With that most hallowed of holidays, Halloween, drawing near, you’re probably in the market for spooky things to watch. Luckily, getting into scary TV shows on Netflix makes for a perfect October (or anytime!) pastime.
Unlike choosing between the best scary movies on Netflix, going for a horror series means you’re locked and loaded for multiple nights of prime spooky season viewing. And as far as scary series on Netflix go, there are plenty of genuinely unnerving gems to be found on the OG streaming platform. There are also some duds you’ll want to pick around more carefully than that 3 Musketeers getting in the way of the Trick-or-Treat bowl’s good candy. We said what we said.
Whether you’re in the mood for classic horror TV shows on Netflix, a psychologically thrilling series, or for a new, creative entry to the spooky series canon, we’ve rounded up the best scary TV shows on Netflix to watch right now. Stream them the next time you’re in need of a good fright night.
1. EVIL
If you watched Fleabag for the hot priest, add EVIL to your Netflix to-watch queue. It, too, features a hot priest — more accurately, a hot priest-in-training (Mike Colter) — and a story that’s equal parts creepy, funny, and philosophical. In EVIL, said hot priest-in-training and a forensic psychologist team up at the behest of the Catholic Church to figure out whether a murderer is possessed. Turns out, there’s a lot more by way of possessions and eerie, inexplicable happenings for the duo to investigate. There are four seasons total, with the first two currently on Netflix.
2. Dark
Dark has been called a combination of Stranger Things and Twin Peaks, and we can’t say the comparison isn’t apt. After all, this German-language show — the first German series made for Netflix — is full of missing children, mysterious goings on involving a government facility, smalltown dynamics, heavy 1980s sci-fi vibes, and a dreamlike approach to time and to timelines. So, there’s all of that. But Dark also feels like its own unique creation — one that doesn’t skimp on sinister figures to fear or intricately woven connections to unravel.
3. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Make no mistake. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina may retain a sprinkle of the sitcom-y charm and wit of its late ‘90s predecessor, but it’s an infinitely darker show. And while Sabrina Spellman, brought to life here by Kiernan Shipka, has her moments of spunky teenage girlhood, the half-supernatural, half-mortal world she inhabits is one where the stakes are often dire. There’s enough chilling plot turns to live up to the series’ name and earn a place among the best horror series on Netflix for the YA set. Plus, it’s just a fun watch, with gorgeous costumes and sets Netflix clearly dug into its pockets for.
4. The Haunting of Hill House
To call this hit Netflix horror show a modern telling of Shirley Jackson’s cult novel is, in some ways, a bit of a stretch. That’s because, although the show borrows names and basic plot details from the book, the story being told here is one that only loosely ties to Jackson’s novel. Instead, it follows the lives of adult siblings who grew up in Hill House and must now confront their shared ghosts, veering in the family drama direction while still doing justice to the story’s haunted house roots. It’s also the first Netflix scary series from director Mike Flanagan on this list, but it won’t be the last.
5. The Haunting of Bly Manor
We did just say you’d see more Mike Flanagan on this list, didn’t we? This time, Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw is the director’s source material, and gothic romance is as much the genre as horror. The premise is simple: A young American au pair is hired to look after two orphans on a British estate, and upon her arrival, strange apparitions begin to appear. As is true of so many classic horror tales, you don’t need a plot more complicated than that for spooks. Just expect them to be subtler and a bit slower burning in this series.
6. All of Us Are Dead
Netflix has added some solid entries to the lineup of South Korean dramas in recent years, and the zombie teen series All of Us Are Dead is a super fun example. The action here is top-notch, there’s teen romance that — while corny at times — is sweet, and all the zombie outbreak details are carefully thought through. (For instance, there’s no pretending that a high school’s worth of modern teens wouldn’t immediately recognize a zombie apocalypse for what it was. Instead, you’ll get characters discussing kill and survival tactics from movies like Train to Busan.) Watch the first season before the long-awaited season 2 comes out.
7. Yellowjackets
Season 2 of Yellowjackets took the show in some…interesting directions. (Hopefully the upcoming third season sets things back on track.) The first season, though, makes for some genuinely unnerving television and was well-worth its hype. If you somehow missed all the buzz, we’ll summarize the plot as such: Equal parts survival story and supernatural saga, Yellowjackets follows the surviving members of a girls’ soccer team after a plane crash lands them deep in the wilderness. The team’s will to survive may not be the only spirit lurking in the woods, though.
8. Black Summer
Picking up just six weeks after the onset of the zombie apocalypse, Black Summer is a Z Nation spin-off that spends its time on the apocalypse stage some series skip past. Meaning, if you want to watch the zombie apocalypse unfurl more than you want to see grim, hardened survivors pick through the aftermath, you’ll be a happy camper. Expect lots of carnage as you follow Rose (Jaime King) on a journey across North America to find her daughter.
9. Archive 81
This series is Netflix’s first-ever adaptation of a podcast, and if you’ve already listened to that podcast’s first season, there’s a chance you won’t find the show as satisfying. Some fans have called out the adaptation for straightwashing one of its main characters in particular. If you’re totally new to the story, though, your odds of being intrigued are up there. The show follows an archivist who’s tasked with restoring a series of old tapes. In doing so, supernatural forces are uncovered, making for an atmospheric, slow-burning story that’ll scratch your itch for cult and conspiracy content. (The, y’know, non-dangerous to America kind.)
10. Marianne
This chilling French horror series managed to mostly fly under the radar in 2019, despite being quickly dubbed one of the best scary TV shows on Netflix by clued-in viewers. Sadly, it was scrapped before a second season could be made, but the first season is still worth watching. Expertly blending supernatural horror with psychological tension, it follows a famous horror novelist who has returned to her hometown. There, an evil entity from one of her books makes an appearance, and the lines between real life and fiction blur to terrifying effect. If you’re a fan of creepy folklore, don’t sleep on Marianne. (But maybe get a good night’s sleep before you start it, in case sleep doesn’t come easy after!)
11. Japanese Tales of the Macabre
From award-winning Japanese manga horror artist Junji Ito comes Japanese Tales of the Macabre, an anthology of 20 gloriously grim tales told with the help of Ito’s creepy animation style. Each episode is less than half an hour long, making it the perfect show to put on when you want a fresh take on horror and a quick hit of spook without a major time investment. (Although, who are we kidding — we know we’re going to stream these all in one sitting.)
12. Midnight Mass
Religion is easy fodder for horror. And with Midnight Mass, director Mike Flanagan earned yet another spot on this list with his bet that mining Catholicism for a spooky Netflix show would pay off. It’s a bet that’s paid off in the horror world before, of course. (Exhibit A: The Exorcist.) But here, themes of faith, guilt, and redemption blend with supernatural horror in a direction you won’t expect. Plus, the setting — a sleepy, seaside fishing town with a dwindling population of both fish and people — adds to the autumnal spookiness mood.
13. Castlevania
We wouldn’t call Castlevania, based on the iconic video game of the same name, a horror series. We would, however, call it one of the best series put out by Netflix, period, as well as one of our favorite portrayals of Dracula. It’s also one of the best scary Netflix series out there if you like your scares in the form of dark fantasy and Gothic horror, powered by some pretty epic storytelling. With its moody and atmospheric visuals, memorably complex characters, and blood-pumping — if you catch our drift — action, it’s a spooky season must-watch even if vampire stories aren’t usually your thing.
14. Hannibal
If you’re a fan of crime shows and haven’t yet seen Hannibal, it’s time to stream this acclaimed thriller-drama series, stat. Introducing us to Dr. Hannibal Lecter decades before Clarice Starling makes his acquaintance in The Silence of the Lambs, the show manages to do something that, while attempted all-too often today, is rarely done well — and that’s to tell an actually worthwhile prequel story. In this one, an unlikely partnership between young Lecter and gifted criminal profiler Will Graham forms as the two work to catch a string of killers. Expect darkly stunning visuals, plenty of gore, and powerhouse performances from this top horror series on Netflix.
15. The Fall of the House of Usher
Borrowing its title from an 1839 Edgar Allan Poe story, The Fall of the House of Usher brings several works from the master of gothic horror into modern times with a tale of a family-run pharmaceutical empire’s demise. The show is yet another Mike Flanagan creation — one as much inspired by Poe as by the Sackler family, Purdue Pharma, and America’s opioid crisis — and it’s got an expert ensemble cast, feelings of foreboding, and unnerving supernatural twists all packed into one bingeable season. Stream it, then get your hands on a collection of Poe stories to really nerd out this Hallow’s Eve.
16. Hellbound
Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho adapted his webtoon “The Hellbound” for this South Korean dark fantasy series, and Netflix’s horror offerings are all the better for it. Blending supernatural horror with social commentary, Hellbound makes use of religious fanaticism to explore the ways fear and panic spread through a society — in this case, a society whose members are told the exact times of their deaths before being dragged to hell by terrifying paranormal beings. Released by Netflix just two months after Squid Game, it quickly earned the title of a “death-fest” that made the former look tame.
17. Ju-On Origins
If you also slept with the lights on for three months after seeing The Grudge at age 13 — or was that just me? — get ready to get re-traumatized with Ju-On: Origins. As the title implies, the series is a prequel to one of Japan’s most iconic horror franchises, exploring the backstory of the infamous Ju-On curse. It picks up with a paranormal researcher who’s on the hunt for a cursed house that’s played host to gruesome, inexplicable events, and you can be sure that deeply disturbing imagery, an unshakeable sense of dread, and major twists await both them and you.
