10 Horror Shows To Watch While Waiting For Summer To End
Like any good millennial, I was raised by the TV. So, I make it my business to watch as many horror series as I possibly can every year. This comes in handy as I love telling everyone what to watch. Want a quick little limited series? I got you. Looking to commit to something that lasted for over 100 episodes? Step into my office! Looking for anthologies that don’t have that layer of Ryan Murphy ick? That’s actually my specialty. So, I obviously volunteered as tribute when it came to a list of television shows to beat the heat with. Follow my lead, and you’ll be so busy you’ll forget summer is still scratching at your window because you’ll have lost weeks. Let’s dive into these recs.
10. Hannibal
Follows the relationship of cannibal and psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and an FBI profiler who empathizes with serial killers. I’m not telling you to binge all three seasons of this so the Fannibals don’t try to catch me outside. I’m not even recommending it, so I can sneak in a recommendation for Bryan Fuller’s other show, Pushing Daisies. Hannibal is here because it’s good, the duo of Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen is hard to top, and it deserved that fourth season. More importantly, you might show up looking to see a younger version of the infamous cannibal...but you’ll leave lowkey wanting a plate of some of these people. That’s the power of the plate and the real reason this show was too spicy for NBC.
9. Interview With The Vampire
A vampire tells his epic story to a jaded journalist. The movie put me to sleep as a kid (on a few occasions), so I almost skipped this show. However, both seasons of Interview With The Vampire had everything. It was a bloody and soul-crushing journey filled with twists and turns. It was also gorgeous in every sense of the word. Beautiful locations, costumes, people, and even dialogue. Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid put us through the wringer as they brought this toxic vampiric romance to the small screen. So much so that season three—titled The Vampire Lestat—feels like it never escapes the previous seasons' shadow. You can now watch all three seasons and see if you feel the same way, though.
8. From
Random strangers find themselves stuck in a town they cannot escape, where creatures terrorize them at night. From is like 90 puzzles in a trench coat, and each season introduces 10 riddles you have to solve before you can get back to the puzzles. The ensemble is amazing and led by thee Harold Perrineau, who is also an executive producer on the series. The first three seasons are possibly some of the most stressful TV we’ve gotten in years. Which, after the pilot, we should have expected. This show understands high stakes, and too many core town members have been ripped apart to feel like anyone is truly safe anymore. Put this on if you want to be rattled and also want to break out a conspiracy board to try to get answers with the rest of us.
7. The Creep Tapes
A sociopathic serial killer lures unsuspecting filmmakers in with the promise of paid work. Then uses them and their equipment to record their final moments on tape to add to his collection. When you put it that way, The Creep Tapes is mean because who among us isn’t looking for work in this economy? Anywhos, the creators Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass have cracked the code and given us two seasons of WTF found footage. Both seasons take the energy of the two movies and then run to greater and weirder heights. Duplass has always been a solid actor and a nice person. However, that talent and vibe are funneled into something sinister here. More importantly, the episodes are quick, so you could take both seasons down in one day. Don’t ask how I know that.
6. Slasher/Hell Motel
An anthology that promises at least one slasher will go on a rampage. I’m cheating because Slasher and Hell Motel are two separate entities, but have all of the same people. So, if you liked what they were throwing in a woodchipper on the former, you’ll like what’s getting snowblowed on the latter. As a slasher girl, I am painfully aware that not all killers are cut from the same cloth. Which is why I love that each season tries to outdo what came before. This recommendation is for the people who like big swings and high body counts. Literally, the gore is unmatched, and pretty much everyone dies because the powers that be know what ghouls like us come here for. You can jump in anywhere because it’s an anthology, but there are fun references and easter eggs for the nerds who have done it in order.
5. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Into every generation a slayer is born! Okay, Joss Whedon is the worst. However, I would be a liar if I said Buffy The Vampire Slayer didn’t shape my generation. Watching Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy throw hands and learn to rely on her scoobies is always a good time. Whether it’s your first watch or your 30th. There is a magic to this show, and that’s the reason it stands the test of time. Its spin-off, Angel, is also worth your time, and the crossover events still feel special almost 20 years later. While we’re here, I also have a cheat recommendation with Crazyhead. It's a British one-season show that felt like a way more intersectional version of Buffy. So, if you cannot do the seven seasons with Buff and/or five seasons in LA with Angel, you can still get your fun and supernatural fix in.
4. Marianne
A famous horror writer returns to her hometown and discovers her dream demon is actually a very real threat. This could’ve easily been a French riff on A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. However, Samuel Bodin and Quoc Dang Tran opened Final Draft and chose violence. This one-season Netflix gem is possibly one of the most unsettling shows I have had the privilege of watching. It’s dark, smart, and doesn’t waste time getting to the nightmare fuel. Bodin also directs the series, which is why so many of us were basically camped out trying to get into a showing of COBWEB (2023). We knew he was good for the sick and twisted visuals that we got because of Marianne.
3. The Twilight Zone
An anthology where people unknowingly step out of their mundane existence and into…The Twilight Zone! Obviously, you have to have this title on any list about horror TV shows. The original is the blueprint for so many shows that came after it. The Outer Limits, Black Mirror, Tomorrow And I, Tales From The Darkside, etc. Hell, even Are You Afraid Of The Dark? was basically Twilight Zone for the kids. While many people are purists, I have yet to see an incarnation that isn’t worth binging. So, whether Rod Serling’s, Jordan Peele’s, or any of the revivals between the two, it’s a great way to beat the heat. However, your mileage may vary when it comes to TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, so do a bit of research before adding that bit of extra credit.
2. Chucky
Charles Lee Ray is still trapped in the body of a doll and about to bring his brand of chaos to a whole new generation. Don Mancini and the crew brought Chucky to the small screen without missing a step. We got three seasons of gold, counted Emmys that should’ve been given to Tiffany Valentine/Jennifer Tilly, and killed at least five Devon Sawa characters. Let’s not even get into how many kids were killed, Fiona Dourif donning fast drag to play her dad in flashbacks, or the cliffhanger series finale that left us all screaming. As if this wasn’t enough, we also got to see Brad Dourif walk around in this universe that his voice helped build. Chucky had no business being this good, but it fired on all cylinders because it knew that some of us still deserve nice things.
1. Tales From The Crypt
The beloved show based on the classic E.C. comics is finally streaming. Rejoice, boils and ghouls! The Cryptkeeper taught most of us what a pun was, and it is possibly where I learned to cackle as a small child. However, the HBO series has been impossible to stream until this year, when it hit Shudder. Now we get to see how it’s holding up, and rewatch the episodes that went over our heads in our youth. This anthology is also special because it allowed so many famous faces the chance to play in the macabre and dip their toes into horror. Michael J. Fox did this long before he did THE FRIGHTENERS, and now we can teach the youth because his episode is findable. These seven seasons aren’t like work, but I’ll be damned if every Cryptkeeper cackle doesn’t heal something.
Clearly, this was hard. I also cheated quite a few other recommendations in those descriptions. However, shows like Evil, Kingdom, and All Of Us Are Dead should be in your rotation. Also, if you’re a Freddy Krueger fan but never got the chance to see Freddy’s Nightmares, that is currently streaming. I am currently making my way through it. So, be brave, my fellow couch potatoes! Crank that A/C up, turn on your TV, and remember summer has to end eventually.
