10 Best TV Shows Like Chapelwaite

Based on Stephen King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot, Epix’s riveting new period-set horror mystery series Chapelwaite has all the makings of a classic supernatural Victorian-era drama. Fusing Gothic iconography with a slow burn horror story, the series follows Captain Charles Boone (Adrien Brody) as he returns with his three children to his mystifying hometown following an unspeakable family tragedy. The more time Boone spends in his old haunts, the more haunted he becomes.

Chapelwaite joins a rich tradition of modern period-set TV horror dramas featuring haunted ancestral homesteads and a deeply conflicted central character trying to navigate their way through internal and external demons.

10 Penny Dreadful (2014-2016) – Stream On Showtime

Whereas Chapelwaite is set in 1850 Maine, the Showtime hit horror-mystery series Penny Dreadful is set in 1891 London. Penny Dreadful follows Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), a grizzled explorer, who, very much like Boone in Chapelwaite, is determined to protect his family at all costs following a devastating tragedy. It’s the protagonist’s complicated past that makes their future prospects so compelling.

Both Victorian-era horror shows share the same chilling, foggy, and foreboding atmosphere, and a frightening mysterious supernatural threat that the main character must identify and subdue.

9 Locke & Key (2020-) – Stream On Netflix

Although Locke & Key is set in a more contemporary timeline, the central plot of a loving single parent returning with their three young children to their accursed ancestral home is almost identical to that of Chapelwaite. Moreover, the haunted abodes in both shows happen to be sprawling yet decrepit Victorian manses.

With season 2 of Locke & Key poised for a return in October 2021, the plot will continue to follow Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode Locke (Jackson Robert Scott) as they uncover the supernatural legacy their father left behind in the magical and mysterious mansion.

8 Ripper Street (2012-2016) – Stream On Hoopla

Set in 1889 Whitechapel, BBC’s superb crime-mystery series Ripper Street recounts the horrors inflicted by the infamous serial killer by Jack the Ripper. From Whitechapel to Chapelwaite, both titular houses of worship become an unholy altar of mortifying bloodshed.

In addition to the similar Victorian-era settings, Ripper Street boasts a similar tone, tenor, and temperament as Chapelwaite. Both shows are gravely serious and unnervingly austere, putting viewers on edge with scant doses of levity to lighten the mood.

7 Carnival Row (2019-) – Stream On Amazon Prime Video

Fans of Chapelwaite looking for an added flavor of fantasy would be wise to check out the Amazon original series Carnival Row. The Victorian-era horror-fantasy series tracks the detective duties of Rycroft Philostrate (Orlando Bloom), a private eye who teams with a fairy (Cara Delevingne) to identify the murderous monster terrorizing 19th-century London.

With impeccable period detail, lavish costumes, and a rich historical context and social commentary that explores the nature of discrimination and prejudice at the turn of the century, Carnival Row has a lot more to say than some of its contemporaries.

6 Salem (2014-2017) – Stream On Hulu

Also based on the real-life witch trials of the late 1600s, Salem lasted three seasons on the WGN America network from 2014 to 2017. Beyond the subject matter and Gothic romance tableau, the structure of the drama also revolves around the return of a man to his accursed hometown.

The story concerns Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery), a powerful witch fomenting hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts as a way to manipulate the infamous witch trials. But when her former lover John Alden (Shane West) returns to town, Mary’s sinister ruse becomes compromised. With a dark, brooding, candle and lantern-lit environment, Salem is arguably Chapelwaite‘s closest televisual sibling.

5 The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015-2017) – Stream On Netflix

While The Frankenstein Chronicles takes many creative liberties, it’s one of the most enthralling and imaginative Victorian-era horrors currently available. The drama follows John Marlott (Sean Bean), a detective who discovers a grisly corpse patched together from the body parts of eight missing children in 1827 London.

The show does a great job of vividly mixing fictional characters with such esteemed real-life luminaries as Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, William Blake, Sir Robert Peel, and more, creating a convincing narrative that honors the history and the legacy of one of the most venerated horror scribes of all time.

4 The Nevers (2021-) – Stream On HBO Max

For a more female-centric period-set supernatural mystery series, HBO Max’s The Nevers is ideal appointment viewing. The story traces the lives of several powerful women in the Victorian era who discover a host of paranormal superpowers that they use to better future societies.

Combining fantasy, science fiction, and Gothic horror into one satisfying stew, The Nevers immersively recreates a bygone epoch with stunning period detail, accurate wardrobes, and brilliant production design. Most importantly, it gives women ultimate power during a historical time of great discrimination and oppression.

3 The Alienist (2018-2020) – Stream On HBO Max

Set in 1896 New York, The Alienist combines compelling detective fiction with eerie supernatural drama in a way that is sure to appeal to Gothic horror fans. Luke Evans stars as John Moore, a cartoonist who unites with the eccentric Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl), a criminal psychologist able to get into the depraved minds of the city’s most notorious serial killers.

In addition to the visceral violence and harrowing crime scenes, it’s the title character’s internal conflicts as he identifies with, and comes awfully close to mirroring, the murderous subjects he investigates. The moral gray area Kreizler operates under makes him just as fascinating and flawed a central character as Charles Boone.

2 Sleepy Hollow (2013-2017) – Stream On Hulu

Loosely based on the classic Goth tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and the Tim Burton film, the supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow also provides time travel for those who don’t want to be stuck in 18th-century upstate New York. The premise concerns the infamous Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) as he is whisked through time to the present day and learns he must prevent the end times.

With folkloric witchcraft to go with the Headless Horsman’s bloody reign of terror, Sleepy Hollow features all the trademarks, tropes and, tenets of classic Gothic horror while adding an adventurous sci-fi element in a way that transcends the subgenre.

1 Supernatural (2005-2020) – Stream On Netflix

As one of the longest-running horror series in TV history, Supernatural is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys the intersection of spiritual and scientific scares. Like the contention between Dr. Guilford (Dean Armstrong) and Minister Burrough (Gord Rand) on Chapelwaite, the clash between science and religion is also a key component of Supernatural.

But beyond the petrifying thrills and chills that the show has provided for more than 20 seasons, it’s the loving bond between monster-slaying brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) that makes the show so lovable. It’s the kind of bond Boone looks to forge with his own family as Chapelwaite progresses.