The Haunting of Bly Manor: Why are there ghosts at Bly Manor?

Why is Bly Manor haunted in The Haunting of Bly Manor?

Each season of The Haunting series on Netflix packs mysteries and chills in every corner. Let’s start at the beginning, why are there ghosts at Bly Manor in The Haunting of Bly Manor?

The Haunting of Hill House explains why the home is haunted, and production also adds hidden spirits in nearly every scene for audiences to find. After the first few minutes of Bly Manor, we realize this season too has hidden ghosts.

Did you find them all? For this, you may need to watch Bly Manor twice, so that the first time you focus on the story and characters, and the second time you watch just to play “Where’s Waldo?” with the ghosts at Bly Manor.

While Hill House gets right to it in explaining why it’s haunted, Bly Manor takes it time explaining the story and we don’t fully get a breakdown until further along in the season.

Who are the ghosts of Bly Manor?

In episode 8, titled “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes,” we meet sisters Viola (Kate Siegel) and her younger sister, Perdita Willoughby (Katie Parker). It’s explained how Viola’s grudges and stubbornness are what keep the ghosts there.

It started with the ghost of Viola, who refused to leave the estate even after death, killing Perdita, who is the one who murdered Viola in the first place after not wanting to take any more abuse from her older sister.

Viola’s spirit is searching for her young daughter, but since she’s not there, she takes back with her anyone she finds along the way. And once they are dead, it’s Viola’s grudge and evil energy that keeps them from moving on. Anyone who dies at the estate becomes a ghost and remains there, thanks to Viola.

With time, Viola begins to fade, which is why the lady in the lake (Viola) no longer has a face. Eventually, most of the ghosts at the estate no longer have a face.

The spirits are finally able to move on only once Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) invites Viola into her body.