5 Spooky TV Shows You Can Watch This Halloween If True Tales Like 'Dahmer' Give You Chills
It's scary because it's true 👻
Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale in "The Watcher." Right: Jessica Biel in "Candy."
Spooky season is here and while there’s nothing like a scary Halloween TV marathon, it’s always a little creepier when you know the stories are based on reality.
Many of the scariest stories are (loosely) based on real events, and there are plenty of great adaptations that you can check out if you want that added thrill this Halloween 2022. They may not be fully true, but they're still thrilling!
If you've already burned through Netflix's Dahmer -- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, these shows will satisfy your craving for more.
So, with that thought in mind, here are the best scary shows to send your heart rate on a bumpy ride this Halloween – along with the real tales that inspired them.
The Watcher
If you’re on the prowl for something fresh to watch this Halloween, Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series The Watcher will seriously creep you out and make you think twice about buying your own home.
The series stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale as a couple who buys a home in New Jersey, only to start receiving creepy letters from someone who identifies himself only as “The Watcher.” This person shares details about the couple’s children and other events, proving that he definitely knows a lot about them.
The family and the letters are actually real, and the identity of “The Watcher” was never revealed.
The series debuted on Netflix on October 13.
The Haunted
If you love animals just as much as you love spooky campfire stories, then you need to watch the paranormal TV series The Haunted. The series revolves around animals sensing and alerting others to the presence of spirits and strange activities that humans tend to overlook.
It’s a reenactment of real people’s personal stories, so it’s definitely got that extra creep factor. Spread across three seasons, the episodes contain actual footage and photographs from the cases provided by the families involved. They also include paranormal research teams who investigate the cases.
So if your family pet has ever freaked you out by reacting to something you can’t see, this one is for you.
You can rent or buy this Animal Planet series on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.
Candy
One of the latest crime drama series to hit Hulu, Candy depicts the chilling story of a suburban housewife (Melanie Lynskey) who is brutally chopped up with an axe by her neighbor Candy (Jessica Biel) who had been having an affair with her husband. But the most shocking part isn’t the story itself; it’s the fact that it all ends with the killer being acquitted on all charges.
Had this been a fictional story, the horrifying plot and its mind-boggling ending would have been easier to swallow. But Candy is based on the very real story of Candy Montgomery and her neighbors, Allan and Betty Gore.
So, what possessed the jury to say Candy was innocent? Well, find it for yourself as all episodes of the series are available on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in Canada.
The Act
Another Hulu gem, the series tells the true story of Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia Arquette) and her daughter Gypsy (Joey King). Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy wherein she abused her daughter by forcing her to pretend that she was ill and disabled. But as Gypsy grows up and starts rebelling to seek more independence, it becomes difficult for Dee Dee to control her daughter who soon starts plotting her murder with her online boyfriend.
As reported by Buzzfeed News, her neighbors in Springfield, Missouri, still remember how the most shocking part was discovering that Gypsy never had leukemia, muscular dystrophy, or any brain damage as claimed by her mother. She also ended up being a lot older than what her birth certificate claimed.
For those planning to binge the series in Canada, you can watch it on the STARZ streaming service.
Hannibal
Psychologist cannibal Hannibal Lecter has creeped people out in novels, movies, and TV shows, but Mads Mikkelson’s take on the character in this series is truly spine-tingling. The series is based on Thomas Harris’ novels, but did you know that the character is loosely inspired by a real person?
Harris wrote in his book The Silence of the Lambs that the character was based on a real-life surgeon whom he met in the 1960s. That person, whom Harris called “Dr. Salazar,” was incarcerated in a Mexico prison, and he was a serial killer known for cutting up and packaging his victims in very tiny boxes.
All three seasons of Hannibal are streaming on Hulu in the U.S.
Those not living in the states have the option to either purchase a physical copy - DVD or Blu-ray - or opt for buy/renting the series via Apple TV, Vudu, or Amazon Prime Video.