The Haunting of Bly Manor: A Gothic Love Story
Originally written as an assignment for my second term course “Academic Writing 101”, this is a tweaked and edited version.
— CONTAINS SPOILER FOR THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR —
Promoted as a horror series, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a Netflix series by director Mike Flanagan that was released in October of 2020. The Haunting of Bly Manor (or Bly Manor for short) is what people thought would be the sequel for Flanagan’s first Netflix Series; The Haunting of Hill House. Although they are of the same director, and a part of the “The Haunting of — ” series, they are not in any way connected.
The story follows the 80s setting of a young woman named Dani Clayton who escaped her American hometown for England, where she applied to be an au pair to two orphans; Miles and Flora Wingrave, who only has an absentee, drunk uncle, Henry Wingrave, as their remaining family. The siblings live in a remote manor in a small countryside called Bly. Hannah Grose is their primary caretaker and housekeeper, Jamie Taylor is their gardener, and Owen Sharma is their cook. The staff and children are left by the shadows of the previous au pair, Rebecca Jessel, presumably thought to have killed herself on the grounds of Bly and Henry’s assistant, Rebecca’s lover, Peter Quint, who disappeared into thin air. The manor is haunted by a spirit with a sad past and an abundance of others, but none of the residents know it except the children who have no better idea that those people are ghosts. Eventually, the stories unfold into a big haunting climax. This show has a lot more than horror in it, and everyone will agree that it isn’t merely a ghost story or a typical horror series, here I will explore this fact.
After watching this series a couple of times, my initial reaction is that this is not a horror series, but rather a romance story with hints of mystery and horror elements. Every reviewer on the internet will say this, one of the characters in the show even said this at the end of the show, but I want to emphasize that this reason made the whole show the amazing thing that it is. A lot of articles about this show will mention that it is a disappointing story both in its horror elements and its romance elements; it’s not strong enough to be either, as most reviews claim. But I don’t think this show was as misleading as people made it to be, a lot of the appeal I think comes from this show is the gothic elements that persist from the works of Henry James that the show is loosely based on. There’s a way in gothic storytelling that just lures you in to be interested, like the alluring feeling one has when one sees an empty shed in a remote field; the shed is not inherently scary but there is a mystery clouding it that makes it intriguing and somewhat creepy to the feeling.
Like Patrick Kennedy wrote in this ThoughtCo article; “Gothic literature can be defined as writing that employs dark and picturesque scenery, startling and melodramatic narrative devices, and an overall atmosphere of exoticism, mystery, fear, and dread.”. In Gothic literature, which came after the famous Romanticism era that can be defined as glorifying mundane things to be bigger than it is. Meanwhile, Gothic storytelling takes on a darker turn and it is always identic with an eerie atmosphere and things that are scary but not the kind that startles you. Gothic scary is being on the edge of your seat and letting out an exasperated exhale at the climax, not a scream of surprise. It is walking on eggshells, unfolding mysteries, and knitting a conclusion episode by episode, and Bly Manor gives you exactly that. Although of course, it has its jumpscare moments, “The Haunting of — ” series provides a different atmosphere than most of the series and movies swimming in the horror genre currently.
It turns out that Dani sacrificed herself for the children to the main spirit of Bly and when it is revealed that Jamie is telling the story of Dani the whole time, you can’t help but be left in awe of this yearning Jamie is clearly exuding. The longing she has for a mere waft of Dani’s spirit grips you through the screen. Although it is their love story, the setup was interesting and it still has those mysterious elements to it.
Even though a lot would beg to differ, I think these two elements of horror and romance balance each other out in Bly Manor. You still get the occasional spook from the ghosts in the corner, and the cryptic scenes of Flora interacting with the ghost in the attic and the little boy she befriends. You also get the warmth of watching two lovers bloom on-screen as Jamie and Dani navigate love through figuring out each other’s ghosts and past demons who make them who they are. And in between, you get a little peek of sub-stories that reveals Hannah Grose’s mystery in such a way they still manage to make you fall in love with her personality through her character’s mystery. And also Henry’s past mistakes that lead him to be his two nieces’ only remaining family and why he is haunted by the hallucination of his evil twin, and my personal favorite is the Lady of Bly Manor’s story in episode 8 of “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes” where her story is not that much scary but sad and melancholic in its way. You would never expect to tear up in a show that’s set up as a horror story, and in Bly Manor, you’ll find yourself with a tear or two.
The Haunting of Bly Manor is something you can seem to recommend to anyone in the spectrum of a horror fan and a romance fan. Although a lot of people say that it’s not enough to be considered in the horror or romance genre, I think the Gothic storytelling in this show makes up for any lack of action or shock value, which is on-brand for being an adaptation of the works of Henry James who was considered as one of the greatest authors in the Gothic era. Bly Manor is identic with an alluring atmosphere of an old manor, misty settings, and gloomy mornings, accompanied by mysteries that are slowly but surely unfolding themselves. It keeps you alert and intrigued. The Haunting of Bly Manor is a love story told through the perspective of a Gothic story, one unique to its horror show reputation, and I firmly believe it deserves more appreciation and love.
REFERENCE
Kennedy, P. (2020, January 23). Gothic Literature. ThoughtCO. https://www.thoughtco.com/gothic-literature-2207825
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, February 2). Romanticism. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism
Carlin, S. (2020, October 15). R29 Binge Club: Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor Recaps. Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/10/10071644/haunting-of-bly-manor-full-recap-episodes-summary
Mahmoud, A. (2020, October 19). ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ is not perfectly splendid and fails to live up to its predecessor. The Highlander. https://www.highlandernews.org/75293/the-haunting-of-bly-manor-is-not-perfectly-splendid-and-fails-to-live-up-to-its-predecessor/
