On the spectrum of intensity in mysteries and thrillers, there is a sweet spot that provides just enough tension and just enough contentment at the same time. These are the sort of shows and movies that ultimately leave one satisfied rather than riled up. They are the go-to for slight scaredy-cats everywhere, those who want to feel the intrigue but also the guarantee of a happy ending and a general sense that all is right in the world. 

In these so-called comfort scares there may be murder, but there will also be warmhearted and well-intentioned do-gooders on the case. There may be supernatural spooks, but nothing all that startling or nightmare-inducing. If you’re looking for something that’s more darling than daunting — or if you like the scary stuff but want a light palette cleanser — then this list of lightly thrilling movies and shows should provide the perfect comfort scares.

7 Women and a Murder

A family Christmas gathering at a snowy manor in the ’50s is the setting for this comfy little mystery. Though, when the family patriarch is found with a knife in his back and the remaining women of the family — plus a feisty maid and a suspicious neighbor — are trapped in the house knowing one of them is a murderer, it feels less cozy and more claustrophobic. Luckily, this Italian film directed by Alessandro Genovesi (The Tearsmith) keeps things light with a dark comedy throughline as the women scrutinize one another, exposing secrets and casting accusations, to get to the truth of what happened.

7 Women and a Murder

1h 24m   TV-MA   2022

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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Based on the books by Holly Jackson, this series starts innocently enough. Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi (Wednesday’s Emma Myers) is going into her final year of school and for her last school project, she decides to investigate a local murder case from five years previous that she never felt really added up. She joins forces with Ravi (Zain Iqbal), the accused murderer’s brother, who also believes his brother was innocent and did not in fact commit suicide, but was himself murdered for his secrets. Together they uncover a dark and meandering path of suspects and scandal, but Pip’s driven nature and determination — plus her growing flirtation with Ravi — keep things from getting too dark.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

1 Season   TV-MA   2024

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A Series of Unfortunate Events

Skirting the line between being a kids’ adventure and an adult black comedy, this series based on the beloved books of the same name has an overarching mystery at its center. The show follows the Baudelaire children, Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and Sunny (Presley Smith), whose parents die in a tragic fire causing them to be passed around from one foster caretaker to the next. The first is the evil Count Orloff (Neil Patrick Harris), who is determined to steal the Baudelaire fortune and who pursues them at each new home they land in. Each of the three seasons reveals new findings around the deaths of their parents and the mysterious society they belonged to, while highlighting the love the Baudelaire children share, as well as their clever ingenuity. 

A Series of Unfortunate Events

3 Seasons   TV-PG   2017

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Casper

After 30 years, this 1995 family comedy still proves it has soul, or in this case, souls. The eponymous friendly ghost (voiced by Malachi Pearson, and played in human form by Devon Sawa) is lonely living with his three wicked uncles in Whipstaff Manor, a huge old mansion with a hidden treasure. Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty), a greedy heiress, is determined to find said treasure. She hires “ghost therapist” Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman), and his skeptical daughter Kat (Christina Ricci), to live in the manor and attempt to calm the Ghostly Trio enough to get to the loot. Casper is thrilled to have someone his “age” in the house and goes all out to befriend Kat, who is shocked to discover ghosts do in fact exist. 

Casper

1h 40m   PG

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Enola Holmes

With as much intrigue as any Sherlock Holmes mystery, this film about his younger sister adds a bit of humor and youthfulness to the typical Victorian caper. Millie Bobby Brown is Enola, a young woman on the verge of adulthood who has grown especially close to her mother who raised her to fight, ask questions, and generally forgo lady-like behavior in favor of intelligence and gumption. When her mother goes missing, Enola sets out on an adventure to track her down, dodging her elder brothers who want to ship her off to boarding school. The action and close-calls balance well with Enola’s earnest fourth-wall-breaking narration and her heartfelt determination. 

Enola Holmes

2h 4m   PG-13   2020

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Evil

The balance of truly frightening scenes and warmly endearing scenes in this series is well done, though a warning to anyone sensitive to creepy visuals. A trio of investigators working for the Catholic Church take on cases that require assessing whether they can be explained by science or if they can be considered supernatural. Father-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter), psychologist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), and scientist and tech wizard Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) become close friends as their work melds into their personal lives, offsetting some of the, well, evil occurring. Each episode has a new case, often inspired by a real-life headline, and can be unnerving as it points out the grey area between fact and faith. Bonus comfy points for Kristen’s adorable daughters and their constant chatter.

Evil

TV-MA   2019

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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

If the only way you’ll make it through a thrilling mystery is to be laughing along the way, this is a perfect watch. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, the Southern sleuth with a knack for tricky puzzles. This time he’s been invited to the private island of tech mogul Miles Bron (Edward Norton) along with some of Bron’s oldest friends, many of whom harbor their own secrets and resentments when it comes to their rich friend. Like the film’s title, layers of truth are peeled back like an onion as tensions surface and what started as a murder mystery game becomes all too real. The film also stars Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.  

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

2h 21m   PG-13   2022

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In for a Murder

Magda Borowska (Anna Smołowik) is a homemaker with a love of Agatha Christie novels. When she comes across a dead woman while out walking her dog one night, she jumps at the chance to solve a real crime. With her literary know-how, she pieces together the crime and inserts herself into the case, despite the lead investigator’s reluctance. Soon she’s uncovered deep secrets in her small town. This cozy Polish mystery will have you rooting for Magda, not only in her case, but for her becoming the take-charge, confident woman she’s meant to be. 

In for a Murder

1h 44m   TV-14   2021

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Lockwood & Co.

Imagine a world where ghosts exist and terrorize the living, but only younger people can see them. This is the case in Lockwood & Co., based on the books by Jonathan Stroud, where teens are trained to hunt ghosts and join agencies that employ them for this purpose. Lucy Carlyle (Ruby Stokes) is a particularly gifted “Listener” who can hear the supernatural. Forced into an agency by her mother, then shunned for a tragedy she didn’t cause, she runs away and joins a new agency started by Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman) and his friend George Karim (Ali Hadji-Heshmati). The only agency not led by adults. The three teens do their best to get by, taking on cases, and emerging themselves in mysteries while forming their own family unit. 

Lockwood & Co.

8 Episodes   TV-14   2023

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Orphan Black

Love your family drama with a heavy dose of sci-fi and action? Then prepare to join the Clone Club, as the fans of this long-running series call themselves. Tatiana Maslany is Sarah Manning, a con artist in Toronto who witnesses a woman’s suicide on the train tracks, a woman who has the exact same face as her. Taking her purse, Sarah assumes the identity of this person, Beth Childs, curious to understand their connection. But Sarah could not have predicted that Beth was in fact her exact clone, and there are others. Maslany plays all of her various clone sisters, earning her an Emmy Award. And while the mystery of the shady scientists at the Dyad Institute is full of unexpected twists and danger, it's the sisterhood formed by the clones that makes this series a must-watch. 

Orphan Black

5 Seasons   TV-MA   2013

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School Spirits

High school is not without its difficulties, but for Maddie Nears (Peyton List) it just got infinitely more complicated as she wakes up in her high school to find she has been reported missing and no one can see her. Other ghosts inhabit the school — those who died on its premises — but they at least have a memory of how they died. Luckily, Maddie’s best friend Simon is able to see and hear her, and he helps her try to get to the bottom of how she died and where exactly her body is. Meanwhile, the resident ghosts do what they can to get her to accept her death in the hopes of “moving on.” The plot twists in this series make it a satisfying mystery, and watching the ghost teens work through their traumatic pasts will tug at your heartstrings. 

School Spirits

TV-MA   2023

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The Residence

Birders everywhere will tell you their powers of perception are acutely honed. The birder in this whodunit series is Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba) and she’s been given the lead on a murder case in the White House. On the evening of a gala event, the White House Chief Usher A.B. Wynter (Giancarlo Esposito) is found dead. As Detective Cupp carries out her investigation, she finds that the majority of the house’s staff had some issue or other with Mr. Wynter, and narrowing down the suspects from a house full of diplomats, politicians, celebrities, and staff is no small task. Ken Marino, Randall Park, Jason Lee, Jane Curtin, and Molly Griggs are just a few of the names in this supersized cast. 

The Residence

8 Episodes   TV-MA   2025

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The Thursday Murder Club

It’s healthy to keep up hobbies, even into one’s senior years, and the members of the Thursday Murder Club at Cooper’s Chase retirement village are quite serious about theirs. Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie play the senior sleuthers whose home is threatened by a developer. When one of the owners is found dead, the Thursday Murder Club jumps on the case, utilizing a new friend at the police station and taking advantage of their perceived innocence as senior citizens to coax out the information they need. Their tactics may be unorthodox and at times hilarious, but the club members are die-hard friends who will stop at nothing to save their home. 

The Thursday Murder Club

2h 0m   PG-13   2025

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Wednesday

She’s the patron saint of spooky and smart goth girls the world over, and in this series from Tim Burton she’s also a very perceptive mystery-solver. Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) is forced to attend her parent’s alma mater, Nevermore Academy, after being kicked out of too many other schools. Her roommate at Nevermore is a bright and cheerful girl named Enid (Emma Myers) with the ability to see the good in everyone. Wednesday works on honing her burgeoning psychic abilities, especially when locals are killed by some kind of monster and she herself witnesses a student’s death. With her sharp intuition and stubborn drive, Wednesday pursues the case, all while navigating a new school, several interested boys, and a roommate intent on being best friends.

Wednesday

2 Seasons   TV-14   2022

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