By Peg Aloi

From haunted islands to Gilead and outer space, four series keep the scary season alive.

With October half over, spooky season is already starting to peter out for some folks. You know the type: they can’t wait to indulge in pumpkin spice lattes and cider doughnuts and don their earth-toned wool cardigans in, like, August. By mid-October, their jack-o’-lanterns are already rotting because they carved them in September, and they’re scouring thrift shops for ugly Christmas sweaters to wear to December parties.

I hate these people. Truly.

Autumn is a season to savor slowly, appreciating its sensual delights and moody moods. And that includes the spooky offerings on your TV. Luckily, there are plenty of shows and films to carry you through the rest of the month—and, ya know, November is also autumn! The witches will tell you that true Samhain doesn’t even happen until November 7. So keep it going, people. You know what to do.

Matthew Rhys having an apprehensive moment in Widow’s Bay. Photo: Apple TV

If you haven’t yet caught up with 2026’s best new horror series, now is the perfect time to start watching Widow’s Bay (Apple TV). With 14 Emmy Awards to its name, Kate Dippold’s runaway hit blends comedy, drama, and creepy folk horror. The always excellent Matthew Rhys leads the fabulous cast as Tom Loftis, the beleaguered mayor of Widow’s Bay, a tiny island off the Massachusetts coast. The working-class inhabitants—played by a cast that includes excellent character actors Stephen Root and Dale Dickey—like things the way they are. But Tom wants to boost tourism, perhaps turning the island into another Martha’s Vineyard.

Tom is a seemingly lonely widower. His socially awkward assistant (the marvelous Kate O’Flynn) appears to have a crush on him, and his teenage son is bored and acting out. The guy also dismisses the island lore warning that people born there can’t leave without risking retribution from ancestral ghosts. The island’s history unfolds throughout the series, with character-driven hilarity and well-executed flashbacks to the 17th century. I can’t recommend this series highly enough.

For horror of the dystopian variety, The Testaments (Hulu), based on Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, is well worth taking in. It boasts a fine cast—including returning actors Elisabeth Moss, Ann Dowd, and Yvonne Strahovski, alongside newcomers Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, and Amy Seimetz—plus brilliant production design and an intriguing storyline full of suspense and just the right amount of horror. Bruce Miller returns as creator and showrunner, and his aesthetic and narrative vision shape this follow-up to his hugely popular series.

The story follows teenage girls born to commanders and handmaids, as well as children stolen from handmaids to be raised by commanders and their wives. Coming of age in patriarchal Gilead is portrayed as highly ritualized, status-driven, and occasionally traumatizing. There is still oppression, control, and torture, but there is also rebellion and revolt.

Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell in a scene from Half Man. Photo: HBO

I was eager to see Half Man (HBO), the second series from Richard Gadd, creator and star of Baby Reindeer, his award-winning debut based on his real-life experiences with a stalker and an abusive industry mentor. Gadd’s intense characters and intimate narratives verge on psychological horror. In the first episode of Half Man, half brothers Niall (Jamie Bell) and Ruben (Gadd) reunite at a wedding that seems poised to erupt in violence. Ruben has returned to their English village after a long absence.

The story unfolds across three decades, partly through flashbacks. The brothers’ teenage years are defined by Ruben’s erratic narcissism and toxic masculinity, along with Niall’s determined struggle to find his own path. Though the charismatic Ruben is sometimes protective of his shy brother, his violent outbursts land him in trouble and eventually in prison. Intelligent and promising, Niall struggles with being gay and falls into irresponsible behavior, grudgingly accepting Ruben’s help when he hits rock bottom. Once Niall meets Alby (Bilal Hasna), a kind classmate who encourages him to break free of his brother’s control, Ruben’s reaction is cataclysmic.

The entire cast is excellent, including the actors playing the younger Niall and Ruben. The story is compelling, though I found the ending a bit frustrating: I’d hoped for a more redemptive finale. Still, the talent on display in this limited series is undeniable, and I look forward to seeing what Gadd does next as a writer.

Alice Englert in Star City. Photo: Apple TV

Star City (Apple TV) is a spin-off from the creators of For All Mankind, a show that imagined an alternative history in which Russia beats the United States in the space race. This series takes us inside the secret facility known as Star City, where inventors, engineers, cosmonauts, and their families navigate the triumphs and tragedies of space exploration. In the first episode, cosmonaut Alexei (Sam Wilkinson) lands on the moon in 1969. The missions that follow are daring and dangerous, made more so by the Soviet government’s ambitious machinations.

Standouts in the impressive cast include Alice Englert as Anastasia, a cosmonaut who nearly dies on a mission and is turned into a celebrity emissary against her wishes; Rhys Ifans as the driven yet humble Chief Designer; Solly McLeod as a promising but ambivalent crew member; and Priya Kansara as a novice engineer recruited to work on top-secret technology. The writing and directing are first-rate: smart, subtle, and focused on the human stories within this highly technical and politically charged world. The terror and suspense in some of the space sequences are sharply wrought and unforgettable. From coastal New England to the dark reaches of space, these series tell stories that are engaging, compelling, and deliciously spooky.

Peg Aloi is a former film critic for the Boston Phoenix and member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Alliance for Women Film Journalists. She taught film studies in Boston for over a decade. She has written on film, TV, and culture for web publications like Time, Vice, Polygon, Bustle, Dread Central, Mic, Orlando Weekly, Refinery29, and Bloody Disgusting. Her blog “The Witching Hour” can be found on substack.