Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this spring, Netflix and other streamers have been busy acquiring tremendous amounts of horror content. Why people are wanting to see stories that destroy rather than affirm our faith in humanity – especially in dark times such as these – seemed baffling at first, but there may be a good reason for it.
According to a recent study conducted by one University of Chicago student, people who like horror movies are better equipped to deal with a pandemic – at least, mentally speaking – than those who do not like horror. And that’s because people who enjoy the genre have a stronger sense of morbid curiosity. Loosely defined as an illogical and counter-intuitive attraction toward and fascination with all things ugly and unpleasant, it makes the scary interesting.
For those of you who think you’ve got a strong enough sense of morbid curiosity, then, here are some Netflix series that most people find too frightening to even finish. You’ve been warned.
First off we’ve got Ares. A Dutch horror show centered around an unsuspecting student who joins a sinister secret society based out of Amsterdam, it features several scenes filmed in the eerie and ominous Rijksmuseum, home to the paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn, and seriously creeped subscribers out upon its release earlier this year, with many saying they had to turn it off.
Up next is a series called Diablero. Set in Mexico City, this one follows a priest who hires a demon hunter to help them find a young girl who goes missing in the city’s criminal underbelly. Bloody and spooky throughout, it’s well worth a watch.
Meanwhile, there’s also the now-cancelled – unfairly, might we add – Marianne. Produced in France, it tells the story of a prevalent horror novelist who returns to her hometown only to discover that the monsters she writes about in her books turn out to haunt her in the real world.
Elsewhere, you can dig into Glitch, an Australian paranormal drama which revolves around the interesting premise of several dead people coming back to life at a local cemetery, revived with perfect health like nothing had ever happened. But if that doesn’t pique your interest, then what about Spectros? The Brazilian thriller sees a group of teens trying to uncover the spooky history of São Paulo in 1908. On their journey, they find a “supernatural reality full of vengeful spirits and bizarre happenings.”
And finally, we have what’s probably Netflix‘s crown jewel when it comes to horror shows – The Haunting of Hill House. Taking inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name, the critically acclaimed and beloved series pulled in some huge viewing numbers for the streamer with its chilling tale full of psychological scares that focuses on a “fractured family confronting haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.”
Tell us, though, what are your favorite horror titles on the platform? As always, let us know down below.