10 More Spine-Tingling Horrors
Mike Flanagan’s latest horror series has finally dropped on Netflix. With it, comes a whole host of chills, thrills and well-placed scares.
If you’ve finished watching this and are looking for alternate picks – we’ve got you covered. We’ve dug through the archives to find a whole bunch of different TV shows to whet your appetite. As always, do comment below with your thoughts and any suggestions or recommendations you may have!
Midnight Mass
Similarities – Horror & Mike Flanagan
Midnight Mass begins in a compelling way, centering on a man named Riley, who’s arrested for drink driving. Instead of finding his faith behind bars, he turns away from God.
When he’s released and returns to his hometown of Crockett Island, everything has changed. This once bustling community has slowly died, with a few dozen inhabitants remaining. Buildings are shacked up, the isolation becomes suffocating and the arrival of a new Monsignor at the church is just what’s needed to shake things up.
From here, this slow-burn mystery slowly unravels Riley’s faith, and something far more sinister on the island.
The Midnight Club
Similarities – Mystery & Mike Flanagan
The Midnight Club is a strange medley of different influences – some work well and others not so much.
The story centers on the idea of death and facing one’s mortality, wrapped up in a series of different campfire stories and a diverse group of kids. Alongside these stories is a mystery centering on Brightcliffe, a strange hospice that holds more than a few secrets inside.
To give much more away would be a disservice to the series, but horror fans should be in their element here.
Archive 81
Similarities – Mystery
Archive 81 is a patchwork of different influences that check off all the usual horror tropes along the way. This is then thrown together around a dual timeline story that plays out as part found-footage flick and part puzzle box thriller.
The plot itself is undeniably gripping and revolves around a guy called Dan. Working as an archivist, one day he takes a job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994 for a man named Virgil Davenport.
These tapes happen to relate to a woman called Melody, who was in the midst of investigating a dangerous cult within a strange apartment complex. As Dan begins to get drawn into Melody’s story, we learn what happened to this young woman – and how Dan and Melody’s fate appear to be inexplicably entwined.
It’s not perfect, and perhaps at times it’s a little too long-winded but it’s undeniably a decent watch.
You can read our thoughts on Archive 81 in our full season review here!
Marianne
Similarities – Horror & Creepy Scares
With decent pacing, some nicely worked scares and an unsettling atmosphere, Marianne takes the best elements from a number of different horrors and blends them together to deliver a frightfully good horror series.
With elements of Haunting Of Hill House, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and Stephen King, Marianne is a deliciously dark cocktail of horror that continues to impress right through to its finale.
You can read our thoughts on Marianne in our full season review here!
Hemlock Grove
Similarities – Characters
Hemlock Grove is a horror-mystery based on the novel of the same name by Brian McGreevy. The show takes place in the fictional town of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania.
The plot revolves around the unlikely friendship between Peter Rumancek, a Romani teenager who’s rumored to be a werewolf, and Roman Godfrey, the heir to the Godfrey estate and the town’s wealthy, troubled scion with dark secrets of his own.
Hemlock Grove mixes the gruesome and mysterious in a way that’ll keep you on your toes throughout. This one’s definitely not to be missed!
Ghoul
Similarities – Tone & Slow-Burn Horror
Set in a dystopian future, Ghoul is a fast-paced but undoubtedly twisted thriller. It’s also a show that wastes little time getting to the heart of its drama.Â
Patriotic protagonist Nida starts us off by exposing her father’s anti-government activities, proving just how much she’s willing to give to her country.
Following this act, she’s inducted as the newest interrogator at a secret, remote detention center. Once there, things begin to spiral out of control as a new prisoner arrives, bringing a strange, uneasy aura that descends on the prison.
What transpires from here is an unnerving, psychologically chilling tale that builds toward a climactic, blood soaked battle for survival. Ghoul is undoubtedly another solid horror offering.
You can read our thoughts on Ghoul in our full season review here!
Strangers From Hell
Similarities – Mystery & Creepy Horror
Split across 10 episodes, Strangers From Hell is certainly a shorter offering than the usual 16 chapter Korean dramas. The story revolves around a boy called Jong-Woo who moves to Seoul and finds himself abandoned and alone inside a creepy apartment block.
Strangers From Hell isn’t particularly scary but it does hold up as a compelling psychological thriller. There’s some pretty gruesome scenes midway through and a couple of genuinely shocking segments. This one is not for the squeamish but should be enough to reach those looking for a dose of anxiety and paranoia from their horror.
You can read our thoughts on Strangers From Hell in our full season review here!
The Haunting Of Hill House
Similarities – Horror & Mike Flanagan
Technically sound and featuring a lot of well-worked scares, The Haunting Of Hill House is a stunningly well executed show, one that weaves a group of perfectly written characters with a story that never feels like careering off track.
In its simplest form, Haunting Of Hill House is a typical haunted house series with flashes between the past and present making up the bulk of this show. The poor family at the center of this conflict are haunted by memories of their old home and the terrifying events that befell them there.
Word of mouth helped this show grow a lot when it released back in 2018 and it deserves recognition for managing to keep up suspense and tension over 10 hours – which is certainly no easy feat. Haunting Of Hill House is quite simply a benchmark for all TV horror to aspire toward.
You can read our thoughts on The Haunting Of Hill House in our full season review here!
30 Coins
Similarities – Mystery & Mood
From its stunning opening scene to the suitably bombastic climax, 30 Coins delivers a creepy, suspenseful and atmospheric show that’s sure to please horror aficionados.
The story here blends elements of alt-history akin to that seen in Dan Brown novels with a creepy underbelly of supernatural phenomena. The opening scene to 30 Coins is arguably one of the best in recent memory. Within this, a mysterious figure walks into a bank and steals a coin from a safety deposit box.
Shrugging off bullets from incredulous guards and hitting them with a barrage of his own, he steps inside a black car and hands over the coin to a shadowy priest. From here, the story only grows weirder and more frantic as the episodes progress.
To give much more away would be a disservice to this story but suffice to say, 30 Coins is well worth your time.
You can read our thoughts on 30 Coins in our full season review here!
Castle Rock
Similarities – Characters & Tone
Unlike the second season’s more action-driven plot, the first is a suitably moody, mysterious story that perfectly combines all the hallmarks of what makes a good mystery show.
Based on the stories of Stephen King, the series intertwines characters and themes from the fictional town of Castle Rock. The central character for season 1 is Henry Deaver, who returns to his hometown after receiving a strange call.
Only, when a stranger arrives in town called The Kid, things take a turn for the weird.
The first season is absolutely suffocating in tension and while the second season adopts a more action-driven slant, the first matches Midnight Mass’s atmosphere blow for blow.
You can read our thoughts on Castle Rock in our full season reviews here!
So there we have it, our 10 TV show alternatives to watch when you’re finished watching Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!