Anyone who walked into a bookstore or school library in the 1980s or ‘90s will instantly recognise the books of Christopher Pike. The sharp neon fonts blasted across his YA thrillers were a staple of the era. Now, one of his most popular titles is becoming a full-fledged Netflix series.
Variety reports that Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong will team up to adapt Pike’s The Midnight Club for Netflix. It’s a project quite perfectly in their wheelhouse; the pair are currently working on The Haunting of Bly Manor, the sequel to The Haunting of Hill House, which was one of 2018’s best shows. Flanagan also directed Oculus, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep.
The Midnight Club is set at a hospice for teenagers who meet at midnight to tell each other scary stories. At a certain point, the terminally ill kids agree that whoever dies first will come back and communicate with the others. It was published in 1994, with nearly two dozen books in Pike’s YA series preceding it—and Variety reports the Netflix show is likely to incorporate elements from some of those books too. Flanagan then confirmed that on Twitter
Oh, and for you fellow Pike fans out there… the article is correct, we will be incorporating a lot of his books into the series. So whatever your favorite Pike book is, there’s a chance it’ll be part of the show.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) May 5, 2020
While Pike’s work is certainly recognisable and marketable, for us, the selling point here is Flanagan. He’s on an impressive horror hot streak, despite what the box office numbers tell you. Haunting at Hill House was flat out incredible, Doctor Sleep was way better than it had any right to be, and we expect big things from Bly Manor. His involvement gives this show a very Stranger Things/Locke and Key-type potential.