Peacock, HBO Max, Shudder, and More

Spooky season is upon us, and some of the best streaming services we’ve tested carry impressive selections of both classic and recent horror movies. Michael Myers, Valak, and the Babadook are all available for a scare this Halloween, thanks to streaming apps like Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and Shudder.

The best horror-friendly streaming services offer a mix of can’t-miss classics and new releases. While there’s occasionally some overlap between streaming catalogs, especially for older movies that have less exclusive licensing agreements, many services hold sole streaming rights for movies, so they’re the only place you can watch a film without having to rent or buy it.

Whether you’re looking to go retro with “The Exorcist” and “Halloween” or you’re hoping to get lost in the latest films from “The Conjuring” universe, there’s an app for every kind of horror movie fan. We’ve broken down everything you need to know about some of our favorite horror-friendly streamers and highlighted the best scary movies you can find on them. All of these services also offer some spooky television options.

Peacock

NBCUniversal’s streaming service might be best known for Sunday Night Football, NBC sitcom reruns, and Bravo binge-watching, but the app also carries a surprising number of horror hits. Peacock typically gives Universal films their streaming debut, so Universal monsters often find a home there after their theatrical releases (although they don’t always remain there indefinitely).

Peacock currently hosts a selection of films from “The Purge” franchise, several “Halloween” installments, the “Terrifier” movies, the first four “Scream” films, the three original “Friday the 13th” movies, and several films from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise, including the 1974 original. The streamer’s “Halloween Horror 2025” collection also includes playlists of Halloween specials from hit TV shows, so you can catch every “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Halloween Heist in one place.

HBO Max

Warner Bros. has maintained its status as a big-hitter in the horror film industry, so its streaming counterpart, HBO Max, is a must-have for scary movie lovers. This year alone, the app has been the home of can’t-miss new horror movies such as “Sinners” and “Weapons.”

Just as solid as HBO Max’s new horror acquisitions is the streaming service’s deep catalog of classics, such as “The Exorcist,” “Poltergeist,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “The Shining.” The streamer also houses A24’s collection of films, so “Hereditary,” “The Witch,” and “Talk To Me” are all available in one place. More recent but nonetheless classic horror franchises like “The Conjuring,” “Insidious,” and “It” are also available, with the streamer’s “Face Your Demons” page offering its full lineup of scary movies in one place.

Paramount Plus

Paramount Plus is another stealth horror streamer with an impressive collection of both horror classics and more recent releases. Most notably, the streamer hosts the full “Scream” franchise, including the two more recent installments, the entire “Friday the 13th” series, all three “A Quiet Place” movies, and the original “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

The rest of the app’s horror movie offerings tend to be one-off gems, like “The Fly,” “American Psycho,” “Cloverfield,” and “Annihilation” (which leans more sci-fi speculative with scary moments than straight horror). The service also has a fair number of spooky TV shows, including “Evil” and Showtime programs like “Yellowjackets” and “Penny Dreadful” (although you’ll need to be subscribed to the ad-free Premium tier for Showtime access).

Shudder

No horror movie streaming list is complete without including Shudder, an app created specifically for horror films. The streaming service offers enough mainstream horror flicks to attract the casual viewer, including the original “Halloween” and “The Evil Dead,” but it excels most with its selection of under-the-radar films that might not ever find a home on more mainstream services.

Indie horror movies that generate buzz, like the 2022 word-of-mouth experimental sensation “Skinamarink” and the 2019 Guatemalan folk horror “La Llorona,” will often find their way to Shudder. The service has its own collection of originals, including hits like “Late Night with the Devil,” “Host,” and installments from the “V/H/S” anthology franchise.