Mike Flanagan‘s The Haunting series never became a full-fledged trilogy, but one incredible horror show on the streaming service secretly completes it.

Marking Mike Flanagan’s foray into the world of television, The Haunting of Hill House went on to become one of Netflix’s most acclaimed horror shows of all time. It is still remembered as one of the greatest horror shows on Netflix, which is why it is not surprising that Flanagan followed it up with another similarly well-rounded show, The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Flanagan was all set to turn the series into a full-fledged trilogy by adapting Richard Matheson’s Hell House. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and The Haunting‘s trilogy final chapter remained unrealized. Interestingly, though, another Netflix series shares many parallels with Flanagan’s The Haunting shows and serves as their perfect unofficial follow-up.

Flanagan’s The Haunting Series Never Became A Trilogy, But Archive 81 Is Its Unofficial Third Installment

Netflix’s Archive 81 is based on a horror podcast of the same name. However, like The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, the show does not loyally adapt its source material. Instead, it picks its main story beats and merges them with elements from other stories and tropes introduced by horror authors like Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King.

Like The Haunting of Hill House, Archive 81 also heavily draws from Stephen King’s The Shining as it immerses viewers in its eerie setting. Speaking of settings, Archive 81 also makes a terrifying character out of its confined central location like both shows in The Haunting series.

A strange mold that curses anyone who comes in contact with it also becomes a crucial driver of Archive 81‘s story, reminding the viewer of the mold in Hill House in the Netflix show. From a thematic standpoint, all three shows also dabble with similar ideas surrounding grief and the rippling effect of tainted family ties.

With Archive 81 having so much in common with The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, it is hard not to see it as an unofficial third installment of Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting series.

Archive 81 Almost Started A Fascinating Horror Trend On Netflix

Archive 81 showed both critical and commercial promise when it first landed on Netflix. Some reports also revealed that it was on the verge of getting renewed for season 2 before Netflix decided to pull the plug on it. If Archive 81 had been a commercial hit on Netflix and managed to return with another season, it could have paved the way for other podcast adaptations to see the light of day.

Some of the better ones, like The Magnus Archives, Old Gods of Appalachia, Knifepoint Horror, and Welcome to Night Vale, would have worked incredibly well on the small screen. Hopefully, some time in the future, horror podcasts will be considered for TV adaptations again.

Till then, viewers can check out Archive 81 on Netflix and even revisit Mike Flanagan‘s The Haunting series to get their dose of incredible horror TV.