3 Shows on Netflix to Get You into the Halloween Spirit

It’s that time of year again, when the Pumpkin Spice Lattes come back to Starbucks and it starts to get cold enough to get out your boots and scarves. Unfortunately in Santa Cruz, it is still quite warm. But it’s starting to get colder at night, meaning colder weather is fast approaching! October also means everyone’s favorite holiday is coming up: Halloween! It may still be too early to decide what you’re going to be, but it’s definitely not too early to start watching some shows to get you in the Halloween Spirit.

1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer

This one is an oldie, but it’s also a classic. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in this show (you might recognize her in her more recent show Ringer, also on Netflix) as Buffy, a high schooler who has an unfortunate knack for attracting the supernatural. Later, you learn it’s not Buffy who is attracting the supernatural, but her new town Sunnydale which was built on top of the Hell Mouth-this is what attracts the supernatural. This show may hold the title Vampire Slayer, but it doesn’t solely consist of vampires.

There are tons of other supernatural creatures just in the first season; witches, werewolves, zombies (maybe that last one doesn’t count as supernatural, but they are in there!) Though I wouldn’t say that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is scary, it is still really fun to watch and every episode is so entertaining that you can’t help but binge watch. I watched the whole season in one night! I also didn’t sleep that night; but it was so worth it. All the supernatural beings that you see on this show will give you tons of ideas about what to dress up for if you need some inspiration!

2) iZombie

This show is definitely newer than Buffy, it was released on Netflix recently and I decided to give it a try. I saw the first episode on my plane ride back from Utah this past summer and thought that it looked interesting. I was super excited when I saw that Netflix had this show because I couldn’t find full episodes anywhere else. iZombie is based on the comic book by the same name, with the basic premise that the main character got turned into a zombie and now has to eat brains to blend into human society. But eating brains causes a side effect, she takes on the characteristics of the person’s brains she just ate and also gets flashes of what they saw during their lifetime. Because of her newfound ability, she helps solve the murders of the people’s brains that she ate while keeping her secret. I haven’t finished the first season yet, but I really like what I’ve seen so far! It’s not really scary, but it has lots of dark humor and a sassy main character-which I love- so I’m definitely going to finish the first season when time allows.

3) American Horror Story

Definitely the scariest show our of this list, American Horror Story is known for it’s odd storylines and creepy characters. One thing I love about American Horror Story is that it’s not cliche. For the most part, I was surprised by every episode and I’ve watched the first season at least four times now. The newest season Hotel just aired last Wednesday, so if you pick up this show you’ll have to play a bit of catch-up. But don’t worry about watching each season in order, each season has a different storyline and characters so you don’t need to worry about missing anything between seasons. I would definitely recommend the first season out of the four on Netflix, it is my personal favorite as well as being the best season to wean you into what American Horror Story is about.