Queering Horror, Failings of "The Haunting of Bly Manor"

Contains spoilers about “The Haunting of Bly Manor”

by Olivia McCormack

I like to predict plot twists in movies and TV shows. More accurately, I like to predict a single twist; that one of the main characters is gay. It does not matter if it’s “Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol” (Tom Cruise) or “Stark Trek” (Everyone), I can be heard whispering “So we think they’re super gay, right?” I am, admittedly, usually wrong. 

So when I sat down to watch all of  “The Haunting of Bly Manor”, I resumed my usual antics. Then finally, for the first time since the “Little Women” reboot in 2019, I was right. And I have never been more disappointed. 

Dani was the closeted nanny with a dark secret. She witnessed her fiancé get hit by a car immediately after she broke off their engagement (because she is super gay). To escape she moves to a very spooky English manor and feels an instant attraction to the very cute and prickly gardener, Jamie.

The relationship builds to a crescendo just after the midway point of the season. Their kisses are punctuated with visions of Dani’s dead fiancé, but still their romance progresses. Through gentle touches and longing stares, they find themselves tied to each other. Sadly, their very cute honeymoon phase is interrupted by hoards of restless spirits.

To save the children and to end the suffering of the ghosts trapped at Bly Manor Dani sacrifices herself. But like her romance with Jamie, it’s a slow, gradual process. Dani takes in a vengeful spirit but does not know when it will consume her. She creates a life with Jamie, but is never able to settle fully.

Finally, the day comes when Dani knows the spirit is close to taking over. She returns to Bly Manor one last time, and traps her soul within the compounds. Jamie never recovers from losing Dani.  Everyone else who survived Bly Manor was able to move on, but Jamie clings to a ghost she will never see.

I do not expect a happy ending in a horror movie or TV show. Horror doesn’t need to have a resolution to be a success. But why does everyone get to move on, to find a deeper purpose other than the queer stars of the show? Jamie deserves more than to stare at her reflection praying to see the love of her life appear.  

If “The Haunting of Bly Manor” was the only story that killed off a queer love interest it would be inconsequential. But this is the norm for queer relationships in film and TV. Representation shows that queer relationships are worth showing, but the only stories that are being told are those that result in tragedy. 

It’s not all negative! Jamie and Dani’s love story displayed the longevity of wlw relationships. It showed that their time together was not a phase, it’s an everlasting love. I understand what the writers were trying to execute. But they fell into a trope that swallowed their intentions. 

Queer women can do more than just pine. Their stories can be more than waiting for a love that will never return. Sad queer endings in horror are fine, but give us more. I want a gay Twilight, and not just because it would piss off Stephanie Meyer. But because there need to be queer love stories with monsters and ghouls. Give us dynamic stories that don’t rely on a queer death to punctuate a scene.

“The Haunting of Bly Manor” is another introduction of queer stories into horror (see Buffy the Vampire Slayer). It’s a stepping stone for more dynamic stories about LGBTQ+ individuals, but there can be more complete queer stories wrapped in with your jump scares.