Best Horror TV Shows on Netflix (Updated for November 2023)

Scary streams from Netflix ยป A list of all the best horror TV shows on Netflix.

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), Mike Flanagan’s series based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe, now streaming on Netflix.

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Netflix has an impressive library of horror movies, and they also have a good number of horror-themed TV shows and scary series. Many of the newest series on the site are Netflix originals, but they also have a variety of licensing deals that allow them to stream great shows from other networks.

Collected here are the best horror TV shows currently on Netflix. This list is updated regular to ensure every entry is still on the site, and to keep you up to date on the latest horror series added to Netflix.

The Best Horror TV Shows on Netflix

Supernatural (2005-2020)

Supernatural (2005-2020)
All 15 seasons of Supernatural are available to stream on Netflix.

The long-running series Supernatural is easily one of the best horror/fantasy/adventure series of all time. Starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as Sam and Dean Winchester, the show begins with the brothers setting off to search for their missing father, all the while battling the forces of darkness. During its 15-year run, Supernatural always managed to find a perfect balance of creepiness, humor, and heart.

The Walking Dead (2010-2022)

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in The Walking Dead (2010 - 2022)
The Walking Dead spawned multiple spinoff shows that continues the story even after the main series ended in 2022 after 11 seasons.

In the beginning, Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, wanted to create a story that looks at what would happen if his favorite zombie movies didn’t end. His idea turned into the 2003 comic book series The Walking Dead, which in turn became a television series in 2010. The show follows a fluctuating number of survivors as they deal with other survivors, dwindling resources, natural disasters, and, of course, the ever-present danger of zombies. Currently the first 10 seasons are on Netflix, with the 11th and final season scheduled to arrive on Netflix in 2023.

Stranger Things (2016-)

Stranger Things (2016)
Many cable networks passed on Stranger Things, thinking a dark sci-fi/horror series with children as the lead characters wouldn’t work.

Stranger Things was a phenomenon when it first came out in 2016. The show feels like a Steven Spielberg movie inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, and that combined with its 80s-nostalgia aesthetic captured the attention of Netflix viewers. The series follows a group of kids who get into various supernatural adventures in their small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Its themes can get quite dark, but it always manages to find a great balance of fun and seriousness.

Slasher (2016-2019)

Slasher: Executioner episode 5 (Ill Gotten Gains)
The first three seasons of Slasher are on Netflix, and seasons four and five are on Shudder. (pictured: Mayko Nguyen with season one villain The Executioner)

Slasher is an anthology series that plays out like a slasher movie over the course of a season. Each season starts a new story with a different killer and a different group of characters (though some of the actors are in multiple seasons). Different seasons will cater to different tastes, but overall Slasher is a good horror series with a but of mystery and a lot of blood.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

The Haunting of Hill House (2018).
This Netflix series has little in common with Shirley Jackson’s original novel or its two film adaptations, but it stands on its own as a great horror series.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018) is a fantastic haunted house series that intertwines the past and the present to tell the story of a genuinely frightening family drama. The children of the Crain family have grown up and are split apart, but they come back together after tragedy strikes. Seeing each other brings back memories from when they all lived together at Hill House. This series is one of multiple series and movies on Netflix from filmmaker Mike Flanagan.

Marianne (2019)

Marianne (2019).
Marianne was unfortunately cancelled after one season, but the eight episodes that did get made are thoroughly chilling.

A novelist is haunted by the witch from her stories in the creepy French horror series Marianne. Emma (Victoire Du Bois) made a career out of writing horror novels about a witch named Marianne, but now she is ready to leave the character behind her. After the death of a childhood friend, Emma returns to her hometown where she learns that even though she may be finished with Marianne, Marianne is not finished with Emma. With terrifying sequences, Marianne is a story about how you can never go home again.

Black Summer (2019-2021)

Black Summer (2019).
Black Summer first aired the year after Z Nation ended its five-season run.

Though it is a spinoff of the Syfy series Z Nation, Black Summer works as a prequel to the earlier TV show. Black Summer is set during the early days of a zombie apocalypse and depicts the struggles of various survivors as they cross paths while attempting to live to see another day. Overall Black Summer is somewhat bleak and extremely tense, with the living dead being only marginally more dangerous than the people forced into a desperate and almost hopeless scenario. Jaime King, Justin Chu Cary, and Christine Lee star in this violent zombie series.

Kingdom (2019-2020)

Kingdom (2019).
The movie Kingdom: Ashin of the North (2021) gives the background of Ashin, a character introduced during season 2 of the series.

Kingdom is a South Korean zombie series full of top-notch action and tense political intrigue. During the 16th century in the Joseon era of Korea, the king is sequestered after becoming gravely ill. The Crown Prince (Ju Ji-hoon) becomes suspicious of his father’s condition. When the prince leaves the palace to investigate the origin of the king’s illness, he uncovers an expansive plot to steal the throne which has contributed to an increasing number of extremely fast and vicious zombies. Kingdom also features international star Bae Doona.

Detention (2020)

Detention (2020).
There is also a Taiwanese movie titled Detention (2019) which is based on the same source material.

Detention is a Taiwanese horror series that effectively mixes folk horror and urban legends with a political backdrop. The story follows a female student in the 1990s as she transfers to a new school. Over the course of the series, the young woman is drawn into a supernatural mystery where she learns about the life of a student who went to the school 30 years prior during a time of severe repression in Taiwan known as “White Terror.” The series is based on the point-and-click video game of the same name, but the series deviates enough from its source material so both the game and the show complement each other.

Ju-On: Origins (2020)

Ju-On Origins (2020)
Every episode of Ju-On: Origins contains references to real crimes, events, and people, giving the TV show some extra weight when incorporating its own fantastical elements.

Inspired by the long-running Japanese series of movies that includes Ju-On: The Grudge (2002), Ju-On: Origins is a new take on the famously cursed house of the Ju-On franchise. Instead of telling the origin of the cursed house like the title might suggest, this Netflix series frames itself as an adaptation of the real-life events that inspired the movies (despite the movies not actually being based on any specific event). By separating itself from the continuity of the movies, Ju-On: Origins is able to give viewers big surprises in this highly entertaining retelling of the Ju-On mythology. It’s creepy, violent, and bizarre in the best way.

Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)

Rosa Salazar in Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)
Brand New Cherry Flavor is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Todd Grimson.

Witchcraft and body horror come together in Brand New Cherry Flavor, one of the best Netflix shows of 2021. Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel, 2019) is Lisa Nova, an independent filmmaker trying to make a movie in Los Angeles during the 1990s. When her movie idea is stolen from her by a vindictive producer, Lisa unleashes a curse on him with the help of a witch (Catherine Keener). The curse comes with a very high price though, and Lisa may not have it in her to pay exactly what the witch is asking for.

Midnight Mass (2021)

Hamish Linklater in Midnight Mass (2021).
Series creator Mike Flanagan originally conceived Midnight Mass as a novel.

Mike Flanagan continued his highly successful and entertaining efforts on Netflix with Midnight Mass, a horror series about supernatural events in a small town. The series begins with Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returning to his hometown after serving time and losing his faith. Meanwhile, a mysterious priest (Hamish Linklater) arrives in town to take over the congregation at the local church. As strange events occur, it seems as if the new priest may be involved.

All of Us Are Dead (2022)

All of Us Are Dead (2022).
All of Us Are Dead is based on a webtoon by Joo Dong-geun originally titled Now at Our School.

A typical high school in South Korea becomes ground zero for a virus that turns people into rage-fueled zombies in the Netflix series All of Use Are Dead (2022). Surviving students do their best to survive on school grounds while police, military, and a few of the students’ parents each have their own ideas about how to handle the rapidly expanding zombie outbreak. All of Us Are Dead features the fast-moving variety of zombies typical of South Korean zombie fiction like Train to Busan (2016), though there are some unique twists to the format that help keep the show feeling fresh and exciting.

Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)
The series is described by Netflix as a show that “is meant to challenge our traditional notions of horror.”

Cabinet of Curiosities is a horror anthology series made up of eight individual episodes, created by visianary director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water). There is a massive amount of talent in front of and behind the camera, including Andrew Lincoln, Crispin Glover, Sofia Boutella, Kate Micucci, Peter Weller, Jennifer Kent, F. Murray Abraham, Ana Lily Amirpour, and many more.

Wednesday (2022)

Wednesday (2022)
Tim Burton is an executive producer of Wednesday, and he directed four of the first season’s eight episodes.

Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday Addams in the family-friendly comedy-horror series Wednesday. In this new adaptation of the classic Addams Family characters, Wednesday is sent to a private school, Nevermore Academy, after an incident at her former school involving the swim team and piranhas. Nevermore Academy is a school for outcasts (mostly of the supernatural variety), and it isn’t long before Wednesday becomes involved in trying to solve a murder mystery involving a mysterious monster in the woods. Wednesday is full of the fantastically dry and morbid humor associated with Christina Ricci’s portrayal of Wednesday, but Jenna Ortega makes this new version of the character her own in fabulously entertaining ways.

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023)

Junji Ito Maniac episode "The Hanging Balloons"
Twenty of horror manga master Junji Ito’s stories are adapted to anime, many for the first time (like The Hanging Balloons seen here).

Junji Ito is probably the most well-known and widely-read modern horror manga creator. His work ranges from the creepy to the bizarre, and his influences include horror masters Hideshi Hino and H.P. Lovecraft. Many of Ito’s creations have been adapted into anime and live-action TV and movies before, but Junji Ito Maniac adapts many of his stories into anime for the first time. The series is nicely unnerving, and it’s great for watching late at night with all the lights turned off.

New & Upcoming Horror TV Shows on Netflix

Akuma Kun

Streaming on Netflix November 9, 2023.
Akuma Kun is based on the manga of the same name which was originally created by Shigeru Mizuki in the 1960s.

Onimusha

Streaming on Netflix November 4, 2023.
This is an action-horror anime series based on the video game franchise Onimusha.

The Fall of the House of Usher

Streaming Netflix October 12, 2023.
The cast of The Fall of the House of Usher includes frequent Mike Flanagan collaborators including Carla Gugino, Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas, and Rahul Kohli. Mark Hamill also appears throughout the series.

The Fall of the House of Usher is a Netflix series from creator Mike Flanagan that tells the story of siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher (Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell). The Ushers have built their wealth with a company called Fortunato Pharmaceuticals, but the cracks in their empire threaten to bring down the entire Usher family in a horrific way. Though the series is primarily inspired by “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, viewers can expect the series to be a full reimagining of the source material much like Mike Flanagan did with The Haunting of Hill House being loosely inspired by Shirley Jackson’s novel, and The Haunting of Bly Manor being a loose adaptation of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Fans of Poe can also expect many references to other works by the author in The Fall of the House of Usher. Even in the trailer we can see nods to “The Raven,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Black Cat,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.”

All of Us Are Dead: Season 2

Release date TBA.
All of Us Are Dead has been renewed for a second season, though details about the season and its release date have not been announced.

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Meet The Author

Chris has a degree in film studies at Temple Universityโ€™s campus in Tokyo, Japan. He is a renowned expert on horror cinema.