Dive Into Terror: The 14 Best Horror TV Shows Ever Made

The 14 best horror TV shows to stream

Narrowing the list of “best” horror TV series down to a single read is a task almost scarier than the shows themselves—how do you exclude The Twilight Zone? What about The Walking Dead? Why was Teen Wolf even considered? Here, the CableTV.com horror hounds focused on genuine fright factor, production quality, and, most importantly, streaming availability. (Glaring example: Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone follow-up Night Gallery isn’t on any platform—boo!)

American Horror Story (2011–present)

Kicking off with the king! Twelve seasons on a cable network is no small feat, and Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story is perennially the talk of Halloween. We all have our favorite seasons of the FX series (my top 3 are Murder House, Coven, and 1984), and even the shakier AHS installments (2018’s Apocalypse … huh?) are still must-see TV. Check out the anthology spinoff American Horror Stories too.

Where to stream American Horror Story

Bates Motel (2013–2017)

Before she ruled as the Green Queen in House of the Dragon, Olivia Cooke played the concerned high school friend of a young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) in the Psycho prequel series Bates Motel. The four-season series isn’t so much scary as it is perpetually creepy and tense, as single mom Norma (Vera Farmiga, absolutely owning the role) moves into the titular roadside motel with her young son. We know what Norman will eventually become, but it doesn’t make the journey any less intense.

Where to stream Bates Motel

Black Summer (2019–2021)

The overlooked Netflix original Black Summer offers a different take on the zombie apocalypse than The Walking Dead: The undead move fast, the plot moves faster, and there’s little time for feelings or monologues. Suburban mom Rose (Jaime King) deals with the early days of an unfolding Z-pocalypse, separated from her young daughter and now widowed thanks to a zombie bite. The run-and-gun rush of Black Summer rarely lets up for two seasons, where it thankfully ends (the heart can only take so much).

Where to stream Black Summer

Castle Rock (2018–2019)

Stephen King’s fictional town of Castle Rock is the setting for a series that cleverly combines characters and stories from his vast catalog of novels. Season 1 (starring Yellowjackets’ Melanie Lynskey and It’s Bill Skarsgård) mashes up elements of The Shawshank Redemption and The Shining), and season 2 takes on the origin story of Misery’s Annie Wilkes (masterfully played by Lizzie Caplan). King-heads unite!

Where to stream Castle Rock

Evil (2019–2024)

Like an X-Files strictly for demonic and Satan-y cases, Evil follows a trio of investigators (Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi) in a series that swings wildly from terrifying to comic to touching and back again within single episodes. Evil began on broadcast CBS but let all the way loose when it moved to censor-free Paramount+ in its second season, wrapping tidily at 50 episodes in season 4. The lead actors are excellent, but side players Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin handily steal Evil.

Where to stream Evil

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

The Fall of the House of Usher chronicles a family haunted by past sins, leaving you chatting about every episode and what it holds. Rather than repeat the stories of Poe with modern effects, Mike Flannigan uses the themes, story beats, and poetic lines to craft a fresh exploration of a family tormented by the haunting specter of their own choices. This modern interpretation of some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous works proves that the best horror never stops haunting us. —Aaron Gates, CableTV.com Deputy Editor

Where to stream The Fall of the House of Usher

From (2022–present)

If you make the mistake of detouring off the Massachusetts highway into the seemingly quaint Township, you’re joining a community where you can never leave, as Army vet Boyd (Harrold Perrineau) learns in the first episode of MGM+ original From. Even scarier than the existential loop of an inescapable town are the man-eating monsters that emerge from the woods at night—this place would not rate favorably on Tripadvisor. From is a little Twilight Zone, a little Lost, and a whole lot of addictive mystery TV.

Where to stream From

Hannibal (2013–2015)

It’s a mystery how Hannibal was ever greenlit to become an NBC broadcast series in the first place, much less that it survived for three acclaimed seasons. But not universally acclaimed: Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate station pulled the psychological thriller from its schedule after four episodes, so you know it’s good. Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal is easily the best show about a dapper cannibal (Mads Mikkelsen).

Where to stream Hannibal

Midnight Mass (2021)

Mike Flannigan’s Midnight Mass is a horror miniseries set in a small, isolated New England town shocked by sudden miracles—but the source might not be what they hope. Midnight Mass explores themes of belief, community, family, forgiveness, and life after death, and the series doesn’t force you into one belief system. Instead, it explores the positives and negatives of any approach to trusting or not trusting in something beyond the human experience … stress on human. —Aaron Gates, CableTV.com Deputy Editor

Where to stream Midnight Mass

The Outer Limits (1995–2002)

Thanks to the successes of The X-Files and Tales From the Crypt in the ’90s, MGM revived the 1963–1965 anthology series The Outer Limits for SHOWTIME and broadcast syndication in 1995. The series’ 157 episodes mostly avoid the supernatural, centering on science-based scares and manmade threats (biochemical warfare, time travel, eugenics, etc.). Also, many episodes tie together, TV detectives.

Where to stream The Outer Limits

Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)

The creepy and atmospheric Penny Dreadful brought 19th-century public-domain characters like Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), Vanessa Ives (a perfectly cast Eva Green), and others together for a gothic feast of a series. Walking the line between slow-burn thriller and dark-as-night horror, Penny Dreadful is utterly unique. Spinoff City of Angels is also worth a look.

Where to stream Penny Dreadful

Scream Queens (2015–2016)

Ryan Murphy’s short-lived FOX series Scream Queens is one of the wildest horror comedies ever, featuring career-peak glam-camp performances from Emma Roberts and Billie Lourd. As sorority sisters at Wallace University, they’re stalked by a serial killer dressed as the college’s Red Devil mascot, who may or may not be the fantastically named Chad Radwell (future It Guy Glen Powell). Season 2 moved the story to a hospital with the new Green Meanie killer, but Scream Queens remained hilariously scary.

Where to stream Scream Queens

The Strain (2014–2017)

FX original The Strain was far from the first vampire TV series, but it’s definitely one of the most terrifying. In the four-season show, New York City is ground zero for what threatens to be a worldwide takeover of an ancient vampirism strain, and it’s up to Dr. Ephram Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and his mercenary team to stop it. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan outdid themselves with The Strain.

Where to stream The Strain

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004)

There are plenty of horror comedies that could have made this list, like Ash vs. Evil Dead and What We Do In the Shadows, but British series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace deserves more eyeballs. Pompous horror author Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness) introduces his never-aired ’80s series Darkplace, a hilariously low-budget production about a hospital atop a Hellmouth. Darkplace also features the first credited role of What We Do In the Shadows’ Matt Berry and his “impossibly coiffured hair.”

Where to stream Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace