You’ve still got time to squeeze in some scary shows before Halloween: We recommend these limited series, including AMC’s “The Terror,” and the original “Salem’s Lot” from 1979, that can easily be binged in a weekend or just a day.
The series on our list are all under 10 episodes and available to stream right now, so grab your big bucket of popcorn, get cozy on the couch and spend some time with these vampires, ghosts, witches and some really haunted real estate.
“The Terror” (AMC)
The Terror
Based on the real-life doomed arctic expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin (played here by Ciarán Hinds): We see the men aboard two ships, one of which is unwisely named the HMS Terror (yes, really), struggle as they slowly try to carve a path through the ice. But there’s something (or things) much more sinister plaguing the journey. Jared Harris and Tobias Menzies costar. Number of episodes: 10 — Sharon Knolle
Stream on Netflix
“The Terror: Infamy” (CREDIT: AMC)
The Terror: Infamy
The second season of the AMC series is set at a WWII Japanese internment camp, where a series of bizarre deaths occur and one man (Derek Mio) is haunted by a more than usually vengeful ghost. “Star Trek” icon George Takei, who has written about his family’s own imprisonment during the war, served as a consultant and also costars. Number of episodes: 10 — SK
Stream on Netflix
Kali Reis and Jodie Foster in “True Detective: Night Country” (Credit: Michele K. Short/HBO)
True Detective: Night Country
“Tigers Are Not Afraid” director Issa López served as writer, director and showrunner of the most recent installment of the acclaimed series, the eerie setting is an isolated Alaskan town where an entire team of scientists mysteriously go missing from the local research station one night. Jodie Foster won her first-ever Emmy for her role as the wildly unsympathetic police chief Liz Danvers who ends up teaming with former colleague Trooper Evangeline Navarro (the terrific and Emmy-nominated Kali Reis) whose connections to the local indigenous community might help them crack the increasingly dangerous case. Number of episodes: 6 — Sharon Knolle
Stream on Max
Elisabeth Moss in “Shining Girls” (Apple TV+)
Shining Girls
Elsbeth Moss stars as Kirby Mazrachi, a former journalist who is still recovering from a brutal attack that nearly killed her – and trying to live with a reality where everything — where she lives, who she’s dating, even what kind of pet she has — can change at a moment’s notice. Jamie Bell costars as the time-traveling serial killer who also has Dr. Jin-Sook Gwansun (Phillipa Soo) in his sights. It’s based on the novel of the same name by Lauren Beukes. Number of episodes: 8 — SK
Stream on Apple TV+
Netflix
Archive 81
This incredibly addictive series played out in two timelines: the present, where video archivist Dan (Mamoudou Athie) is hired to restore fire-damaged videos shot in 1994 by Melody (Dina Shihabi), who presumably perished in the same disaster that claimed the historic apartment building where she lived, along with a number of neighbors who’d feel right at home living next door to Minnie Castevet (Ruth Gordon) from “Rosemary’s Baby.” Sadly, the show, which ends on an unexpected twist, was not renewed for Season 2. Number of episodes: 8 — SK
Stream on Netflix
“The Enfield Haunting” (CREDIT: Sky Living)
The Enfield Haunting
Yes, it’s the same story as “The Conjuring 2,” but more accurately sans Ed and Lorraine Warren (who were reportedly at the site of the real-life haunting for less than a day). No upside-down crosses or evil nuns, but a solid look at a famous incident — which people still can’t was a hoax or not. Timothy Spall, Matthew Mcfadyen and Juliet Stevenson star. Number of episodes: 3 — SK
Stream on Prime Video, Freevee, Tubi or Dailymotion
Lance Kerwin in “Salem’s Lot” (CBS)
Salem’s Lot (1979)
Tobe Hooper’s definitive version of the Stephen King novel gives the story more time to develop than the new film version, with iconic scenes such as Mark Petrie (Lance Kerwin) warding off a late-night visitor at his window and a no-longer alive gravedigger who pays an unwelcome visit Also, Brit James Mason is smoothness itself as Richard K. Straker. Number of episodes: Originally shown in two 90-minute episodes. — SK
Stream on Max.
Carla Gugino in “The Haunting of Hill House” (Netflix)
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
The first of Mike Flanagan’s horror series on Netflix, “The Haunting of Hill House” adapts and modernizes the story of the same name by Shirley Jackson. Another story that takes place in two timelines follows a family moving into a home that slowly ruins their lives as they deal with tragedy. The present storyline reunites the family’s children to confront their traumatic childhood. Number of episodes: 10 — Jacob Bryant
Stream on Netflix.
Prime Video
Swarm (2023)
“Swarm” examines the dangerous and downright scary side of rabid fanbases. Dominique Fishback stuns as the obsessive fan of an R&B singer whose fandom takes increasingly darker turns. Number of episodes: 7 — JB
Stream on Prime Video.
“Midnight Mass” (Netflix)
Midnight Mass (2021)
Another Mike Flanagan outing, “Midnight Mass” finds a small island community rocked by a charismatic priest’s arrival that reinvigorates a religious fervor as miracles start happening. The dying community begins to trust the newcomer openly despite a number of omens also following the miracles. Number of episodes: 7 — JB
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