Mike Flanagan's The Haunting series has garnered positive reviews from both fans and critics, its predecessor is widely considered the better of the two.
Each addition to The Haunting anthology series is based on an iconic work in literary horror. The Haunting of Hill House was adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name, while Bly Manor took influence from Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. While the 1898 novella is utilized as the framework, Flanagan incorporates several different ghost stories from the prolific author. The Haunting of Bly Manor brought back ghosts that hide in the darkest corners, and wander the halls of Bly Manor.
On the complete opposite end of the horror spectrum, The Haunting of Hill House immediately introduces a ghost story filled to the brim with restless spirits, and the different traumas that of the Crain family experience. It showcases how the horrors of Hill House impact their adult lives as well as explains the importance of receiving closure by facing them head on. Hill House and Bly Manor are entirely separate stories. According to Flanagan, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a love story that features ghosts whereas Hill House is a story about a house haunting a family. Due to the expectations of its follow-up, The Haunting of Hill House is perceived as better than its successor, but this is not entirely true.
The biggest and most common argument for why Bly Manor is not as good as Hill House is that there are fewer ghosts in this series than its predecessor, leading the five stages of grief, the bent neck lady ghost, and the matriarch of the Crain family. Its atmosphere is physically and emotionally darker, and the ghosts of Hill House are much more shocking than the faceless spirits that wander around the English manor in Bly.
Flanagan utilized familial loss paired with lost loves, infidelity, inescapable fate, and unrequited love for Bly Manor. The Haunting of Bly Manor begins and ends at a wedding, immediately alluding to love playing an integral role in the series, whereas The Haunting of Hill House introduces the Crain family in their haunted house as children, then later as haunted (or troubled) adults. In essence, it frames the story as one about growth from childhood to adulthood, including all of its trials and tribulations. On the other hand, Bly Manor offers a ghostly love story from start to finish. It's difficult to compare the two because they offer entirely different sets of horrors for their audience — one is steeped in familial trauma and grief, the other is rooted in how love and regrets can be haunting. The ghosts in Hill House aren't hidden like those at the manor, but that doesn't make them less scary, nor does it mean the story of the Wingrave family is lesser than that of the Crains.
Ultimately, they are both great, but their stories may grab the interests of one particular audience over another, which does not inherently make one better. The Haunting of Bly Manor may appeal to fans of gothic romances, just like Henry James's novel intended. The Haunting of Hill House appeals to fans of traditional ghost stories, with scares that are immensely unsettling and deeply tied to family traumas.
