With the spooky season coming soon, chances are you’re thinking of your next horror fix. Movies are the go-to by default, but TV can also provide a darn good time when it comes to scary content. In some cases, they can be more effective, as the TV format has grown to be just as important as films in terms of production values.
Perhaps when you think about series, you’re thinking of massive, multiple-season series that tilt towards the procedural “same character faces different threats in every episode” format. But we’ll actually flip the tables this time and send something shorter your way. These are the best horror miniseries to binge on streaming.
10 Salem’s Lot (1979)
Available to Stream on Shudder
In Salem’s Lot, bestselling author Ben Mears returns to his hometown of Salem’s Lot, in Maine. Some demons from the past aren’t enough to keep him out of his next project: a book about the Marsten House, an abandoned mansion that’s supposedly haunted. Mears realizes that his arrival coincides with that of two mysterious businessmen who purchase the Marsten home before weird things begin happening in the town.
One of the Most Underrated Vampire Shows Ever Made
Directed by Tobe Hooper in 1979 and made for CBS after Stephen King’s novel was deemed too long to make it into a feature film, Salem’s Lot is a two-episode vampire flick that features one of the scariest moments in all of King’s filmography: Yes, the boy in the window. You can’t go wrong with a Salem’s Lot binge, as it’s a vastly underrated vampire series, especially before the new version premieres soon on Max.
9 Storm of the Century (1999)
Available to Stream on Hulu
Storm of the Century takes viewers to Little Tall Island, Maine, where residents are preparing for an otherworldly blizzard. They’re unaware a stranger has stepped into their remote little town, and André Linoge seems to know everyone’s secrets. When he makes all the children fall under his spell, he offers them a solution, and it’s one too dark even to consider.
The Most Underrated Stephen King Miniseries
The three-part miniseries aired on ABC in 1999 to critical acclaim. It’s one of the few works by King that isn’t based on a previous book but on a screenplay written by the author, who has been very vocal in saying Storm of the Century is the favorite of his TV adaptations (he even reposted one of our features about it on X!). It’s extremely underrated and, weirdly, family-friendly in its execution of the horror genre.
8 Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)
Available to Stream on Netflix
Based on the novel of the same name by Todd Grimson, Brand New Cherry Flavor tells the story of Lisa Nova, a young woman who wants to make it big in Hollywood by directing her first film. However, LA in the 1990s isn’t as glamorous or safe, and Lisa faces a betrayal that’ll make her fall down a rabbit hole of sorcery, art, and payback.
Hollywood Takes a Hit (and Not a Good One)
Rosa Salazar is the star who gives life to Lisa Nova in the eight-episode horror miniseries that proves Netflix can get really weird sometimes. The impressive cast also includes Catherine Keener, Eric Lange, Manny Jacinto, and Jeff Ward, who feel tailormade for this modern Lynchian descent into the weirdest version of Hollywood there can be.
7 The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Available to Stream on Netflix
In The Haunting of Hill House, 26 years haven’t been enough for five siblings who are still dealing with the aftermath of their experience at Hill House. Still haunted by the events, they realize they may have left the home, but some ghosts follow after them. With some inspiration taken from the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name, it is the best adaptation of the classic Gothic tale so far.
Flanagan Introduces Himself
Mike Flanagan directs his first miniseries for Netflix in ten episodes of pure nightmare fuel and one of the best TV productions you’ve ever seen. The miniseries was critically acclaimed and was celebrated enough for Flanagan to make an entire career out of Netflix’s trust. It has been widely celebrated by Stephen King himself and Quentin Tarantino, who called the show his favorite Netflix series.
6 The Third Day (2020)
Available to Stream on Max
The Third Day follows Sam, a grief-stricken man who arrives at Osea Island in order to try to forget his son was murdered many years before. However, he encounters a community that behaves very strangely and insists tradition is above everything and will make him face the horrors of the past and the present.
An Ambitious Folk Horror Venture
Produced by HBO and Sky, The Third Day is an ambitious six-part miniseries that was sadly forgotten very quickly. Its cast is impressive: Jude Law, Paddy Considine, Emily Watson, Katherine Waterston, Naomie Harris, etc. After its first three episodes aired, a 12-hour live event was broadcast in one continuous take, something that has never been attempted again. However, it’s not as necessary to watch this (it’s not available to stream and it doesn’t do much for the story), as the original six episodes are good enough for folk horror fans.
5 The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
Available to Stream on Netflix
The Fall of the House of Usher is the story of Roderick Usher, the CEO of a shady big pharma company whose children start dying in mysterious circumstances, and he becomes sure the deaths have to do with a deal he made in the past. The miniseries compiles several of Edgar Allan Poe’s characters and stories in a single narrative arc.
A Worthy Adaptation of Classics
Produced by Netflix, The Fall of the House of Usher is the latest contribution from Mike Flanagan in the form of a miniseries. Featuring his usual cast, it’s the boldest and scariest to date, especially considering it’s a clever mix of literary classics by one of the most famed authors of all time. The eight-episode miniseries was critically acclaimed, with some calling it the most characteristic of Flanagan’s shows.
4 Ju-On: Origins (2020)
Available to Stream on Netflix
Ju-On: Origins takes the concept of the original franchise films, Ju-On, and adapts them into a new story that doesn’t feature the famous ghost, Kayako. This time, it’s all about the results of trauma and how they can manifest as ghosts for a rookie actress whose husband dies in mysterious circumstances.
A Solid Follow-Up
Ju-On: Origins was the franchise return no one asked for. Nevertheless, it’s much scarier than the countless sequels and offshoots that stemmed from the J-horror film from 2000. Six 30-minute episodes will leave you shaking with their clever execution of folk horror tropes and occasional jump-scare moments.
3 Midnight Mass (2021)
Available to Stream on Netflix
In Midnight Mass, Riley Flynn returns to his hometown after spending time in prison for accidentally killing a woman in a drunk driving incident. Crockett Island also welcomes Father Paul Hill, the new young priest who’s replacing Monsignor Pruitt. Strange events begin taking place, and Riley suspects it may have to do with the new priest in town.
Faith as Seen From the Eyes of a Powerful Storyteller
The best show by Mike Flanagan is one of the most personal and intimate because it digs deep into the dynamics of modern religion and how faith works in enclosed communities. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s just “another vampire show” because it’s certainly not. As with most of Flanagan’s shows, the seven-episode miniseries was critically acclaimed.
2 Dead Ringers (2023)
Available to Stream on Prime Video
In Dead Ringers, Beverly and Elliot Mantle (wonderfully played by Rachel Weisz) are identical twins who have also decided to commit their lives to being gynecologists. With the intention of opening a birth center, they don’t exactly follow the ethics of medicine, and their true nature arises when one of them falls in love.
Twisting Things Around
Inspired by the novel Twins, and David Cronenberg’s 1988 film of the same, Dead Ringers breaks the rules of psychological thrillers early enough to expand into body horror. It only takes six episodes of absolute perversion to make you connect with two central characters that aren’t very kind, but will make you fall for them nonetheless.
1 The Enfield Poltergeist (2023)
Available to Stream on Apple TV+
Between 1977 and 1979, sisters Janet and Margaret Hodgson were the victims of poltergeist activity at their home on 284 Green Street in Enfield, London. The case has been widely shown in films like The Conjuring 2, and it inspired Ghostwatch. However, nothing quite like The Enfield Poltergeist had ever been done before.
You’ll Question Your Own Sanity
The four-part miniseries mixes documentary-style footage with very realistic recreations and testimonies by those involved in the case. At first, it looks like a regular supernatural-themed docuseries, but the great use of lip-synched real recordings is creepy enough to make you lose your sleep and question your beliefs.
