HBO Max’s Chilling New Horror Series Based on True Stories Is Quietly Dominating Streaming Right Now

When the temperatures drop and the leaves fall, spooky season officially begins. And that chill in the air leads many people to turn on the TV to watch horror classics and Halloween specials. But there is one unexpected entry in the world of horror that has crept up from the cellar and onto the top of the charts on HBO Max: Scariest House in America.

Scariest House in America is HGTV’s hit series that takes viewers on a tour of the haunted history of the creepiest homes imaginable. Led by Parks and Recreation star Retta, the series is now in its second season of scaring the willies out of you.If you’re afraid it’s staged, Retta’s reactions tell you everything you need to know—it’s all real. As the series climbs to the top of the charts, it’s clear why. Scariest House in America is a wonderfully entertaining series perfect for the season.

Retta Takes Viewers On a Tour of America’s Scariest Homes

Image via HGTV

Scariest House in America brings viewers on a cross-country tour as comedian Retta travels the country to courageously tour homes full of haunts, frights, and scares. Meeting the brave souls who inhabit their spooky abodes, Retta gives each house a rating based on the Scare Meter. Scoring based on appearance, unlivability, and fright factor, one home from each episode will move into the finals before earning the title of Scariest House in America. But what do they win? A makeover, of course! The most terrifying home gets a scary-good renovation worth $150,000 courtesy of HGTV all-star designer Alison Victoria. Don’t worry, the integrity of spookiness will remain. It just gets spruced up thanks to Alison’s brilliant vision.

The series is a spin-off of another HGTV hit, Ugliest House in America. Like its scary sister, Retta tours the country to find the truly dreadful, so her cohort can provide a truly life-changing renovation to turn the home from ugly to beautiful. Filled with Retta’s unfiltered reactions, watching Scariest House in America from the comfort of your couch may not give you the full haunting experience, but it does fulfill the desire to see how scary the real world can be. These are not temporary haunted houses established for Halloween. These homes are occupied! Some are used as getaways for those eager to experience a haunted home. Others are just pieces of horror history.

Season 1 saw the property known as “Hansel and Gretel’s Frightening Fixer Upper’ victorious. Nestled in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, the house was filled with unpleasant elements and a rich history. Inside the gingerbread-looking home built by its former owners, the deathtrap entryway was overwhelming, with overbearing beams and textured walls. Despite the spacious entry, the kitchen was cramped due to its shocking 7-foot ceiling. Oh, and it also featured a handmade elevator, a TV installed to the ceiling directly over the bed, and a heart-shaped bathtub that was filled with mouse skeletons as the rodents got stuck inside. Thanks to the Sin City Rehab star, Victoria transformed the property into a cohesive, radiant, and livable home. There was no longer any trepidation about living in this house with fear.

‘Scariest House in America’ Season 2 Is Filled With Screams

So far this season, Retta has broken up the map into various sections to tour what each region has to offer. Without spoiling too much of what the series’ second season has to offer, one episode brought Retta into a home that featured a “corpse door” that led directly into the basement, as it used to be a mortuary. During her tour with the homeowners, Retta learned that this door was how the bodies would be lifted through. Additionally, they showcased areas of the concrete in which the blood would run out following preparations. Terrifying indeed!

Another shockingly scary home in the Eerie region keyed into the haunted history of a Marlboro, Maryland home that was described as Clue come to life. Their tale focused on the urban legend known as the Bowie Goatman, a half-man, half goat that wielded an axe and stalks the woods, making eerie, unnatural sounds. This creature even caught the attention of the White House, creating a decree that people had a license to kill whatever was terrorizing the woods of Maryland. Now, as for what’s living inside, the home featured sprickets (half spider, half cricket), which spring and attack unsuspecting individuals.

Needless to say, Scariest House in America is perfect family viewing for an autumn weekend binge. Retta is a wonderful host who becomes the voice of the audience. Her unrelenting commentary is hilarious and entertaining. It’s no wonder the show has become a new Halloween favorite.

Scariest House in America airs Fridays at 9:00pm on HGTV. All episodes are available to stream on HBO Max.

Release Date

October 4, 2024

Network

HGTV

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