Polls show the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham in a virtual tie with her Democratic opponent, Dr. Annie Andrews. An upset was unthinkable just a few months ago.

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Holding South Carolina is essential if Republicans have any hope of keeping their Senate majority.

The star plays a sadistic murderer still pulling the strings from behind bars. With his high-pitched giggles and fatal whispers, it is a perfectly terrifying show for Halloween

It has taken a while, but I think the torch may finally have passed from Anthony Hopkins as the screen’s most profoundly unsettling and instantly-absorbed-by-the-cultural-imagination serial killer. From Hannibal’s hitherto unfailing hands it has been thrown to Stephen Graham, who plays multiple murderer Jurek Walter in the new 10-part psychological thriller Nocturne.

Walter, who draws out the deaths of his victims in order to torture their families as much as the individuals themselves, is incarcerated for life in the bowels of Riverside psychiatric hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He passes the time by doing push-ups, stashing contraband behind his toilet bowl for as-yet-unspecified purposes, and driving fellow inmates to suicide by whispering to them through the pipes. Graham – muscle-bound, preternaturally still and occasionally emitting a high-pitched giggle – is mesmerising and utterly terrifying.

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© Photograph: Dennis P Mong Jr/Apple TV

© Photograph: Dennis P Mong Jr/Apple TV

© Photograph: Dennis P Mong Jr/Apple TV

South Carolina seems like a serious race; Minnesota may not be; and Florida still appears out of reach for Democrats.

© Jillian Vordick/The New York Times

Senator Darline Graham, the South Carolina Republican, is struggling to replicate her late brother’s success. Republicans lead in the Florida Senate race and Democrats are up in Minnesota.

© Jillian Vordick/The New York Times

The author Nick Medina recommends novels that capture the vibes of beloved scary movies like “The Thing,” “Scream” and more.

© The New York Times

Hope, dread and the final stretch to Election Day.

© The New York Times

President Donald Trump will visit South Carolina on Wednesday to boost Graham, whose stumbles in her first campaign since replacing her late brother have Democratic voters hopeful — but not necessarily optimistic — that their candidate can break Republicans' grip on the state.