Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 15 hrs ago
The Haunting of Hill House delivers the fear missing from Flanagan’s Carrie
Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House is presented as a stronger horror series than his Carrie adaptation.
The Netflix show, released in 2018, reworks Shirley Jackson’s novel by making its characters siblings haunted by their childhood home.
Rather than relying mainly on jump scares, it builds dread through ghosts hidden in plain sight.
The 2026 Carrie series follows Stephen King’s novel more closely, but the review says it lacks fear.
Its criticism focuses on the prom, a famous moment in the story that the series changes by involving Carrie’s friend Emaline.
The review argues that this choice takes the horror away from Carrie instead of making her breakdown more powerful.
No next steps are given.
A Polygon article argues that Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House delivers the fear missing from his 2026 adaptation of Carrie.
The article says Hill House builds dread through ghosts hidden in plain sight rather than relying on jump scares.
It describes the 2018 Netflix series as a reworking of Shirley Jackson’s novel, turning its characters into siblings whose childhood home is haunted.
The article highlights the episode “The Bent-Neck Lady,” in which Nell’s lifelong ghost is revealed to be herself.
It criticizes Carrie’s handling of its prom sequence, saying it complicates a major horror moment.
- Who
- Filmmaker Mike Flanagan, whose The Haunting of Hill House and Carrie are compared.
- What
- Polygon argues that Hill House provides the fear missing from Flanagan’s Carrie adaptation.
- When
- The article was published on Nov. 8, 2026; Hill House was released in 2018, and Carrie came out in October 2026.
- Where
- Hill House was released on Netflix. The Carrie adaptation is associated with Prime Video in the article.
- Why
- The article says Hill House creates dread with hidden ghosts and intimate horror, while Carrie is criticized as not scary.
Hardcore Shirley Jackson fans
Mike Flanagan
Adaptation choices
Hardcore Shirley Jackson fans
Some hardcore Jackson fans do not forgive Flanagan for reimagining the characters as siblings and making Hill House their childhood home.
Mike Flanagan
Flanagan reshaped the characters and setting, turning the story into one about siblings and their childhood home.
The Haunting of Hill House was released on Netflix as Flanagan’s first TV show.
Carrie came out and prompted discussion, including criticism that it was not scary.
Polygon published its comparison of Hill House and Carrie.
- Hill House release
- 2018
- Carrie release
- October 2026
- Hidden ghosts
- About eight to 10 in each Hill House episode, according to Flanagan
- Hill House episode
- The Bent-Neck Lady” reveals that Nell’s ghost is herself
1 source
What people are saying
If you go back and watch the series again, in every episode there’s probably somewhere between eight and 10 ghosts that are just hidden in plain sight that we called no attention to but they’re there
People on stilts freak her out