‘Midnight Mass’: Answers to 5 Burning Questions About Mike Flanagan’s Latest Netflix Series
Mike Flanagan’s latest limited series Midnight Mass releases on Friday, Sept. 24. Netflix has been teasing the project for weeks, drumming up a lot of questions among horror fans. Here are five spoiler-free answers to the burning questions you might have about the seven-episode series Midnight Mass.
Is ‘Midnight Mass’ a real book?
Midnight Mass materializes as a book in two other Flanagan projects — it’s Maddie’s book in Hush and a book on the shelf in Gerald’s Game. Naturally, some people wonder if there’s a copy floating around they can read.
A comic book titled Midnight, Mass exists, but it’s published by Vertigo and unrelated to the Netflix series. Abbie Bernstein’s Midnight Mass: The Art of Horror is a hard-cover illustrated book with visual and written materials from the limited series. But there isn’t a full-fledged book about the people of Crockett Island.
Does ‘Midnight Mass’ tie into ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ or ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’?
Like the Vertigo comic book, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor don’t tie into Midnight Mass. Instead, it’s a standalone story.
“Midnight Mass was always so original and important and personal,” Flanagan tells Entertainment Weekly. Much of the story is rooted in his experience as an altar boy. “It just never felt like it was ever going to be a part of [The Haunting] universe.”
More Haunting projects could come up in the future, but Flanagan wants to continue the series with “the right piece of IP,” AKA “the right ghost-centric story [that] would have to really fit with Bly and Hill House.” Both shows are based on classic literary works: Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror novel inspired The Haunting of Hill House, and Bly Manor was inspired by Henry James ‘The Turn of the Screw.
Are actors from ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ or ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ in ‘Midnight Mass’?
Several actors from Hill House and Bly Manor pop up in Midnight Mass. Actors like Kate Siegel and Henry Thomas, who fans saw in Flanagan’s previous Haunting series, appear in Flanagan’s new series. Other actors in either Hill House or Bly Manor, like Robert Longstreet, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, and Samantha Sloyan, are also involved in the Midnight Mass cast.
There’s one more actor from The Haunting series that plays a critical role in Midnight Mass. But fans will have to tune in to find out who that is.
Does ‘Midnight Mass’ have jump scares?
Nothing will scare us quite like the jump scare in episode 8 of The Haunting of Hill House. But there are a few jump scares in Midnight Mass fans should prepare to witness. We’re not going to tell you where they are, though. That takes the fun out of watching!
Is ‘Midnight Mass’ gory?
We won’t lie to you — Midnight Mass has its gory moments. We’ll go as far as to say there’s a total blood bath at one point. If you’re squeamish, there may be some moments you’ll have to look away. But Midnight Mass is by no means hard to watch for the avid horror fan.
Stream Midnight Mass on Netflix beginning Sept. 24.
