‘Fall of the House of Usher’: How Many Episodes Is the Edgar Allan Poe Series from ‘Midnight Mass’ Creator Mike Flanagan?
Mike Flanagan has brought the horror to Netflix. He adapted Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game into a film, and created the series The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass. For Flanagan’s next Netflix horror series, he’s tackling another master of horror literature: Edgar Allan Poe. Netflix announced Flanagan’s Fall of the House of Usher series on Oct. 6.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher.]
Netflix doesn’t have a premiere date yet and it’s still early in Flanagan’s writing process, let alone casting. However, Netflix does provide some important basic information. So here are how many episodes to expect, and what Fall of the House of Usher was to begin with.
Mike Flanagan’s ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ will be 8 episodes on Netflix
Netflix’s press release confirms eight episodes of The Fall of the House of Usher. That’s not the most episodes of a Flanagan series, but it’s not the least either. Midnight Mass was only seven. The Haunting of Bly Manor did nine and The Haunting of Hill House did 10.
Granted, Bly Manor and Hill House had entire novels to adapt into nine and 10 episodes. Poe was a short story writer and The Fall of the House of Usher was one of them. Fortunately, Flanagan has big plans in store.
What is ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ about?
Roderick Usher invites the narrator to his house, where his sister, Madeline, is ill. Roderick believes his house is alive. When Madeline dies, Roderick and the Narrator hear cracking and ripping sounds in the house. These turn out to be Madeline escaping from her tomb, as she was not in fact dead. Roderick sounds like a role for Henry Thomas, and Madeline for Kate Siegel.
Netflix says Flanagan’s Fall of the House of Usher series will incorporate additional works of Poe. So, which ones could he also include? Perhaps The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart or The Pit and the Pendulum. Those are just the famous ones. Flanagan surely knows some obscure Poe that would be perfect for a horror series.
There is also precedent for horror series that incorporate multiple works from a single author. Castle Rock blended characters from Stephen King stories. Flanagan has adapted King in Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep so he’s shown his skill at adaption.
Previous ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ adaptations prior to Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series
Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher has inspired many movies. An early one was a 1928 silent film. Roger Corman’s 1960 House of Usher film starred Vincent Price as Roderick. Price also starred in Poe adaptations The Masque of the Red Death, The Raven and The Pit and the Pendulum.
The most recent feature film adaptation was in 2006. Ken Russell directed The Fall of the Louse of Usher in 2002. It still uses Roderick and Madeline Usher. A 1989 film starred Oliver Reed as Roderick and Donald Pleasance as a Walter Usher. A 1979 TV movie starred Martin Landau as Roderick. Robert Hays played the visitor, not accompanied by his wife (Charlene Tilton).
Notorious Spanish director Jesus Franco made Revenge in the House of Usher. Additional feature films were released in 1950 and 1974, plus several short films.
