The Haunting of Bly Manor: Every hidden ghost sighting you might have missed on the Netflix show
The Haunting of Hill House gained a huge fan base thanks to its deft storytelling and fully fleshed-out characters. But its creator Mike Flanagan also made a name for himself by expertly hiding his spectres in the background of shots. The beginning of every episode instigated a thrilling game of “coat rack or ghoul”.
In the follow-up to his 2018 Netflix hit, Flanagan is up to his usual tricks – only he’s gotten better at it. In The Haunting of Bly Manor, blurry figures and ominous shapes pop up across the series’ nine episodes.
While the series is an adaptation of Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw only in the loosest sense, Flanagan’s penchant for hiding spectres does well to reproduce the novella’s spooky atmosphere in which ghosts are everywhere. Here are all the ghost sightings you might have missed, with a credit to Vulture and Screen Rant for filling in some blanks.
Episode One: “The Great Good Place”
Behind the stairs
The first ghost of the series is the plague doctor, whose origins are revealed toward the end of the show. Eagle-eyed viewers can spot his first sighting in episode one; when Flora gives Dani a tour of the manor, you can see the plague doctor hiding behind the stairs, although he looks more like a coat rack at this point.
Mirror: Part one
The plague doctor makes a second blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in Dani’s mirror while she’s focused on speaking with Miles.
Dinner guest
At the first house dinner at Bly Manor, an unexpected figure can just about be made out in the darkness behind where Miles is sat.
Bedtime: Part one
Of course, come nighttime is when Flanagan really has his fun. Once Dani puts Miles to bed and heads for Flora’s room, you can see the plague doctor hovering in the hallway.
Mirror: Part two
Only a second after he’s seen in the background, audiences finally get a better look at the plague doctor and his beak-like mask when he is spotted again as Dani crosses through the connecting bathroom to get say goodnight to Flora.
Mirror: Part three
While Dani is busy looking at Flora’s creepy Lady in the Lake doll, a blurry figure can be seen in the mirror behind her. Chances are it’s the plague doctor again.
Bedtime: Part two
While Dani is busy tucking Flora in for the night, the plague doctor (and his recognisable mask) is seen swaying back and forth slightly in the background.
Bedtime: Part three
In the final shot of the plague doctor’s sequence, he is more easily identified in the moonlight standing behind Dani.
Midnight companion
Dani has trouble sleeping and goes to the kitchen to make tea. When she hears a creaking sound and goes to investigate, the shot of Dani entering the hall is partially blocked by a shadow of the plague doctor’s beak-like nose.
Midnight companion: Part two
In the very next shot, you can see the plague doctor plain as day over Dani’s right shoulder.
Morning lurker
While Dani is chastising Miles for trying to scare her and Flora with a spider, the doctor can be seen several times just over her left shoulder.
Behind Peter Quint
When Dani gets her first sighting of Peter Quint on the balcony, we’re too focused on Quint to notice the hidden ghost standing in a doorway by the car. Again, it’s the plague doctor.
The doctor
This is the plague doctor’s most explicit appearance in the first episode. If you missed him the first 10 times, it’s impossible to miss him now; he’s standing by the fireplace left of frame as Dani enters the kitchen.
A ghost?
While Dani and Flora are busy chatting, there is definitely a shape hovering in the hall behind her left shoulder. It’s too blurry to make out who it is exactly, but the plague doctor is a safe bet.
Mirror: Part Three
When Dani accidentally kicks Flora’s Lady in the Lake doll, there’s some definite movement seen in the mirror.
Bathroom
The doctor has shaken off his shyness now, and can quite clearly be seen over Miles’s shoulder when he comes into Flora’s room to ask Dani to retrieve a fan from the cupboard.
Hallway
After being locked in the cupboard by Flora and Miles, Dani ventures into the hall to gather herself. Of course, the plague doctor is hovering about. He’s at the end of the hall.
Garden ghost
While Dani is busy tracking the muddy footprints outside, the plague doctor can just about be glimpsed in the fog to the left of the frame.
Episode Two: “The Pupil”
Basement
When Dani goes to the basement in order to retrieve Flora’s doll which Miles has thrown down a laundry chute, our eye is drawn to the collection of creepy dolls that reside there. So creepy in fact, that we don’t notice there’s a shadow that looks suspiciously familiar lurking in the background.
Living doll
After Dani leaves the basement, the camera lingers on the spooky doll collection just long enough to see one of them in the centre move slightly. The origins of this sweet child ghost come to light later in the series.
Living doll: Part two
When Dani crosses the foyer to search for Miles downstairs, the child with the doll’s mask can just about be seen standing at the end of the hall. It’s an easy one to miss though.
Under the table
After the episode flashes back to Miles’s time at boarding school, the camera returns to Hannah and Owen sitting in the kitchen. If you’re paying close enough attention you’ll find a pair of small hands creeping out from under the table and resting on the seat of a chair.
Garden guest
As punishment for last night’s closet debacle, Dani puts Flora and Miles to work in the garden. When Owen walks over with a tray of gin and tonics, the plague doctor is can be seen behind him, apparently also basking in the sunshine.
Hallway: Part two
When Jamie returns to the house after comforting a distressed Dani, the plague doctor’s ghost is standing behind her in the halfway, camouflaged against a dark door.
Hide and seek
Why anyone living in an obviously haunted house would choose to play hide and seek at night is mind-boggling, but it also gives Flanagan a chance to show off his ghouls. As Dani (the seeker) comes down the stairs and crosses the foyer, the plague doctor can be spotted in the background.
Episode Three: “The Two Faces, Part One”
As a flashback-heavy episode, there are fewer ghosts to be found – but still, quite a few if you keep your eyes peeled.
Plague doctor: Part two
In the opening sequence, the plague doctor’s discernable beak can be spotted just behind Dani. Ironically, he is seen just as a police officer tells Dani and Mrs Grose that he’s done a “sweep” and not found anything.
The Soldier
This is also when audiences get a better glimpse of the soldier ghost, whose backstory will be explained eventually.
Living Doll: Part three
As if to emphasis the ineptitude of this police officer, a third ghost enters the senes. It’s the little doll-face child, standing outside in his nightgown and hiding behind a wall.
Living Doll: Part Four
A very quick glimpse of the child ghost can be seen in the hallway as Dani approaches Mrs Grose.
The Solider: Part two
The soldier ghost makes a surprising appearance in a flashback featuring Peter and Rebecca in the kitchen. The lightning strike outside makes it easy to spot him.
Living Doll: Part five
Dani comes inches away from the ghostly child when the au pair descends the stairs.
Kitchen
The doctor’s beak can just about be seen in the kitchen while Hannah is speaking with Owen.
Living Doll: Part six
As Peter leaves Mrs Grose and Owen in the kitchen, the doll-face child is lurking in the corner of the room.
Episode Four: “The Way It Came”
From episode four onwards, the hidden ghost sightings become increasingly less frequent as Flanagan chooses to focus on the ghouls in plain sight instead.
White leggings
Audiences are introduced to a new ghost at the beginning of the episode. When everyone is gathered in the hallway after Dani confuses Owen for Peter Quint, a figure dressed in period clothing and white leggings can easily be spotted.
Hidden in the shadows
This time the plague doctor is seen sitting behind a desk as Dani walks past with a bottle of wine.
Soldier: Part three
Our soldier makes another appearance during the bonfire scene at the end of an emotional episode four.
Episode Five: “The Altar of the Dead”
White leggings: Part two
It’s another sighting of the ghost in period clothing. It can be spotted in the doorway near the chapel as the Wingrave family arrive at Bly Manor.
Foyer
There are two spectres for the price of one in this single shot. The ghostly child is just right of centre, next to the blue lamp. Meanwhile even further to the right, another period-looking figure (later revealed to be the vicar) also appears.
Living Doll: Part seven
After the plague doctor, the ghostly child is likely Bly Manor’s most prevalent ghost. This time he is hiding in the kitchen as Mrs Grose speaks with Owen.
Episode Six: “The Jolly Corner”
A new face
Flanagan introduces another new ghost late in the game. An unknown ghost with a large build lurks just outside of Flora’s room in the bathroom while Dani and Mrs Grose are chatting.
Attic
When a panicked Dani chases Flora into the attic, two ghosts can be seen watching over the stairs ominously.
Episode Seven: “The Two Faces, Part Two”
Another maybe?
Whether this one is a ghost is up for debate. At the end of the hall to the forbidden wing of Bly Manor, there stands a figure that wasn’t there in previous shots of the same location. Given that no one is allowed in the wing, perhaps it’s a ghost? Or perhaps not.
