'Haunting of Hill House' gets the ultimate horror praise: A glowing tweet from Stephen King

Bill Keveney | USA TODAY

Netflix's new horror series, "The Haunting of Hill House," already was riding high with 90% critical approval on ratings aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and 80% on Metacritic.

On Tuesday, however, Mike Flanagan's reimagining of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, released last week, received the ultimate seal of approval: a glowing review (on Twitter) from horror master Stephen King.

"THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodeled by Mike Flanagan. I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really," he tweeted, speculating that the author would like it, too. "I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure."

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, revised and remodeled by Mike Flanagan. I don't usually care for this kind of revisionism, but this is great. Close to a work of genius, really. I think Shirley Jackson would approve, but who knows for sure. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 17, 2018

Flanagan, who directed 2017's "Gerald's Game," which is based on a 1992 King novel, was thrilled by the author's salute.

Some day I’ll figure out how to react things like this without shrieking like a little kid... but today is not that day. https://t.co/Qrd0lnUdiY — Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) October 17, 2018

Netflix's 10-episode "Hill House," previously adapted into 1963 and 1999 films, follows five siblings who grew up in the most famous haunted house in America. As adults, a sister's suicide reunites them and forces them to confront the ghosts of their past and the supernatural terrors they witnessed in the house.

Even before King's tweet, "Hill House," which stars Timothy Hutton, Carla Gugino, Elizabeth Reaser and Mckenna Grace ("The Bad Seed"), had received high praise. Critics hailed it as "the most traumatic horror story of the year" and "a very special show, one that knows the scariest hauntings are not by ghosts but by memories."

Vulture says "Hill House" is "not a paranormal story so much as a meditation on the distinct way grief and trauma maim the living."