The 15 Best Horror TV Shows Of All Time, Ranked

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In days gone by, horror was a genre better suited to the movies: Scares didn’t play well on small, standard definition screens, while blood and gore was never going to get past TV censors. Sure, there were a handful of classic horror tales on TV — a couple of which even make this list — but television wasn’t the best place to find hair-raising horror. But all of that began to change with the advent of the TV ratings system in the late 1990s, and there was an even bigger shift in the 2000s with the proliferation of streaming services.

The marriage of the ratings system and streaming platforms slowly allowed for much more adult content to make it into living rooms. And with bigger and bigger televisions becoming more popular, home viewing had the potential to be just as spine-tingling as sitting in a darkened movie theater. Suddenly, the horror genre exploded, becoming a veritable goldmine for telling compelling stories that hook audiences with a mix of drama and terror.

With so many new horror classics and a handful of older ones still standing the test of time, it’s not easy assembling a list of the best of the best. After all, there are many different kinds of horror stories, each with its own ways of curdling your blood. But whether they are supernatural horror, slasher horror, or psychological horror, we think we’ve found the top 15 shows in the genre, and ranked them from great to best.

In the wake of the success of “The Haunting of Hill House,” writer-director Mike Flanagan came back quickly with a follow-up, “The Haunting of Bly Manor.” A spiritual sequel of sorts, the limited series is inspired heavily by the Gothic horror novel “The Turning of the Screw” by Henry James. 

When Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) suddenly finds himself the guardian of his niece and nephew, Flora (Amelia Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), he turns to American au pair Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti), who moves into the family’s gothic manor, Bly House, to be their caretaker.

Upon arrival, however, Dani begins to experience a number of supernatural incidents and witnesses a ghoulish ghost that haunts the premises. As the story unfolds, we learn that Dani has a dark past of her own, and that the Wingraves may have something to do with the apparition that’s haunting the manor.

• Cast: Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, T’Nia Miller

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

Mike Flanagan established himself as a modern master of horror thanks to his pair of “Haunting” shows on Netflix, both based on legendary ghost stories. In 2021, the writer-director had another hit with “Midnight Mass,” an original creation of his own. It centers on Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), a wealthy investor who just got out of prison for manslaughter following a drunk driving incident that killed an innocent woman.

Hoping to start over, Flynn returns to Crockett Island, the remote fishing town where he grew up. His arrival coincides with that of Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater), a new priest who takes over for the outgoing monsignor. Hill is determined to reignite the people’s diminishing faith, but when his new mission coincides with a series of bizarre and otherworldly events, it raises disturbing questions, and Flynn begins to reconsider everything he believes.

With its insulated setting and mix of the supernatural and the religious, “Midnight Mass” owes more than a passing nod to the works of Stephen King, telling a horrifying story about faith and fanaticism.

• Cast: Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Hamish Linklater

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

You might think the best horror shows would be for adults only, a requirement necessary to effectively tingle the spine with disturbing imagery and buckets of blood. But “Evil” does things differently, eschewing the more graphic elements of other horror greats to focus on the things that are truly frightening enough to send you scurrying under the blankets. It’s also more of a procedural, typically tackling a new story each week.

In “Evil,” we meet a small team of inquisitive investigators who work on cases involving the paranormal. There’s forensic psychologist and natural skeptic Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), who’s always out to disprove wild claims of witchcraft and devilry, a Catholic priest named Father David Acosta (Mike Colter), and tech expert Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi). But they are also persistently hounded by a rival, psychologist Dr. Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson), who they quickly discover is far more than meets the eye.

• Cast: Mike Colter, Katja Herbers, Aasif Mandvi

• Creators: Robert King, Michelle King

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

Based on the real-life expedition of the HMS Terror, a British sailing vessel that met its mysterious doom in the Arctic Circle, “The Terror” offers us a far-fetched look into what might have really happened on the frigid ice. While attempting to chart the Northwest Passage — a treacherous but potentially lucrative route through the harsh northern waters — the HMS Terror, accompanied by the HMS Erebus, becomes stranded in pack ice. As if the situation wasn’t dire enough, they may not be alone, with crew members of both ships hunted by an unknown being in the frozen wastes.

Season 2 of “The Terror” turns the series into an anthology, relocating viewers to wartime America as an entirely new supernatural tale unfolds in a Japanese community. Captivating and truly unnerving, “The Terror” is a historical drama unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

• Cast: Jared Harris, Derek Mio, Kiki Sukezane

• Creators: David Kajganich, Max Borenstein, Alexander Woo

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

If “Lost” were written by Stephen King, you might get something like “From,” the supernatural horror mystery series starring Harold Perrineau. The “Lost” alum plays Boyd Stevens, a beleaguered sheriff desperately trying to keep the people of a small town safe from insidious creatures who come out at night to prey upon them, disguised as ordinary townsfolk. As the people have learned, the town exists in some kind of strange limbo, ensnaring passerbys within its borders and giving them no hope of escape. 

When the series begins, Boyd has managed to keep a fragile peace, but when two groups of newcomers arrive from the world outside, things worsen — and bodies begin to pile up. And when one resident begins receiving ominous messages from beyond, it kicks off a race to find out what’s really going on before they all wind up dead. 

Praised for its eerie atmosphere, haunting performances, and slowly building tension — not to mention its mind-bending series-long mystery — “From” is the show that so many others have tried and failed to be. 

• Cast: Hannah Cheramy, Harold Perrineau, Eion Bailey

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

There are only a handful of horror shows that have changed the genre forever, but “American Horror Story” might be one of them. Debuting in 2011 from the mind of prolific TV producer Ryan Murphy, “American Horror Story” was the first in a new breed of TV horror that didn’t just showcase blood, gore, and jump scares, but disturbing imagery and themes so upsetting that it could sometimes be hard to stomach.

A unique form of anthology, the series tells a different season-long story every year, but uses largely the same cast — all in different roles — each season. The first story in 2011 saw a family move into a haunted mansion, while subsequent seasons featured sinister supernatural serial killers, diabolical death cults, wicked witches, and even a post-apocalyptic scenario. Like many long-running shows, “AHS” saw some of its later stories miss the mark a bit, with a handful of plotlines that didn’t make much sense, but when it’s at its best, it’s truly one of the greatest horror shows the medium has to offer.

• Cast: Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%

In 2023, Mike Flanagan once again proved himself to perhaps be today’s greatest horror storyteller with the eight-episode miniseries, “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The third installment of his so-called “Haunting” trilogy of shows, following “Hill House” and “Bly Manor,” “House of Usher” is also based on the works of a classic horror writer, this time legendary author Edgar Allan Poe. 

Rather than adapt a single Poe tale, however, “Usher” draws from multiple stories in the writer’s bibliography to craft a narrative that spans seven decades between the 1950s and the 2020s. Told in a nonlinear fashion, the series chronicles the rise and fall of a wealthy and powerful family, the supernatural occurrences that befall them, and the frightening fates they are led to.

Arguably the best-ever adaptation of anything from the mind of Edgar Allan Poe, “House of Usher” connects the author’s 19th-century work to Flanagan’s own masterful modern-day yarns.

• Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Carla Gugino, Mary McDonnell

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Zombies have long been a staple of horror cinema, but “The Walking Dead” brought them to the small screen in the best TV series to ever tackle the unliving monsters. Set in a world ravaged by a biological event that causes the dead to rise again, a group of survivors led by former cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) must fight not just against undead hordes, but living enemies as well. Boasting 11 seasons and giving rise to multiple spinoffs, “The Walking Dead” combined horrifying and grotesque zombies with even more disturbing survivors of the apocalypse, leading to some of the most grim storylines you’ll ever see.

Seriously stellar survivalist horror, “The Walking Dead” soars when exploring the human condition amidst a zombie apocalypse. While some of its later storylines weren’t as well-received, and its spin-offs have never quite matched it, the first handful of seasons remain some of the finest genre television ever, with Looper readers calling it the best horror series of all time.

• Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Norman Reedus

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

With such a eclectic filmography, you might not expect that the man who penned the scripts for such vastly different films as “Gladiator,” “Any Given Sunday,” and “Star Trek: Nemesis” to be the person behind one of horror’s best TV shows. But in 2014, screenwriter John Logan crafted “Penny Dreadful,” a Gothic horror drama that serves as an homage to the kind of spooky magazine tales of the 19th century that birthed iconic characters like Sweeney Todd and Spring-Heeled Jack. 

The series takes similar classic characters and brings them to life all in one place, with “Penny Dreadful” revolving around the exploits of supernatural medium Vanessa Ives (Eva Green). Vanessa becomes involved with powerful characters from literary history over the years, as the series brings together such famous figures as Count Dracula, Dorian Gray, and Victor Frankenstein. A series brimming with chills and spills, it’s classic horror at its finest, full of sorcerers, demons, exorcisms, and even an apocalypse that unleashes hell on Earth.

• Cast: Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, Josh Hartnett

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Originally created as a Gothic daytime soap opera, “Dark Shadows” was initially a more ordinary — if spooky — tale of romance, betrayal, and murder. It chronicled the sometimes supernatural occurrences at a stately manor run by governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke), recently hired as caretaker to the mysterious Collinwood family. But the introduction of ageless vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) radically altered the show’s premise, quickly morphing into a horror series revolving around witches, warlocks, and werewolves. 

Unlike any show of its kind, “Dark Shadows” became an instant smash hit after Barnabas became its leading man. Beloved for its dramatic stories, compelling mysteries, not to mention its cast of eccentric characters, “Dark Shadows” is full of shocking plot twists like any good soap opera. But it’s also populated by all manner of the supernatural — including parallel realities and time travel — which helped it become something all its own. And while many have tried, no show has ever quite matched its odd mix of weirdness in quite the same way.

• Cast: Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Alexandra Isles

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: N/A

You won’t find much that’s overtly supernatural in “Hannibal,” but what you will find is one of the most terrifying psychological horror stories ever put on the small screen. A gripping thriller adapted from the works of Thomas Harris, “Hannibal” explores the early days of FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who is recruited by senior agent Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) to help track down a notorious serial killer. During their investigation, the embattled Graham gets help from a forensic psychiatrist named Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), who, unknbenowst to the bureau, is actually a cannibalistic serial killer by night.

At the heart of the series is the unconventional relationship that develops between Graham and Lecter, which goes from reluctant allies to bitter enemies to queer-coded lovers. That the series pushes the boundaries of acceptable content on prime time TV, “Hannibal” — with brutal violence, visceral gore, and deeply disturbing themes — only adds to its greatness, helping to elevate it in ways few shows could ever achieve.

• Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne 

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Published in 1959 by author Shirley Jackson, “The Haunting of Hill House” is regarded as one of the best horror novels ever written, and it’s been adapted more than once for the big screen. In 2018, it received a television adaptation helmed by Mike Flanagan, who reinvented it for modern audiences. Delivering on its promise of bone-chilling scares, the series is one you should never watch alone.

The story, told in both the past and present, kicks off with the Crain family moving into Hill House in 1992. Within its walls, they experience increasingly terrifying supernatural phenomena, which eventually forces them to flee the home after a death in the family. Decades later, the clan — forever scarred by their experiences — is still haunted by what occurred all those years earlier, until another tragic event leads them back to Hill House to uncover the truth. 

• Cast: Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Like “Evil,” “Stranger Things” defies convention as a frightening foray into a world of terror with a TV-14 rating. You won’t find excessive gore, ensuring it’s safe for some younger audiences, but the series is no less horrifying for it.

In this Netflix series we meet a group of intrepid, fantasy-loving pre-teens in the 1980s whose best friend Will (Noah Schnapp) disappears, abducted by monsters from a nightmarish nether realm. With nobody believing them, they take it upon themselves to save their friend and ally themselves with a mysterious young girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who is discovered alone in the woods and seems to possess otherworldly powers. 

Brutal horror and pop fun collide in “Stranger Things,” the rare horror show to become a true cultural phenomenon. Beloved for its mix of high adventure, teen drama, and blood-curdling horror, it’s easily the best horror series approved for teen viewing.

• Cast: Finn Wolfhard, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown

• Creator: The Duffer Brothers

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Part murder mystery, part abstract painting, “Twin Peaks” might be the most unique television series ever produced. Airing for two seasons in 1990 and 1991, the series was the brainchild of legendary film director David Lynch. It begins when the body of a teenage girl washes up on the shore in the small town of Twin Peaks, wrapped in plastic. Arriving shortly thereafter to investigate is FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), but nothing is as it seems, as Cooper uncovers a hidden world of dreams and other realities that defy explanation. 

Set in a universe of symbolism where practically every character, every plot beat, every location — even every single prop — holds a deeper meaning, “Twin Peaks” isn’t so much a story as it is an experience. The third season, “Twin Peaks: The Return,” arrived in 2017, and somehow nearly topped the astonishing, frightening original.

• Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%

There’s not much that can be said about “The Twilight Zone” that hasn’t been said before. One of the most iconic TV series of all time and famous for its twist endings, “The Twilight Zone” was created by screenwriter, producer, and war hero Rod Serling, whose chilling introductory monologue set the tone for each episode. The series’ anthology nature blended drama, science fiction, comedy, and romance, but at its heart, it’s a horror show. Nearly every installment — even the lighthearted ones — includes some kind of chilling psychological terror. 

The oldest entry on our list, you might think “The Twilight Zone” would be outdated this far into the 21st century, but it has a certain timeless quality that has made it a favorite across generations. Featuring eerie stories of hauntings, alternate realities, and paranormal phenomena, the series has often been imitated but never duplicated. Though a handful of revivals and reboots have emerged over the years, none could ever top the impeccable original.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%