October is upon us, and with it comes the perfect time to catch up on some scary shows. Streaming services like Netflix and HBO have been home to a selection of amazing, terrifying shows this year.
Whether you need something new to chill your blood, make you hide your face in your pillow, or simply sleep with the lights on tonight, here are five of the best horror shows on streaming from 2025.
1. The Last of Us (HBO)
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's adaptation of hit game series The Last of Us is a dramatic and intense story set in a world ruined by infection. Being a much more emotional and mature spin on the zombie trope, the HBO series tackles the realistic and brutal impact of a ruinous outbreak that turns humanity against itself.
The series follows Joel, a survivor of the outbreak, and Ellie, a young girl who may be the key to curing the disease and bringing society back to what it once was. Throughout the show's two seasons, viewers will see Joel and Ellie grow closer and closer to each other, while enduring terrifying and deadly encounters with the victims of the cordyceps fungal virus.
2. The Summer Hikaru Died (Netflix)
The Summer Hikaru Died, based off of a manga of the same name, is a great animated show to usher in the season of scares. Yoshiki, the series' protagonist, discovers that his best friend, Hikaru, was consumed by and replaced by a mysterious being that took his memories and personality. This being came from deep within the dark forest, where Hikaru was said to have been injured and gotten lost.
The Netflix show combines disturbing imagery and terrifying concepts with a heartbreaking narrative that will make any viewer yearn to have the real Hikaru back, even though we have never met him. Over the course of 12 episodes, things continue to get worse and much weirder in this small Japanese town, and Yoshiki must come face to face with the reality of what happened to his best friend before it completely takes over.
3. The Bondsman (Prime Video)
Prime Video released the action-horror show The Bondsman in spring 2025. The eight-episode series stars Kevin Bacon as an undead bounty hunter working for none other than the devil himself.
With demonic possession and exhilarating action around every corner, The Bondsman keeps its viewers hooked through a great mix of scares and stunts. A charismatic performance from a classic actor brings the series home and is sure to entertain fans of any kind of action-horror flick.
4. Cassandra (Netflix)
Psychological thrill and horror meets the ever-present fear of artificial intelligence in Cassandra. The six-episode Netflix limited series follows a German family moving into a long-abandoned house and discovering a dormant primitive AI that was built as a "smart" domestic assistant.
Throughout the series, Cassandra plants seeds of mistrust and doubt among the family, turning them all against each other. The suspense is constantly growing, and the palpable tension will make you want to watch the entire show in one big binge.
5. It: Welcome to Derry (HBO)
This eight-episode series serves as a prequel to the blockbuster It movies, which are horror legends in their own right. This series, however, dedicates itself to focusing on what we didn't get to see in those movies, showing us the events of It's original arrival in Derry in the 1960s. The series premieres on HBO Max on October 26, just in time for Halloween.