Since the dawn of Nosferatu, the horror genre has been a staple of the entertainment industry. From zombies, ghosts, and vampires to knife-yielding psychopaths, the genre never ceased to try and quench audiences’ thirst for a good scare. Some prefer slow atmospheric horror, while others love being startled by an unexpected something going bump in the night.
Regardless of where you stand, it’s highly likely you’ll find something on Netflix to make you feel uneasy. And if you want to hold on to that uneasy feeling for… say… a few binge-able hours – then a horror series is probably what you’re after.
Netflix has been steadily producing scary series, miniseries, and horror anthologies for years and we’ve put together a list of those considered the best of the bunch. As new shows get released regularly, we’ll keep updating our recommendations. Before you delve into this list, you may also like our Best Horror Movies on Netflix Of All Time list too.
Best and Highest Rated Best Horror Series on Netflix Of All Time
15. Sweet Home (2020 – )
This critically acclaimed K-Drama horror series takes a rather unusual approach to the zombie apocalypse sub-genre. In this universe, those afflicted don’t turn into walking carcasses, instead, they become actual monsters.
Official Premise: As humans turn into savage monsters, one troubled teenager and his neighbors fight to survive and to hold onto their humanity.
Cast: Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young, Lee Do-hyeon, Park Gyu-young
Rotten Tomatoes: 83.00%
14. Ju-On: Origins (2020)
Ju-On: Origins is the most recent addition to the immensely popular Ju-On franchise (also known as The Grudge).
Official Premise: A paranormal researcher hunts for a cursed house where something terrible happened to a woman and her child long ago.
Cast: YosiYosi Arakawa, Yuina Kuroshima, Ririka, Kana Kurashina
Rotten Tomatoes: 85.00%
13. Archive 81 (2022)
An adaptation of Daniel Powell’s Archive 81 podcast, this found-footage series is as intriguing as it is terrifying. Despite the series receiving rave reviews and audience approval, Netflix pulled the plug after only one season.
Official Premise: An archivist takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets pulled into a mystery involving the missing director and a demonic cult.
Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit
Rotten Tomatoes: 86.00%
12. All of Us Are Dead (2022)
High school is a nightmare on a good day. This excellent K-Drama takes it one step further and adds Surviving Flesh-Eating Zombies to our character’s lesson plans.
Official Premise: Trapped students must escape their high school which has become ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak.
Cast: Park Ji-hu, Yoon Chan-Young, Jo Yi-hyun, Lomon, Yoo In-soo
Rotten Tomatoes: 87.00%
11. Midnight Mass (2021)
From the brilliant mind of horror creator, Mike Flanagan, comes this Emmy-nominated atmospheric miniseries. Critics were impressed with the series and Jonathan Wilson at Ready Steady Cut describes the series as the creator’s “most contemplative work yet.”
Official Premise: The arrival of a charismatic priest brings miracles, mysteries, and renewed religious fervor to a dying town.
Cast: Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Hamish Linklater, Annabeth Gish, Michael Trucco
Rotten Tomatoes: 87.00%
IMDB Score: 7.8/10
10. Black Summer (2019 – 2021)
The Asylum’s Black Summer is a Z Nation spin-off that ran for two seasons before its untimely cancellations. Apart from being set in the same universe, the two series have little in common with each other.
Official Premise: Set in the “Z Nation” universe, this series follows a crack team of special forces as it fights for hope in the darkest hours of the zombie apocalypse.
Cast: Jaime King, Justin Chu Cary, Kelsey Flower, Christine Lee, Zoe Marlett
Rotten Tomatoes: 87.00%
9. Ghoul (2018)
Starring Radhika Apte, this three-part unnerving series took its inspiration from Arabic folklore stories, specifically the Jinn mythology.
Official Premise: When a new prisoner arrives at a military detention center exhibiting eerie behavior, young interrogator Nida Rahim searches for the truth. Her quest becomes a battle for survival when the prisoner, sect leader Ali Saeed, turns the tables on Nida and the other interrogators, exposing their most shameful secrets. Nida ultimately discovers a ghoul inhabiting Saeed and — after telling her colleagues about it — learns the alarming truth about what its presence reveals.
Cast: Radhika Apte, Manav Kaul, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee
Rotten Tomatoes: 88.00%
8. The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
Another Mike Flanagan creation to make the list, this miniseries is an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw by author Henry James.
Official Premise: A young governess arrives at Bly Manor and begins to see apparitions haunting the estate.
Cast: Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, Amelia Eve, T’Nia Miller
Rotten Tomatoes: 88.00%
7. Santa Clarita Diet (2017 – 2019)
More hilarious than scary, this series takes a humane approach to the zombie genre. After becoming inconveniently undead, a suburban mom has to balance her life and her newfound love of human brain cravings.
Official Premise: Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant star in this Netflix-original series as married realtors, Sheila and Joel, who are living a quiet life, raising their teenage daughter in Santa Clarita, Calif. Their world unexpectedly changes when Sheila goes through a dramatic transformation that sends her down a road of death and destruction — but leaves her looking and feeling better than ever.
Cast: Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant, Liv Hewson, Skyler Gisondo
Rotten Tomatoes: 89.00%
6. Stranger Things (2016 – )
Immensely popular, this nostalgia-inducing series won an impressive 12 Primetime Emmy Awards since it first landed on Netflix back in 2016.
Official Premise: Mysteries unravel in a small Midwestern town in the 1980s, involving supernatural forces, secret experiments and one strange girl.
Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo
Rotten Tomatoes: 92.00%
5. The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Created by Mike Flanagan, this award-winning series is widely considered a template of how horror movies should be made. It’s a terrifying tale about family secrets, grief, and, of course, ghostly apparitions.
Official Premise: This modern reimagining of the Shirley Jackson novel follows siblings who, as children, grew up in what would go on to become the most famous haunted house in the country. Now adults, they are forced back together in the face of tragedy and must finally confront the ghosts of their past. Some of those ghosts still lurk in their minds, while others may actually be stalking the shadows of Hill House. The ensemble cast includes Oscar winner Timothy Hutton, Carla Gugino, and Henry Thomas. Mike Flanagan, a veteran of the horror genre, created the series.
Cast: Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Rotten Tomatoes: 93.00%
4. Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2022 – )
Launched during 2022’s Halloween season, this horror anthology features eight different tales of the macabre. Each episode is introduced by del Toro himself as a tribute to Hitchcock.
Official Premise: An anthology of sinister stories told by revered horror creators.
Cast: Lize Johnston, Kevin Keppy, F. Murray Abraham
Rotten Tomatoes: 93.00%
3. Marianne (2019)
According to Ready Steady Cut critic Daniel Hart this French series, “has the strength of a firm lead character and a steady premise, and while the horror elements are not scary, the story progression is effective.”
Official Premise: A famous horror writer who is lured back to her hometown discovers that the evil spirit who plagues her dreams is now wreaking havoc in the real world.
Cast: Victoire Du Bois, Lucie Boujenah, Tiphaine Daviot, Ralph Amoussou, Bellamine Abdelmalek
Rotten Tomatoes: 94.00%
2. Kingdom (2019 – )
The award-winning period K-Drama horror series ran for two seasons. A 92-minute special came out in 2021, and another special is set to come out in 2023.
Official Premise: The deceased king rises and a mysterious plague begins to spread; the prince must face a new breed of enemies to unveil the evil scheme and save his people.
Cast: Bae Doona, Ju Ji-hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong, Kim Sang-ho, Heo Joon-ho
Rotten Tomatoes: 97.00%
1. Hellbound (2021 – )
Hellbound is a highly acclaimed horror series based on a namesake webtoon. On Ready Steady Cut, Daniel Hart stated, “The violence is guiltily attractive, but the repeated consequences are so fast that the story does not remind you to breathe.”
Official Premise: Unearthly beings deliver condemnations, sending individuals to hell and giving rise to a religious group founded on the idea of divine justice.
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Won Jin-a, Park Jung-min, Yang Ik-joon
Rotten Tomatoes: 97.00%
And that completes our Best and Highest Rated Horror Series on Netflix Of All Time. What’s your favorite horror series on Netflix? Comment below.
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