Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean the horrors have to end. In fact, for many of these series, the spooks and scares are only beginning with season one. A new string of debut shows recently hit Netflix and are quickly becoming everyone’s favorite subject. The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, Haunted, and The Haunting Of Hill House dominate Netflix right now, but some of us aren’t scared of the paranormal or don’t believe in it. That’s why we included Mindhunter and Black Mirror, two shows that are much too real in their delivery of serial killers and techno-paranoia. The one show we didn’t feel the need to mention here is The Walking Dead simply because it’s already so popular and loved. But don’t worry, there’s room for comic relief on this list, too.
The Haunting Of Hill House
While the haunted house angle may seem outdated and overdone these days, The Haunting Of Hill House breathes fresh life into the horror sub-genre. The storyline time jumps between the past and present while following the lives of the Crain family, who were once victim to the haunting of their childhood home. Now, as dysfunctional adults, they must come together to grieve the loss of their sibling. Medical records say she killed herself inside Hill House, but the Crain family know it’s never that simple. She saw something. Felt something. Was possessed by something – the same something as their mother many years ago.
Haunted
There are two types of people in this world: those who believe in ghosts, and those who don’t. If all the lights suddenly go off in your home, you may automatically assume something spooky is going on, while your partner is convinced it’s an outlet issue – just tech stuff. If you’re a non-believer in the creepy paranormal, Haunted might change your mind. Each 20-ish-minute episode tells the “true” story of a haunting from a first-person perspective. The haunted individual shares their experience with friends and family in a secluded room with interwoven dramatic scenes to help capture their true fear.
American Horror Story
No matter what your deepest, darkest fear is, American Horror Story has got you covered. In the past eight seasons, they’ve touched on witches, demons, clowns, vampires, the apocalypse, hospitals, hotels, an insane asylum – even bondage figures in black latex suits. It’s impossible to get bored of American Horror Story since every season invites brand new characters and a brand new storyline. Granted, a lot of the actors are the same. The most recent season begins with a nuclear blast that wipes out the world’s entire population, excluding a group of civilians living in Outpost 3, an underground bunker dedicated to those with a strong genetic makeup.
Bates Motel
There’s a reason Alfred Hitchcock is considered one of the founding fathers of horror. He’s like the Stephen King of the movie world. Based on the movie Pyscho, arguably Hitchcock’s greatest piece of work, Bates Motel follows the lives of mother-son duo Norma and Norman. Yep, you guessed it, they share a much-too-close relationship with absolutely zero privacy or personal space. That is, until Norman makes some new friends in town that rub Norma the wrong way. Not to mention there’s also a murder, the hiding of a dead body, and the secret-keeping behind it. The coastal town of White Pine Bay is also keeping a few secrets of its own.
Black Mirror
Black Mirror isn’t your typical goblins and ghouls TV show. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. This series explores the “what ifs” of techno-paranoia. Each episode delves into a different component of technology, from online dating to posting reviews to being trapped inside a video game. Imagine for a second that the characters (and horse) in Red Dead Redemption were real. They had their own thoughts and opinions but were being forced to play your game as a modern form of slavery for all of eternity. Black Mirror treats technology as your best friend and worst enemy, a similar perspective to those of us who love and hate our iPhone at the same time.
The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina
Nothing to see here, just a regular girl’s 16th birthday party. Yeah, right. The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina takes elements of Sabrina The Teenage Witch and turns the genre upside down. This new adaptation is far spookier and darker than the original. We first meet Sabrina on the eve of her 16th birthday party, during which she’s expected to pledge loyalty to the Dark Lord Satan. Either that, or continue to live a relatively normal life as half-witch, half-mortal with her friends, family, and boyfriend. Madame Satan isn’t giving up that easily, though. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to bring Sabrina over to the dark side.
Slasher
Nothing coy about this one. If you want an absolute bloodbath packed with disturbing middle-of-the-night kills, turn on Slasher. The title says it all. The series begins with a woman who returns to her small hometown where her parents were brutally murdered by “The Executioner” on the night of her birth. No one has seen this man’s face or has any clue about his identity. During the week of her return, a new string of murders takes place based on the seven deadly sins: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath. One reviewer actually said this show made her scream out loud.
Ash Vs. Evil Dead
It’s amazing how horror and comedy can be so well intertwined. Cabin In The Woods nailed it and now it’s trickling down into television shows like Ash Vs. Evil Dead and Stan Against Evil. Scary movie fans should know Ash from The Evil Dead, but this time around he’s all grown up and carrying a chip on his shoulder toward the paranormal world. Who could blame him? With his chainsaw arm and monster-fighting friends, Ash was always prepared for the day that evil would come back to haunt him and lead him back to that deathly cabin. He’s waited 30 years to kick monster butt.
Stranger Things
Stranger Things came out of nowhere and was an immediate massive success for Netflix. Starring Winona Ryder, Stranger Things takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in the ’80s. The Hawkins National Laboratory is inadvertently responsible for creating “the Upside Down” after conducting experiments on the paranormal and supernatural, sometimes using human subjects. The “Upside Down” abducts Will Byers in season one at the same as Eleven, a girl with special powers, escapes from the lab. Season two picks up a year after Will’s rescue when his group of friends realizes there’s more to the “Upside Down” than they ever imagined.
Mindhunter
Season two of Mindhunter is expected to air in 2019 – but what’s the big deal, right? Well, this series just goes to show that the worst monsters are real. They’re walking among us. They look just like us. There are no ghosts or goblins in Mindhunter, just seemingly ordinary people who suddenly crack and carry out a string of murders. This based-on-true-events show explains how the term “serial killer” came to be. Ever wondered what was going through Ed Kemper’s mind the day he decided to have intercourse with his mother’s corpse? FBI agent Holden Ford is on a mission to find out.
