Exclusive: How Hulu's new horror series 'Monsterland' made the leap from page to screen

The first trailer for Hulu's horror anthology Monsterland may be scary and dark, hinting at the damaged people and fantastic creatures lurking in their shadows, but there's an even deeper level to its stories. The series from writer/creator Mary Laws adapts Nathan Ballingrud’s short story collection North American Lake Monsters into its spooky tales — which means the wonders of adaptation are worth exploring behind the scenes. And SYFY WIRE has a video of just that.

SYFY WIRE can exclusively reveal a "Book to Screen" featurette where Laws and the cast highlights the trajectory this adaptation has had coming to life off of the page.

Take a look:

"I read the first short story, which ended up being our pilot, and thought that it was so incredible I called my agent and said right away, 'I have to do this,'" Laws said. "We worked our way through the book and decided which stories were most relevant and which characters we really responded to the most."

Kaitlyn Dever, who serves as the narrator for the series' first trailer, also sat down to describe the series. But she's just the tip of the talent iceberg. Monsterland's eight episodes star the impressive likes of Kelly Marie Tran, Jonathan Tucker, Charlie Tahan, Nicole Beharie, Hamish Linklater, Marquis Rodriguez, Bill Camp, Michael Hsu Rosen, Taylor Schilling, Roberta Colindrez, Adria Arjona, Trieu Tran, Mike Colter, and Adepero Oduye.

The series looks to kick off Hulu’s month-long “Huluween” celebration, which (in its third year) looks to add a few other originals and events like a drive-in series. The latter runs from Oct. 22 - 25 at the LA Equestrian Center and will screen Halloween classics like Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Carrie alongside the new Hulu film Books of Blood.

Other spooky offerings this month include Bad Hair, Helstrom, and the Madagascar: A Little Wild “A Fang-Tastic Halloween” special. Monsterland premieres Oct. 2.