The Best Horror Shows With Sci-Fi Background To Catch This Halloween 2020

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We’ve written a similar article before, and if you’re interested in that check out the link here, or feel free to search ‘Presenting Your Halloween 2020 Movie Watch-List’ on ENTOIN. There is a nifty little search button right up there.

Speaking of searching, we often find ourselves at the tail end of memorable shows and series, and are left wondering ‘What on earth am I going to see next?’ Well, in case you’ve been living under a rock, it’s Halloween season.

In this piece, we thought it would be profoundly terrifying to collate a list of episodic shows for you to devour, or rather be devoured by, for Halloween 2020. I repeat myself from last time: the numbering of each recommendation does not necessarily indicate any sort of importance, it is just…well, um…2 follows 1 and 6 follows 5, alright!

Since series (usually) have more than one season, we found it best to share just a season-one-trailer for the shows on this list, and let your common sense dictate the rest. We also did something of the sort by mentioning the initial year of release for each show that follows.

1. Stranger Things (2016)

The classic 80s never looked this frightening. This hit show took everyone by delightful surprise when Netflix started streaming it. The child stars have moved on to different projects by now, but this show (from the Duffer Brothers) still remains one of the most-watched, and most loved, horror series to grace the current generation. Three seasons in, and we’re all awaiting the 2021 finale.

2. American Horror Story (2011)

This brilliant series essentially packs an anthology of scary tales, a different theme for each season. The names of each season, in order, are: Murder House (2011) | Asylum (2012–2013) | Coven (2013–2014) | Freak Show (2014–2015) | Hotel (2015–2016) | Roanoke (2016) | Cult (2017) | Apocalypse (2018) | 1984 (2019). Freak Show and Coven are perfect for Halloween, but of course, no horror fan worth their demon-salt will start viewing such a superb series so haphazardly.

3. Lovecraft Country (2020)

Some fine horror-drama awaits you in this show inspired by the scary genius of H.P.Lovecraft whom we’ve already said must be mentioned on any quality horror list. While critics have said one thing or another about the show, which recently witnessed its season-one finale, a casual non-nerdy viewer is sure to appreciate the thrills and creeps this one has in store.

4. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)

This Netflix chiller has a little bit of everything, from romance and sensuality to spells galore. There are darker things at play too, which you’re better off seeing for yourself. Based on the original ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’, this four-season series is a twisted little marvel that is guaranteed to make you look both ways to see if anyone else is watching you watch it.

5. Castlevania (2017)

Anime with a Draculian twist, this vampire- and beast-ridden frenzy-fest of a show boasts beautiful animation design and character depth. Additionally, this dark-medieval-fantasy’s fear factor and shadow-play are worth admiring. It is based on the video game after the same name, but follows its own distinct storyline spread across three frightfully gorgeous seasons.

6. What We Do In the Shadows (2019)

Termed a ‘mock-umentary’, you can certainly expect some horrific comedy of the refined vampiric kind in this superbly scripted show that counts Taika Waititi as one of its writers. You are taken through the life of three New York vamps (who are actual vampires in the show’s setting) as they try keeping up with various real life responsibilities. The show is two seasons strong, with a third expected to manifest in 2021.

7. The Strain (2014)

This show is even scarier to watch in 2020 owing to the ongoing Wuhan virus pandemic. In just four seasons, this series seems to have captured a ‘parallel reality’ of what we’ve been experiencing with covid-19, the only difference being the show contains vampirism and supernatural powerplay.

8. The Twilight Zone (2019)

Based on the cult classic series that came out in 1959, this modern ‘remake’ (comprising two solid seasons) takes you through a chill journey, and we don’t mean that casually. You are well and truly thrown smack in the middle of…The Twilight Zone. Jordan Peel ‘hosts and narrates’ this SciFi madness that is as creepy as it is subtle.

9. The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

With distinct storyline-ties to its predecessor, “The Haunting of Hill House”, “Bly Manor” brings you a character-driven season-one that is equal parts unnerving, discomfiting, and horror-fuelled. In classic Henry James style (his 1898 novella ‘The Turn of the Screw’ inspired these screen gems), you will never really know what’s going on in this supernatural horror-drama until the truth reveals itself. Mike Flanagan has done a great job with this one.

10. The Walking Dead (2010)

Starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, and a whole troupe of other excellent talents, this outstanding zombie-centric horror-drama-thriller is led by show-creators Frank Darabont and Angela Kang. They found inspiration for the show from the original graphic novels (published October 2003 to July 2019). This pretty much sums up the wow-factor of this series that is ten seasons strong, with its final one set to air in 2021.

11. Black Mirror (2011)

This dystopian tech-twisted series takes you not just into the lives of various people, but into the darkest moments of their lives. Sprinkle some supernatural glitter on top, and you have yourself a show that’s as terrifying as it is plausible. Check out all five seasons of this SciFi-Thriller, and don’t tell us you weren’t warned.

12. Locke & Key (2020)

This fantasy-horror series maybe just two seasons, but it packs all the scary goods it can from the comic books (by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez) that originally inspired it. Some captivating supernatural elements worth enjoying in this spellbinding addition to our list.

13. The Terror (2018)

An almost literary flavor permeates this historical horror-adventure that ran for all of two seasons and left viewers wishing the creators found a way to prolong the storyline. But it was all neatly wrapped up and is sure to give you chills.

14. Supernatural (2005)

A cult-favorite among fans (this writer included) who have been watching the show from the moment it aired, the series is a whopping fifteen seasons of mindblowing, heart-wrenching, beautifully balanced, and fun-funny storylines that will linger in your memory for years. The final episodes are airing weekly now, giving fans every reason to celebrate and mourn the conclusion of a show that has been with us for so long. Long live the Winchester Brothers, Jared Padalecki, and Jensen Ackles, who are the heroes we all need. Thank you for the memories, boys, and hats off to you, Eric Kripke (show creator). To paraphrase a popular song that highlighted the latter part of the series, ‘Carry On our wayward sons’.

15. Raised By Wolves (2020)

Travis Fimmel, Amanda Collin, and Abubakar Salim have given us outstanding performances in this fantasy-SciFi series by Ridley Scott and Aaron Guzikowski. One season has come and gone, and the green signal has been given for season two. The show paints a grim and internally horrifying picture of our future. At the rate we’re going in real life, the story elements in this show seem like a very real possibility, and therein lies its terror.

16. The Vampire Diaries (2009)

Another fan-favorite, this splendid series packs all the right tropes and storylines we’ve come to love and appreciate in this genre. Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder are just three of the many names who make this show (from creators Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson) worth watching, perhaps even a few times over. Eight seasons of unforgettable plot perfection, the series is loosely based on the young adult vampire horror novels by L. J. Smith.

17. Teen Wolf (2011)

We can’t talk vampires without at least referencing their sworn enemies. This six-season series is yet another beloved selection among fans the world over, and features a strong werewolf theme. Fantasy and action elements ideally complement horror and supernatural themes in this Jeff Davis series starring unique talents like Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, and Dylan O’Brien.

18. Altered Carbon (2018)

Just two seasons long and adapted from Richard K. Morgan’s 2002 novel, the sheer cyberpunk SciFi-drama potential packed into this show must be seen to be fully appreciated. It contains elements of a murder investigation, time travel, body modification, corruption, and crime, all blended optimally to horrific effect.

19. Lost in Space (2018)

There was a hit series with the same name back in 1965, a blockbuster movie based on that series as recently as 1998, and now a remake of this brilliant evergreen story involving a family called the Robinsons who find themselves in some of the most daring and frightening scenarios in the cold reaches of Space. The latest show is three seasons long, and every bit as amazing to watch as the ones that came before.

20. Westworld (2016)



Mystery, drama, SciFi, and all the horror you can pack between the lines, this show is one for the ages. An absolute eye-opener in more ways than one, Halloween will not be complete without a little bit of the frightful futurism that is explored in gorgeous detail through the eyes (AI and otherwise) of the characters who have made this show a household name. Creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan have much to be proud of, and so too the multi-talented cast one of whom is the masterful Sir Anthony Hopkins. Four seasons is all it took for this series to root itself in the darkest recesses of our souls.