Among haunted quarters, gateways to hell, and hordes of the undead, here are the most frightful shows streaming on Netflix. The 18 best horror series on Netflix

Among haunted quarters, gateways to hell, and hordes of the undead, here are the most frightful shows streaming on Netflix.

The 18 best horror series on Netflix

Among haunted quarters, gateways to hell, and hordes of the undead, here are the most frightful shows streaming on Netflix.

By Johnny Loftus

and Kevin Jacobsen

on August 1, 2025 10:00AM EDT

Carla Gugino as Verna in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'; Hamish Linklater as Father Paul Hill in 'Midnight Mass'; Kim Do-yoon as Lee Dong-wook on 'Hellbound'. Credit:

Eike Schroter/Netflix (2); Jung Jaegu/Netflix

The best joke the horror genre has ever played — and one it consistently returns to — is that you always knew it would get you in the end. It's built from our twisted dreams and our collective fears. It thrives in dark places, but can also live out in the open. Our list of the best horror series on Netflix accesses a lot of the touchpoints that have long made horror scream — trudging zombies hungry for brains, unkillable slashers intent on body count, and cults with the hots for ritualistic murders — but it takes some left turns, too.

From slow-burn gothic scares and spooky cults to creative takes on the undead and opening wide the gates of hell, this is your sure-fire list of what horror series are hot on Netflix as of August 2025.

Archive 81 (2022)

Mamoudou Athie as Dan Turner on 'Archive 81'.

Quantrell D. Colbert/Netflix

This short-lived horror drama follows Dan (Mamoudou Athie), a renowned conservator who is tasked with restoring tapes from 1994 that feature a grad student named Melody (Dina Shihabi) documenting an apartment building that eventually burned down in a fire. As he comes to find out, Melody was investigating the residents of the apartment, many of whom were part of a sinister cult. Additionally, it becomes clear that Dan was chosen to restore these tapes for reasons beyond his particular restoration skills. Based on the podcast of the same name, *Archive 81* unfolds with suspense and well-earned scares. —*Kevin Jacobsen*

Where to watch *Archive 81*: Netflix

**Cast:** Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan, Ariana Neal, Matt McGorry, Martin Donovan

Black Mirror (2011–present)

Annie Murphy as Joan Tait in the 'Black Mirror' season 6 episode 'Joan Is Awful'. Nick Wall/Netflix

While technically classified as a science fiction series, *Black Mirror* deals enough in our existential fear of the future that we would rate this as one of the scariest shows on television. Each self-contained episode features some form of innovative technology gone too far, moral implications be damned. Some of the more horrifying episodes include "Playtest," about an augmented reality game that targets the user's fears; "Fifteen Million Merits," in which Daniel Kaluuya plays a man who must cycle on an exercise bike to generate electricity and earn a living; and "Metalhead," about a woman on the run from killer robotic dogs in a postapocalyptic world. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Black Mirror*: Netflix

**EW grade:** N/A (read EW's ranking of every episode)

**Cast:** Various

Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)

Rosa Salazar as Lisa Nova on 'Brand New Cherry Flavor'. Everett Collection

*Brand New Cherry Flavor* stars Rosa Salazar (*Alita: Battle Angel*) as an aspiring filmmaker who arrives in a ramshackle, overgrown, pulp novel-ish, and illusory '90s Los Angeles, where her professional plans are quickly derailed with the introduction of a witch named Boro (Catherine Keener). Cue up a rogues' gallery of supernatural manipulation and bloody misadventures, milk baths that conjure evil doings, and spells that cause people to vomit kittens. A foray into the seedy underbelly of show business and the city itself, this horror series also includes dastardly curses, dreams bending into dark shapes of reality, and zombie henchmen who do their boss witch's bidding.

*Brand New Cherry Flavor* was adapted from the Todd Grimson novel of the same name by creator and showrunner Nick Antosca, who previously helmed *Channel Zero* (now on Shudder), a horror anthology based on the Very Online legends and scary stories known as creepypastas. And while *Cherry Flavor* is definitely into fetishizing its horror side, what it loves most is blanketing its world in queasiness spiked with hyperactive drug euphoria. It's got scares, it's got style; it's also got Catherine Keener playing a wise and wily bad witch, which is really all you need. And if a weird door in the floor opens, why not go down it? —*Johnny Loftus*

Where to watch *Brand New Cherry Flavor*: Netflix

**Cast: **Rosa Salazar, Catherine Keener, Eric Lange, Manny Jacinto, Jeff Ward

Dracula (2020)

Claes Bang as Count Dracula in 'Dracula'.

Robert Viglasky/Netflix

In this three-part miniseries, the world's most famous vampire is reimagined by *Sherlock* creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Claes Bang (*The Square*, *Bad Sisters*) plays this version of Dracula as we follow his adventures from Transylvanian count to passenger on the ill-fated *Demeter* ship to aspiring member of English society. While clearly inspired by Bram Stoker's seminal novel, the series also charts its cheeky path. As Bang explained in 2019 ahead of the show's premiere, "Yes he's evil, but there's also so much more to him, he's charismatic, intelligent, witty, and sexy." —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Dracula*: Netflix

**Cast: **Claes Bang, Dolly Wells, John Heffernan

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

Carla Gugino as Verna in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'. Eike Schroter/Netflix

Mike Flanagan and Edgar Allan Poe prove to be a match made in gothic heaven with this deliciously creepy miniseries. The eight-episode series not only adapts Poe's short story *The Fall of the House of Usher* but also several iconic works from the writer, including *The Raven* and *The Pit and the Pendulum*. Numerous Flanagan regulars appear throughout, including Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Katie Parker, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Zach Gilford, and Bruce Greenwood, with the limited series centering on a pharmaceutical company CEO whose six children have all mysteriously died.

Described by EW as "*Succession *meets Edgar Allan Poe fan fiction" *The Fall of the House of Usher *cleverly integrates Poe's fascinations with death and the corruption of man to tell a distinctly modern story that should delight fans of the writer who have devoured his stories through many a midnight dreary. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *The Fall of the House of Usher*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B (read the review)

**Cast:** Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, Willa Fitzgerald, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, T'Nia Miller, Michael Trucco, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)

Rupert Grint as Walter Gilman in the 'Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities' episode "Dreams in the Witch House". Ken Woroner/Netflix

From Oscar-winning auteur filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, this horror anthology series delivers a new Gothic short story every episode, as curated by the director himself. Episodes center on such classic horror tropes as a haunted house, a secret gathering, mysterious objects, and alien inhabitants. Every installment is helmed by a noted director in the horror (or horror-adjacent) realm, including Jennifer Kent (*The Babadook*), Ana Lily Amirpour (*A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night*), Keith Thomas (*The Vigil*), and Catherine Hardwicke (*Twilight*).

Like with other anthology series, some episodes of *Cabinet of Curiosities* stand out more than others, but del Toro offers a diverse selection of horror stories that should satisfy most fans of the genre. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities*: Netflix

**Cast:** Tim Blake Nelson, David Hewlett, F. Murray Abraham, Kate Micucci, Martin Starr, Dan Stevens, Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, Rupert Grint, Peter Weller, Eric André, Essie Davis, Andrew Lincoln

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

(From left to right): Mckenna Grace as Theo, Lulu Wilson as Shirley, Paxton Singleton as Steven, Violet McGraw as Nell, Julian Hillard as Luke, and Henry Thomas as Hugh Crain in 'The Haunting of Hill House'. Steve Dietl/Netflix

*The Haunting of Hill House*, the debut entry in creator Mike Flanagan's *Haunting* anthology, is adapted from Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name and set across two timelines: in 1992, when supernatural events plague the Crain family upon their move to (and eventual flight from) the titular home; and 26 years later, when the scares from way back are still living in the present, and the siblings and dear old dad must face the chilling frights of their collective past.

Timothy Hutton and Henry Thomas both star as patriarch Hugh Crain, with Carla Gugino, Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Victoria Pedretti, Michiel Huisman, and Annabeth Gish rounding out the cast. "Hill house is the most iconic haunted house in literature," Flanagan told EW in a 2018 interview, "so of course the opportunity to spend some time there was irresistible. Those themes of paranoia, freedom, and confinement, the fragility of self, the ambiguity of the supernatural...those were all elements of the source material that I wanted to take a stab at." —*J.L.*

Where to watch *The Haunting of Hill House*: Netflix

**Cast: **Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti, Mckenna Grace, Paxton Singleton, Julian Hilliard, Violet McGraw

Hellbound (2021–present)

Kim Do-yoon as Lee Dong-wook on 'Hellbound'. Netflix

In the South Korean horror-fantasy series *Hellbound*, individuals learn of their fated, one-way trip to hell from an executor — an "angel," though it really isn't — and then, at the prescribed moment, whether it's minutes or months from the pronouncement, three bruising supernatural thugs appear to carry them off to the deep. It's a premise with roots in creator Yeon Sang-ho's webtoon, and one that translates to television with a flair for illuminating the garish ways our contemporary reality can often feel like a construct. When cult leader Jeong Jin-soo (Yoo Ah-in) posts footage of these extra-reality abductions on YouTube, *Hellbound *cleverly uses the limits of that platform to disguise the limits to its own TV budget CGI.

The result is a series that explores how the unwanted entry of the divine into everyday life can become not miraculous but horrifying. As *Hellbound* unfolds, rival groups take action in the face of these frightening incidents. On the one hand, there's Jeong and the New Truth Society; on the other, there's Arrowhead, a violent youth gang. And caught in between are everyday people saddled with the realization that their existence and the world at large have become forever changed. —*J.L.*

Where to watch *Hellbound*: Netflix

**Cast: **Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jeong-min, Won Jin-ah, Yang Ik-june

Interview With the Vampire (2022–present)

Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt and Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac on 'Interview With the Vampire'. Michele K. Short/AMC

One of the best yet curiously underappreciated shows on television, *Interview With the Vampire* builds on and even exceeds its source material. Like Anne Rice's novel and the 1994 film adaptation, the series centers on Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) as he recalls his tumultuous relationship with the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), a French vampire who turned Louis into one himself. Decidedly more upfront with its queer subtext than its theatrical predecessor, the series balances themes of identity and power imbalance alongside traditional bloodsucking horror. As EW's critic writes, "*Interview* blends swoony Southern gothic with cadaverous relationship farce." —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Interview With the Vampire*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B (read the review)

**Cast:** Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Bailey Bass, Assad Zaman, Delainey Hayles, Ben Daniels

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Marianne (2019)

Victoire du Bois as Emma Larsimon on 'Marianne'.

Emmanuel Guimier/Netflix

The French horror drama *Marianne* is full of murderous prose coming to life, straight up satisfying jump scares, cursed runes, and various personal cruelties inflicted on its characters. But what might be most cruel is that Netflix axed it after only one season, a move the streamer has made with more and more aggression as it deems a title unready or unsteady for prime-time fame. *Marianne*, which maintains its slow burn sense of dread, almost certainly deserved to explore that more in a second season.

But, as it is, the series becomes one of the more artful and engaging one-and-dones in the Netflix horror series library. Victoire Du Bois (*Call Me by Your Name*) stars as Emma Larsimon, a novelist who discovers that the characters she's put on the page have emerged in real life, with a mixture of murderous, possessive, and demonic results. As Emma returns to where it all began for her, she confronts what she's created alongside her old friends and their collective dramas. But not everything is as it seems — not even words on a page — and, naturally, not everyone survives. —*J.L.*

Where to watch *Marianne*: Netflix

**Cast: **Victoire Du Bois, Lucie Boujenah, Tiphaine Daviot, Mireille Herbstmeyer

Midnight Mass (2021)

Hamish Linklater as Father Paul Hill on 'Midnight Mass'.

Eike Schroter/Netflix

When it came time to follow up his pair of Netflix horror hits — *The Haunting of Hill House* and *The Haunting of Bly Manor* — Mike Flanagan had something equally chilling, but a little bit different in mind. In the miniseries *Midnight Mass*, when Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returns to his remote island hometown, his encounters with the mysterious Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) quickly turn into an eerie stew of belief, resurrection, supernatural intervention, and bloodlust.

It's a story Flanagan had been preparing to tell for years: "I don't know how long I could have gone without writing it," he told EW. "There's a very natural thing that happens where, if you're writing anything that tiptoes into a personal place, you find yourself vomiting up all sorts of things into it. It's happened to me with *Hill House* in a pretty big way. It happened with [*Bly Manor*]. This one, though, was the story I always wanted to tell." —*J.L.*

Where to watch *Midnight Mass*: Netflix

**EW grade: **A– (read the review)

**Cast: **Zach Gilford, Hamish Linklater, Kate Siegel, Kristin Lehman, Samantha Sloyan, Igby Rigney, Rahul Kohli, Annarah Cymone, Annabeth Gish, Alex Essoe, Rahul Abburi, Matt Biedel, Michael Trucco, Crystal Balint, Louis Oliver, Henry Thomas

Parasyte: The Grey (2024–present)

Jeon So-nee as Jeong Su-in on 'Parasyte: The Grey'.

A parasitic species invades Earth in this gnarly Korean horror series, based on the manga series *Parasyte* by Hitoshi Iwaaki. The creatures infect and kill humans, then transform their heads into grotesque shapes (see above). Jeon So-nee stars as Jeong Su-in, a woman who develops a unique relationship with a parasite in which she learns to live with it after it fails to fully control her.

For fans of body horror, *Parasyte: The Grey* should certainly satisfy, but the series also draws on compelling themes of humanity's response to threats in our environment. —*K.J.***

Where to watch *Parasyte: The Grey*: Netflix

**Cast: **Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, Lee Jung-hyun

Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019)

Drew Barrymore as Sheila Hammond on 'Santa Clarita Diet'. Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Before becoming one of daytime TV's sunniest hosts, Drew Barrymore spent three seasons on this Netflix horror-comedy as a cannibalistic real estate agent. The series follows Sheila (Barrymore) and husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant), who must reckon with her new undead condition, which leads her to develop a taste for human flesh. Complicating matters is their neighbors being involved in law enforcement, which doesn't exactly make Sheila's newfound eating habits very easy to cover up.

While *Santa Clarita Diet* is decidedly more comedic than other entries on this list, EW's critic writes, "*Diet'*s giddy, bloody hyperreality requires a decent tolerance for gore," calling it a blending of David Lynch and *Desperate Housewives*. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Santa Clarita Diet*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B+ (read the review)

**Cast:** Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant, Liv Hewson, Skyler Gisondo

Slasher (2016–2023)

Sebastian Buitrago as the Gentleman in season 4 of 'Slasher'. Cole Burston/Shudder

The Canadian horror anthology series *Slasher* — which debuted in 2016 on the short-lived horror platform Chiller before migrating to Netflix — operates on a pretty conventional premise for the genre: Consider the masked killer, consider his victims, and consider their lack of intelligence for becoming slasher fodder in the first place. It's a trope that's generated reams of screams and gallons of fake blood for generations of horror films, and *Slasher* just carries the line across your throat a little further.

*Slasher* isn't here to elevate, explore, or artfully stylize horror. It's here to put people — often sexy people — in situations where, for example, episodes of the anthology feature titles like "Digging Your Grave With Your Teeth," or the camp counselors' secrets make them dead meat, or a guy in a blue mask eviscerates the impossibly horny for perhaps unknown reasons. And sometimes, in horror, that's really all that needs to happen.

**Note: **The fourth season of the series, *Slasher: Flesh & Blood, *is streaming on Shudder and stars the one and only Canadian icon of body horror himself, David Cronenberg. Season 5, titled *Ripper*, debuted on Shudder in April 2023. —*J.L.*

Where to watch seasons 1–3 of *Slasher*: Netflix

**Cast (for season 1): **Katie McGrath, Brandon Jay McLaren, Steve Byers, Patrick Garrow, Dean McDermott, Christopher Jacot, Mary Walsh, Enuka Okuma, Erin Karpluk, Wendy Crewson

Sweet Home (2020–2024)

Go Min-si as Lee Eun-yu on 'Sweet Home'.

Kim Jeong Won/Netflix

Monsters descend upon a South Korean city in this addictive Korean horror fantasy series. Cha Hyun-su (Song Kang) is a young man with depression living in an apartment complex, Green Home. Horrifying creatures soon threaten the lives of Hyun-su and his fellow residents, who try to survive and fight back against them. The series expertly explores how human fears manifest, with characters worth rooting for. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Sweet Home*: Netflix

**Cast: **Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young

The Terror (2018–present)

Ciarán Hinds as Captain Sir John Franklin in season 1 of 'The Terror'.

Aidan Monaghan/AMC

Netflix is streaming the first season of AMC's chilling historical anthology series *The Terror*, which certainly lives up to its name. Season 1 is set in the 19th century and centers on the horrors experienced by sea captain Sir John Franklin (Ciarán Hinds) and his crew as they try to navigate the elusive Northwest Passage. The ships ultimately become stuck in the ice, forcing them all to try and survive while also being hunted by a mysterious creature. "*The Terror* can be scary, but [its] real achievement is climatological," teases EW's critic. "The freeze is tangible." —*K.J.***

Where to watch *The Terror*: Netflix through Aug. 18

**EW grade:** B+ (read the review)

**Cast:** Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies, Paul Ready, Adam Nagaitis, Ian Hart, Nive Nielsen, Ciarán Hinds

The Walking Dead (2010–2022)

A herd of walkers on 'The Walking Dead'. Josh Stringer/AMC

*The Walking Dead* (and its universe of spinoffs) has been around so long that it's safe to think of the pioneering zombie series itself as being pretty much undead. But that's not the case, as the postapocalyptic horror saga that debuted way back on Halloween night 2010 aired its 11th and final season on AMC in 2022. You can now stream every season as they chronicle the onset of the zombie mutation, the advance of the walkers, the collapse of society as we know it, and the rise of perpetual battles between bands of human survivors.

From Norman Reedus' arrow-tossing hunter Daryl and Lauren Cohan as the fiery Maggie, to Danai Gurira's katana-wielding Michonne and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the villainous boss Negan, the ensemble cast of *The Walking Dead* features a deep, deep bench, which is all the more reason to dive back in and explore the fates of all its characters. Who made it through the initial fights? Better yet, who survives the horrific landscape of a world overrun by zombies and grinding human vs. human conflict all the way to the series finale? —*J.L.*

Where to watch *The Walking Dead*: Netflix

**Cast: **Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Scott Wilson

Yellowjackets (2021–present)

Courtney Eaton as teenage Lottie Matthews and Sophie Nélisse as teenage Shauna Sadecki on 'Yellowjackets'.

Kailey Schwerman/Showtime

It's hard to categorize *Yellowjackets.* The breakout Showtime hit mixes multiple genres, including drama, mystery, thriller, and horror, but suffice it to say we've been obsessed (and haunted) by it since its premiere in 2021. The series features dual narratives: In 1996, a high school girls' soccer team tries to survive the Canadian wilderness after their plane crashes, while in the present day, the handful of survivors struggle to escape their past — and the lengths to which they had to go to live. As EW's critic writes, "Finally, a story about *girls* becoming brutish, violent savages after a plane crash in the wilderness." The first two seasons are available to stream now. —*K.J.***

Where to watch *Yellowjackets*: Netflix

**EW grade:** B+ (read the review)

**Cast:** Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Samantha Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Ella Purnell

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