Best thriller & horror TV shows to watch in October 2026

In the mood to stay indoors and watch something terrifying? October is stacked with edge-of-your-seat thrillers. Here’s what to add to your watchlist…

If 2026 has taught me anything so far, it’s that television is having a glorious horror/thriller moment. From Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed(still, frankly, one of the best series of the year) to Widow’s Bay(the definitive best series of all time – I don’t make the rules), I’ve barely had time to recover from one obsession before another comes along to ruin my sleep.

Of course, now Halloween month is upon us, I’m leaning into this in a big way. And, thankfully, October’s TV schedule is crawling with murder, mystery, sinister seaside goings-on (a very specific craving of mine currently, no guesses why), deeply questionable decisions and people who really should know better. 

You can relate wholeheartedly, you say? Then why not join me?

Without any further ado, here are the spine-tinglers I’ll be injecting directly into my bloodstream this month…

East Of Eden

It’s not every day that a literary classic gets another chance to break your heart, and East of Eden is getting the full Netflix treatment.

Based on John Steinbeck’s sweeping 1952 novel, this sumptuous new adaptation stars Florence Pugh as Cathy, alongside Christopher Abbott as her husband Adam and Mike Faist as his half-brother Charles. The story unfolds across generations as two families put down roots in California’s Salinas Valley… and, yes, you had best believe that they soon discover that family secrets have a rather nasty habit of refusing to stay buried.

At the centre of it all is Cathy, who just so happens to be beautiful, mysterious and seemingly incapable of being entirely honest with anyone, including herself. That, plus more than enough family feuds, forbidden desires and enough simmering tension to make the California sunshine feel positively sinister? Yes, please.

Watch on Netflix from 1 October

Below

A mysterious creature terrorising an isolated Newfoundland town? A fisherman haunted by his father’s mysterious death? Local mythology, buried secrets and a visiting marine researcher? I’m sorry, but Below had me at ‘sinister seaside community’ (I did say already that Widow’s Bayis the GOAT, right?).

Josh Hartnett stars as Calvin Penney, a big-hearted but stubborn fisherman determined to protect his close-knit hometown when an unidentified sea creature begins terrorising the community. When the threat turns towards his family, Calvin teams up with visiting marine researcher Fonda (Mackenzie Davis) to confront whatever is lurking beneath the water and uncover the island’s long-buried secrets in the process.

It’s a twisty mix of thriller, local folklore and family drama, with a bit of heartfelt humour thrown in for good measure. In other words, ideal viewing for anyone who is missing that aforementioned Emmy-winning series I apparently can’t stop banging on about.

Watch on Netflix from 8 October

Kill Jackie 

Jackie Price has spent the past 20 years living the kind of anonymous, impossibly glamorous life most of us can only dream about: travelling the world, selling fine art and keeping a very dangerous past firmly under wraps. Unfortunately for Jackie, the past isn’t quite finished with her.

When she discovers that the aptly-named Seven Demons (who are, essentially, the world’s most terrifying hit squad) have been hired to kill her, she does what any sensible woman would do: dusts off her old criminal instincts and take them out first. It is more than worth tuning into for Catherine Zeta-Jones alone, who leads this slick revenge thriller, as Jackie goes from art dealer to assassin, taking down the hitmen one by one. Anyone else wondering whether a ‘quiet life’ has ever worked out for anyone on television?

Watch on Prime Video from 2 October

Carrie 

Stephen King’sCarrieis already one of the most iconic horror stories ever written, thanks to its hefty helping of teenage cruelty, religious fanaticism, telekinesis and, of course, that particularly unforgettable prom night. Now Mike Flanagan (the genius behindThe Haunting Of Hill HouseandMidnight Mass) is taking another swing at it, this time expanding King’s story into a series.

Oh, yes! We may have Carriefilms coming out of our ears, but a series by Flanagan? Why, that means more time with Carrie White, more time inside the claustrophobic world that pushes her towards breaking point, more deft dealings of the psychological side of all that horror and, presumably, more reasons to be grateful that our own school days are safely behind us.

Hey, if there’s one thing horror has taught us, it’s that teenagers can be terrifying enough without supernatural powers.

Watch on Prime Video from 7 October

The Party 

A dinner party. Old friends. A country pile. A Conservative leadership crisis. And, inevitably, some deeply unpleasant secrets. No, it isn’t the making of a real-life political scandal in tomorrow’s papers (not that I know of, anyway). Rather, it is The Party, a thrilling adaptation of Elizabeth Day’s novel, a tale that centres on Martin Gilmour (Luke Evans) and his lifelong friendship with wealthy politician Ben Fitzmaurice (Tom Cullen).

These two go all the way back to boarding school, and for Martin, Ben and his family once represented everything he had longed for: money, privilege and, most importantly, belonging. Decades later, Martin is invited to Ben’s lavish birthday party – just as Ben is considering a run for Conservative leader… but old friendships have a funny way of looking rather different once the secrets holding them together start to unravel. Add in obsession, betrayal and a house full of people who definitely shouldn’t be left alone with the canapés, and I’m very much pulling up a chair.

Watch on ITV1 and ITVX from 11 October 

Crystal Lake

Jason Voorhees is one of horror’s most recognisable faces (or he is for me; my partner has a cardboard cutout of the guy in their wardrobe). Before the mask, the machete and the endless parade of extremely unlucky teenagers, however, there was Pam. And in the Friday The 13th prequel none of us knew we wanted,Crystal Lake takes us back to the beginning, focusing on Jason’s mother, Pam Voorhees, played by Linda Cardellini (aka my future wife, if I have my way).

Almost a year after the death of her young son Jason, Pam is still consumed by grief. Then two strangers arrive at her door asking questions about her past – and suddenly the sleepy town of Crystal Lake doesn’t seem quite so sleepy as we charge onwards into a terrifying new chapter in one of horror’s most enduring franchises. Pass me the popcorn and lock the cabin door, stat!

Watch on Sky Atlantic from 19 October

Nocturne

Last but not least, Nocturnelands on Apple TV at the very end of the month… just in time for Halloween.  In it, Liev Schreiber stars as Jonah Lynn, an ex-soldier-turned-homicide detective who swaps the tough streets of Philadelphia for what he hopes will be a quieter life in rural Pennsylvania.

Obviously, it doesn’t work out that way. Especially when the community comes under threat from the diabolically cunning serial killer Jurek Walter, played by our beloved Stephen Graham. Cue Jonah being pulled into the desperate search for his final missing victim, and his surrogate daughter, FBI agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), being forced into the investigation, too. As ever and always for beleaguered TV detectives everywhere, things get very personal. Very personal indeed. 

Watch on Apple TV+ from 30 October

So, there we have it: more than enough murder, monsters, mysteries and deeply suspicious seaside goings-on to see us through October. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some very important lying-on-the-sofa-and-watching-television to do…

Images: Apple TV+; Netflix; ITVX