If you’re a fan of things that go bump in the night, you’ve likely already ventured into every creepy corner of the horror genre on TV. But if you’re looking for more scares or are just adding more Halloween chills to your watchlist, here are some of the best horror TV shows.
What are the best horror TV shows as of 2025?
From the Twilight Zone to the X-Files to the most recent Alien: Earth series and the upcoming It: Welcome to Derry, there’s something about watching the horrific, spine-tingling stories of terror that just can’t be beat. While these are just a few of the best horror TV shows, our picks are somewhat personal.
If you’re thinking of a different TV show not on this list, odds are we already considered adding it. The only reason we didn’t include American Horror Story on the list is that you’ve likely already heard of it. If not, the first few seasons are a must-watch, and after that, things get a little gratuitous. For the sake of breadth in the horror genre, we tried to cater somewhat to subgenres as well.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Easily one of the best horror TV series on any list, The Haunting of Hill House reimagines Shirley Jackson’s classic novel of the same name. Set in 1992, it follows a family who moves into an old mansion when their parents buy it to renovate and sell. But as the siblings soon discover, the house has dark secrets of its own. What starts as some strange events that could be passed off as quirky old-house habits becomes increasingly terrifying, culminating in a devastating tragedy. Twenty-six years later, a death in the family brings the siblings back together and ultimately, back to Hill House.
Set between the present day and various flashbacks, The Haunting of Hill House plays with time in a way that keeps the narrative moving and continually helps us piece together what happened in 1992, and what’s happening in the show’s present. While the series is a masterclass in suspense, dimly lit hallways, jump scares, and achievement in camerawork (particularly one horrifying long take in a funeral home), the writing is what makes the series great. Starring Michiel Huisman, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti, Carla Gugino, and Henry Thomas, The Haunting of Hill House is as close to a perfect horror series as it gets. If you like this one, definitely check out The Haunting of Bly Manor and Fall of the House of Usher.
Midnight Mass (2021)
Another Netflix series in the Mike Flanagan canon, Midnight Mass, goes less into ghosts and more into an overwhelming sense of dread and the horror of religious fanaticism. Set on the isolated Crockett Island, the story begins when Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returns home after serving time in prison for killing a teenager while drunk driving. Not long after his return, a mysterious new priest named Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) arrives in the town, bringing with him a renewed sense of faith. But a string of so-called “miracles” slowly takes a terrifying turn.
Considering Mike Flanagan has now had a string of creepy television hits, you might be surprised to know it took Flanagan a long time to get this project off the ground. He pitched it to various studios —including Netflix — multiple times back in 2014. It wasn’t until the success of the Haunting of Hill House that the studio execs trusted his storytelling abilities to produce the series. Long considered a passion project for Flanagan, Midnight Mass draws from his upbringing in the Catholic Church and his personal journey to sobriety. This one is somewhat of a slow-burn at the start, but it quickly ramps up and is well worth the watch.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
This one may be the most personal choice as a true Buffy fan, but this series was horror-comedy gold. And yes, it’s giving our horror picks here a different flavor. A staple of ‘90s television and one of the most influential supernatural series ever made, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the perfect mashup of scrunchy-faced vampires, a whole slew of creepy demons, monsters, angry witchy cheerleaders, giant man-eating bugs, and still, plenty of depth and nuance in the characters. And even if you can’t stand Joss Whedon, you’ll have to admit he’s a genius. Buffy goes down in pop culture history.
The seven-season series follows Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a seemingly ordinary high school student who is starting over at a new high school after she burned her previous school to the ground, trapping a bunch of vamps in the gym. Unfortunately, she did get expelled for it, but what’s a Slayer to do? Set in the seemingly quiet town of Sunnydale (which happens to sit on a Hellmouth), Buffy juggles the chaos of teenage life with nightly bouts of monster hunting. Backed up by a fantastic group of friends, Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and her mentor, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), the team has to battle whatever comes their way. And there’s always something.
Bates Motel (2017)
Even if you’re not a superfan of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, you’ll have no problem getting hooked on Bates Motel. Clearly named after the infamous motel in the 1960 classic, the series is a contemporary prequel that begins when Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) buys an abandoned seaside motel in White Pine Bay, Oregon, and decides to renovate and reopen it. Along with her teenage son, Norman (Freddie Highmore), she hopes for a fresh start after a family tragedy. But not all fresh starts are good ones, and it doesn’t take long before some shady town dealings, violent encounters, and a very strange bond between mother and son start to unravel everything. As a fair warning, this series gets pretty violent at times. Be ready for some blood.
Interview with a Vampire (2022)
Based on the novel by Anne Rice, AMC’s Interview with the Vampire follows the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), who is rife with existential dread. Like the film, the series begins as Louis tells his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy. Starting in 1910, Louis is romanced and turned by the charming but exceptionally dangerous vampire Lestat (Sam Reid), which gives us a much more queer interpretation of the story compared to the 1994 version. There’s so much to praise about this series, but if you don’t trust us, take the 99% on Rotten Tomatoes as a sign that at least a few people really, really like it.
How we picked the best Horror TV shows
There are plenty of undeniably great horror series to watch, so narrowing down our favorites really came down to us wanting to give readers a bit from our different genres. We’ve got full-on supernatural spookiness, psychological horror, pop culture camp, period-style vampire drama, and creepy cult vibes. We could absolutely have thrown plenty of different shows here in place of any of these choices (except for The Haunting of Hill House; that one is maybe our favorite pick).
