If you’re into strong emotions and love the horror genre, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the best horror series on Netflix, from The Haunting of Hill House to The Midnight Club.
Ready to turn off the lights, hide under the blanket, and have a (good) scary time while completing our Halloween 2024 challenge? Let’s go over the best horror series available in Netflix’s catalog, perfect for watching alone or with company as December 31 approaches… Because, let’s face it, we always get a bit braver as Halloween nears. Though, in reality, any time is a good time. In this list, you’ll find everything from the best series of 2022 to some of the top Spanish horror shows.
When we talk about series that give you chills, the first name we must mention is Mike Flanagan. The American director, born in Salem, the city of witches, has become the king of horror on the platform thanks to his unique adaptations of great supernatural writers like Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House) and Henry James (The Haunting of Bly Manor), along with his most personal work, Midnight Mass. For 2022, he had a double feature ready for Halloween: The Midnight Club, based on Christopher Pike’s novels about seven terminally ill patients who tell scary stories at night in their hospital, and The Fall of the House of Usher, where he brings Edgar Allan Poe’s universe to the small screen with a cast led by Frank Langella, Carla Gugino, and Mark Hamill.
Netflix also offers plenty for younger audiences, from the “upside-down” world of Stranger Things to The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the teenage witch, along with the hairy werewolves of Teen Wolf and Hemlock Grove, and Liv from iZombie, the smartest zombie you’ll ever meet. And let’s not forget the Spanish horror shows Feria: The Darkest Light and Alma.
But since we’ve mentioned some of the best zombie and teen series, we must talk about the latest genre hit on the platform: All of Us Are Dead, where a zombie virus spreads within a high school, and the students, trapped inside, have to fight to stay alive and escape. And while we’re on the subject of zombies, how can we forget The Walking Dead, the ultimate zombie series, or Kingdom, the zombie apocalypse set in medieval Korea? If there are zombies and werewolves, there must be some of the best vampire series as well. And if there are vampires, Dracula has to show up somewhere. The mini-series Dracula is one of the most original takes on the character, with a hypnotizing performance by Claes Bang. In another tone, we have Castlevania, the animated series about a vampire hunter based on the famous video game.
But there’s more—so much more than we could find among the horror movies of 2023. Much more. If you’ve already covered the best horror series on HBO Max, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, dive into Netflix’s offerings!
The Haunting of Hill House
Plot: A group of siblings is forced to return to what is considered the most haunted house in the country, which also happens to be the home where they grew up.
Why it’s worth watching: Mike Flanagan turned the horror world upside down with his unique take on Shirley Jackson’s novel, using subtlety and suggestion rather than direct scares, and his masterful camera work to terrify us with a simple movement or detail. You could say the series only has one real jump scare across its 10 episodes… but what a scare it is. Even so, the terror lingers throughout the entire runtime and well beyond.
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Plot: Guillermo del Toro, a master of the genre and one of the most devoted directors to the world of fantasy today, serves as the master of ceremonies for eight eerie tales directed by different creators (including Jennifer Kent, Vincenzo Natali, Catherine Hardwicke, Panos Cosmatos, and more) with independent stories.
Why it’s worth watching: It brings together some of the best talents in contemporary horror cinema in one of the finest horror anthology series on the platform.
The Walking Dead
Plot: Zombies have taken over the planet. A group of survivors struggles to stay alive, facing not only the undead but something even worse: other humans.
Why it’s worth watching: This is the series that revived the “zombie mania,” which had been in the ICU since the ’80s. Over time, it shifted from a zombie survival story to a power struggle between survivor communities, filled with betrayals and alliances.
Kingdom
Plot: Set in medieval Korea, the crown prince of the Joseon dynasty investigates a mysterious epidemic and stumbles upon a zombie apocalypse.
Why it’s worth watching: Korean zombies in the Middle Ages. It’s an original concept that skillfully manages the tension between humans during the quiet moments when zombies aren’t attacking. And when they do attack… it’s spectacular. Hundreds of extras, unrelenting violence—simply epic.
Stranger Things
Plot: The disappearance of a boy in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s pulls his friends and the townspeople into a mystery involving monsters, dark dimensions, supernatural forces, and secret experiments.
Why it’s worth watching: While horror may not be the main genre of Stranger Things, when it delves into it, it does so seriously. The “Upside Down” and the Demogorgon have already become modern horror icons, and Eleven, with the trickle of blood running from her nose, has made just as much of an impact in pop culture as Brian DePalma’s Carrie drenched in blood.
Marianne
Plot: A novelist realizes that her horror stories are coming to life and decides to return to her hometown to confront the demons of her past that inspire her.
Why it’s worth watching: This is the scariest series on all of Netflix. If you want to experience genuine fear—the classic kind, where you think, “I need to go to the bathroom, but I’ll turn on the hallway light just in case”—Marianne is for you.
All of Us Are Dead
Plot: A zombie virus spreads through a Korean high school, and the students must fight to survive and escape.
Why it’s worth watching: If you’ve seen Train to Busan and understand the chaos that can unfold on a train, just imagine the mayhem in a high school filled with teenagers when the army is at the gates. Hordes of zombies, chaos, blood, and action in abundance.
New Cherry Flavor
Plot: A filmmaker arrives in early ’90s Hollywood to shoot her movie and gets caught in a psychedelic spiral of revenge, sex, and magic.
Why it’s worth watching: Nick Antosca’s mind (Channel Zero) combines Lynchian surrealism with Cronenberg’s New Flesh in this bizarre, disturbing, occult series that you can find on the platform.
The Midnight Club
Plot: In a palliative care home for terminally ill young people, eight patients meet every midnight to tell each other stories and make a pact: whoever dies next will send a sign to the others from beyond. Based on a 1994 novel by Christopher Pike and other writings.
Why it’s worth watching: Mike Flanagan returns to Netflix for Halloween, and that’s always a cause for celebration.
Hellbound
Plot: The appearance of supernatural beings condemning humans to hell coincides with the arrival of a religious group that advocates the idea of divine justice.
Why it’s worth watching: From the director of Train to Busan, it premiered as the highest-rated series in the history of Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% approval rating, which today remains at 97%. Dark and satirical, bizarrely terrifying—Hellbound is the series that has won over all the critics.
Dracula
Plot: This is a new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic, focusing on Count Dracula’s journey from Transylvania to London over three episodes.
Why it’s worth watching: Perfect for binge-watching in an afternoon without leaving a drop, the creators of Sherlock (Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat) put their unique stamp on this iconic character from fantasy literature. Danish actor Claes Bang delivers an incredible performance as the Prince of Darkness.
Midnight Mass
Plot: A new priest arrives in a decaying community, bringing with him miracles, mysteries, and a renewed religious fervor.
Why it’s worth watching: Mike Flanagan. If you enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, this is the series for you. Expect suspense, existential themes, tension, brutal character development, and mystery… just let yourself be drawn in.
Archive 81
Plot: A VHS tape restoration expert is tasked with recovering the content of recordings from a building fire that occurred 20 years ago. He uncovers a plot involving cults, kidnappings, and sinister beings.
Why it’s worth watching: The Visser building is deeply unsettling. It feels like the tenants from Rosemary’s Baby stepped into a film like Tesis, which is then viewed by Jack Torrance from The Shining. It might not make sense, but watch it and let me know!
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Plot: Dying doesn’t mean disappearing. In this gothic romance, an au pair delves into a chasm of chilling secrets. It’s a continuation of The Haunting of Hill House featuring new characters and a different story.
Why it’s worth watching: Mike Flanagan continues his gothic and suspenseful storytelling, focusing more on atmosphere than on histrionic scares, just as he did with The Haunting of Hill House. Here, he adapts one of the greatest supernatural novels of all time, Henry James’s masterpiece The Turn of the Screw.
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre
Plot: Directed by Shinobu Tagashira, this series adapts various stories from Japanese mangaka Junji Ito, known for works like Tomie.
Why it’s worth watching: If you’re familiar with Junji Ito’s work, you know that this Netflix animated series is going to be absolutely terrifying—exactly what you’ve been looking for.
Santa Clarita Diet
Plot: Joel and Sheila Hammond are real estate agents living in Santa Clarita, on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Their lives are pretty mundane until Sheila undergoes a radical change, leading them down a path of death and destruction…
Why it’s worth watching: It’s fun and original, a breath of fresh air in a lineup filled with tension, mysteries, and scares.
Resident Evil
Plot: This series by Andrew Dabb is a faithful adaptation of the original material, serving as a continuation of the video games set after Resident Evil Village.
Why it’s worth watching: It’s the best of a mindless B-series—unpredictable and thrilling. Sadly, it’s often misunderstood.
Castlevania
Plot: Inspired by the classic video game series Castlevania, it follows the story of dark medieval fantasy centering on the last surviving member of the Belmont clan, Trevor, as he tries to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hands of Dracula himself.
Why it’s worth watching: It strikes a perfect balance between adapting the original video game and carving out its own path. The animation is spectacular and bloody, appealing to fans and newcomers alike.
Slasher
Plot: Each season presents a different story with new characters, but all within the slasher genre, featuring a masked serial killer who picks off a group of people one by one.
Why it’s worth watching: If you enjoy the genre, this series offers four seasons with four distinct tales of serial killers, cleverly collecting and twisting the clichés of the genre. Notably, the legendary David Cronenberg makes an appearance in the fourth season.
The Fall of the House of Usher
Plot: The ruthless siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have transformed the Fortunato Pharmaceutical Company into an empire of wealth, privilege, and power. However, as the heirs of the Usher dynasty begin to die at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth, the secrets of their past come to light.
Why it’s worth watching: Mike Flanagan returns, the creator of The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, with a twisted horror series based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. And we know that with Flanagan, it’s all about having fun… while experiencing horror.
