The Haunting of Hill House redefined the horror TV genre when it debuted in 2018, managing
what few other haunted house shows have accomplished - a massive fanbase and a swift season 2.
While the second season in the anthology isn't following the same characters, much of the
original cast is still involved with The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Additionally, Hill House creator Mike Flanagan is helming the follow-up series.
While Hill House fans are preparing themselves for another spectacularly spooky season from
Flanagan, there are a slew of similar-minded movies to binge before you enter Bly Manor.
While most horror flicks have tons of jump scares, The Boy manages to do what few horror
films tend to do these days - surprise a discerning audience.
With a genre filled with rinse-and-repeat tropes, most major horror fans can sense an
ending miles away.
But this 2016 film serves up a plot that genre fans are still talking about.
The Boy checks all of the horror boxes: classic haunting, romantic subplot, creepy doll, and
a twisted and dysfunctional family that's par for the course when it comes to the Hill
House and Bly Manor residents.
Fans will love checking into this haunted mansion - but they may never check out.
Creepy kids are important to horror, and both Bly Manor and Hill House have them in spades.
Malevolent takes the concept ten steps further.
The story follows a brother and sister who make a living by conning people who think
their houses are haunted.
But what starts off as a regular job for the siblings quickly turns deadly when the duo
realizes that the house they're investigating actually is haunted.
Let that be a lesson for anyone trying to monetize ghosts: They will find you.
The film's sibling nature is reminiscent of the Hill House family, with a sense of animosity
mixed with deep love and affection.
Every family has their set of secrets, and the families featured in this film have quite
a few skeletons in the closet.
Both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor are deeply rooted in history
- the former based on a novel from the '50s and the latter going back to the late 1800s.
As such, there's nothing like a historical haunting to get into the zone before binging
the new series.
Like Hill House and Bly Manor, Winchester's true star is the haunted house itself, where
the lost souls who were killed by the guns who provided the family's fortune haunt the
last living Winchesters.
"He's coming for us."
Sarah Winchester, the kooky heiress, is played by the formidable Helen Mirren, and shares
the forefront of the film along with Jason Clarke, who plays Dr. Eric Price.
Jigsaw fans will recognize director sibling duo Michael and Peter Spierig, who took on
the daunting task of bringing Winchester House to life.
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company hires Price to assess Sarah's mental status, heavily
suggesting that he declare her unfit to own most of its shares.
Despite being massively in debt, the widowed doctor refuses to throw the results, and during
his investigation he discovers that there may be a lot of truth to Sarah's wild ghost
stories.
The film tackles the choices we make, and the consequences we face for them.
If you're looking for a great slow-burn horror selection, Winchester has you covered.
For anyone who's ever exclaimed that holidays like Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day
were created by greeting card companies to make money, the film Holidays is just what
the doctor ordered.
The anthology consists of delectable, bite-sized horror stories that run about 15 minutes and
manage to be thought-provoking and puzzling enough to stump even the most discerning fans.
The film takes on everything from childhood fears of the Easter Bunny to online dating,
and pregnancies gone really wrong - and each piece comes with a horrific holiday twist.
Stars like Seth Green and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Ava Acres join a cast of actors whose work
will keep viewers awake at night as they ponder the sanctity of life, death, and ... snakes?
Sometimes, horror fans just need a break from the doom and gloom of family peril and terrifying
hauntings.
If you want a horror film with a lighter edge, queue up The Babysitter, one of the most compelling
- and bonkers - horror-comedies of the past decade.
The Babysitter throws horror tropes right on their head in its story of a young boy
who finds out that his hot babysitter is actually part of a satanic cult.
When they come after him to harvest his blood, he has to get creative to live through the
night.
With a star-studded cast including Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell, Hana Mae Lee, and Andrew Bachelor,
good luck deciding who to root for in this film.
The immensely likable homicidal teenagers or the young protagonist?
It's truly a tough call.
Sidestepping hauntings and veering straight into fanged fiend territory, Family Blood
chronicles a single mom's plight and her battle with overcoming addiction.
As is often the case, enter the "perfect guy" who, instead of dragging her back into drugs,
gets the young mom hooked on something much darker: blood.
Hocus Pocus alum Vanessa Shaw tackles the struggling mom Ellie as she descends from
an addiction to pills to a vampire's bloodlust.
However, the kids steal the show, with a strong performance in particular from Colin Ford,
who you may know from Daybreak.
Family Blood is the horror film to watch if you're looking for a heavy dose of reality
and metaphor.
But don't worry.
It doesn't get too bogged down in the subtext.
You'll still find plenty of the blood, guts, and gore that accompany all the best horror
films.
Dreams are the perfect fodder for horror films, and Before I Wake expertly walks the line
between imagination and reality - and the darkness that can come when those lines are
blurred.
Like Bly Manor's predecessor, Before I Wake tests the bonds of family, centering around
foster parents who recently lost their child.
The couple must grapple with the fact that their new son, Cody, manifests his nightmares
into the physical realm.
With a stellar cast and a truly moving plot, the family aspect of the film stands even
stronger than the horror.
It also happens to have been directed by Hill House creator Mike Flanagan, so you know it's
gotta be good.
We've seen haunted houses and eery mansions, but a haunted frat house is one for the books.
Haunting on Fraternity Row has something for everyone - whether viewers have a grudge against
Greek life or want some American Pie-esque comedy served hot with their horror.
It's the perfect party horror premise for when you're looking for some jump scares but
don't really want to be completely terrified.
The film is shot home video-style, giving off some serious Blair Witch Project vibes.
Between the bunny costumes and the demons hiding behind the curtains, Haunting on Fraternity
Row is a refreshing spin on typical jock films.
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