The Spooky Short List of TV Shows Streaming
I love horror. Which means that during October and early November, my schedule for streaming gets very detailed… it’s aggravating that more people don’t watch crime TV shows outside of fall, so all the best content drops at the same time the veil drops. I mean, it’s aggravating until you realize what kind of gems you get to stockpile and/or diligently schedule into your calendar so that no one spoils them for you on social media. Who am I to complain about having more of what I love?
Still, I have to prioritize. Here’s the short list of spooky shows and crime TV streaming this fall, complete with where to watch, when to watch, a real down-and-dirty synopsis.
Murder House Flip
If you’re craving crime TV and awaiting some new releases, flip over to the Roku channel. This show is exactly what it sounds like: the crew flips houses that were crime scenes. If you’ve ever wondered how anyone could move into a crime scene like the family in The Amityville Horror… this is how.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
I’m personally really stoked for this adaptation of my favorite Grady Hendricks novel. When two girls at a prep school in 1980s Charleston stumble upon a “weird little building where that girl was sacrificed in a Satanic ritual,” it’s up to Abby to help exorcise the demon that’s set up house inside her best friend, Gretchen… and she enlists the help of a group of musclehead exorcists.
The Midnight Club
Mike Flanagan, creator of The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass teams with Trevor Macy for The Midnight Club. It’s an adaptation of the novel by Christopher Pike, by the same name, in which seen terminally ill young adults in hospice care meet every midnight to tell scary stories. They make a pact: whomever dies first must communicate back to those still living. It sounds macabre and sad, which is perfect.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
This anthology series is one that I’m very much looking forward to. Not only does it feature episodes directed by some folks who truly push the boundaries of horror, like Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), Panos Cosmatos (Mandy), and Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night). If you want more about what to watch to prepare for Cabinet of Curiosities, you can click here for another watchlist I wrote.
Wendell & Wild
If you’re like me, then you love Jordan Peele’s horror films, but also are nostalgic for the original show, Key and Peele. Lucky for us, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele team up again to co-star as demon brothers in a stop-motion animation where they want to be conjured to the world of the living. It’s directed by the same guy who did Coraline and Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick), plus Angela Bassett has a leading role. Full disclosure: I know the co-writer, Clay McLeod Chapman (and I drop his name to sound cooler every chance I get… like now). If you love Wendell & Wild, you should check out his latest novel, Ghost Eaters, which is horrifying, too.
Wednesday
This might be the innumerable spinoff of the original Addams Family, but I’m all in. The plot follows Wednesday Addams through her expulsion from Nancy Reagan High School, where she obviously does not fit in, to her tenure at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for creepy little criminals just like her. If that’s not enough to sell you on the show, Jenny Ortega plays the titular role, Luis Guzman plays Gomez (be still my heart), Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Morticia, and Tim Burton directs. They call it “supernaturally infused.” Add to queue.
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Mary Kay McBrayer is the author of America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster. You can find her short works at Oxford American, Narratively, Mental Floss, and FANGORIA, among other publications. She co-hosts Everything Trying to Kill You, the comedy podcast that analyzes your favorite horror movies from the perspectives of women of color. Follow Mary Kay McBrayer on Instagram and Twitter, or check out her author site here.