There is no better time to watch horror than the Halloween season. Thankfully, Prime Video has plenty of great TV shows that you can binge on before October 31. These small-screen gems put you in the mood while also cautioning you to be careful, so that you never find yourself in any of the wild scenarios that are depicted. Whether you are looking for supernatural treats or slasher mayhem, there is something for you on the streaming platform.
A lot has changed during the streaming age, but for a long time, networks often used Halloween as an anchor for spooky programming. Non-horror shows would even air Halloween episodes to attract more viewers. Today, an overabundance of shows makes it harder to know what to watch during this great season. Well, don’t worry any further. This list will certainly help. If you have a Prime Video subscription, pick whatever you haven’t watched yet and enjoy.
Here are 10 spooky TV shows on Prime Video that are perfect for spooky season.
‘The Terror’ (2018 – 2025)
Inspired by true events, The Terror takes us to 1845, where two British Royal Navy ships — HMS Erebus and HMS Terror — are on an Arctic expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Sadly, cold weather, starvation, and mutiny threaten to ruin the mission. Even worse, a supernatural predator known as the Tuunbaq starts hunting the crew members. Will anyone survive?
A Mission To Regret
Winner of Best Television Series at the Satellite Awards, The Terror expertly blends historical fact with eerie happenings to great effect. Leadership, pragmatism, and human endurance are explored in great detail. Viewers will also enjoy how The Terror contrasts the wide-angle photography of the vast water body with the chaos unfolding inside the vessels. Besides that, showrunners Max Borenstein and Alexander Woo use the feuds between some of the characters to provide pointed allegories. Prepare for scares and intellectual nourishment.
‘Slasher’ (2016 – 2023)
Anthology horror series, Slasher has a new story every season, each involving a masked killer targeting a group that’s hiding secrets. In “The Executioner,” a copycat killer brings terror into a small town; “Guilty Party” is about camp counselors haunted by something they did; “Solstice” examines online bullying; “Flesh & Blood” involves a deadly inheritance game; and “Ripper” dives into Victorian-era murders.
The Most Disturbing Kills
With economy, meticulousness, and simplicity, showrunner Aaron Martin creates a deeply spooky fable about mistakes, malice, and man’s capacity to handle comeuppance. All the leads are superb here. The villains’ motivations will remind you of some of the best ‘80s slasher movies. Better yet, the kills are quite creative and over-the-top. You’ll never forget watching a priest getting butchered in a confession booth, or when a character is stabbed to death using gym equipment.
‘The Horror of Dolores Roach’ (2023)
The Horror of Dolores Roach follows Dolores Roach (Justina Machado), a woman who initially struggles to find work when she is released from prison after an unjust 16-year sentence. Luckily, her old friend, Luis (Alejandro Hernandez), lets her set up a massage parlor beneath his empanada shop. When Dolores accidentally kills a client who tried to sexually assault her, Luis helps her hide the evidence by baking the body into an empanada. But killing and baking soon becomes a habit for both of them.
Like Sweeney Todd
Based on the one-woman off-Broadway play Empanada Loca and the similarly titled podcast, the show dares to sustain high-value drama on limited dingy sets. Thanks to a biting script and excellent performances, it succeeds. Though K. Todd Freeman expertly plays Jeremiah (a driver for a beef company that previously supplied Luis’ restaurant), the show is Machado’s and Hernandez’s, who both sink into their work as their characters embrace murder and deceit, with life-changing implications.
‘Them’ (2021 – 2024)
Them is an anthology horror series that uses supernatural and psychological horror elements to explore racism and trauma in America. Each season has a set of people launching gradual attacks against black families. In “Covenant,” the Emory family is tormented by racist neighbors after moving to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood. In “The Scare,” a lawman investigates a series of murders linked to a demonic entity.
A Scary Look at Prejudice
Taut and smart, Them is immensely terrifying fare that deservedly received nominations from the Writers Guild of America Awards and the Satellite Awards. It tackles racism in a way few other modern shows dare to do, and benefits from first-rate performances from Deborah Ayorinde, Alison Pill, Ashley Thomas, and Luke James. It’s worth noting that the second season is way better than the first (it has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes), so you can skip right into it if you only wish to spare time for anthology segments of only the highest quality.
‘Dark Shadows’ (1966 – 1971)
Set in the shadowy Collinswood estate in Collinsport, Maine, Dark Shadows centers on the wealthy Collins family, whose members are the toast of town but whose lives are constantly disrupted by strange creatures and supernatural forces. Things get even more interesting when Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), a man seemingly atop a rarefied position in society, arrives. Beneath his supreme charm and erudition lie deep cracks and piercing edges. We also learn that he is a 175-year-old vampire.
Horror With Soapy Elements
Don’t miss this marvelous tale about wealth, power, and psychological trauma, which bears out the adage that the more perfect a family seems, the more imperfect they are. Jonathan Frid is brilliant, no wonder Barnabas emerged as the show’s breakout character, and the rest of the cast, including stage legend Joan Bennett, lend solid support. The soapy elements are fun, and like other popular ‘60s TV shows, Dark Shadows impresses by frequently teasing violence without showing it. Apart from vampires, you’ll find ghosts, witches, werewolves, and zombies.
‘Penny Dreadful’ (2014 – 2016)
Set in Victorian London, Penny Dreadful follows Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), a supernaturally gifted woman who teams up with explorer Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) and expert gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) to battle demonic entities while searching for Malcolm’s lost daughter. During their mission, they encounter mythical creatures like Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula.
Eva Greene in Top Form
This elegant, absorbing show gradually unfolds a disturbing story of one fearless, driven woman finally forced to confront both inner and outer demons. It’s hard to think of any actress other than Eva Green who could do proper justice to the outsize role of Vanessa. Her steely intensity is magnified against the mostly muted, occasionally austere atmosphere that the show cruises on. It’s a shame the BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated show only lasted three seasons, but there’s a great spinoff to enjoy.
‘From’ (2022 – Present)
Events in From play out in a nightmarish American town that traps those who enter. Unwilling residents constantly battle terrifying nocturnal creatures from a nearby forest as they search for answers and attempt to find a way out. Much of the action revolves around Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau), the area’s self-appointed sheriff and de facto mayor, and new arrivals, the Matthews family.
A Never-Ending Nightmare
Trapped-in-small-town shows are often hard to pull off. Take a look at Wayward Pines and Under the Dome, which begin on a high note only to fizzle. Interestingly, From has managed to stay interesting for over three seasons. Much credit goes to Perrineau and his fellow castmates, who are clearly chasing Emmys. The mystery keeps getting bigger, with each episode adding fresh compartments to the maze. How long can this last? We’ll just have to wait and see.
‘Bates Motel’ (2013 – 2017)
A modernized prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s hit 1960 horror movie, Psycho, Bates Motel covers the lives of serial killer Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his heavy-handed mother Norma (Vera Farmiga) prior to the events of the film. The show begins in Arizona after the death of Norma’s husband, after which Norma and Norman relocate to Oregon.
One of the Greatest Prequels Ever Made
Even though it changes the setting from Fairvale, California, to White Pine Bay, Oregon, Bates Motel still wraps itself around the pillars raised in Robert Bloch’s book, which Hitchcock adapted. Freddie Highmore doesn’t struggle to fill Anthony Perkins’ shoes, and as always, showrunner Carlton Cuse (better known for Lost) expertly juxtaposes great cinematography with in-your-face horror. Psycho fans should be warned that the show doesn’t move as fast as the movie, but the scares are arguably better.
‘Mayfair Witches’ (2023 – Present)
Based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches novels. Mayfair Witches follows Dr. Rowan Fielding (Alexandra Daddario), an expert neurosurgeon who makes the shocking realization that she is the heir to a dynasty of witches in New Orleans. Now she must change how she operates and find partners who will adhere to her vision and save her in case any of her deeds go awry.
The Most Unusual Career Change
This obliquely spooky tale concerns an established woman who, for some unknown reason, comes to enjoy her new calling. Using a unique blend of lengthy exterior shots and intimate point-of-view shots, the show scares us while coaxing us to consider the great divide between the normal world full of societal constraints and the darker supernatural world. You’ll also be happy to know that there are companion shows you can watch. Interview with the Vampire is set in the same universe, and so will the upcoming series, Talamasca: The Secret Order.
‘American Horror Story’ (2011 – Present)
One of the greatest anthology shows ever made, American Horror Story offers different horror delights each season, ranging from the occult to the slasher kind. Many cast members appear in more than one season, usually playing new people (or creatures), though sometimes returning as the same character in crossover episodes.
Excellent Performances by Some of the Greatest Talents in the Land
Over a decade since it premiered, AHS remains an enigmatic yet cumulatively powerful show that’s tough to match. It is a fine meditation on the meaning of fate and fear, enhanced by the work of talented actresses like Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Jessica Lange, Lady Gaga, and Sarah Paulson. So far, the show has won over 100 awards out of 359 nominations (including 28 Emmy Award nominations). Greatest horror show of all time?
