The Haunting of Hill House‘s success on Netflix proves that, after the original Shirley Jackson novel, several other classic horror books should be adapted for television.
Some of the most incredible horror shows of modern times, like Lovecraft Country, Interview with the Vampire, and It: Welcome to Derry, are either direct adaptations of acclaimed horror novels or inspired by pieces of horror literature. However, in television, classic horror novels still largely remain unexplored and untapped. With his takes on Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Mike Flanagan proved the immense storytelling potential classic horror books hold on the small screen.
Unfortunately, even after Flanagan’s genre-defining adaptations, classic horror novels have not been picked up with enough ambition. While many classic horror books could work incredibly well on the small screen, like The Haunting of Hill House, there are eight that would be perfect fits for television’s serialized format of storytelling.
8
Ring by Koji Suzuki
The Ring horror franchise needs no introduction. It not only includes many Japanese movies, mangas, and audio dramas, but also has a streak of Hollywood films. In Japan, the franchise also received a TV extension in 1999, titled Ring: The Final Chapter. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Western takes on Koji Suzuki’s Ring, only the 2002 movie seems to have a real cultural impact.
After all these years, the Ring franchise has almost faded out of existence because of how Hollywood tried to capitalize on its early success. However, it can still redeem itself with a loyal adaptation of the original book. The book is often remembered as a gradual, suffocating blend of folklore and scientific dread, which makes it a great fit for a slow-burn TV show.
7
The Cipher by Kathe Koja
Winner of the Bram Stoker award, Kathe Koja’s The Cipher follows the strange story of poet and video store clerk Nicholas and his partner who find a mysterious black hole in their storage room. The more they experiment with the hole, the weirder and more grotesque their world becomes.
Cosmic terrors from books rarely translate well on the screen. However, The Cipher‘s relatively simpler concept could work terrifyingly well. Similar to Lovecraftian shows like Archive 81, the show could also adopt a gritty, grunge-era aesthetic while walking through the unsettling body horror visuals conjured by the original novel.
6
The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
The Monk walks through the gradual descent of a revered monk who is torn between desire and his spiritual vows. Although The Monk often crosses and bends genres and breaks several horror conventions, it has enough bloodshed and scandal to keep fans of the genre hooked.
Matthew Gregory Lewis’ seminal novel would be perfect for a television retelling because the long-storytelling format on the small screen would allow its slow moral corruption arc to unfold at the right pace. Like Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass, The Monk could also draw references to religious scripture to capture how its main character becomes more and more lost the further he steps away from his faith.
5
The House On The Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
Touted by HP Lovecraft as “a classic of the first water,” The House on the Borderland combines cosmic terrors with one’s fear of isolation. The book focuses on a recluse who learns his Irish home rests on a rift in reality. As a result, he has horrifying visions of a world-ending reality and swine-like creatures.
Owing to its cosmic undertones and abstract ideas, The House on Borderland may be a little difficult to adapt. However, with the right creative vision, the book could have a TV adaptation that is reminiscent of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Something in the Dirt. Like the acclaimed indie horror movie, the book’s TV take could blur the lines between cosmic dread and the flaws in human perception and morality.
4
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
Burnt Offerings already has a big-screen adaptation, which premiered in 1956. Unfortunately, the movie received a mixed response from critics and even Robert Ebert gave it an underwhelming 1.5/5. The movie was primarily criticized for its inability to rise above the clichés of haunted home stories and inability to recreate the original book’s terrors.
Many horror tropes and devices presented in the book may seem a little redundant because of how they have been overused in several shows, books, and movies. However, like The Haunting of Hill House, a Burnt Offerings TV show could modernize the book’s story and setting and ground it into a hard-hitting and relatable family drama.
3
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
In an inherently episodic fashion that would translate wonderfully to the small-screen, Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes focuses on the terrors faced by two boys confronting a sinister traveling carnival. The book received a movie adaptation in 1983.
The film had a troubled production and even ended up softening many terrifying aspects of the novel. After all these years, it is hard not to see how the Ray Bradbury book could really build a solid TV audience if, unlike the movie, it embraces the original book’s bleak coming-of-age themes, chilling fable-like wonder, and Bradbury’s wonderful prose.
2
The King In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
Traces of The King in Yellow‘s influence can not only be found in HP Lovecraft’s work but also in shows like True Detective and From. However, there have not been major direct adaptations of the book on the big and small screens. Since each story in The King in Yellow is only loosely connected though shared symbols and motifs, it would work better as an anthology TV series.
With each story, a potential TV adaptation of The King in Yellow could tie into the overarching cosmic mythos of the hauntingly mysterious city, Carcosa, and the titular Yellow King.
1
Hell House by Richard Matheson
Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting series consists of only two shows: The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. However, Mike Flanagan had even planned a third installment to make it a complete trilogy. As the horror director has revealed on several occasions, he wanted to adapt Richard Matheson’s Hell House as The Haunting‘s third part.
To his dismay, he could acquire its rights. Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend already has a hit big screen adaptation. Even though the movie took many creative liberties, it showed the immense potential Matheson’s storytelling forte holds on the screen. Hell House seems no less adaptable than I Am Legend.
Hopefully, someday, Mike Flanagan will be able to acquire the horror book’s rights and turn it into a perfect follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House.
