Day 3 of Spooktober and we are going to look at my favourite thing to binge watch for the entire of September and October ahead of Halloween; TV Shows! Throw out your preconceptions of me based on my top movie picks to watch with my family because these TV Shows are all about the gore and the jump scares; I live for marathoning these shows! Some will be predictable as they have been dominating Halloween TV Series to binge watch for years but I hope you can find a few that you haven’t seen! I’ve picked my top 20 tv shows that I come back to time and time again just for a scare! One surprise that is in store is I’ve included four anime! Gosh I love a good anime series especially the eerie ones!
The Ryan Murphy Trinity
Kicking things off had to be the Ryan Murphy Trinity! Most people have watched American Horror Story and Scream Queens but have you watched his recent series Ratched? I call these the Trinity because Murphy has truly unlocked what works for his audience in terms of gore, jump scares and overall uneasiness with an interesting storyline to hold your attention! Personally, my favourite season of AHS was Asylum followed by Coven but each season brings something new! Scream Queens became an iconic institution while Ratched is the icing on the cake for those who like a good murder series with a lot of gore!
The Haunting Duo
The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor make up this duo. There is much debate at the moment on which of the duo is better; for me, my favourite is the Haunting of Hill House. These series are all about the jump scares, the back stories and what is going on in the background of eerie shots. These hauntings are the reason I doubt everything in the dark! Trust me, you’ll understand when you have seen them!
For the next two series suggestions we are looking to the world of Witches! Like many of you I grew up with Harry Potter, the Worst Witch and Charmed.
Salem
Three glorious seasons of Salem can be found on Netflix and, honestly, I think it is worth watching! In a world where magic is usually painted in a good light, Salem brings you in on the dark side. It is set during the Salem Witch Trials and is loosely based on what occurred during the 17th century. The series follows Mary Sibley, a witch who is controlling the Salem Witch Trials by causing mass hysteria amongst the people. Problems begin to emerge when her lost love reappears in Salem! This one is dark and fantastic; I highly recommend it.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Leave what you know about Sabrina the Teenage Witch from your childhood aside and let’s dive into The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Based on a comic book, this series has the dark and eerie factor. From an interesting interpretation of the Devil to the Weird Sisters and Wiccan Practices, this series is not for the faint hearted.
Charmed
The original witchy sister trio that took the world by storm. I marathon a few episodes of this every October and even with age this series never dates! If you don’t know what Charmed is, it follows three sisters whose powers together make up the Charmed Ones. They fight off everything and anything that is supernatural. Keep your eyes peeled for the White Lighters and my all time favourite male actor in this who played Agent Kyle Brody.
Next it is time to be charmed by the most deadliest of the undead, Vampires!
True Blood
After Anne Rice’s book this series filled the void of Vampiric Modern Literature. The TV Show with power couple Anna Pacquin and Stephen Moyer is what is remembered most about this series. True Blood started out interesting and intense before turning wacky and intense but I finished it anyway. This one is for those who enjoy dark brooding Vampires but leave most of the Vampire Lore you may be familiar with at the door before sitting down to enjoy this one.
Dracula
The latest edition to the Dracula story came out at the beginning of 2020, it is based on the 1897 novel and the series starts off there but then takes a modern twist. It is from the fantastic minds of Mark Gatniss and Steven Moffatt aka the duo behind Sherlock. This one you will either love it or hate it. There is no inbetween for this horror-drama series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
In my mind and many people across the world, Buffy is THE Vampire Slayer! A teenager who fights Vampire and Demons to keep her town of Sunnydale safe? Sign me up! I was a big fan of this TV Show growing up and a lot of hairstyles and clothing styles were taken from this series! Spike will always be my favourite misunderstood Vampire, you can fight me about that if you want! A must watch for any fan of the supernatural.
The Originals
You are probably thinking to yourself if you are a fan of this arc of series: Niamh why have you The Originals down and not the Vampire Diaries? Simple ladies and gentlemen, I prefer The Originals. You know the origin stories are always better! Also you get to learn more about my favourite characters.
My soft spot when it comes to the Supernatural is Werewolves. Don’t ask me why, I honestly couldn’t tell you. I just know that when it comes to werewolves I am always intrigued by their stories.
Teen Wolf
MTV’s finest work when it comes to Supernatural! Teen Wolf is just an institution. Fun characters, hormones running ragged and interesting storylines. I love that they included a number of different lores in this show *cough* The Banshee *cough*. The show follows Scott (the main character) who defends his town from supernatural creatures and other threats with the help of his friends.
Our next genre is General Spooky. Usually these shows have a mixture of different creatures, the supernatural and overall eerie feeling.
Goosebumps
First up is one from my childhood. All of it is on Netflix and I cannot wait to sit down and binge watch this the week of Halloween. This used to terrify me as a kid. A new spooky and eerie story in each episode with unnatural and supernatural characters. Proceed with caution!
Penny Dreadful
I adore this TV Show. Primarily for the leading actress Eva Green. The series follows Vanessa Ives, Ethan Chandler and Sir Malcom as they track down a killer. Everything is not what it seems when they realise they are up against non-human entities. The series brings together a number of terrifying literature characters such as Frankenstein and Dorian Gray as they lurk around Victorian London
Supernatural
One of the longest Supernatural based TV Shows. Supernatural follows brothers Dean and Sam as they fight everything and anything Supernatural that exists on Earth. One just to sit down and watch! The final series is airing this year and I know they will go out with a bang.
Stranger Things
The list couldn’t be compiled without this series and my friend Shannon would kill me if I tried to leave it out! Set in the 1980’s it follows a group of friends as they witness Supernatural forces and stumble across government exploits from this.
The list cannot be called complete without a number of Animes. This is our final genre!
Soul Eater
The anime that is based on humans that can turn themselves into weapons. Death is a headmaster, the character’s they come up against can mainly be described as witches and one of my favourite characters is Death the Kid, he’s a barrel of laughs really. The aim of the students is to have their weapons absorb the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch.
Death Parade
One of my all time favourite animes! Death Parade. Step into the Quindecim Bar where Decim hosts games between the recently deceased to determine the faith of their soul; to go into the void or to be reincarnated. It only has one season and you will marathon it quiet quickly!
Black Butler
Another of my all time favourite animes. Set in the Victorian Era, we follow the young earl Ciel Phantomhive who forms a contract with a demon after he is kidnapped by a demon-worshipping cult. He escapes his capture thanks to the demon he names Sebastian and their journey really begins when he returns to take over his father’s estate. Queen Victoria herself tasks the young earl with investigating cases that threaten the crown or important individuals in England.
Deadman Wonderland
An interesting anime based on a prison that doubles as a theme park. This one is all about performing and doing jobs around the themepark so you can recieve medicine every three days to counteract poison that is being injected into your bloodstream. This adventure follows Ganta as he tries to clear his name as he was framed for a crime he did not commit!
And there you have it! My top must watch TV Series that thrive in the horror, supernatural and suspense genres. I hope you found at least one new series to watch during this Halloween period!
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