16 Shows to Get You in the Halloween Spirit

Courtesy of Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and CBS.

Why wait until October to get into the Halloween spirit? There are tons of shows on Netflix and other platforms that you can watch all year long to get seriously spooked. Some of the best television shows have been creepy, scary, or downright disturbing. Here is a list of shows to get you in the Halloween spirit, or maybe just to binge watch at your leisure.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

The original Joss Whedon creation featured the badass Sarah Michelle Gellar as the titular heroine, destined to become the ultimate vampire killer in her hometown of Sunnydale, California. Buffy saved her entire high school, college, Sunnydale, and the world at large, multiple times. She fought every baddie, including witches, vampires, and friends turned enemies. She and the “Scooby Gang” were great friends, and orally and physically sparred with their foes. There was nothing like it when it came out, and there’s nothing out there now with the same awesome feminist ties and cult following. Currently Buffy lives on in graphic novels, comics, and hopefully a new movie. (fingers crossed.)

Courtesy of NBCUniversal Television Distributor

Heroes (2006-2010)

Yes, there’s nothing really admirable about this show past the first season, but my God what a first season. The mysteries involved in the complex plot were enough to keep around viewers for a solid season where we were introduced to a slew of supposed heroes, who were more often than not flawed human beings. We met Claire, a Texan cheerleader whose adopted father harbored an intense secret, a space-time travelling Japanese man named Hiro, and two brothers from New York who each find that they have unique powers all their own. Recently a new iteration of Heroes has been made in the miniseries “Heroes: Reborn,” which somewhat captures the original spirit.

Scream Queens (2015-???)

The latest show from creator Ryan Murphy, it has been advertised as a fusion between “American Horror Story” and “Glee.” The show does star the original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, who always entertains, and Murphy favorites Emma Roberts and Lea Michele. The show centers on a sorority that is hit by a serial killer, supposedly reignited in his fervor after a twenty year old crime. Goofy and gory, the show has had mixed reviews from critics and seems to be a question mark to fans of Murphy’s previous work.

Courtesy of Hulu via NBCUniversal Television Distributors

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1965)

Hitchcock wasn’t primarily a horror director. He liked to ratchet up the tension, and his entire style was based in that simple fact. When Ingrid Bergman asked about her character’s motivation Hitchock famously replied, “Fake it.” Most of the show’s episodes deal in mysteries, dramas, and thrillers in an anthology format. While there’s nothing gory or altogether horrific about this show, it does raise the blood pressure and is a nice alternative to the very realistic and frightening shows already out there, besides the fact that the greatest director of all time created and hosted the series, making him the most well-known director in America.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Distribution

The Vampire Diaries (2009-???)

In keeping with the emergent vampire trend that truly began after “Twilight’s” release in 2008, this show premiered on the CW the following year. It deals primarily in the love triangle between Elena (Dobrev), and brothers Stefan (Wesley), and Damon (Somerhalder). There are vampires, as well as witches, ghosts, and werewolves, like any good genre show. While the show had mixed reviews from critics at its premiere, it has a loyal fan base and is in its seventh season. Dobrev left last season, but other regulars and side characters are still on the show, dealing with clan warfare over the fate of Mystic Falls.

The X-Files (1993-2002, 2016-???)

Highly loved, highly rated, and duly missed until recently, X-Files changed the cultural landscape for the better. It introduced serious sci-fi into the television landscape for a new generation of viewers who were raised on “Twilight Zone” and “Star Trek.” The highly realistic show took from the reality of government agencies’ secrecy, and the supposition that there is life out there. Mulder and Scully’s chemistry lent to sexual tension, as well as a great give and take between their personalities of outright believer and the skeptic. The show suffered in later seasons with the departure of David Duchovny, and several movies were made to answer fan questions. Of course that wasn’t enough, as they are reviving the series this next January. This one is great for anyone who likes the outright spookiness of aliens, mutants, ghosts, or shape shifters.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Television Distribution

American Horror Story (2011-???)

Whatever your opinion of this show, you have to admit it’s addictive. Several episodes into this macabre horror show and I was absolutely hooked. This show has everything that you want in a show about horror: mental patients, ghosts, torture, freak shows, witches, famous murder cases, and gore galore. Each season is different, centering on a group of people in different circumstances each time. The seasons have been titled “Murder House,” “Aslyum,” “Coven,” “Freak Show,” and “Hotel,” and every one stars the incomparably talented and beloved Jessica Lange, the entire reason I started watching it in the first place. This is the best show to start watching around Halloween.

iZombie (2015-???)

This is a very recently televised show that follows zombie assistant ME Liv Moore as she balances her new life as a zombie, solving murders, and stopping a zombie outbreak. The show is funny, heartbreaking, horrifying, and female driven. Watch for the zombies but stay for the great characters and seriously great story arcs.

Gotham (2014-???)

The show follows a tween Bruce Wayne after his parents die and he has to find his way along. The show is more about James Gordon (McKenzie) trying to navigate Gotham’s crime families as well as teenage versions of future Batman foes, including the Penguin, Cat Woman, and the Riddler. The setting is dreary, dark, and gothic, lending to a feeling of general unease. Though the show isn’t anything horrific, it provides a taste of the insanity and parity between the future caped crusader and his adversaries; origins stories always being interesting.

Courtesy of Touchpaper Television and BBC Three

Being Human (UK version) (2009-2013)

According to my roommate the UK version of this show is the better of the two, and has the better drama, characters, and authenticity. There is a US version, which ran for three seasons on Syfy, as well. The premise of the show follows a vampire, werewolf, and ghost who live in a single apartment. Though there are dangers and chance of persecution by the human race they try to live among humans and be as normal as possible. Often there are former nemesis, clans, and villains who try to take them down but they come together time and again. The show deals with issues like survival, prejudice, loss, and what makes us human.

The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

The original show, created and narrated by Rod Serling, dealt with the unnatural, supernatural, and plain extraordinary in our lives. Episodes often centered on stories with political, social, and emotional undertones with storylines in sci-fi, fantasy, psychological thriller, and horror genres. Some of its episodes are iconic for putting a mirror up to society, questioning things like the Cold War, the patriarchy, and anti-Semitism. Even fifty some years later the episodes scare, make you think, and thrill with their mix of reality and the unknown.

Fringe (2008-2013)

Primarily a science fiction television show dealing with the complexities of time travel, the show also dealt with the unnatural and strange in everyday life. A definite descendent of “The X-Files,” “Fringe” was a J.J. Abrams creation that enjoyed critical success in several of its seasons and ran as a procedural meets fantasy show. Due to the complexities of the plots and the supposed woodenness of the characters it ended in 2013. Of course the show lives on in comics, fan fiction, and the online community at large, mostly because of its amazing visuals and puzzle box plot.

True Blood (2008-2014)

Most famous for featuring shirtless men with extreme ab muscles, “True Blood” is the ultimate in stylistic horror. Most of the show follows Sookie, a half human-half faerie, and her love affair with vampire, Bill. There are also werewolves, shape-shifters, witches, mediums, and maenads. The show relied heavily on the moodiness of the Deep South, the mythology and fantasy of different cultures and beliefs, and the love triangles of different characters. The show also tackled issues relating to discrimination, equal rights, drug addiction, media’s control of our society, and identity.

From Dusk till Dawn: The Series (2014-???)

Based on Robert Rodriguez’s film of the same name, the show premiered last year on his newly launched channel El Rey. The show follows the exploits of the Gecko brothers (originally portrayed by Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney) who are being hunted by the FBI. The show follows the same plot of the movie, for the most part, but expands backstories of the characters and includes the mythology behind the Mexican stripper vampires seen in the original film. It has already been renewed for its third season on El Rey.

Supernatural (2005-???)

It’s super easy to fall in love with this show as it’s headed by the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, demon hunters who work on the fringe of society in order to save it. Both of these characters is fun, interesting, complex, and fluctuates between extremely different states of depression and deep thought. There are some standalone shows, as well as over-arching storylines dealing with things like the end of the world, killing the demon that took their mother, and the intervention of angels in their everyday life. It’s a highly spiritual as well as fantastical show, which is probably why it’s the longest running US science fiction show of all time.

The Walking Dead (2010-???)

Many diehard fans of this show have left it far behind, but for the uninitiated get ready for full-on zombie apocalypse. Following the exploits of a survivor group who are just trying to endure, there’s lots of betrayal, killing of loved ones, villains, and humankind beginning again. Iconic imagery and out of this world effects make this a great horror staple for the Halloween season, as well as a no-brainer to binge.