Get into a spooky mood with these horror TV shows on streaming

It’s officially spooky season. Horror movies are a great way to get into the Halloween spirit, but horror TV shows can extend all through October. Fill your thirty-one days of Halloween with these spooktacular horror TV shows on streaming.

The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

Before Mike Flanagan releases the next installment of the newest horror anthology show, The Haunting of Bly Manor, catch up with the original season. The Haunting of Hill House is well done and perfect for spooky season.

Flanagan shows off his directing chops & horror expertise throughout the show, but especially in episode 6, “Two Storms”. He shot the episode to look like it was one long take and it’s the highlight of the season. The show rivals American Horror Story’s Murder House season for the best haunted house story. 

The Haunting of Hill House is based on the 1959 novel by the same name by Shirley Jackson. The show is eerie from start to finish and switches from present day to flashback effortlessly. It’s a short watch of ten episodes, about at an hour each, they’re perfect to bingewatch in a day or spread out over a weekend.

Ares  (Netflix) 

The Netflix original from the Netherlands Ares is Eyes Wide Shut but dial down the sex and dial up the horror. The cult horror show displays the blood & gore you would expect from a horror series in the first three minutes. Its opening sets the tone for Ares and is an example of the scares the show can produce. 

Ares is beautifully shot and it’s a rush of chilling scares. The color red pops on screen, no surprise for a horror show, but contrasts nicely with the blue & black color palette. The show is only one season and has eight episodes, perfect for a Friday & Saturday night scare-fest this October.

Castle Rock (Hulu)

If you are a Stephen King fan and haven’t seen Castle Rock, then you are either living under a rock or don’t have Hulu. The psychological horror show blends some of the King’s best works into a series that captures the imagination and twists it into submission with its mystery, suspense, and scares. 

Castle Rock is the setting for many of King’s great works and referenced in some of his most famous books, including Pet Semetary, It, and The Stand. The show Castle Rock borrows from a lot of King’s works but most notably Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. 

Castle Rock could kick off a “Stephen King cinematic universe.” Actors like Bill Skarsgård, who played Pennywise from It, and Sissy Spacek, the original actress for Carrie, line the cast and demonstrate how King’s work is present everywhere. If reading King gets you in the spooky mode, then a show featuring his iconic works should too.

Lovecraft Country (HBO Max)

HBO is known for its blood & gore but rarely is it in the horror genre. Based on the novel by the same name, HBO’s Lovecraft Country is 100% a horror show. Acclaimed horror director Jordan Peele and sci-fi director J.J. Abrams produce the show for HBO. The two might not be creatively involved, but their spirit & style are definitely present. 

Lovecraft Country’s showrunner, Misha Green, explained, “[Lovecraft Country] would have been incredibly hard to get on screen if Get Out hadn’t come out.” The show follows in the vein of Get Out, blending social commentary & horror for a provocative horror TV show. It’s got the frights & monsters expected from a show about H.P. Lovecraft’s works and still provides an excellent social commentary. 

As HBO & HBO Max try to boost its horror TV show options, Lovecraft County is the perfect entrant into the genre. The show still has three episodes remaining in season 1 and is released every Sunday until Oct. 18. You could easily watch the show between Friday & Saturday in time for the next episode on Sunday.

The Twilight Zone (Hulu, CBS All Access)

The two for one special of the original Twilight Zone & Peele’s 2019 adaptation is perfect for getting through spooky season. All five seasons of Rod Sterling’s original horror anthology show is on Hulu & CBS All Access. It’s also on Netflix, but it’s missing season 4. Peele’s adaptation is only on CBS All Access.

Both the original & adaptation are phenomenal. The Twilight Zone isn’t about scares or blood & gore, but creepy & eerie stories with great twists. You won’t be scared out of your seat, but October wouldn’t be the same without a binge of the best Twilight Zone episodes. If you’ve never seen The Twilight Zone, now is the perfect time to for it.