Some of the kids speculate that it might be death itself. 'There’s a rumor … about a living shadow that prowls the halls of Brightcliffe. 'The hospice has a very colorful history,' The Midnight Club's co-creator, Mike Flanagan, told Vanity Fair.

Whether or not the ghosts are really there or figments of the imagination conjured by strong painkillers is always unclear. The setting also lends itself to the sinister, with hints of the occult and ghosts roaming the halls at nights. From unusual encounters with strangers in the surrounding woods to sinister hidden rooms concealing rituals, Ilonka quickly becomes convinced that Brightcliffe might have the healing properties she's read about. Ilonka's hopes seem to be confirmed when strange things start happening in and around Brightcliffe. After conducting some online research and reading about a previous patient that was seemingly cured after a stay in the facility, Ilonka decides that she will leave the hospice in remission. However, Ilonka arrives at Brightcliffe believing that the building can help cure her cancer. The young adults who decide to move into Brightcliffe Hospice (known as Rotterdam Home in the novel) are choosing to live out their final days on their own terms. The setting itself is undoubtedly a crucial part of The Midnight Club, filled with more mysteries than could be explored in just one season. Netflix Is Brightcliffe Hospice a real place? So although The Midnight Club isn't exactly a true story, it's grounded in reality, and inspired by a young fan that impacted Pike's stories in a huge way.

Sadly, Pike's inspiration didn't live to see the finished product, but the book remains a tribute to the young patient that inspired him.

From there, Pike came up with The Midnight Club. Rather than telling scary stories, the group of young patients would meet each night for a book club, where they would often discuss Pike's novels. Pike began writing letters and speaking to her on the phone, which is how he learned about the tradition that took place at her hospital every night. When this particular teenager was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early '90s, her parents asked if Pike would meet with her as she was a huge fan. However, that doesn't mean that the idea for The Midnight Club isn't based on something real.Īs reported by Vanity Fair, the main character Ilonka (portrayed by Iman Benson) is, in fact, based on a real person, who was responsible for giving Pike the idea for The Midnight Club. Meanwhile, the stories the characters tell each night are all adapted from the works of Pike, a prolific writer of books for young adults. The Midnight Club is based on the book of the same name by the author Christopher Pike. $11 at Amazon Is The Midnight Club based on a true story?

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