Looking for something creepy to watch beyond this year’s election coverage? From murder mysteries to psychological thrillers, haunted horrors to paranormal productions, we’ve got you covered with our October 2020 streaming guide featuring some of our favorite spooktacular, queer friendly shows.

Haunted Houses and The Paranormal

The Haunting of Bly Manor
Streaming on: Netflix

The sequel installment to The Haunting of Hill House dropped on Netflix just in time for the spooky season—and it’s just as gay and bingeworthy of a watch as its predecessor. While the creators of Hill House adapted Shirley Jackson’s supernatural thriller, The Haunting of Bly Manor is loosely based on the 1898 horror novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

When a woman with a dark and mysterious past applies to become a nanny to two orphaned children after the tragic death of their past caretakers, things are, surprisingly, not as cheery as advertised. Step into the world of au-pairs and unsettling auras, dollhouses and derelict old mansions. Exchange America for the English countryside and fall in love with the gardener while you’re at it. Bly Manor centers around a whole lot of grief and ghosts, and tops it all off with some creepy kids, ladies in the lake, and some killer 80’s fashion to boot. Seriously—turtlenecks have never had such a moment.

If you’re not already halfway through binging this show, I ask you, bly the hell not?

The Haunting of Hill House
Streaming on: Netflix

From family secrets to open caskets, creaky old mansions to sinister spirits, The Haunting of Hill House is essential Halloween viewing. If you’re looking for a show that will assuredly send goosebumps up and down your spine with every passing episode, take our word for it and start your watch here—but prepare yourself for a whole lot of jump scares, ghosts hidden in the corners of your screen, and a crescendo of tension from start to finish.

The Haunting of Hill House follows five siblings of the Crain family who are forced to reunite in the wake of family tragedy. On coming home to Hill House, they must come face to face with the real and imagined ghosts of their past—and all of the terror unleashed upon them along the way. Each episode delves into the experiences of a different sibling, one of whom, gloved goddess Theodora Crain, is a psychic empath and a queer woman. With layered storytelling, an endlessly watchable ensemble cast, and compelling family drama, The Haunting of Hill House is great for horror and non-horror fans alike.

Curon
Streaming on: Netflix

Curon is an Italian supernatural drama series that has yet to receive the fanfare it deserves, but trust me when I say you’ll want to go into this watch with as little information as possible. All you need to know is that the plot centers around a woman who returns to her foreboding and mysterious childhood home (which is actually an abandoned hotel, because of course) in a Northern Italian village with her two teenage twins—one of whom is queer and features a prominent teen romance. The family must grapple with a dark past and an unsettling family legacy—and believe me, these hotel closets are chock full of skeletons. There’s a very creepy sunken bell tower in an even creepier dark lake which is just unsettling vibes all around—and yes, it’s totally real. According to locals in Curon, Italy, although the bell tower was submerged and the bells were removed in 1950, legend has it that their ringing can still be heard on long, cold, wintery nights.

Lovecraft Country
Streaming on: HBO

Jordan Peele’s new supernatural horror series, Lovecraft Country, follows the story of a young black man searching for his missing father across Jim Crow America in the 1950’s. Based on a novel of the same name by Alex Ruff, Lovecraft Country’s protagonist Atticus seeks to uncover his magical ancestry while encountering supernatural creatures ripped right from the pages of an H.P. Lovecraft novel. Not even Lovecraft Country’s Shoggoths (ugly, massive muscular shapeshifters with razor sharp teeth) are as grotesque as the racist horrors Atticus encounters in the Ku Klux Klan.

The LGBTQ+ content is admittedly limited, but given that the show is somewhat rooted in history, you may recognize some famous bisexual badasses along the way.

Stranger Things
Streaming on: Netflix

If hearing the ominous, synthy beats of the Stranger Things score doesn’t get you into the spooky spirit, maybe the Demogorgon stalking its way through Hawkins and kidnapping children is just the kind of Monster Mash you’re seeking. A show that is well-versed in sci-fi and the supernatural, Stranger Things centers around a group of young friends who unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries. Season three introduced its first lesbian character, and although we have yet to see more than a touching coming out moment, our fingers are crossed for a larger storyline in the upcoming season.

Psychological Thrillers and Murder Mysteries

Monsterland
Streaming on: Hulu

Monsterland is a horror anthology series that focuses mostly on inner demons and existential dread, but it also has its fair share of zombies, demons, and other strange beasts as the title suggests. Hulu’s latest original series showcases eight different stories about grief, loss, regret, loneliness, and guilt, with each installment telling an individual story named after the place it’s set. I knew its episode titled, “Plainfield, IL” was gay enough for me when queer actors Taylor Schilling and Roberta Colindrez, a married couple celebrating their 16th anniversary, opened up the episode to Goldfrapp’s “Ooh La La.” What seemed to start out as a cute little rom com between two college sweethearts quickly transpired into an eerie, horrifyingly unsettling account of how a couple grapples with mental illness. While Monsterland does mix in fantastical elements and otherworldly themes, its message is more focused on the demons that lie within.

Mindhunter
Streaming on: Netflix

Any show that centers itself around getting into the mind of serial killers is sure to be a macabre little mindfuck, and Netflix’s Mindhunter is exactly that. The trio team of detectives Holden, Bill and Wendy solve high profile murders that are loosely historical by analyzing the murderers’ deranged, damaged psyches. This series is anything but just another serial killer show—it’s a high brow puzzle with palpable tension and thrilling drama throughout. It’s essentially Criminal Minds on steroids, which would be watchable enough — but the real content you’re here for is the effortlessly cool, attractively aloof lesbian psychologist who looks remarkably like Carrie Coon but is not Carrie Coon and is obviously the only one in the department with brains.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels
Streaming on: Showtime

A spin-off to the dark fantasy series Penny Dreadful, City of Angels takes place during the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1930’s. There is so much going on in this show. From racial tensions and the persecution of Mexican-American people in Los Angeles, to Nazi espionage in America, to the rise of radio evangelism and police brutality, City of Angels is a high drama watch. Did I mention the premise of the show involves a clash between a shapeshifting demon femme fatale (Natalie Dormer) and Santa Muerte, the Spanish deity who escorts the dead to the afterlife? City of Angels artfully threads the needle between sci-fi and historical fiction, and its fantastical elements make it a thrilling and sometimes horrifying watch. From scenes of Chicano swing-dancing in the gay club to closeted politicians prancing around in secrecy, the show is also inherently very queer. Plus if you’ve ever wanted to see Natalie Dormer play four different characters in just one show (who doesn’t?), this show was made for you.

The Sinner
Streaming on: Netflix

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If you’re a fan of Mindhunter, you’ll find that The Sinner strikes the same grisly, psychological chord as the dark and morbid serial killer-centered series. The Sinner is a USA crime anthology that tackles a different gruesome crime each season, all committed by an unlikely suspect. If you’re not too creeped by the viciously harrowing first season starring Jessica Biel as a mother who violently stabs a man with a paring knife, season two centers around a young boy poisoning his parents and showcases a LGBTQ+ relationship between two of its main characters. The Sinner is a subtly unsettling psychological whydunnit that does, in fact, star Carrie Coon, and it’s three seasons are bingeworthy television at its finest.

Homecoming
Streaming on: Amazon Prime

Homecoming is a two-season Amazon series that raises the bar on the psychological thriller genre. More quietly cerebral than viscerally shocking, the show deftly weaves in elements of sci-fi into its drama. Season one stars Julia Roberts as a social worker who is employed by a facility to transition soldiers back into civilian life. She quickly realizes that there’s more to the mysterious program than meets the eye. Season two stars Janelle Monae as a woman who wakes up abandoned in a rowboat adrift on the river, only to discover that she has no recollection of who she is or how she got there. Both seasons are full of twists and turns that keep you hooked throughout—and if that doesn’t reel you in, it’s stylish nod to 1970’s filmmaking will definitely ring your bell.

Perry Mason
Stream on: HBO

HBO’s Perry Mason is an ambitious reimagining of the popular courtroom drama of the 1950’s. The season begins with a sensational child kidnapping, and unfolds as Mason works his way from a down-on-his-luck private investigator to famed criminal defense attorney. Meanwhile, legal secretary Della Street, reimagined as a lesbian, tries to smash through the glass ceiling and establish herself in a male-dominated world. The series is a stylish L.A. Noir that boasts an impressive cast, a twisty, intriguing plot and the classic high budget look of a trademark HBO drama. From culty radio evangelism to cold-hearted blackmail, the shadowy corners of post-depression Los Angeles to the ugly prevalence of sexism, homophobia, and police corruption in the prohibition era, this darkly intense reboot is definitely worth your watch.

Campy And Creepy

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Streaming on: Netflix

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, otherwise affectionately known as CAOS, is an updated take on the 90’s classic that follows Sabrina and her schoolmates around town as they face off against all manner of evils. It starts off with a little harmless witchcraft and ends up being a full blown showdown against the devil himself, but sadly CAOS was cancelled in July. That’s a shame, because CAOS is a great, albeit chaotic, slice of campy queer horror. It will be missed!

American Horror Story
Streaming on: Netflix

Nothing says, “Surprise bitches, I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me” like returning to nine seasons of American Horror Story at Halloween. From Murder House to Asylum, Coven to Freak Show, there’s no better show to get your spooky kicks than Ryan Murphy’s supernatural anthology horror series. Freaked out by the thought of Lady Gaga as a fashionista vampiress? Kathy Bates as a sadistic butcher? Generally afraid of people in costumes doing sinister things? Feel like watching a nation of alt-righters swarm out from under their hiding holes in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as President? Well, that’s reality, and a little too fucking real for me, but it’s also a season of American Horror Story.

AHS is your go-to show for all things gruesome, creepy, disgusting, questionable, unsettling, and weird. It’s also given us some of the best one-liners in recent TV history, which is noteworthy for a show so saturated in horror. Plus, in true Ryan Murphy fashion, it’s jam-packed with LGBTQ+ storylines and queer characters.

Ratched
Streaming on: Netflix

Where do I start with Ryan Murphy’s Ratched? Let’s start with the highs. Sarah Paulson starring as an unhinged, lobotomy-loving institution nurse is a definite draw. In her role as Mildred Ratched, an iconic villain from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Paulson shines in her performance as she invariably does. The promise of the show continues with the appearance of Cynthia Nixon in LGBTQ storyline opposite Paulson. The costumes, sets, and color palettes are eye-popping and immaculate. The horror factor is definitely turned on high, and there are some truly hilarious moments reminiscent of American Horror Story’s writing.

That’s about where the pros stop, and this is about where I admit I have no idea what this show is about. The eight episode season seemed to forgo coherence at every turn, but being that Ratched was released just before Halloween, It’s watchable for its gory fills and psychological thrills alone.

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Oct 10 14 Queer Friendly and Creepy Shows For Halloween

The Haunting of Bly Manor
Streaming on: Netflix