Key Takeaways

20 picks across 10 platforms: Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+, Shudder, Disney+, Tubi, and Pluto TV all have something for your movie night.
Fresh frights are here: Evil Dead Burn (HBO Max), V/H/S/Mixtape (Shudder, Oct 9), and Hokum (Hulu, Oct 10) lead this year’s new releases.
Ghostface is back: Scream 7 hits Prime Video on October 16, and the original Scream is already on Peacock for a warm-up.
Halloween night picks: Apocalypse Z: New World lands on Prime Video October 30, and Hunting Matthew Nichols premieres on Shudder October 31.
Timeless classics: The Shining and Trick ‘r Treat (HBO Max), Crimson Peak and The Sixth Sense (Netflix), and The Witch (Prime Video) are all streaming now.
Free picks and family fun: Rob Zombie’s Halloween (Tubi) and Smile (Pluto TV) are free, and Hocus Pocus on Disney+ keeps the whole family happy.

Halloween movies streaming this October are piling up faster than fun-size candy in a trick-or-treat bucket, and the 2026 haul is a good one.

Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+, Shudder, and even a few free services are rolling out everything from brand-new frights to cult classics you’ll want to revisit with the lights low, so figuring out where to stream Halloween movies mostly comes down to picking your poison.

We rounded up 20 of the best, mixing fresh 2026 scares with timeless favorites. Some are streaming right now, a few arrive later this month, and a couple land right on top of Halloween night itself: Prime Video’s Apocalypse Z: New World arrives October 30, and Shudder’s Hunting Matthew Nichols premieres on October 31.

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1. Evil Dead Burn (2026) – HBO Max (Oct 2)

The Deadites are back, and they’ve made HBO Max their new haunted cabin. Evil Dead Burn is the sixth film in the long-running franchise, and it made its global streaming debut exclusively on HBO Max on October 2, with an HBO premiere following the very next night.

If you like your Halloween movies streaming loud, bloody, and just a little bit gleeful, this is the one to start with. It’s a perfect group-watch pick, mostly because somebody is guaranteed to yell at the screen.

2. Scream 7 (2026) – Prime Video (Oct 16)

Ghostface is picking up the phone again, and this time the call is for Sidney Prescott’s family. Neve Campbell returns as Sidney, Courteney Cox is back too, and the story puts Sidney’s daughter in the killer’s crosshairs, forcing her to confront her past one more time. Kevin Williamson, the writer behind the original Scream, is in the director’s chair.

The movie arrives on Prime Video on October 16, which gives you plenty of time for a warm-up. The original is also on this list (see No. 16), and the first rule of any slasher sequel still applies: never say “I’ll be right back.”

3. Hokum (2026) – Hulu (Oct 10)

Adam Scott trades the office for a very haunted Irish inn. In Hokum, he plays novelist Ohm Bauman, who checks in to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes and quickly becomes consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to face the darkest corners of his past.

It comes from Damian McCarthy, the filmmaker behind Caveat and Oddity, so expect gothic, old-school scares and creeping dread rather than constant noise. Hokum arrives on Hulu on October 10, about five months after its theatrical run, which makes it a fresh and timely pick for a mid-October movie night.

4. V/H/S/Mixtape (2026) – Shudder (Oct 9)

Press play, turn it up, and try not to get possessed by the beat. V/H/S/Mixtape is the ninth installment of the found-footage anthology franchise, and this time music and sound are the source of terror. New segments come from Ernest Dickerson, RZA, David Moreau, and Renee Zhan, whose chapter features puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Between the segments, Flying Lotus directs music video interludes, GHOST’s Tobias Forge makes his directorial debut with a music video of his own, and shock-metal legends GWAR even make an appearance. If you caught V/H/S/Halloween (our No. 1 pick last year), consider this the follow-up. It premieres on Shudder on October 9.

5. Apocalypse Z: New World (2026) – Prime Video (Oct 30)

Zombies, survival, and a Halloween-eve premiere: Apocalypse Z: New World is the Spanish-language sequel to Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End, the 2024 zombie thriller that became one of Prime Video’s most-watched titles internationally. Carles Torrens returns to direct, and the story finds the Canary Islands serving as Europe’s last refuge.

When a special mission sets out for the mainland in search of vital supplies, Roberto joins the team with questionable motives. The operation quickly turns into a desperate race for survival, with hordes of the infected on one side and divided loyalties on the other. It lands October 30, so you can save it for a spooky double feature on Halloween night.

6. Hunting Matthew Nichols (2026) – Shudder (Oct 31)

Here’s one made for Halloween night. Hunting Matthew Nichols is a documentary-style, found-footage mystery built around a Halloween disappearance. On Halloween 2001, teenagers Matthew Nichols and Jordan Reimer walked into the forest on northern Vancouver Island with a VHS camcorder and vanished. Two decades later, Matthew’s sister, Tara, hires a film crew to help her find out what happened.

The film is the feature debut of director Markian Tarasiuk, and it won over Steven Soderbergh, who praised its simmering blend of true crime and folk horror. It premieres as a Shudder exclusive on October 31, which makes it a great late-night closer once the trick-or-treaters have gone home.

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7. Barbarian (2022) – Hulu (Streaming Now)

Zach Cregger’s rental-house nightmare is best watched knowing as little as possible. What starts as an awkward double-booking at a remote Airbnb spirals somewhere wild, wonderfully strange, and very hard to predict.

With Cregger’s Resident Evil now in theaters, it’s the perfect moment to revisit the movie that put him on the horror map. Barbarian has been on Hulu since October 1 and works as both a first watch and a rewatch.

8. Cocaine Bear (2023) – Netflix (Oct 14)

Yes, it’s exactly what the title promises. Directed by Elizabeth Banks and loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear follows a black bear on a drug-fueled rampage through the woods, and the horror-comedy leans into the chaos with gleeful, gory abandon.

If your Halloween party needs a crowd-pleaser that nobody takes too seriously, this is the one. It arrives on Netflix on October 14.

9. Crimson Peak (2015) – Netflix (Streaming Now)

Guillermo del Toro makes a haunted house look like a work of art. Crimson Peak is a gothic romance about a young author who moves into a crumbling mansion filled with dark secrets, and every candlelit hallway and blood-red detail is gorgeous.

The story is as much about love and obsession as it is about ghosts, which makes it a great pick for anyone who likes their scares atmospheric and elegant. It joined Netflix on October 1.

10. The Sixth Sense (1999) – Netflix (Streaming Now)

M. Night Shyamalan‘s blockbuster ghost story still gives goosebumps more than two decades later. Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist trying to help a frightened boy, played by Haley Joel Osment, who has a secret that changes everything.

If you’ve never seen it, steer clear of spoilers. If you have, a rewatch is a blast because the clues are hiding in plain sight. It has been streaming on Netflix since October 1.

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11. The Shining (1980) – HBO Max (Streaming Now)

Stanley Kubrick’s chilling take on Stephen King’s novel remains the gold standard for haunted hotel horror. Jack Nicholson plays a writer who takes a winter caretaker job at the isolated Overlook Hotel with his family, and the place slowly gets under everyone’s skin.

From the endless hallways to the unforgettable twins, it’s packed with images that still turn up in pop culture every October. The Shining joined HBO Max on October 1, making it an easy anchor for any marathon.

12. Trick ‘r Treat (2007) – HBO Max (Streaming Now)

If Halloween had an official movie mascot, it would be Sam, the pint-sized trick-or-treater in the burlap mask. Trick ‘r Treat weaves together several spooky stories on the same Halloween night, with a little wicked humor and plenty of candy-coated menace.

The anthology format makes it ideal for parties, since you can drop in and out without losing the thread. Find it on HBO Max, where it arrived on October 1.

13. The Witch (2016) – Prime Video (Streaming Now)

Robert Eggers announced himself with this slow-burn folk horror tale set in 1630s New England. A Puritan family banished from their settlement builds a farm at the edge of a dark forest, and something in those woods is watching them.

The period dialogue, the eerie score, and Anya Taylor-Joy’s star-making performance give it a distinct, haunting vibe, and it’s one of the best-reviewed horror movies of the last decade. It’s been on Prime Video since October 1.

14. It Follows (2014) – Paramount+ (Streaming Now)

Here’s a horror premise that’s both simple and brilliant: a relentless supernatural presence that walks toward you, no matter how far you run. It Follows turns an everyday stroll down a suburban street into a source of pure dread, with a pulsing synth score that sets your nerves on edge.

It’s the rare modern horror movie that’s as cool as it is creepy, and it’s been on Paramount+ since October 1. Just try not to look over your shoulder afterward.

15. Drag Me to Hell (2009) – Paramount+ (Streaming Now)

Sam Raimi’s wickedly fun return to horror proves that a polite bank loan decision can have truly terrible consequences. Alison Lohman plays a loan officer who gets cursed after turning down an elderly woman’s request, and from there it’s a gross, jumpy, darkly funny rollercoaster.

It’s perfect for anyone who wants scares and laughs in the same sitting, and it’s been streaming on Paramount+ since October 1.

16. Scream (1996) – Peacock (Streaming Now)

The movie that taught a generation the rules of horror is still sharp, funny, and genuinely scary. Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson turned the slasher genre inside out, with Neve Campbell’s Sidney facing off against a Ghostface killer who loves a good movie quiz.

It makes a great warm-up for Scream 7, and it joined Peacock on October 1, so you can start your Ghostface marathon right now.

17. Event Horizon (1997) – Peacock (Streaming Now)

What if a haunted house were also a spaceship? Event Horizon sends a rescue crew, led by Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill, to investigate a ship that vanished years ago and came back with something very wrong on board.

It’s a cult classic that blends sci-fi spectacle with nightmarish imagery, ideal for anyone who wants some cosmic dread alongside their candy. It joined Peacock on October 1.

18. Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007) – Tubi and Peacock (Streaming Now)

Sometimes the obvious pick is the right pick. Rob Zombie’s Halloween reimagines the story of Michael Myers with a grittier, harder-edged style, giving fans a closer look at the childhood that created one of horror’s most famous masked killers.

It’s a bold, divisive take that’s still worth seeing, especially since it’s available for free with ads on Tubi (and also on Peacock). A Halloween movie called Halloween on the 31st? Perfect.

19. Smile (2022) – Pluto TV (Oct 9)

A therapist begins to suspect that a terrifying entity is following her after a disturbing incident with a patient, and everyone around her seems to be smiling for all the wrong reasons. Parker Finn’s debut turned a friendly expression into the stuff of nightmares.

It’s on Pluto TV’s Oct. 9 Double Feature Fridays lineup, and Pluto is free to watch without needing an account, which makes this one a nice budget-friendly pick.

20. Hocus Pocus (1993) – Disney+ (Streaming Now)

Every Halloween movie marathon needs a cozy closer, and the Sanderson sisters are happy to oblige. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy cackle their way through a Salem Halloween night in this family-friendly classic that’s gotten funnier and more beloved with every passing year.

Both Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 are streaming on Disney+, so you can make it a double feature, and the original also airs on Freeform throughout October.

Halloween Movies Streaming: Your 2026 Binge Is Ready

Halloween isn’t just about costumes and candy. It’s about dimming the lights, grabbing your favorite snacks, and picking a movie that makes the whole room scream, laugh, or both. With Halloween movies streaming across HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+, Shudder, Disney+, and a few free services, you’ve got every mood covered, from fresh 2026 frights to cozy classics.

Want even more? Mike Flanagan’s eight-episode Carrie series arrived on Prime Video on October 7, and Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake premieres on October 15.

Now all you need is a fast, reliable fiber internet connection to power your spooky marathons without a single buffering jump scare. Queue up your picks, dim the lights, and let 2026’s best Halloween horror take over your screen.