A Ranking of the 13 Scariest TV Shows You Can Watch Right Now

Sometimes, you need a good scare. It can feel great to scream at the ghosts on your screen or to dive deep into an examination of your own dark nature. 

And, of course, with Halloween upon us, there is a great reason to find the scariest shows available to get your freak-out on. 

We have gathered the data and provided here our ranking of the 13 Scariest TV Shows out there for you to watch right now. We start in the wading pool and finish in the deep end. Enjoy our list of terror!

13. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is decidedly spooky. 

The premise of the show lends itself to some naturally dark stories, what with Sabrina being a witch and all. The Netflix series’ take on witches and warlocks and ghouls is gothic and rather serious. It is more The Witches than Hocus Pocus, and that works for the purposes of fright.  

The colors, direction, and dialogue on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina have a dark but vibrant tone. Sometimes bordering on campy, the show is scariest when it’s exploring the confining rituals and cages that come with being a witch. 

The dark secrets help to maintain a suspenseful edge and I doubt we will ever really know everything. Another devilish mystery will always be around the corner. 

This wonderfully spooky show is number 13 on our list of the scariest TV shows to watch now. 

12. Stranger Things

The Upside Down may have started as a reference to a game, but Stranger Things underworld creatures are not playing around. The seething and festering darkness that is unleashed onto the unsuspecting town is terrifying indeed. 

There are a variety of villains on Stranger Things, and all are scary in their own right. Stranger Things Season 3 reaches peak petrifying when Billy is turned into a black-eyed soulless monster. 

Despite the horror premise, Stranger Things is really a balance of identities. When scary, the scenes hit the mark so well that iconic imagery and characters are born. 

You don’t stay scared watching Stranger Things because there is ample comic relief to bring you back to safety. There are heartwarming elements galore. 

Still, the spooks and monsters get the job done and Stranger Things earns its spot as the twelfth scariest show to watch on TV right now.

11. Creepshow

Over the top gore and frights characterize the very scary Creepshow. It is a show that goes all-in and gleefully embraces its horror identity. 

It offers classic and well-executed stories of terror that are reminiscent of tales told around a fire. It echoes some of our favorite films like Seven and Saw as it stares down the depths of human depravity. 

Watch Shudder’s Creepshow with a friend so you have someone to embrace during the thrilling surprises, and someone to discuss the gruesome episodes with. They aren’t so scary that you’ll be silenced by your terror. 

Creepshow‘s fear factor has developed through its six episodes and hopefully, more episodes will allow it to further develop its horror voice. 

10. YOU

YOU makes us see the world through Joe’s deranged eyes. We are pulled in by him and at times even root for him. This stalking, lying, violent, piece of trash person, we root for HIM. 

And that is why it so incredibly scary. YOU shows us how stalkers and possessive controlling abusers like Joe use their charm to gaslight the hell out of us. 

The sheer power of Joe’s delusions and entitlement is terrifying. Truly, this is the stuff of women’s nightmares. 

The show has a subversive mannerism that dares us to blame the victims. Then it seems to flip on the light switch and say, “See, see how this can happen!” 

Indeed, the fan reactions showcase how dangerous the “bad boy” trope can be if it causes us to sexualize being treated abused. 

Stalking is traumatizing. YOU does an excellent job of digging into the disturbing dynamics of a stalker and his prey. 

9. Bates Motel

Bates Motel is a study on how a mother’s nurturing can bring out her child’s worst nature. Obsession, control, inherited violence— all these psychologically rooted issues can bring terror into a household. 

The series is more intimate than many on our list. But, it is because of the compelling and sustained tension between Norma and Norman that Bates Motel manages to be so darn scary. 

It takes it time over five seasons to build and build the threat of Norman’s psychosis. It pays off in heart-pounding scares as the Bates family’s conflicts reach their climaxes.

The series actually creates an almost contagious obsession where you are drawn into the lives of the Bates Motel family, even though it stinks with toxicity. How could you possibly look away? 

The captivating story has richly suspenseful direction and dialogue. The downright impeccable performances by Vera Farmiga and Freddie Hightower bring the Psycho prequel’s content to new horrifying heights. 

Bates Motel deserves its spot as the ninth scariest TV show on our list. 

8.  The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead takes zombies seriously. The grim gravity of life after the apocalypse is thoroughly terrifying. Especially in its earliest seasons, The Walking Dead masters the use of the jump scare. Heartrates stay steady at through the roof levels as we try to scope out the hidden dangers. 

Death comes for us all and The Walking Dead was one of the first shows to fully embrace that. No character is safe. 

It is a true sign of a seriously scary show that there are so many scenes you will never get over. They are seared in our minds like tattoos. 

The show maintains a nice and tender balance of gore, suspense, and surprise. It is always grounded and gritty, and makes it hit us in our fear feels. 

Carl’s arc alone from tragic, twisted start to tragic, twisted end warrants The Walking Dead a top ten spot on our list. Over a whopping ten seasons, The Walking Dead continues to smear brutal humanity all over our screens. It is the eighth scariest show on TV. 

7. Castle Rock

Stephen King is a master of scary. Castle Rock leans into the horrifying worlds in King’s novels and adds harrowing new dimensions through the medium of television.

Castle Rock Season 2 is shaping up to be even scarier than Season 1. The show excels at examining the internal journey of fear and insanity. How does someone know if they are crazy or the world around them is? What if it is all in your head!?

The psychological scares are enhanced by the inclusion of spirts that bring the opposite of peace to the people of Castle Rock

As the tension gets greater, so do the performances. Lizzy Caplan is perfect as Annie Wilkes and Yusra Warsama is equally stunning as Dr. Nadia.

Both seasons offer a deep roster of talent to pull off the imaginative and wispy haunts of Castle Rock.  

6. American Horror Story

American Horror Story brought in a new era of horror TV with its anthology format and fearless pursuit of the frightening. The fright factor varies between the shows ten seasons, but each installment brings new heat and snark to the genre. 

It is well within our top ten scariest TV shows at number six on our list.

There is just enough camp and eroticism on the show to make it consistently stand out amongst rivals. 

As the actors are reborn as new characters, especially Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson, the past lives continue to haunt the new. The meaning of the stories and the relationships are ever-more layered and therefore scary, because of the anthology format. 

It is like seeing a friend you recognize, but then realizing this isn’t the person you know at all. They’re just wearing your friend’s skin. That’s freaky. 

The highly stylized approach to the cinematography, dialogue and costuming is also essential to crafting a lusciously lurid show. 

American Horror Story keeps on scaring us and we hope it never stops screaming. 

5. The Handmaid’s Tale

Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale may not be horror, but it is deeply horrifying. 

In fact, the opening sequence of The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2 Episode 1, “June,” is so ridiculously scary that pausing the show is necessary so you can catch your breath. It is the fifth scariest show on TV!

The series is frequently shake-it-off scary, even without any supernatural elements. The inescapable oppression that weighs on the handmaids and the Marthas is terrifying. Torture, both spiritual and physical, brutalize the characters on the show.

Emily and Janine’s repeated mutilation is some of the most sickening content on TV, ever.  

At a time when world politics seem to mirror Gilead’s monstrosity, The Handmaid’s Tale is more than a story, it is a warning.  

4. Evil

It is right there in the name of the show, Evil is all about evil.

The CBS series’ ability to bring in a wide range of types of horror and pain sets it apart from other scary shows. It is the highest-ranked network show on our list, coming in at number four.

The premise of the show, a trio of experts seeking answers to the origin of evil in different potentially supernatural scenarios, is the perfect footing for seriously terrifying episodes.

Evil is everywhere. It is in our technology, our implicit biases, our bodies from demon possession, and our romantic obsessions. Michael Emerson ratchets up the scary with his gag-worthy portrayal of evil in human form 

Perhaps the most influential reason that Evil is at the very top of our list is that THE CHILDREN ARE NOT SAFE. Evil goes there, even if it’s kids. 

There isn’t much scarier than that. From our point of view, only three shows are. 

3. Marianne

Marianne is a nightmare come to life that should probably be watched in the daylight for your own safety.

From the tooth-excavating opening sequence on, the French series relies on sickening and grotesque imagery to tell its terrifying tale. We watch between the spaces of our fingers because it threatens to overwhelm our ability to cope at every turn. 

The show is also cool. The main character, Emma, has an undeniable sex appeal and rebel spirit. She doesn’t freak out easily, or at all really. It turns out, neither does her ridiculously attractive assistant Camile. 

The core characters’ reactions to the insanely horrific things going on in Emma’s hometown are, well, cool. 

As a result, Marianne feels very modern, even when the setting is more classic horror. This modernized ghost story is scarier because it brings the horror into our homes. 

How would a nightmare creature come to life fit into 2019? Marianne unravels that question with a decidedly French flair for visually gratuitous scares.  

2. Chambers

The way white culture has stolen and butchered Native culture is scary AF. The massacre of identity is at the heart, literally and figuratively, of Netflix’s Chambers.

The allegory Chambers creates makes it a frightful watch. And on top of the subtle and insidious messages about wanting to wear someone else’s identity by killing the source are classic horror elements. The one-season series isn’t afraid to spill some blood. It has horrific imagery (poor Cheddar!), electric desert landscapes, and jumpy scares, folded into a murder mystery. 

The way the show embodies fright catapults it to the number two spot on our list. Sasha played phenomenally by Sivan Alyra Rose (the first Native actress to lead a TV series!), is a very physical performer. Her capacity to be fully present in her character with her whole body is remarkable. 

And then, the story on Chambers is very physical. It is a body snatcher tale that centralizes the body’s experience with grief, control, and pain. There is a hysterical pregnancy, carved hands, burned skin, and other body-based elements to the horror. 

Chambers is able to elicit physical reactions and a guttural empathy for the characters because of the way it tells the story.  Chambers is an unforgettably scary story that strikes at the heart of our most wild fears.

1. The Haunting of Hill House

Our top spot for the absolute, number one, scariest of all TV shows you can watch right now is— skeleton drum roll, please — . . . . The Haunting of Hill House!

This freaky Netflix series has it all, a haunted house, terrifying nightmares, choking family betrayal, unsettling flashbacks, deathly secrets and more. The score, setting, acting, and props all brilliantly align to scare us so much that we shake when we push the “play next” button. 

The key to being so deeply scary is that the show gives us time to deeply care for the characters. We get to see the Crain family before Hill House, during Hill House, in the aftermath of Hill House and returning to Hill House.  Each of those stages builds our understanding and connection to the family. 

The careful work The Haunting of Hill House does to develop and reveal the characters, not just the ghosts and special effects, makes their torment feel more intimate. It crawls into our psyche and it doesn’t let up. 

The horror is also vested in a family, and nothing is scarier than having to watch your family tormented and die. The chill of seeing the Crain family leave their mother behind, to relinquish her after watching her slip away, it is haunting, to say the least. 

It is the rare show that digs up both our most deeply rooted emotional fears and our more basic ones of supernatural evil. If you haven’t been haunted by The Haunting of Hill House yet, now is the perfect time to take the leap. 

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Do you agree with our terrifying TV rankings? What TV shows scare the pants off you? Let us know in the comments!

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