Television continues to evolve in exciting ways, and there are more places for niche genre content, like horror, than ever before. The wave of horror and supernatural programming that's become mainstream over the past decade is truly exciting, and it's helped the medium go in some unique directions.
Horror is one of the few genres where certain tropes are encouraging rather than frustrating, and the evil doll subgenre is ripe territory to explore. The parameters of television are often ideal for a standalone evil doll story, and there are some excellent examples of this that can put movies like Annabelle and M3GAN to shame.
10 Chucky's Outlandish Legacy Lives On Through TV
Chucky
Fans of the Child's Play slasher series were worried about Chucky's future when 2019's reboot was announced, but the character has been able to transition over to television and reach even greater heights. Chucky has two seasons and dozens of murders with this excellent continuation of the films that also forges its own path for newcomers.
Chucky's whole extended family of living dolls is present in the series, and it doesn't hold back when it comes to the carnage. Chucky accrues a massive body count, but it's the coming-of-age narrative for its young cast of characters that leaves the biggest impression.
9 A Raging Warrior Spirit Fuels The Zuni Fetish Doll's Taste For Flesh
Trilogy Of Terror; "Amelia"
While technically a made-for-TV movie, Trilogy of Terror set a new high mark for the medium and helped remove a bit of the stigma that accompanied these non-theatrical films. The most striking segment in the movie, "Amelia," revolves around the committed attacks of a Zuni Fetish Doll that contains the spirit of an enraged warrior.
This closed-room cat-and-mouse story really works, and it's the one story that receives a sequel in Trilogy of Terror II. "He Who Kills" attempts to recreate the magic of the original, and its empty museum setting works well.
8 Talky Tina Goes To Great Lengths To Prove Her Love For Christie
The Twilight Zone; "Living Doll"
The Twilight Zone remains a fundamental piece of television that set the standard for anthology series and the power of genre storytelling. The 1960s Twilight Zone is incredibly consistent across its run, and the episode "Living Doll" is seen as a signature evil doll story.
Christie's Talky Tina doll appears to take on a life of its own, and it becomes the only source of support that this young girl has in this preoccupied family. "Living Doll" does a lot with a little, and it's been parodied in plenty of comedies, like The Simpsons' "Clown Without Pity" in "Treehouse of Horror III."
7 Chinga Terrorizes A Community & Only A Top Paranormal Agent Can Stop It
The X-Files; "Chinga"
The X-Files has more than 200 cases of subversive supernatural activity, and so it's only natural that an allegedly evil doll eventually ends up on Mulder and Scully's radar. Curiously, The X-Files' "Chinga" is co-written by Stephen King and ostensibly becomes his take on an evil doll story.
Scully ends up in Maine, where a young girl's doll seems to be a conduit for dark witchcraft that influences members of the community to harm themselves. There is, in fact, paranormal activity afoot here, which makes it all the funnier that Scully defeats this evil by cooking it in a microwave.
6 Susan's Doll Hits Too Close To Home For The Costanzas
Seinfeld; "The Doll"
Seinfeld is one of the funniest sitcoms of all time, but there's also a wickedly dark edge to its characters and comedy that can sometimes make particular exchanges feel like they're from a horror movie. "The Doll" is an episode where George is crestfallen to learn that his fiancée, Susan, has a doll that looks exactly like his overbearing mother.
George struggles to separate the two, and there are multiple sequences where he engages in Norman Bates-like behavior where he argues with the doll as he imagines its criticisms towards him. This doll becomes such a trigger that George's father needs to destroy it.
5 Ashley O Highlights The Horrors Of Tech-Heavy Toys & Parasocial Relationships
Black Mirror; "Rachel, Jack And Ashley Too"
Black Mirror and its chilling visions of technology and sci-fi running amok sometimes hit a little too close to home, and the series becomes more prescient every day. Season 5's "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" deconstructs celebrity stardom, sponsorship deals, and hollow parasocial relationships.
Miley Cyrus is brilliant casting for Ashley O, a top pop idol who leases out her personality through virtual pet-like technology. What initially comes across as an appealing way to bond with this pop star turns into a provoking story about identity and abuse.
4 Living Dolls Become Compliant Entertainment For A Broken Boy
American Horror Stories; "Dollhouse"
American Horror Stories is an episodic spin-off of American Horror Story, which tells season-long stories. These restrictions allow American Horror Stories to turn out some promising material, and "Dollhouse" turns an innocent babysitting gig into a horrible exercise in compliance.
A number of women get turned into living dolls who are forced to lose their identities and become the willing toys of a child. "Dollhouse" turns out to be an origin story for Spalding, the doll-obsessed servant from American Horror Story: Coven. Any of Spalding's dolls from Coven are creepy, but they lack the sinister intent that's present in "Dollhouse."
3 An Odd Doll Becomes A Symbol Of Supernatural Revenge From Beyond The Grave
Night Gallery; "The Doll"
Night Gallery was Rod Serling's follow-up to The Twilight Zone, and it includes plenty of chilling genre stories that can hold their own with anything out of its predecessor. "The Doll" becomes one of Night Gallery's most memorable episodes.
On the whole, the story in "The Doll" isn't wildly creative, and the mysterious doll that arrives is designed to be a tool of revenge. However, it's the doll's look that really works. It's as if the doll's makeup and colors are all smeared and washed out, with a hint of Critters thrown in there, too. It turns a smile into nightmare fuel.
2 Felicity Toes The Line Between Unnerving Doll & Playful Problem Child
Tales From The Crypt; "The New Arrival"
Tales From the Crypt is an esteemed piece of anthology television, and "The New Arrival" features some of the series' scariest visuals. A pompous child psychologist gets recruited to do the ultimate house call and cure the worst of all problem children. Everything about the home that Dr. Alan Gertz investigates is chilling, and it's clear that Felicity's mother, Nora, is just as troubled as her daughter.
Admittedly, Felicity is not exactly a doll, but the porcelain mask that she hides behind keeps the audience guessing as to whether she's actually a living child or just part of Nora's delusions. The answer isn't as clear as one would think.
1 Numa Will Deliver Children To An Idyllic Purgatory If She's Crossed
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; "Where The Woodbine Twineth"
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour presents remarkable dramatic and genre storytelling that's worthy of Hitchcock's name. "Where the Woodbine Twineth" is Hitchcock's take on sinister dolls, and it makes its mark even though it's a product of its time. Eva, a girl who's recently become an orphan, begins to form an attachment with a doll that she's given named Numa.
When Numa is threatened with being taken away, Eva claims that she'll switch places with the doll and end up "where the woodbine twineth," a solitary fate that eventually comes to pass. Numa's full story and powers don't become clear, but that just makes the doll even more intimidating.