Binge-worthy shows to get you in the Halloween spirit

Psychological TV Shows

If psychological thrillers are your thing, then look no further! These shows are just the right amount of chilling to get you in a Halloween mood.

• “Hannibal”
  • Will Graham, an FBI profiler, is required to be supervised by psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter, based on the character of the same name from the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs.” “Hannibal” has three seasons and can be streamed on Netflix.
• “Ratched”
  • This show is named for Mildred Ratched, a new nurse at a psychiatric hospital where “unsettling experiments” are performed on the patients. “Ratched” is available for streaming on Netflix and is a prequel to the 1962 novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
• “The Twilight Zone”
  • “The Twilight Zone” was started in 1959 by Rod Sterling and received a modern update in 2019 by Jordan Peele. The original show can be streamed on Netflix, and the remake is available on CBS All Access.

Supernatural TV Shows

You can’t have Halloween without a few supernatural elements, and these creepy shows all channel the supernatural!

• “The Haunting of Bly Manor”
  • An au pair, Dani Clayton, is hired by a man to care for his niece and nephew, but it doesn’t take her long to discover that the manor they live in is haunted. This Netflix Original is a follow-up series to “The Haunting of Hill House,” but both shows can be watched independently.
• “True Blood”
  • This popular vampire show follows Sookie Stackhouse, a young waitress in a rural Louisiana town that’s crawling with vampires, shapeshifters, psychics, and other supernatural creatures. You can watch this show on HBO Now.
• “Stranger Things”
  • One of the most popular Netflix Original shows, “Stranger Things” is a supernatural mystery that takes place in a small town in the 1980s. Follow as a gang of middle schoolers meet a young girl with powers and search for a missing boy.

Horror

When people think of Halloween, they think of horror. These shows are sure to scare you right into the Halloween spirit!

• “Castle Rock”
  • “Castle Rock” is an anthology series inspired by characters and themes created by horror master Stephen King and takes place in his fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. You can watch this chilling show on Hulu.
• “Into the Dark”
  • “Into the Dark” is a seasonally themed horror show; each of the two seasons has twelve episodes, and each episode is themed around a holiday in the month in which it premiers. This show is available to stream on Hulu. 
• “Scream Queens”
  • Unlike the previous two shows in this section, “Scream Queens” takes a satirical approach to horror. Both seasons are available on Hulu and feature the original scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, who always seems to live in a town with a vicious serial killer.

Family-Friendly TV Shows

If you’re looking for something to watch with the whole family, or if scary just isn’t your thing, here are a few family-friendly shows that can still get you in the spooky spirit!

• “The Haunted Hathaways”
  • “The Haunted Hathaways” tells the story of a single mother and her daughters who move into a house that is already occupied by a ghost family. This show, available on Amazon Prime, gives a supernatural spin to a ‘blended family’ and shows the two families dealing with everyday problems with ghostly and mortal methods.
• “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”
  • “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” available on Hulu is a late 1990’s sitcom about witch Sabrina Spellman, her aunts Hilda and Zelda, and Salem, a 500-year-old witch trapped in the body of a black cat. The story of Sabrina Spellman originated as a comic book series in the 1970’s and has since been retold in movies as well as in several animated and live-action shows; the most recent of these shows is Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
• Scooby-Doo
  • There is a seemingly endless supply of Scooby-Doo shows on various streaming sites; Netflix has “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” and “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated,” and Boomerang has every single “Scooby-Doo” episode made since 1969.

Individual Episodes

If you don’t have time to watch a multi-season show or don’t feel like starting something new, try these Halloween episodes of popular TV shows!

• “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
  • The detectives of Brooklyn’s 99th police precinct take part in an annual ‘heist’ every Halloween, with the stakes and pranks escalating each year. There are five Halloween Heist episodes of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” that you can stream on Hulu: Season 1, Episode 6 “Halloween;” Season 2, Episode 4 “Halloween 2;” Season 3 Episode 5 “Halloween, Part III;” Season 4 Episode 5 “Halloween IV;” and Season 5 Episode 4 “HalloVeen.”
• “Boy Meets World,” Season 5 Episode 17: “And Then There Was Shawn”
  • Cory and friends discover some disturbing things when locked in the school for detention. You can watch them solve a murder on Disney+.
• “Friends,” Season 8 Episode 6: “The One with the Halloween Party”
  • Monica and Chandler throw a Halloween costume party. You can purchase “Friends” by season or by episode on Amazon Prime.
• “Lizzie McGuire,” Season 1 Episode 24: “Night of the Day of the Dead”
  • After Kate disrespects Miranda’s Mexican heritage and her Día de los Muertos decorations, spooky things start happening at the school Halloween party. Find out who’s haunting Kate on Disney+.
• “Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” Season 1 Episode 19: “The Ghost of Suite 613”
  • A ghost is rumored to haunt suite 613 of the Tipton; watch Zack, Cody, and their friends try to spend a night in the haunted suite on Disney+.