Best scary TV shows are a must this Halloween – here are the spookiest series on Netflix
This year, Halloween is back and better than ever, and while we're definitely making up for last year's lack of partying, scary TV shows are also here to sort our spooky nights in.
As winter approaches and post-lockdown parties quieten down, maybe Netflix and its long list of Halloween content are the old friends you never knew you needed, ready to comfort you with a bag of popcorn and a pair of PJs on the sofa. That’s right, Netflix is once again carrying us through the Halloween weekend and half-term holiday with a stream of scary TV shows and spooky dramas perfect for a cosy weekend. While it may sound more low-key than planned, your bank balance will be grateful, trust us on this.
From all-out horror to a more gentle scare, Netflix’s ghoulish offering will have you jumping out of your seat and clinging onto your best mate – almost as scary as the five hours without Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in the Great “Social Media October Blackout”. Either way, there’s nothing like a bit of escapism, is there?
If you're less into the real scaries but more into gore and dark drama, then Squid Game is a good one to ease you into the real deal. If you’re more into chilling, religious scaries set on an isolated, dying island, try the brand new, Midnight Mass.
With Halloween upon us, call up your closest pals and plan the ultimate cozy night in front of the telly. Here are all of the scariest shows Netflix has to offer...
EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIXMidnight Mass
This new series by the creator of the Haunting of Bly House and The Haunting of Hill House Mike Flanagan follows the arrival of a charismatic young priest who comes with undeniable powers, glorious miracles, ominous mysteries, and renewed religious passion to a dying town in desperate need of something to believe in.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Following on from the hugely successful The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan is back with an even creepier follow-up series: The Haunting of Bly Manor. Based on Henry James’ 1898 Gothic horror novella The Turn of the Screw, this new series will center around a young governess who heads to Bly Manor to look after an orphaned boy and girl. But naturally all is not as it seems. In other words, expect paranormal activity and sleepless nights.
Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood
Set in 1900 Munich, Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood will follow one man’s quest to build a beer hall for Oktoberfest. Don’t be fooled by the sweet sounding synopsis though, this is not for the faint-hearted. True to the name, expect more than just beer.
La Révolution
For those of you unfortunate enough to have a boyfriend who refuses to watch anything that doesn’t involve gaury violence and bloody battle scenes, La Revolution is an easy win. Described by Netflix as “a reimagined history of the French Revolution”, this new drama follows the outbreak of a disease named Blue Blood that leads the aristocracy to murder commoners.
Unsolved Mysteries: Volume Two
It’s official, people: Unsolved Mysteries is finally coming back!. Described by the show’s creator Terry Dunn Meurer as a “paranormal mystery”, the second instalment will have you flexing your detective skills once again with six gripping new episodes. With terrifying twists at every corner, you’ll practically be an FBI agent by the end.
To The Lake
You’ll want to get extra cosy under the duvet in this chilling new series about a group who endure a brutal struggle to survive a deadly plague.
AMANDA MATLOVICH/NETFLIXLocke & Key
Locke & Key is a series based on the namesake comics by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. It follows three siblings, who upon their father’s murder, they move into a house with their mother to his ancestral estate, where they discover magical reality-bending keys. With season 1 being such a huge success, Netflix is bringing back season two of Locke & Key for 22nd October.
Steve Dietl/NetflixThe Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House is an American supernatural horror drama television series created and directed by horror story icon Mike Flanagan, and serves as the first entry in The Haunting anthology series. It follows a family of 7, who move into Hill House to flip it and then eventually build their own. However, due to unexpected repairs, they have to stay longer, and they begin to experience increasing paranormal activities and there is death on the horizon.
NetflixStranger Things
Stranger Things Season 4 is likely to be hiting our small screens everywhere in 2022. In the meantime, make sure you’re binging on the chilling series, set in the 80s in Indiana, starring Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo amongst others, who are a group of young friends who witness supernatural forces and secret government exploits. As they search for answers, the children unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries.
Emmanuel GuimierMarianne
This french horror is bound to give anyone the hibbie jibbies. Marianne’s plot revolves around the young novelist / famous horror writer Emma who is lured back back to her hometown and eventually discoveres that the characters she writes in her horror novels are also in the real world.
Haunted
If you’re looking for true spookie stories then you came to the right place. At Haunted the stories are allegedly true. Every episode of Haunted begins with “the following is a true story,”. It’s dubbed as a paranormal pseudo-documentary where individuals or groups of people talk about their paranormal experience. Many of the stories featured in the series resemble popular horror films released prior to the alleged date on which the events occurred, but that doesnt stop it from being a spookie watch...
You
You got that right, You is back with season three on October 15th and it’s creepier than ever. Joe and Love have a bun in the oven, with the literary name Henry, and that’s pretty much all we know. Except, of course, that it will be scary as hell. You better be tuning in.
Diyah Pera/NetflixChilling Adventures of Sabrina
It wouldn’t be a real Halloween round-up if we didn’t include the queen of the dark forces. Sabrina the teenage witch. These dark coming-of-age series are a spin off based on the comic book series of the same name, that we all grew up on. It’s set in the fictional town of Greendale, and it includes horror, fear and witchcraft. Sabrina Spellman must finds ways to reconcile her dual nature as a half-witch, half-mortal while fighting the evil forces that threaten her and her family.
