Syfy Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
SYFY WIRE Mike Flanagan

Midnight Mass creator Mike Flanagan adapting Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Fall of the House of Usher' at Netflix

By Matthew Jackson
Mike Flanagan

Fresh off the success of Midnight Mass, Mike Flanagan has revealed his next Netflix horror series. The streamer announced Wednesday morning that Flanagan and producing partner Trevor Macy are preparing to adapt Edgar Allan Poe's beloved horror tale "The Fall of the House of Usher" as an eight-episode series.

First published in 1839, "The Fall of the House of Usher" follows a narrator's visit to the title house, where he finds its owners in poor health, convinced that they are directly connected to the house's own ruined state. Featuring stories within stories, impending doom, a premature burial, and more, it's one of Poe's best known tales, and has previously been adapted by the likes of Roger Corman and Vincent Price.

At the moment, little is known about Flanagan's own approach to the story, including whether or not it will be updated to a modern day setting or keep the period trappings of the original tale. Both of his previous Netflix adaptations of classic scary stories -- The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor -- took plenty of liberties with their source material, seemingly clearing the way for yet another standalone re-interpretation from the writer/director. It's also worth noting that Netflix's announcement teases the series as "based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe," which means we could be headed for some literary mash-up territory similar to what Bly Manor did with the ghost stories of Henry James. 

It remains a busy time for Flanagan, who signed an overall deal with Netflix alongside Macy in 2019, after Hill House became a Halloween hit for the streamer the year before. The triumphant release of Midnight Mass will soon give way to other projects, including adaptations of Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club and James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera's Something Is Killing the Children. Now, we can add The Fall of the House of Usher to that list, giving us yet another key project to look forward to from one of horror's brightest minds.

The Fall of the House of Usher does not yet have a release date.