10 Creepy Horror TV Shows That Don't Get Too Scary Or Gory

Although the horror genre tends to terrify viewers, audiences occasionally look for something with a tinge of horror that does not go overboard on scares or gore. This usually occurs with series that blend horror with other genres like mystery, procedural, and coming-of-age stories to create something that has enough scares to keep things engaging while keeping viewers who are looking for something lighter happy. This mix of different styles creates something new in the process and leads to compelling and creepy horror shows that won’t have audiences cowering in fear.




Many of the best horror TV shows ever made managed to present creepy narratives while not losing themselves in gory imagery or being packed with cheap jump scares. Long-running shows like Supernatural have gained devoted fanbases by appealing to many styles, while anthology series like Black Mirror mixed truly terrifying concepts with lighter, more palpable episodes. For those looking for a creepy TV show that’s not too scary or gory, there are plenty of options to choose from.


10 Grimm (2011 – 2017)

6 Seasons


Grimm told the story of homicide detective Nicholas Burkhardt after he discovered he was the latest in a long line of Grimms, the guardians who were chosen to keep the balance between humanity and mythological creatures known as Wesen. This blend of police procedural and supernatural instances was a fascinating fantasy set in a world where Grimms’ Fairy Tales actually existed. This unique concept allowed for the appearance of any number of horrific creatures, such as Anubis, Aswangs, Chupacabras, and Wendigos.

With a moody and dark atmosphere, Grimm will appeal to lovers of horror and mythology who take joy in the vast expanse of supernatural folklore literature has to offer. With equal parts chills and humor, Grimm balanced its horror concept with more lighthearted characters and impressive worldbuilding. As clever horror entertainment, Grimm was creepy enough to keep viewers engaged while never being so frightening it scared them away.

Detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he’s a Grimm, a guardian tasked with keeping the balance between humanity and mythological creatures. As he navigates his new role, he battles dangerous Wesen while uncovering secrets about his ancestors. With the help of allies, Nick confronts dark forces threatening both worlds.

Cast
David Giuntoli , Russell Hornsby , Silas Weir Mitchell , Sasha Roiz , Reggie Lee , Elizabeth Tulloch , Bree Turner

Release Date
October 28, 2011

Seasons
6


9 Supernatural (2005 – 2020)

15 Seasons

As its title suggests, Supernatural dealt with the paranormal as the brothers hunt demons, ghosts, and otherworldly creatures in a teen drama that embraced horror while never getting too scary. With themes of brotherhood, friendship, and plenty of mystery and death along the way, Supernatural gained a sternly committed fanbase over the course of its impressive 15-season run. With countless definitive Supernatural moments, the adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester have always been exciting but never overly gory.


While Supernatural began as a Monster of the Week-style paranormal series, it grew into a more serialized story throughout its run. Watching as core mysteries grew in their complexities and the brotherly relationship between Sam and Dean developed throughout its 327 episodes was truly a treat for viewers. While Supernatural occasionally leaned into the more scary side of things, other episodes remained lighthearted, such as their unprecedented crossover episode with Scooby-Doo.

8 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003)

7 Seasons


As one of the most vital series that was essential to understanding the 1990s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a supernatural drama that earned iconic status for its expert blend of horror tropes with the trials of young adulthood. With Sarah Michelle Gellar as the teenager Buffy Summers, a high school student chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness, Buffy was consistently creepy but never went overboard on scares or gore. Many of the Monster of the Week stories acted as insightful metaphors for teenagers’ experiences rather than the overbearing terror of other horror series.

What made Buffy so great was not that it was terrifying but that it was populated with incredible characters and rich mythology for viewers to get excited about. Set in the city of Sunnydale, Buffy’s life was positioned on a Hellmouth that acted as a portal between realities and a place that courted supernatural happenings. Buffy was an engaging and complex series that’s sure to please horror lovers who like their TV with a healthy dose of feminist empowerment.


7 Wednesday (2022 – Present)

1 Season

After gaining recognition with roles on series like Jane the Virgin and You, Jenna Ortega truly broke out as one of Hollywood’s most notable up-and-coming stars in Netflix’s Wednesday. This spin-off of The Addams Family saw Ortega play the morbid and emotionally reserved Addams daughter in a coming-of-age horror that combined aspects of mystery, procedural, and supernatural series. While this fantastically creepy teen drama had plenty of horrific moments, it never went overboard in relation to scares or gore.


Wednesday was a major hit for Netflix, and the title character was the perfect role for Ortega’s sardonic acting style. With a dance scene that became an online sensation on TikTok, Wednesday has quickly become part of the cultural zeitgeist as viewers eagerly await what will happen in its long-festering second season, which was delayed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike (via CBR.) As a show packed with humor and boasting a unique identity, Wednesday was a creepy horror that will appeal to teens and adult viewers alike.

6 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 -2022)

2 Seasons


While many viewers will think of the 1990s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch when they hear the name Sabrina Spellman, the character actually has her origins in a series published by Archie Comics. This meant that after the success of the Archie TV series Riverdale, Sabrina was reimagined in a dark Netflix spin-off called Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. While this series leaned into a more horror-based style, it still remained a lighthearted coming-of-age story about a half-human, half-witch teenager.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina starred Kiernan Shipka in the title role and saw her battling the evil forces that threaten her, her family, and the daylight world humans inhabit. With many creepy supernatural happenings in every episode, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina featured deliciously dark plotlines but was never overwhelmingly scary. While the series had a lot of potential, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina was sadly canceled by Netflix during the pandemic and never returned.


5 The Twilight Zone (1959 – 1964)

5 Seasons

Television trailblazer Rod Serling created one of the most enduring anthology series ever produced with The Twilight Zone, a show that embraced horror but never got too scary. With each episode presenting a standalone story, The Twilight Zone was a precursor to everything from Alfred Hitchcock Presents to Black Mirror. The often horrific occurrences within the otherworldly setting of the series usually dealt with disturbing or supernatural events that contained a moral lesson for viewers to take in.


Packed with some of the twistiest endings of all time, The Twilight Zone blended fantasy, horror, and sci-fi with a Kafkaesque mentality that always took things in surprising and philosophically deep directions. Sterling’s monologues at the beginning and end of each episode have become an important touchstone in popular culture, with the phrase ‘the twilight one’ becoming shorthand for strange or unusual occurrences. For viewers looking for an older series that still holds up to this day, The Twilight Zone is the perfect candidate.


4 The X-Files (1993 – 2002, 2016 – 2018)

11 Seasons

The X-Files followed the FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who specialize in paranormal investigations. As a series that blends police procedurals with horror and fantasy genres, The X-Files was one of the defining shows of the 1990s that has earned a cult following for the way it mixed classic standalone episodes with rich worldbuilding and series lore. The series also created one of television’s greatest onscreen duos by pairing the true believer Mulder with the supernatural skeptic Scully.


As an extremely influential show, The X-Files was a gift to sci-fi and horror lovers alike and laid the groundwork for countless series that would follow it. While The X-Files was never afraid to lean into horror tropes when it was truly necessary, the show was never overly scary or gory and relied on strong scripts, great performances, and deeply engaging overarching narratives to keep viewers satisfied. The popularity of The X-Files was so great that the show even returned for a revival in 2016, 14 years after it had first gone off the air.

3 Stranger Things (2016 – Present)

4 Seasons


Since its first season aired in 2016, Stranger Things has made stars out of its young cast, become a global phenomenon, and earned its place as one of Netflix’s most popular original series. With a healthy mix of supernatural stories and a Spielbergian sense of nostalgia for the 1980s, Stranger Things explores the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, who deal with supernatural happenings that have plagued their town. Featuring the horrific alternative universe known as the Upside Down, although Stranger Things has become more frightening with each subsequent season, it has remained a favorite of mainstream audiences.

Part of the appeal of Stranger Things was the way it blended its more horrific aspects with coming-of-age stories and the comedic slice-of-life adventures of its cast. While Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) tortuous experiences of being experimented on and gaining supernatural powers were quite frightful, her young romance with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) has a beautiful, lighthearted energy. By giving audiences a bit of everything, Stranger Things became one of the most accessible horror TV series out there.


2 Black Mirror (2011 – Present)

6 Seasons

The British satirist Charlie Brooker proved he could excel at outright horror in his earlier work with the Channel 4 zombie series Dead Set. However, Brooker embraced an anthology style with Black Mirror that often utilized a dystopian environment to highlight grim and nihilistic messages about technology and modern society’s relationship to it. This meant Black Mirror was a deeply thought-provoking series that prioritized the thematic resonance of cheap scares or over-the-top gore.


While each installment of Black Mirror varied greatly from one episode to the next, the creepiest aspects of this series were how it left audiences’ perception of reality in shambles with grim and shocking endings. From the unknowable nightmare of being trapped in a virtual reality for thousands of years like “White Christmas” to the social credit obsession of “Nosedive,” Black Mirror was packed with classic episodes that remained incredibly creepy while never being overly scary or gory.

1 The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

10 Episode Miniseries


Mike Flanagan’s excellent horror miniseries The Haunting of Hill House was based on the iconic 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson. A classic haunted house tale, Flanagan updated the eerie setting of the original to the year 1992 as a family moved into the Hill House mansion with the intention of renovating it. However, supernatural forces soon reveal themselves, and after a tragic loss, the family flees the premises. Then, 26 years later, two grown siblings returned to Hill House and confronted how it had affected them.

The Haunting of Hill House was a truly eerie series whose horrific atmosphere made for thrilling viewing. While Flanagan captured the creepy suspense needed for a great ghost story, The Haunting of Hill House was never terribly scary or gory as it leaned more into its themes of how time, the past, and trauma can affect people for years to come. As a recommended show by horror writer Stephen King, the famed author even Tweeted his admiration, stating it was a “work of genius” and “I think Shirley Jackson would approve.”


Sources: CBR, X

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