Netflix's most terrifying series REVEALED! (2023)

Netflix's most terrifying series have been revealed.

From nail-biting technology thrillers, supernatural curses, true crime anthologies and even religious horrors, the streaming service has it all.

But even those who get a rush from indulging in their favourite horror flick will come across the occasional offering that even they find too frightening to finish.

Midnight Mass, Dahmer, Ratched and The Watcher are just some of the titles guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.

So, are you brave enough to watch them? Here, MailOnline takes a look at the greatest seat-jumpers currently available to watch on Netflix.

Haunted

Netflix's series Haunted left viewers so scared they are unable to sleep.

The anthology show focuses on the horror stories of people who have experienced strange paranormal activity - from a house of horrors to a demon cat who haunts a home with strange howls and hisses.

All three series are available to view on the streaming platform - but fans of the show have taken to Twitter saying those who do watch, will be 'terrified for the rest of your life'.

Each season has six episodes. In the first episode of series one, the narrator describes being revived by a defibrillator after being medically declared dead from dehydration and heat stroke.

Episode two, named The Slaughterhouse, follows the story of two sisters who grow up terrified in a house of horrors, where their sadistic father does unimaginable things.

Those who have watched it have taken to Twitter to warn others about the terrifying nature of the show.

'Watched too many #hauntednetflix and now I’m too scared to sleep', one wrote.

Another added: 'Why did I watch #hauntednetflix right before bed. I mean, there are hundreds of shows I could have started from the beginning yet here I am.'

A third viewer chimed: 'Ok that last episode of season 2 Haunted, scared the c**p outta me! That face was so gd creepy! Omg I was gonna go to bed but hell no. Watching Fist of Fury first so I have good dreams of Bruce Lee.'

While another added: 'If y’all want to be absolutely terrified for the rest of your life watch #haunted on @netflix'.

The Watcher

Netflix viewers were left tossing and turning in terror after watching the creepy thriller The Watcher - and people who live near the house that the show was based off of are too afraid to go near it.

The brand new horror series tells the real-life story of a couple who were harassed out of their dream home by a creepy stalker - whose identity remains a mystery to this day - and it has left many people on the internet reeling in fear.

Viewers flooded Twitter with their thoughts on the scary show ever since it premiered in October 2022, and many have revealed that they were so frightened by it that they weren't able to sleep.

'Don't watch The Watcher before you sleep, I'm paranoid as Hell,' wrote one person, while another added, 'Watched The Watcher on Netflix today. Lost the ability to sleep in its entirety.'

A third tweet read, 'I didn't sleep the whole night. After watching The Watcher, I felt like my room was watched.'

'Thanks to The Watcher, I couldn't sleep last night,' admitted a different person. Another viewer said, 'The Watcher makes me not wanna sleep alone.'

The seven-part series stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale as a married couple who just moved into a brand new house in a suburb of New Jersey, only to find themselves targeted by a stalker who left them threatening letters telling them to leave.

The Watcher is based on a true story about a couple named Derek and Maria Broaddus, who were menaced by an unidentified person after purchasing a six-bedroom home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, for $1.4 million in 2014.

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was certainly a ratings hit for Netflix, in spite of the controversy over the project.

The series debuted September 2022 to an audience of 196.2 million, garnering the streaming service its best ratings since Stranger Things' season four amid Netflix's switch in reporting ratings since June of 2021, Deadline reported.

With its large total, the limited series starring Evan Peters in the title role eclipsed the numbers amassed by shows such as Inventing Anna (195.97 million) and You's third season (179 million).

The ten-part series retells the story of Dahmer from the perspective of his victims, and explores major mistakes Wisconsin police made in handling the probe of the notorious mass murderer, who made national headlines for acts of cannibalism and necrophilia.

The show features at least 10 incidents in which authorities nearly took Dahmer into custody, but didn't, extending the twisted crime spree.

The show also features actors Niecy Nash, Penelope Ann Miller, Shaun J. Brown, Colin Ford, and Richard Jenkins, with directors Paris Barclay, Carl Franklin, and Janet Mock.

Miller and Jenkins play the roles of Dahmer's parents, while Nash portrays Dahmer’s neighbor Glenda Cleveland, who tried in vain to report his bizarre behavior to authorities.

Dahmer in 1992 was convicted of 16 murders he'd been charged with, and sentenced to 16 life sentences in prison.

He was bludgeoned to death with a metal bar in November of 1994 by Christopher Scarver, another inmate at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. The infamous Milwaukee serial killer - who murdered 17 people between 1978 and 1991.

Ratched

Fans can't get enough of Netflix's hit series Ratched, but some horrified viewers insisted the show's gruesome depictions of child sex abuse and asylum torture should come with 'trigger warnings.'

Developed by Ryan Murphy, the psychological thriller stars Sarah Paulson as Nurse Mildred Ratched, the sadistic villain from Ken Kesey's 1963 novel 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.'

The show topped Netflix's chart upon its September 2020 debut, and while many viewers were quick to praise Sarah's performance, some were admittedly disturbed by the show's shocking content.

Set in 1947, the eight-episode series follows Nurse Ratched as she arrives in Northern California to work at Lucia State Hospital, where she conducts experiments on her psychiatric patients.

The star-studded cast includes Finn Wittrock as mass murderer Edmund Tolleson, Cynthia Nixon as Ratched's love interest Gwendolyn Briggs, and Sharon Stone as eccentric heiress Lenore Osgood.

The series is rated TV-MA, for mature, adult audiences only, and at the beginning of each episode warnings of 'violence, sex, nudity, language, gore, [and] smoking' briefly appear in the corner of the screen.

However, some critics think the warnings don't go far enough, considering the horror show has scenes of child sex abuse, graphic conversion therapy, and torture.

While the premiere date for Ratched's second season has yet to be released, it's definitely returning to Netflix. The streaming network ordered two seasons of the series back in September 2017.

The OA

Netflix surprised subscribers in 2016 by streaming their top secret series The OA just four days after it was formerly announced.

The mysterious spiritual thriller about near-death experiences and surviving trauma centers on an adopted blind girl from Russia named Prairie Johnson.

Prairie (Brit Marling) goes missing for seven years, tangles with the FBI, and then resurfaces magically cured of her blindness after jumping off a bridge.

There were inevitable comparisons to Stranger Things' psychokinetic Eleven due to Prairie's nosebleeds, gnarly scars, and underwater helmet experiments inside a strange lab.

Prairie - who calls herself 'The OA' - eventually recalls what happened to her and tells her outlandish story to a high school teacher and a group of students.

'I think there is something really delicious in the mystery about questioning the storyteller's truth,' Brit told Variety

'Certainly, you go back and forth on it. As an audience member, the boys are kind of your surrogate. I think just as the boys go back and forth on the truth of her story, you do, too. I think the place it kind of ultimately arrives at is that it maybe doesn't matter as much the details are true, because there's some essential core that she's imparting that smacks of honesty.'

The Georgetown grad continued: 'Whether part of the story is a metaphor, or it is a literal truth, tends to matter less when you get to the end and see that the DNA of the story contains something that just this group needed.'

The Haunting Of Hill House

Netflix unveiled its horror TV series The Haunting of Hill House in 2018 and it had profound effects on some viewers.

Netflix subscribers took to Twitter, revealing that the show is so terrifying that some have passed out from sheer terror, while others can't sleep.

One Twitter user, @babyjanequeen, proclaimed the show is, 'one of the most terrifying, nail biting, hide behind the couch, don’t even breath, I’m going to pass out from fear things I have ever watched.'

Another Twitter user dubbed @boy_vomit responded to another terrified viewer's tweet, claiming the viewing experience was so intense she had to take a break from the show.

'It's going to give me a f***ing anxiety attack,' she added in another tweet.

Another Twitter user, @sarahpenmanxx, claimed the show is, 'sooo creepy but actual the best I’ve seen, even if I can’t sleep after it.'

Even before it was released, the Netflix Twitter played into the terrifying nature of this show, claiming the trailer released in September was, 'so scary we had to release it during the daytime.'

The Haunting of Hill House Twitter also released a trailer last Thursday, which included snippets from some of the shows reviews, including one from GQ which makes a bold statement, claiming it's, 'the first great horror show ever.'

Several fans seem to agree, including @Now_Voyager who claims the show made her, 'afraid of the dark,' and @RupaulFTompkins, who said the show made him, 'terror vomit in joyful confusion.'

The Haunting of Hill House is based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, which had been adapted twice on the big screen.

The first adaptation was the 1963 film The Haunting, starring Julie Harris and Russ Tamblyn, followed by 1999's The Haunting, starring Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

This new TV series, created by Mike Flanagan, features a talented ensemble including Michiel Huisman, Sarah Paulson, Carla Gugino, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Victoria Pedretti

Flanagan is no stranger to the horror genre, writing, directing and editing hits like Oculus, Hush, Before I Wake and last year's Netflix thriller Gerald's Game.

Flanagan will next be delving into the world of Stephen King's The Shining, directing an upcoming movie sequel Doctor Sleep, based on King's 2013 novel.

He has also written the screenplay for a new theatrical remake of the 1997 horror-thriller I Know What You Did Last Summer.

The Haunting Of Bly Manor

After Netflix dropped the supernatural horror drama series The Haunting Of Bly Manor, some viewers were having trouble sleeping.

After binge-watching the series, loosely based on Henry James' 1898 novella The Turn Of The Screw, Twitter users vented about recovering from the chilling scenes.

The nine-episodes, which are the second installment in the Haunting anthology, have even prompted fans to cover all the mirrors in their home out of fear.

Among the sea frightened binge-watchers, many admitted they 'can't sleep' and, now, believe even the sound of a door creaking is a sign of paranormal activity.

Ahead of watching Haunting of Bly Manor, one viewer tweeted she would 'like to formally apologize' to her future self, as she will 'undoubtedly regret it later on when I can't sleep.'

While many found the ghost story to be terrifying, others commented to agree with the series' showrunner Mike Flanagan's description of the series as a 'love story.'

While the series comes on the heels of Flanagan's The Haunting Of Hill House, with some of the same cast members and creative team returning, the stories of the two seasons are not connected.

Victoria Pedretti, who portrayed the older version of Nell Crain in Hill House, is back in the lead role of Dani Clayton, an American nanny looking after orphaned children Miles and Flora Wingrave (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Amelie Bea Smith).

Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) hires Dani (Pedretti) to care for his orphaned niece and nephew, following the death of their caretaker (Tahirah Sharif), who died on the grounds of their family manor in the town of Bly.

The children reside at Bly Manor with the estate's chef Owen (Rahul Kohli), groundskeeper Jamie (Amelia Eve) and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (T'Nia Miller).

But all is not as it seems at the manor, as centuries of dark secrets of love and loss are waiting to be unearthed in this chilling gothic romance.

The Haunting Of Bly Manor, which also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Kate Siegel, debuted in October 2020.

Midnight Mass

Following horror series The Haunting Of Hill House and The Haunting Of Bly Manor, director Mike Flanagan took his attention to Midnight Mass.

The limited series is set on the lonely Crockett Island - home to a disgraced resident [played by Zach Gilford] who returns after being away.

Hamish Linklater plays a priest who arrives at the same time.

His appearance leads to unexplained and seemingly miraculous events, leading to the small community's renewed religious fervor.

The trailer leaves things open to interpretation, featuring flashes from around the solitary island of a creepy, rundown church and a coastal setting.

The island is prone to sea storms, with torrential rain and flashing lightening engulfing the beach, and solitary figures spotted here and there.

One shot in the trailer sees blood in a sink, another sees a deadened eye, staring into nothingness.

A cat carcass is seen washed up on the shore as grey thunderclouds roll towards the island.

The creepy priest is seen debating 'mysteries', admitting he 'dislikes' them.

'We feel uncomfortable not knowing. The more that we know, the less we bend. The more brittle we become. The easier we break!' he says.

He is then seen discussing acts of God and saying 'it's okay to ask why?'

Kate Siegel, Rahul Abburi, Crystal Balint, Matt Biedel, Alex Essoe, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Kristin Lehman, Robert Longstreet, Igby Rigney, Annarah Shephard, Samantha Sloyan, Henry Thomas and Michael Trucco round off the cast.