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Cape Town - With the scariest shows available to binge-watch on Showmax, Netflix, DStv Now and Amazon Prime, it won’t just be the cold weather giving you goosebumps on Friday the 13th.
Legend has it nothing good happens on Friday the 13th. In fact, there are people around the world paralysed by their fear of the unlucky day, it’s called paraskevidekatriaphobia. We suggest you stay indoors instead and stream these scary shows.
Eline Powell (Game of Thrones) plays a mermaid who goes in search of her missing sister and wreaks havoc in a small town. But, as CinemaBlend says: “The show has successfully turned those beautiful mythical creatures into something far more dangerous than what the typically see.”
2. Freakish S1 (Showmax)
What could be more frightening than being trapped in a high school? How about being preyed on by flesh-eating zombies? That’s the reality facing a group of teens in this horror series.
3. You’ve Been T@gged S1-S2 (Showmax)
Providing another dose of teens in trouble, this series follows three girls who are tagged in an online video of a brutal murder. They soon discover that they’re been stalked by someone who even finds his way into their homes while they’re sleeping. Creepy!
4. The Path S1 (Showmax)
Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul stars in this twisted drama about a family involved in a cult. There are some disturbing scenes involving snakes and hallucinations, and dark characters that will make your skin crawl.
5. Channel Zero S1 (Showmax)
Adapted from creepypastas (short-form horror stories posted on the internet), the first season of Channel Zero, Candle Cove, follows a child psychologist who returns to his home town years after a serial killer murdered five children, including his twin brother. Slashfilm says it “is the answer to our unfulfilled nightmares. It is easily the scariest show on television”.
6. Penny Dreadful S1-S3 (Showmax)
“This series is as dark as coagulated blood,” writes SFX Magazine. The gothic thriller, starring Timothy Dalton and Josh Hartnett, tells of the fight against monsters and evil spirits haunting Victorian London.
7. Bates Motel S1-S4 (Showmax and Netflix)
A contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Bates Motel features an award-winning cast and a disturbing mother-son relationship. TV Fanatic says Freddie Highmore (Norman) and Vera Farmiga (Norma) “sell every false smile, blank stare and horrific scream that comes their way”.
8. Superstition S1 (Netflix)
In a small town (where else would the supernatural appear?), the Hastings family runs a funeral parlour and cemetery. They also protect the darkest secrets from the town’s spine-chilling history.
9. Ghost Wars S1 (Netflix)
In an Alaskan town plagued by paranormal forces, it’s up to the local outcast to save the day. But there are plenty of heart-stopping ghostly encounters along the way.
10. Dead Set S1 (Netflix)
In this British horror series, the set of the reality TV show Big Brother becomes a safe haven from the zombie apocalypse happening outside. Den of Geek says, “If you hate Big Brother, you can enjoy watching it all being torn to pieces by ravenous zombies; if you love Big Brother, then you’re really going to enjoy watching it all being torn to pieces by ravenous zombies.”
11. Sleepy Hollow S4 (DStv Now)
If you loved Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci in the 1993 film of the same name, you must add this supernatural series to your binge-watch list. There’s a beheaded horserider, time travel and more to satisfy your craving for something weird.
12. The R.I.P. Files S1-S3 (Amazon Prime)
Try and keep your eyes open as you watch a team of paranormal investigators attempt to interact with the entities at haunted locations.
13. Harper’s Island S1 (Amazon Prime)
A group of family and friends travel to an island for a destination wedding. Soon dead bodies turn up and it becomes clear that the killer is a member of the group. New York Daily News likens the horror series to “a twenty-something slasher flick with a really good wardrobe, a first-rate cast and 13 weeks’ worth of twists and subplots”.
