10 Halloween-Themed TV Shows That Won’t Keep You Up at Night

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Halloween isn’t just about frights! Many people enjoy the fun parts – like costumes, treats, and silly traditions – without wanting to be scared. These ten TV shows are perfect for those who prefer the lighter side of the holiday. Think of ‘trick or treat’ – it’s all about the fun! For many, Halloween means watching favorite videos, enjoying caramel apples, and dressing up as beloved characters.

Halloween can be fun and spooky, but it also has a darker side with scary movies and frights. While I personally enjoy the scares, plenty of people prefer a Halloween that’s not frightening, and that’s perfectly okay! You don’t need to be scared to enjoy the Halloween spirit.

These ten shows explore the spooky and atmospheric world of gothic horror, featuring classic Halloween monsters and creepy storylines. But don’t worry – they’re more chilling than terrifying, so you probably won’t lose sleep!

Wednesday

Available To Stream On Netflix

  • Scary rating: 3/10
  • Creepy rating: 4/10
  • Tension rating: 3/10

Before the term “spoopy” became popular, The Addams Family defined the playfully spooky vibe. While they were known for being gothic, dark, and a little creepy, the characters always had a silly side, especially when adapted for television. Netflix’s Wednesday continues this tradition, leaning into the creepy atmosphere but avoiding genuinely frightening moments.

This show is great any time of year, but especially during Halloween! It centers around Wednesday Addams, a teenage girl who goes to a boarding school for students who are a little different – many of them have special abilities – and gets caught up in solving a big mystery at the school.

Nevermore Academy is a spooky place, full of supernatural creatures. The school is home to all sorts of beings, from people with psychic powers to sirens. And if you need a last-minute Halloween costume, Wednesday Addams is a simple and recognizable choice! (Many of us have been there!)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Available To Stream On Hulu & Disney+

  • Scary rating: 3/10
  • Creepy rating: 3/10
  • Tension rating: 5/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a hugely popular show in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it’s still considered one of the greatest fantasy series ever made. The show centers around Buffy, a teenager who learns she has a special destiny: to fight vampires, demons, and other supernatural creatures.

If you love the Halloween vibe but aren’t into genuinely scary shows, this series is perfect. What’s Halloween without vampires, after all? Buffy the Vampire Slayer is mostly a fantasy teen drama—about 80%—with just a touch of horror. It rarely feels truly frightening, instead using spooky imagery and familiar horror themes as a backdrop for its stories.

If you’re a little sensitive to scary stuff, there are about 10 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that might be a bit much – you could probably skip those without missing too much. Honestly, because a lot of the show focuses on a new monster each week, you can skip quite a few episodes and still follow the main story just fine!

Penny Dreadful

Available To Stream On Amazon Prime Video

  • Scary rating: 2/10
  • Creepy rating: 5/10
  • Tension rating: 6/10

If you’re a fan of classic novels like Dorian Gray and Frankenstein, you’ll definitely enjoy Penny Dreadful, a fantastic but often overlooked TV series starring Eva Green. It’s also a great pick if you appreciate older horror films – the ones that were more atmospheric than truly terrifying.

The show Penny Dreadful brings together a psychic named Vanessa Ives and famous characters from classic Gothic novels to battle supernatural forces in Victorian England. It captures the atmosphere of Gothic horror without being truly frightening, making it a great choice for those who enjoy the genre but prefer milder scares, especially around Halloween.

The show is visually stunning, with amazing costumes. The actors do a fantastic job of making you sympathize with characters who might normally be seen as frightening or villainous. Overall, Penny Dreadful is a truly enjoyable experience.

iZombie

Available For VOD On YouTube, Fandango, Amazon Prime Video, & Apple TV

  • Scary rating: 1/10
  • Creepy rating: 3/10
  • Tension rating: 3/10

Zombies are popular around Halloween and in horror films, but they’re often shown as frightening monsters. The thought of a creature craving brains is definitely unsettling! If you’re interested in zombies but want something less scary, iZombie is a great option.

The TV show iZombie centers around Liv Moore, a medical resident who turns into a zombie after attending a party. To satisfy her need for brains, she takes a job as a coroner. She soon realizes that when she eats a brain, she also gains the deceased person’s memories.

Even though the show features zombies, I wouldn’t really call it scary or a horror series. It’s more of a mystery with a good dose of dark humor.

The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina

Available To Stream On Netflix

  • Scary rating: 4/10
  • Creepy rating: 5/10
  • Tension rating: 6/10

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina offers a darker take on the classic Sabrina the Teenage Witch tale, originally featured in Archie comics. This version portrays Sabrina as half-witch, half-human, and burdened with a family history rooted in the demonic. As the title suggests, this reimagining of Sabrina Spellman’s story is genuinely spooky and suspenseful.

It includes plenty of blood and gore, that could make some viewers uncomfortable.

This show features demons and Satan, which might not appeal to everyone, especially those who prefer a more wholesome Halloween. But if you don’t mind those themes, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a great choice for people who want a spooky atmosphere without being truly frightened.

The show doesn’t rely on loud noises or sudden scares. Instead of being truly frightening, its horror elements are more playful and comedic, aiming for laughs rather than fear.

Pretty Little Liars

Available To Stream On Hulu, Disney+, & HBO Max

  • Scary rating: 2/10
  • Creepy rating: 4/10
  • Tension rating: 5/10

While you might not immediately think of Pretty Little Liars as a Halloween show, it’s actually a great choice! The series is a thrilling mystery about a group of teenage girls terrorized by a stalker known as “A.” It’s full of spooky things like masked figures, murders, intense physical and psychological torment, chases, and even creepy dolls.

The show includes common horror themes, but they’re mixed in with typical teen drama and romance. This keeps it from being truly frightening, despite some suspenseful and unsettling scenes.

Plus, Pretty Little Liars really leaned into the spooky atmosphere of Halloween with dedicated holiday episodes, which are often considered some of the show’s best.

The Good Witch

Available To Stream On Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Xumo Play, Apple TV, PLEX, Hallmark+, FRNDLY TV, & Philo

  • Scary rating: 0/10
  • Creepy rating: 0/10
  • Tension rating: 2/10

If you enjoy the spirit of Halloween without the frights, Hallmark’s The Good Witch is perfect for you. The show follows a mother and daughter who have magical gifts and use them to help the people in their town, Middletown.

I absolutely adore this show! It delivers exactly what you’d expect from the channel – pure heartwarming goodness. There are a few moments of drama here and there, but honestly, it’s mostly just a wonderfully cozy experience, perfect for a crisp autumn evening. It’s like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket!

This show feels similar to series like Gilmore Girls or Virgin River, but with a magical twist. Like those shows, it’s full of charming, unique characters and focuses on the connections between them.

Over The Garden Wall

Available For VOD On Amazon Prime Video

  • Scary rating: 3/10
  • Creepy rating: 5/10
  • Tension rating: 4/10

The Cartoon Network series Over the Garden Wall is often recommended as a gentle way to introduce people to the horror genre. Though aimed at kids, it’s a story that adults can appreciate too, with memorable characters and a compelling plot.

This animated series centers on brothers Wirt and Gregory as they journey through a mysterious, magical forest called the Unknown, trying to find their way back home. Along the way, they meet a lot of strange and spooky creatures that would normally be frightening, but fit right into this unusual world.

Like the classic Disney film Snow White, this show can be genuinely frightening. It even draws inspiration from Dante’s Inferno. However, its lightheartedness and beautiful, straightforward animation help balance out the scary parts.

Charmed

Available To Stream On Pluto TV, Peacock, & Amazon Prime Video

  • Scary rating: 2/10
  • Creepy rating: 3/10
  • Tension rating: 5/10

After first airing nineteen years ago, Charmed is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, currently ranking at number 10 on Paramount+’s Top 10 list. This makes sense, as many consider it one of the greatest fantasy shows ever made. And with its focus on witches, demons, and other supernatural beings, Charmed is a great choice for those who love Halloween.

The series follows three sisters (later joined by a fourth) who discover they are powerful witches with a destiny to fight evil. They navigate the challenges of love, work, and fulfilling their magical responsibilities as the Charmed Ones.

While Charmed sometimes has suspenseful moments and unsettling creatures, it’s not generally a frightening show. The episodes that truly aim to scare viewers are the ones where Barbas, a demon who embodies fear, appears.

The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Available To Stream On Netflix

  • Scary rating: 3/10
  • Creepy rating: 9/10
  • Tension rating: 5/10

Edgar Allan Poe creates a uniquely spooky atmosphere, and Mike Flanagan is known for his excellent horror series. Together, they’ve made The Fall of the House of Usher, a brilliant but often overlooked show that delivers unsettling moments without relying on jump scares or extreme terror.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” tells the story of Roderick and Madeline Usher and their family, who made their fortune building a business around opioid drugs. As members of the Usher family begin to die mysteriously, hidden truths about how they gained their wealth are revealed.

The show is a darkly humorous and twisted thriller, full of suspense and over-the-top violence with a clear disdain for the wealthy. While the villain and some scenes are disturbing, it’s not particularly frightening overall.

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2025-10-25 16:55