Credit: Netflix

The pumpkins are beginning to rot as Halloween packs its cobwebs, and it’s time Netflix is preparing to fill our homepages with its Holiday collection. But some of us haven’t quite had our fill of the macabre, thank you very much. Thirty-one days of horror, and we are expected to switch to wholesome Christmas romances overnight? Not a chance!

Besides, horror deserves better than being a seasonal genre. Sure, there are fans who watch it throughout the year, but the majority get active during the spooky season, and then, poof! Gone in a jiffy.

Well, if you’re one of those, you’re missing out since there is a whole world of psychological torment and supernatural scares that don’t cease to be fascinating because the calendar has turned to November.

So, for those who aren’t quite ready to exchange being petrified for festivals, we’ve rounded up five Netflix limited series that should keep your appetite for the ghosts well fed.

Five best limited series on Netflix to finish within a weekend

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

Someone ought to have a word spoken with Mike Flanagan at this point, because why does the man always take haunted houses with a family already having a traumatic past and make us cry our bloody eyes out while all we’re supposed to be watching is a normal horror series?

And The Haunting of Hill House, one of his best Netflix creations, is based on Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel and follows five siblings whose childhood in that godforsaken mansion ended in tragedy. Usually, leaving such places tends to end the horror for the families, but not this time. Years later, another family tragedy takes them back into each other’s lives, and all those horrible memories they’ve spent decades trying to get rid of come back.

And Flanagan’s taking the absolute piss with this one, as you’ve got the Crains carrying grief and childhood trauma, and while you’re worrying about these poor people getting their lives back on track, there’s some creepy dead man lurking behind a doorway. So if you feel your emotional balance has been far too balanced for a while, let this one take a hit on it.

Two Graves (2025)

Beware of these granny people because you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her, as she’s got a score to settle and she’s not having anyone stop her. This Netflix Spanish thriller follows two 16-year-old girls, Verónica and Marta, who disappear from their coastal hometown, and after two years of getting nowhere, the police decide to close the case.

Enter Isabel, Verónica’s grandmother, who has no patience for authorities to take action with “protocol” and decides to pursue the truth herself, whatever the consequences.

And don’t go picturing some sweet old nana sitting at home with her knitting, because Isabel’s got vengeance on her mind, and she is prepared to go to some dangerous lengths to get it. You’ve also got Money Heist favourites Álvaro Morte and Hovik Keuchkerian in the cast, which, considering it, is a bonus. The Andalusian coast looks gorgeous, mind you, but don’t let the sunshine fool you, as this one’s got murder on its mind.

Marianne (2019)

Poor Emma Larsimon made a fortune writing horror novels, and just when she’s ready to pack it all in, along comes a witch from her books to decide she’s having none of it! In Netflix’s French horror series Marianne, Emma discovers that her fictional demon has found her way into the real world and is causing all sorts of unholy trouble.

And as if that weren’t enough to get anyone’s head in, an encounter with an old childhood friend takes her back to her hometown, where the nightmares she’s spent years writing about have got a bone to pick with her.

But it’s not all about horror; this Netflix series sure has a wicked sense of humour. Sadly, it got cancelled after just one season despite having a decent following. It won’t be wrong to call it an absolute daylight robbery, considering how much more terror it could’ve generated.

Don’t Come Home (2024)

Generally, when people move back to their home, the idea behind that is to also have a bit of peace and quiet. The same thought was in the back of Varee’s mind when she moved back to her childhood home, but the place turns out to be an absolute hellhole! And if that wasn’t enough, she also takes her five-year-old daughter, Min, with her.

Both mother and daughter move to a secluded family mansion in Phang Nga, hoping to leave her messed-up past behind. Ha, only if! The property has other plans, and before the poor woman can make sense of what’s going on, her little girl disappears into thin air.

A pregnant police officer takes on the case, only to discover that this godforsaken mansion has been keeping sinister secrets, and just when you reckon you’ve got the whole thing sussed, there’s another surprise waiting.

Ghoul (2018)

Funny how the people who spend their lives making others miserable tend to think they’re immune to suffering. Well, Ghoul takes that very bit of human nature and gives it a supernatural twist, and mind you, watch this one at your own risk. This Netflix show is set in a dystopian India where authoritarian forces have got the country in a stranglehold.

Now, Nida Rahim (Radhika Apte) has gone and fallen out with her own dad over her loyalty to the state, and just then, she is sent to interrogate some dodgy fella called Ali Saeed at Meghdoot 31. Soon enough, the prisoner starts revealing secrets about the very people holding him captive.

And it gets worse for them because Ghoul draws from the flesh-eating demons of Arabian folklore, turning the whole detention centre into a massive nightmare. Originally planned as a film, it became Netflix’s first Indian original horror series, with Get Out producer Blumhouse involved.