The Fall of the House of Usher creator Mike Flanagan has teased an as-yet undiscovered Easter egg is left to be found in his hit Netflix series. Loosely based on the works of 19th century author and poet Edgar Allan Poe, the show followed the story of pharmaceutical company CEO Roderick Usher as his family falls prey to a series of gruesome deaths. Lauded by critics during its original 2023 release, The Fall of the House of Usher stands as Flanagan’s second-highest rated Netflix show on Rotten Tomatoes, following 2018’s The Haunting of Hill House.

Speaking at the “Book to Script to Screen” panel at the ATX TV Festival (via TVLine), Flanagan revealed that one of The Fall of the House of Usher’s Easter eggs still remains to be found. Suggesting that while many articles have attempted to break down the show’s numerous Poe references, there is still “one in particular that none of those articles caught.” The show’s creator, however, refuses to elaborate on the missing reference, hoping that someone will eventually spot it. Check it out below:

There is something we put in that someday, I want someone to organically see it. There’s a moment in Usher that no one’s ever [noticed]. And people put these articles where they were breaking down all the Edgar Allan Poe references which were really, there was one or two in there that I was like, “Oh, really? Yeah, totally. We worked really hard on that.” There’s one in particular that none of those articles caught. Someday, someone will get it. But I don’t want to ruin it.

Mike Flanagan’s Easter Egg Approach Is Perfect For His New Project

Flanagan Has Recently Been Tapped To Helm One Of Horror’s Best Known Franchises

Flanagan’s time spent developing shows for Netflix was not only a boon for horror fans, but a fruitful creative partnership that delivered the streaming platform some of its most celebrated original shows. Beginning with The Haunting of Hill House and culminating in The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan’s deft storytelling and propensity for littering his shows with Easter eggs offered audiences a series of thrilling and deeply engaging viewing experiences. From spotting background ghosts to deciphering Poe references, Flanagan’s shows were almost as well known for their hidden surprises as for his use of recurring cast members. Check out how they compare on Rotten Tomatoes below:

While Flanagan’s time at Netflix has now ended, his recently announced horror project seems like a perfect fit for his creative sensibilities and tendency for littering his work with hidden references. Recently announced to be assuming control of The Exorcist franchise following 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer, Flanagan’s involvement could potentially see the return to the same kinds of hidden and subliminal inclusions pioneered by the franchise’s original director, William Friedkin. From the original Exorcist’s infamous subliminal demon face to its hidden Pazuzu statues, much of what made the first movie so terrifying is directly echoed in Flanagan’s own creative approach.

Despite the original Exorcist being widely regarded as one of the most influential horror movies of all time, its assorted sequels have each fallen well short of the benchmark set by Friedkin’s original movie. With any luck, the kind of nuanced and heavily detailed approach Flanagan applied to The Fall of the House of Usher and his other shows will finally deliver a new movie worthy of direct comparison to Friedkin’s own. Moreover, it could also potentially deliver a product that viewers could spend generations repeatedly pouring over in a bid to discover each cleverly hidden reference.

Source: TVLine