Halloween horror lineup expands across streaming and games

As Halloween approaches, streaming platforms and game services have added a wide range of horror titles and seasonal offerings, from documentary-style scares and family-friendly adaptations to high-intensity films and themed video game lineups. Highlights this year include renewed interest in a sleep-paralysis documentary, a new R.L. Stine adaptation on free streaming, a study ranking the scariest films, a broad slate of horror games on a major console subscription service, and a limited-time free giveaway on the Epic Games Store.

Rodney Ascher’s documentary The Nightmare, currently available on a free streaming service, has drawn attention for its dramatized reenactments of sleep paralysis. Rather than foregrounding medical experts, the film stages first-person hallucination sequences meant to recreate the experience of muscle atonia and the recurring image of shadowy figures. Ascher has acknowledged concerns that the film might trigger episodes for some viewers, saying in an online discussion, "probably fine unless it’s not." Medical researchers describe sleep paralysis as a disruption of REM sleep linked to stress, inconsistent sleep, or conditions such as narcolepsy;...