What’s not an American horror story these days, amirite? But I digress. The murder house that Ryan Murphy & co. built is back for another season—lucky number 13—and it’s a frightfully impressive celebratory reunion, bringing back a huge list of actors and characters from previous seasons (including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe, Mena Suvari, Jessica Lange, and more), with some of them playing multiple roles. If that’s not enough spooky season entertainment for you, here are 10 more addictive horror shows to stream now.
Channel Zero (2016 – 2018)
A mind-bending and occasionally gruesome expansion of various online creepypastas, Nick Antosca’s series takes the form of four season-long storylines. While the tone is far from juvenile, the vibe is “childhood nightmares come to life.” The first season anticipates I Saw the TV Glow with a story about a half-remembered TV series linked to the disappearances of several children; the second sees a group of friends trapped in a tourist-attraction haunted house that exits into a disturbing alternate reality; another finds a couple of sisters dealing with cannibals and a mysterious staircase in the middle of the woods; while the last has a newlywed couple finding a mysterious door that unlocks childhood anxieties (and a killer clown). It’s all smart and genuinely freaky—existential dread blending with memorable visuals such as a child made entirely of human teeth. There’s even something of a stealth fifth season over on Netflix with Antosca’s Brand New Cherry Flavor. Stream Channel Zero on Shudder and AMC+ or buy it from Prime Video.
Castle Rock (2018 – 2019)
Castle Rock was sold as the hub of some sort of a Stephen King omniverse, set in his fictional town and featuring characters and creatures from across his oeuvre. That confusing, could-be-anything premise probably hurt the show more than it helped. In reality, it’s an impressive anthology series that slays even if you’ve never read a page of King. The first season sees André Holland return to his old hometown at the behest of a death-row inmate, and features a powerhouse performance from Sissy Spacek as Ruth Deaver, whose struggles with dementia culminate in “The Queen,” an all-time great, harrowing, hour of television. The second season resets to introduce a young Annie Wilkes (from Misery) and a disturbing cult, and finds Bill Skarsgård returning from season one (and his movie role as Pennywise). Stream Castle Rock on Hulu and Netflix.
Creepshow (2019 – 2023)
There are good reasons for my love of TV anthology horror: If one story or episode isn’t great, there’s always the next one. This new Creepshow, though, is something surprising: It’s consistently good. Sometimes gross, sometimes funny, each episode has two stories that are very much in the style of the movies for which the show is named (or Tales from the Darkside—that kinda vibe). Producer/director/special effects guy Greg Nicotero, best known these days for his work on The Walking Dead, is running the series. He got his start on Creepshow 2, so there’s a real appreciation for old-school practical effects here too. Stream Creepshow on Shudder and AMC+ (or on Prime Video for season one).
Folklore (2018 – 2022)
The conventions of Japanese horror have made their way stateside, but often through remakes of popular J-horror movies with American directors and casts. This series serves as a tour of terror from six different Asian countries, each produced locally with different up-and-coming directors. For audiences mostly familiar with Western-style horror, it will be a small revelation: They’re modern spins on traditional folkloric tales (the South Korean episode, for instance, involves the mongdal gwisin, a bachelor spirit so desperate for a wife that he’ll kill until he finds the right special lady to be his ghost bride); while the characters are relatable, the takes on horror are unique. Each episode is like a mini-movie, so it’s not a season-long anthology, but another one for horror fans in a hurry. Stream Folklore on HBO Max.
Slasher (2016 – 2023)
Each season of this series tells the story of a single serial killer and their would-be victims, stretching out a traditional slasher-movie story over several hours. With that time, the show manages to actually build lives and backstories for its characters, something that movies don’t always have time for, or can’t be bothered with. It works, and each season has introduced some fairly compelling characters. It doesn’t hurt that the focus is largely on adults rather than more typical teenage victims. The Canadian production has moved around a bit since its beginning—the first three seasons are available on Netflix, but the last two (Flesh & Blood and Ripper) are exclusive to Shudder. To make it even more confusing, it series got a name change and spun-off into two seasons of Hell Motel. Each stands entirely on its own, though, so it’s absolutely OK to pick it up anywhere you like. Stream Slasher on Netflix and Shudder.
Scream Queens (2015 – 2016)
Not an anthology but another bit of Ryan Murphy wackiness, this one is more of an overt satire—though, as with American Horror Story, the line between comedy and horror is always a little thin. Here we find the all-star line-up of Emma Roberts, Ariana Grande, Billie Lourd, and Abigail Breslin as sorority sisters facing down a threatening and downright vicious dean (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a serial killer who dresses up like their school’s Red Devil mascot, all of it tying in to some wild stuff that went down back in 1995. Stream Scream Queens on Hulu.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 – 2020)
This one’s a bit more for the American Horror Story: Coven lovers, but the general tone fits well with the whole AHS oeuvre: silly and spooky until it hits you in the gut with legitimate horror and unexpected gore. In this dark take on the Archie character, spooky Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) is an old-school witch living in a household that’s not unlike that of the Addams family (and the Practical Magic family, for that matter): two witchy aunts (played by Miranda Otto and Lucy Davis) alongside her warlock cousin (Chance Perdomo) and her loyal familiar, Salem the cat, living their witchy lives out of view of the local normies. At the outset of the series, Sabrina’s forced to choose between signing her name in Satan’s book and becoming a full-fledged witch, or staying in high school with her human friends. Instead, she refuses to choose. Cannibalism, human sacrifice, and blood rituals abound. Stream Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix.
Hannibal (2013 – 2015)
Another not-an-anthology show that still works as a vibe match. Pushing Daisies‘ Bryan Fuller is the showrunner for this twisted take on the Thomas Harris Hannibal Lecter novels. Fuller went back to the source material, once again adapting the first Lecter novel with a visual flair unmatched on network television—there’s a Grand Guignol style here that resonates with that of AHS, as well as a pervasive, all-encompassing queerness that oozes from the show’s every pore; the deeper, sexier relationship between the Doctor (Mads Mikkelsen) and profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) adds some brilliant subtext as the two work together to hunt serial killers. It ended a bit too early, but it’s such a cult classic that there are talks of a revival even more than a decade later. Stream Hannibal on Prime Video and Netflix.
Room 104 (2017 – 2020)
One of the most eclectic series of the past decade wasn’t afraid to tell a wide variety of stories in multiple genres over its four seasons. In Room 104, comedy, drama, sci-fi, and horror stories all occur within its smart, budget-conscious setting—that of a single, boring-looking motel room that could be literally anywhere. The vibe ranges from sweet to disturbing to apocalyptic (literally, in at least a couple of episodes), with an impressive roster of guest stars: Tony Todd, Michael Shannon, Judy Greer, Brian Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Cobie Smulders, Dave Bautista, and Harvey Guillén are just some of the names that have signed the guest register. This is an episode-by-episode anthology, though there are throughlines to remind us that we’re literally in the same room each go-round. Pretty much any season of American Horror Story could have happened on this show, albeit in a tidy 30-ish minutes. Stream Room 104 on HBO Max.
The Terror (2018 – )
Each season of The Terror is distinct, but all converge on the idea that real life is far, far more horrifying than the supernatural stuff going on in the background. Season one, adapted from the Dan Simmons novel, involves the true story of two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, searching for the Northwest Passage before becoming trapped in a field of ice; starvation, madness, and possibly monsters ensue. The second takes us to California during World War II to follow the internment of innocent Japanese families—with a bakemono of folklore along for good measure. The most recent, based on a Victor LaValle novel, stars Dan Stevens as a man involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital on a 72-hour hold. Stream The Terror on AMC+ and Shudder.
