Underrated Horror TV Shows Every Horror Fan Needs To Binge

Penny Dreadful is a horror fantasy series that aired for three seasons on Showtime between 2014 and 2016. The series starred Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler, a gunman in 1891 who is hired to track down the daughter of adventurer Malcolm Murray, whom a horrific creature has captured.

The show features classic movie monsters and even Satan himself. Eva Green plays the iconic character Vanessa Ives, who deserves to be deeply ingrained in pop culture. Penny Dreadful received largely positive reviews from critics, with Season 2 earning a rare 100% fresh score.

Unlike many other shows on this list, Penny Dreadful wasn’t canceled but instead was ended by series creator John Logan after Season 3. Logan figured the story was already told, and there was nowhere else for the series to go. Despite its fanbase during its air time, the show has been widely forgotten since its final episode.

From debuted its first season on February 20, 2022. The show was created by John Griffin and stars Harold Perrineau as a sheriff of a town in which the residents can't leave and are terrorized by vicious creatures who exist in the shadows.

The show is a grisly mystery and feels as though it's adapted from a long-lost Stephen King novel. Its first season received many positive reviews and was nominated for two Saturn Awards.

When most people think of Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins immediately comes to mind; however, fans of Bryan Fuller's criminally underseen TV series Hannibal may tell you that Mads Mikkelsen delivers the best rendition of the iconic villain.

Hannibal is adapted from the Thomas Harris novels Red Dragon, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising, and it follows FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who develops a complicated relationship with the sophisticated and murderous cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

Despite being canceled after only three seasons, viewers and critics were equally blown away by the show's visual style, performances, and storylines, prompting Hannibal to be considered not only one of the best horror series of all time, but also one of the greatest television shows ever made.

The Strain is a vampire series created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan that aired on FX from 2014 to 2017. It is based on a trilogy of novels by del Toro and Hogan.

The show starred Corey Stoll as a doctor who finds a strain of vampirism while investigating the death of many passengers aboard a plane. Soon, Dr. Goodweather must work with his team - and several civilians - to stop an ancient plague from destroying the world as we know it.

The pilot episode pulled in nearly 3 million viewers, and the rest of the season performed similarly well. The response from critics was also positive, with the first season holding a certified-fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 84 percent.

Season 3 received much lower ratings and negative critical responses, resulting in a 55% Rotten Tomatoes score. This may have prompted FX to make the show's fourth season its last, which culminated in a big improvement in quality.

The show's success started off with a bang and seemed likely to solidify the series as a staple in pop culture, but as it progressed, it sadly fell into obscurity.

American Gothic was a short-lived CBS series that lasted only one season, but it still managed to make an impact. The series starred Lucas Black fresh off his Sling Blade fame as Caleb Temple, a young boy who discovers his father is actually a murderous sheriff named Lucas Buck who claims to have supernatural powers.

The show also features a young Sarah Paulson as a ghost, so what's not to love?

American Gothic ran from September 22, 1995, to July 11, 1996. During its short run, the show received rave reviews from critics and rightfully received cult status.

Shudder's Creepshow is a series adaptation of the beloved collaborative film effort of the same name made by George A. Romero and Stephen King. Like its source material, Creepshow maintains a comic-book style and tells various horrific tales of terror. Each episode usually contains two stories.

One of the most popular episodes featured the story "Gray Matter" by Stephen King, which follows a gelatinous monster. The mascot of the series, dubbed “the Creep,” is usually an animatronic puppet but sometimes appears as an animated character.