Bly Manor role. We’ll see.

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