‘Haunting’ Season 3 on Netflix Would Have Tackled Richard Matheson’s 1971 Novel ‘Hell House,’ Mike Flanagan Says

The third season of Netflix’s “Haunting” franchise was going to be an adaptation of the Richard Matheson’s book “Hell House,” filmmaker Mike Flanagan revealed in a foreword for a limited edition of the 1971 novel.

“When I adapted Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ as a Netflix series, there was much talk about how to continue the ‘Haunting’ anthology,” Flanagan wrote, according to media reports. “We followed ‘Hill House’ with ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor,’ based on numerous ghost stories by Henry James.”

Flanagan continued: “Had there been a third season, I wanted that season to be ‘The Haunting of Hell House.’ It was actually the first title we explored when ‘Hill House’ was over, but the rights were spoken for and there did not seem to be a path forward.”

Publishing company Suntop Editions announced the news of the fine press edition Thursday, and shared excerpts from his foreword. Each copy will be printed in letterpress along with a signature from Flanagan, its author R.C. Matheson and Nancy A. Collins, who provided the afterword. The edition was illustrated by William Basso (“Batman Returns”).

“I don’t know that there has ever been a haunted house story as downright cinematic as ‘Hell House.’ It is written by a man who thought visually, who had a flair for cinematic set pieces, audience expectations, and visceral thrills that eluded many of his literary predecessors. That is one of the reasons ‘I Am Legend’ [a novel by Richard Matheson] resonates so deeply, and Stephen King is correct when he says: ‘Without his ‘I Am Legend,’ there would have been no ‘Night of the Living Dead.’ Without ‘Hell House,’ I’d argue that there would be no ‘Poltergeist,’ no ‘The Conjuring,’ no ‘Insidious.’”

The first episode “Haunting” made its premiere on Netflix on Oct. 19, 2018. The anthology series was created by Flanagan and produced by Amblin Television and Paramount Television. The universe includes “The Haunting of Hill House” and The Haunting of Bly Manor.” While each season featured a diffrent sppoky. tale, the series brought on the same set of actors, including Victoria Pedretti, Katie Siegal and Oliver Jackson.

The post ‘Haunting’ Season 3 on Netflix Would Have Tackled Richard Matheson’s 1971 Novel ‘Hell House,’ Mike Flanagan Says appeared first on TheWrap.