Mike Flanagan's new Netflix show The Haunting of Bly Manor has been called both a ghost story and a love story, but the series could just as easily be described as a story about family.

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The series focuses on a group of characters who are brought together at the eponymous property, and Amelia Eve - one of the show's stars - has called it "a really wonderful exploration of what a modern family is."

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Eve, who plays groundskeeper Jamie, said, "Modern families nowadays have all sorts of additions and adoptions - family doesn't have to be blood related, it's whatever you make it and you can find it wherever you go."

And she went on to compare the approach taken in Bly Manor to that taken in Flanagan's previous show The Haunting of Hill House, which explored the bonds and divisions of a more traditional, nuclear family.

"I think Mike [Flanagan] just did that really well, to balance it alongside the nuclear family that he had in Hill House," she said. "Bringing these strangers together and finding that with each other was lovely."

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Flanagan himself has described the series as a "gothic romance" while it has been characterised elsewhere as ghost story, and Eve says she is keen on both of these descriptions, explaining they capture the creepiness of the story and the influence of Henry James, whose novella The Turn of the Screw the series is loosely based on.

"That describes it really well in my opinion," she said. "Because it is steeped in Henry James' work it has this gothic element to it and quite a slow pace, and I think it has to have quite a slow pace in order to really do it justice and to honour the author.

Amelia Eve
Amelia Eve Joseph Sinclair

"I think ghost story is a nice way of putting it because I think when you say horror you expect gory scary, whereas a ghost story is more creepy - you're not really sure where the horror is going to creep in, so you're kind of on the edge waiting for it."

Given we've now seen two different series from Flanagan providing updates on classic ghost stories, some fans might be wondering if we're going to get a third to make it at trilogy - and that's something that Eve would love to see.

"That'd be fab!" she said when asked about the possibility. "There's this family theme going on and I'd be super curious to see how they play out the family theme but with a whole new spin on it.

"I'd love to know what that would involve and what kind of old gothic novel Mike could find!"

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The Haunting of Bly Manor is released on Netflix on Friday 9th October. You can order Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw on Amazon. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide

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