While Halloween is saturated with content that’ll make you scream, sweat, and grip the edge of your seat, thankfully, for people who prefer something more mild, there are Halloween TV shows that offer just the right dose of spookiness.
Aside from ghostly nuns and carnivorous aliens, the horror genre also has a different, softer side than traditional screamfest stories and gory shots. While a good spook is nice from time to time, some shows manage to capture the chilling night of Halloween without forcing a burst of adrenaline into the bloodstream.
Layout by Andrea Vicencio
What We Do in the Shadows
Following the undead lives of Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Lazlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasha Demetriou), Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), and their human familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), enter the manor of the most terrifying vampires ever to terrorize the Statin Isles—that is, if they were any scarier than your favorite comedy show. “What We Do in the Shadows” is a mockumentary that follows these vampires and their supernatural experiences mixed in with a slice-of-life format like “The Office.”
What’s most fun about this series lies in its writing. Its script is filled with stupid vampire antics and wit on politics and history. To call the cast's performances amazing would be an understatement since each character is memorable, complex, and funny in their own blood-sucking ways.
Drink up and greet the night with “What We Do in the Shadows” on Hulu.
Layout by Ben Allie Antonio
Over the Garden Wall
Created as a limited series in 2014 by Patrick McHale, this animated show has stamped its beastly mark on Halloween. We follow Wirt (Elijah Wood), his brother Gregory (Collin Dean), and Beatrice the bluebird (Melanie Lynskey) into The Unknown, a place that’s choked up with fear of a mysterious creature that stalks the woods called “the beast.”
Don’t grow eerie of its haunting environment or its hypnotizing soundtrack (it’s that good) for “Over the Garden Wall” only uses the essence of Halloween as its artistic voice for its story. While its animation and music already capture the soul, the comedic writing paired with the theatrics of its cast has allowed this cartoon to keep its spirits burning as one of the absolute Halloween classics.
Wander into The Unknown and watch “Over the Garden Wall” on streaming platforms like Hulu.
Layout by Eliyah Mallari
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Welcome to Salem, right on time for the witching hour! Directed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” comes straight from the “Archieverse” of Archie Comics and brings you the twisted teenage life of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Kiernan Shipka) as she enters a new stage in her life, choosing between her normal human life and cauldron-bubbling witch life.
Stirring in the flavors of a relatable coming-of-age story with the blood-curdling hell-side of this measly town, this show’s ‘retro-witch’ cinematography and writing is a horrific source of joy.
Sign the book of the beast and binge all of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” on Netflix.
Layout by Jacob Banog
Mr. Midnight: Beware of Monsters
Straight from its release on Oct. 24, “Mr. Midnight: Beware of Monsters” is an adaptation of a Singaporean book series by James Lee. Fully investing itself into a coming-of-age story mixed with lighter horror, Tyar (Idan Aedan), Ling (Chen Yixin), Nat (Caleb Monk), and Zoe (Nikki Dekker) discover the sudden appearances of different creatures, perfect for the beginning of their new horror story series hosted by an anonymous character called “Mr. Midnight.”
After Tyar discovers his position as a spirit messenger or shaman called dukun, a myriad of spirits, ghosts, imps, and the like greet the screen each episode, and chaos ensues. The show definitely captures the funny awkwardness of its youthful cast as the story slowly ties into something bigger.
Speak to the spirits and watch “Mr. Midnight: Beware of Monsters” on Netflix.
While Halloween isn’t really celebrated in the Philippines, it is a fun excuse to watch these different shows with friends and family. Whether it’s to have a good laugh or hang out, Halloween has become its own pretty genre.
