Top 20 Supernatural TV Shows

This isn’t your typical roommate sitcom. No, this mockumentary fantasy show revolves around a group of vampire roomies who are hundreds of years old. “What We Do in the Shadows” has been recognized for its effective incorporation of comedy into its supernatural world. Oh yeah, and there’s some vampire feuding—some bad blood, if you may. The show has also had multiple major guest star appearances, including the man who played Luke Skywalker. That’s right, Mark Hamill appears in Season 2 as Jim the Vampire. Of course, he nails it with a humorous twist on vampire tropes, while sinking his teeth into the parodic elements of the series.

Based on the Archie comic book series, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” lives up to its name with some legitimately spooky vibes. Kiernan Shipka plays the character Sabrina Spellman—a half-mortal, half-witch. Because with a surname like Spellman, it’s essentially destined to be. The teenager faces a balancing act between her human and witch identities. As she leans into the supernatural realm, let’s just say, things veer further and further away from the typical high school life. Those creepy vibes build up to danger and darkness. Give this show a try, and it might just cast an “intoxicating spell” on you, as a Rotten Tomatoes consensus statement puts it.

Set about three decades after the original “Evil Dead” films, the “Ash vs Evil Dead” TV series brings back Bruce Campbell in his iconic role as Ash Williams. You’d think after all he has been through, the man would finally catch a break—and at first, it seems like he does. But not so fast. The Necronomicon—also known as the Book of the Dead—just won’t die. Ash, now living a quiet life with his pet lizard in a mobile home, finds himself once again confronted by evil. And things get—well… intense. With that said, there are still several moments of comic relief sprinkled throughout the series!

A telepathic waitress who's part human, part fairy, falls for a 173-year-old vampire in this HBO series. Talk about an unusual couple! “True Blood” explores themes revolving around assimilation, coexistence, and discrimination, as vampires try to fit into everyday human life in small-town Louisiana. Sure, they’ve got synthetic blood now, so they don’t need human blood to survive—but that doesn’t mean everyone’s on board. The divide this creates, even among humans, really shakes things up. If you’re into a whole range of supernatural creatures, this show’s got even more to offer than just vampires and fairies. We’re talking shapeshifters, werewolves, witches, demons—you name it!

Previous standards of TV-appropriate content clearly didn’t cross anyone’s mind during the making of “Tales from the Crypt.” It’s a particularly violent and graphic horror anthology series. Each episode’s storyline is teed up and wrapped by the cryptkeeper, a delightfully creepy character who makes not getting goosebumps a real challenge. For paranormal enthusiasts and horror fans in general, “Tales from the Crypt” may be the key to a fun binge-packed weekend. Although, it may be hard to look at the screen at times! If the scares don’t pull you in, maybe the star-studded guest appearances will—including industry giants like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, and Whoopi Goldberg—just to name a few.

The “Power of Three” is unmatched when it comes to the witchcraft capabilities of the three sisters in the series “Charmed.” It turns out the power to successfully charm audiences was no joke either, as the show quickly conjured up an immense following. Telekinesis, the ability to freeze things, and the power of premonition are just a few of the supernatural perks on display throughout the series. Like all good witches, the protagonists have to juggle saving the world while keeping their supernatural identities secret. They say teamwork makes the dream work, and the Halliwell sisters pulled that off with plenty of style.

What would the devil running an LA nightclub look like? Well, you get to see one interpretation of that scenario in “Lucifer.” During the series, Lucifer uses his manipulative powers—but they don't work on Chloe, an LAPD detective. And no, she’s not a jedi, to answer Lucifer’s question. While the series’ premise is set up by his traditionally rebellious nature, Lucifer becomes more and more in touch with humanity. He devotes time to solving crimes—and he finds himself getting tangled up in human emotions and connections. Oh yeah, and with that whole desire thing, you could say the tables turn. Sprinkle in a bit of wit to this series, and you’ve got something worth a watch.

Navigating life after transforming into something completely different is no easy task, both physically and mentally. But that’s exactly what high-schooler Scott McCall faces after being bitten and turned into a werewolf in the series “Teen Wolf.” As if that wasn’t complicated enough, he ends up crushing on a girl whose family are werewolf hunters! Convenient, right? Naturally, Scott has to keep his new identity under wraps while suppressing his animalistic urges. But he’s not the only one dealing with supernatural challenges. “Teen Wolf” does a great job of developing a wide array of folklore characters while maintaining a strong focus on Scott’s journey.

The first adaptation of Charles Addams’ comic strip, this series focuses on a family with an affinity for the macabre. As the theme song says, their house is a museum, featuring Lurch, the Frankenstein-like butler, a disembodied hand called “Thing,” killer plants, and plenty of references to some bizarre extended family members, including Cousin Itt, who’s...well...we don’t really know. This family of oddballs may be dark, but that only makes them more loveable, and they’ve inspired television reboots, feature films, and even a stage musical. In 2022, Netflix put a modern spin on a member of the Addams family, with the series “Wednesday,” which stars Jenna Ortega as the titular character.

Don’t you just hate it when your roommate doesn’t do the dishes? How about when it’s a full moon and he becomes a werewolf? No? Well, that’s a recurring issue for the characters in “Being Human.” The show follows a ghost, vampire, and werewolf, who live together and try to, as the title says, “be human.” It succeeds in making paranormal problems very real, like when a ghost deals with isolation, or werewolves and vampires resist their urges to kill, which has obvious parallels to substance use disorder. The show was so popular; it inspired an American remake that ran on SyFy for four seasons.

It’s easy to write off any work of fiction from the vampire craze started by “Twilight,” but don’t be so quick to judge this one. Also based on a series of young adult novels by L. J. Smith, this series takes a darker look at vampires, following Elena Gilbert, a young woman who gets caught up in a love triangle with two vampire brothers. This in turn reveals her family’s connection to the complicated history of their hometown, appropriately named Mystic Falls. The series is elevated by a careful balance of its complex story and characters with fun supernatural mayhem. In 2013, it spawned a spin-off, “The Originals,” which offered fans a deeper exploration of the show's universe, focusing primarily on the original vampire family.

Is that a zombie!? Oh, it’s just a group of gnomes pretending to be a teenage boy. Wait…what? That’s just a normal day in the town of Gravity Falls, where Dipper and Mabel uncover a strange journal that details the paranormal figures that populate the town, including sea monsters, mermaids, deities, shape shifters, and, of course, Judge Kitty Kitty Meow Meow Face-Shwartstein. Running only for two seasons, creator Alex Hirsch wanted the show to tell its story without losing its original spark. While we’re gonna miss the show, we’re glad that it managed to pack tons of supernatural fun in just forty episodes.

This British-American horror supernatural series features famous characters from 19th-century literature, like Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll. Overtaken by a world of darkness, these beloved figures band together to fight the strongest supernatural forces of Victorian England, including vampires, werewolves and witches. Most notably, the show’s female lead, played by actress Eva Green, has received several award nominations for her role as the elusive, yet powerful medium Vanessa Ives. It’s really all we could ask from a gothic drama– it’s sexy, it’s sinister, and it’s scary good.

No, not that mess of a film Tim Burton made. That was actually based on a soap opera from the mid 20th century, focusing on the wealthy Collins family. The series became popular once it introduced Barnabas Collins, a vampire ancestor, who brings with him various problems for the family, including witches, ghosts, and time travel. The show was famous for its plot twists, and so many characters entered and left the series that some actors even played multiple characters in the same series. Wait...why does that sound so familiar?

Oh, yeah. Speaking of actors rotating roles, here we have a haunted house, a demented asylum, a school of witchcraft, a sinister freak show, and a hotel filled with secrets as some of the ever-growing list of settings for this anthological horror series. Following new characters each season, characters have faced ghosts, aliens, demons, failed science experiments, the antichrist, Satan, and a Frankenstein-baby. Ugh, it already sounds pretty disturbing. Winner of over 15 Emmys, this series has received critical acclaim, particularly for the performances of recurring actors like Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, and Sarah Paulson. Over the years, it has also featured several surprise guest stars, including Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian.

The hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” has so much going on: an alternate dimension, shady government lab activity, and spooky “Dungeons & Dragons” characters brought to life in unique ways. It features extremely well-developed characters, including a telekinetic girl— along with interesting and unpredictable relationships among them. Plus, the nostalgic atmosphere of 1980s small-town Indiana shines through in the physical surroundings, soundtrack, and even in seemingly arbitrary details such as the 1985 “New Coke.” The Duffer Brothers seamlessly weave these creative components together with brilliant writing, creating a show that blends science fiction, mystery, drama, horror, and comedy. We could go on and on—there are at least eleven more things that make this show so awesome.

Ever feel like something just isn’t quite right? Well, as Rod Serling famously said, you may have stumbled into The Twilight Zone. This series followed a new story each week, always placing characters in situations involving supernatural entities, almost always closing with an ironic twist ending. The show has reached classic status and critical acclaim by using an eerie tone to show a mostly darker side of human nature. You’ll find aliens, gremlins, ghosts, and even a living doll in these parallel dimensions, but more often than not, the scariest beings are the people.

Okay, this one really shouldn’t come as a surprise considering both the title and the fact that “saving people [and] hunting things” are what make up the family business. Sam and Dean Winchester are brothers who travel the United States battling just about any creature you could think of, primarily borrowing from folklore and various religions. One of the most common villains includes Satan himself, and the series has also featured Norse, Greek, and Egyptian deities. You really have to give “the Boys” credit; they’ve quite literally been to hell and back battling these creatures. The show continued strong for 15 whole seasons, becoming the longest-running live-action fantasy series in the U.S. We bet they still had plenty of creatures left to last a few more seasons, if they felt like it.

Don’t let the title fool you. Vampires were the least of this badass teen’s problems. And that includes the trials of growing up. Joss Whedon’s magnum opus follows a young woman and her friends as she faces off against endless creatures from a Hellhole. This included various demons, mythical creatures, ghosts, aliens, witches, psychics, and countless other original creatures created specifically for the series. It even spun off into the well-received “Angel.” What made the show so memorable was the way it could tackle serious issues, like coming out and losing a loved one, while also having an unpredictable gang of baddies.

After FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate a murder, “Twin Peaks” takes viewers down a thrilling, complex path. The detective fiction series does a great job of incorporating supernatural and surreal elements into the storyline, as Agent Cooper finds himself increasingly involved with the town, its people and the horrifying events unfolding there. The show also succeeds in effectively utilizing dreams and visions to steer the plot in various directions. “Twin Peaks” has been critically recognized for its writing, music, costume design, and actors’ performances. Perhaps the only downside for some fans was the Season 2 cliffhanger that left them on the edge for 25 years! But when Season 3 finally dropped, it was well worth the wait.

Is there a supernatural series that you've been waiting to see new episodes of? Let us know in the comments!