Horror fiction is a genre less often associated with television. Despite many successful horror television shows, many associate the genre with films, literature, or video games before they consider it appropriate TV fare. While each of these media have their advantages — from bigger budgets to harnessing the imagination — they are by no means the only way to explore the genre.
Many TV series prove that the small screen can provide horror and terror every bit as much as the big screen. Even some series not strictly classified as horror can bring the scares when needed, to say nothing of those which do consider themselves horror shows.
10 The X-Files Had Haunting Horror Episodes
The X-Files was never strictly a horror show. Although it had elements of thriller about it, it was always primarily a science-fiction drama, focusing on alien conspiracies and their effects on the very human protagonists. Nonetheless, in its monster-of-the-week episodes, The X-Files was able to prove numerous times that it could hold its own against horror films.
The show had plenty of scary episodes, from parasitic worms, to a monster feeding on cancerous tumors, to the all-too-human villains of the notorious episode 'Home.' Furthermore, their infrequent nature meant that viewers would never know which episode would horrify them next, adding tension when watching the series.
9 Twin Peaks Brought Unsettling Surrealism To Bear
Twin Peaks director and writer David Lynch is no stranger to horror. With his signature brand of surrealism, one of his early successes was the classic horror film Eraserhead. Although Twin Peaks is more of a thriller drama, it was never afraid to bombard the viewer with nightmarish and surreal imagery.
Largely lacking in extreme violence and gore, the show instead creates thrills through tension and psychological horror, intertwining incomprehensible imagery with bizarre plot situations and more mundane terror.
8 Inside No. 9 Is Able To Be Both Funny And Scary
One area in which horror has found its home on TV is in the horror anthology show. Whether telling a new story every episode or every season, horror anthology series allow for a wide array of stories and frights to be explored at a faster pace than a film series ever could.
Inside No. 9 is a comedy-horror series, but it doesn't lack for either. Despite being chock full of jokes, strange characters, and affectionate deconstructions of horror tropes, the series can also ramp up the scares. Although it always has its own twist on the horror it presents, some episodes get very scary indeed.
7 Black Mirror Tries For Meaningful Horror
Black Mirror is an unashamedly weird anthology series that defies genre. Focusing on the relationship human beings have with technology and one another, it tells a great many stories, focusing on themes like isolation, stalking, sadism, and many more.
Although it has comedic, tragic, or even flat-out heartwarming episodes, the series fits most comfortably into a horror mold. From a woman seemingly stalked by psychopaths in a world where everyone is recording her plight, to an episode where people vote on public figures to be killed, to people being attacked by genocidal robots, the series has various flavors of horror.
6 The Outsider Adapts A Master Of Horror
Stephen King is one of the most prolific horror novelists of recent memory, with vast amounts of his work receiving adaptations for both film and TV. The Outsider is one of his most recent works to appear on TV, with both the book and its adaptation coming out in 2018.
The series deals with a child-murdering monster and the attempts of a small-town detective to solve the case. Although its later episodes faced some criticism, the show earned consistent praise for its unsettling atmosphere and compelling plot.
5 True Detective Follows A Chilling Murder Case
As its name suggests, True Detective is more of a crime drama series than a horror, but it is a show that, especially in its first season, was not afraid to hit the viewer with crimes and characters straight out of supernatural horror. It follows two detectives as they attempt to solve a long-running killing spree of an occult killer.
Flirting with outright Lovecraftian themes, even once the show firmly comes down on the side of the mundane, it manages genuine terror at times. Although its first season is considered the scariest and best, each season has its own merits.
4 The Haunting Of Hill House Has Tension And Plentiful Jump Scares
The Haunting of Hill House was an unexpected hit in 2018, receiving widespread critical acclaim. Focusing on the traumatic after-effects of living in a haunted house years later, the series blends white-knuckle scares with genuine emotional pathos and heart-wrenching dramatic storylines.
Although the series was praised widely for its dramatic and emotional writing, many reviewers also noted the constant tension and atmosphere of the show. In addition, it makes heavy use of jump scares, just to add a bit of fear for unprepared viewers.
3 American Horror Story Brings All Kinds Of Fright
As the name suggests, American Horror Story plants itself firmly in the horror genre. One of the best-known horror anthology series, each season tells a different story with recurring cast members. Starting from the relatively humble Murder House, the show has since gone on to explore many genres of horror.
Whatever a viewer's tastes or fears, American Horror Story can provide. From ghosts, to slashers, to cannibals, to nuns, the show has explored a great many areas. Although some seasons have varied in quality, it is widely agreed that when the show is good, it tells legitimately good stories, with genuine scares thrown in.
2 Channel Zero Brings Creepypasta To Life
'Creepypasta' is an internet term used to describe widely-shared original horror stories, reminiscent of urban legends given far greater spread by the world wide web. Although widely shared on the internet, wider exposure has been limited to the more well-known, such as the notorious 'Slenderman.'
Channel Zero is a horror anthology show that, with each season, tells a different horror story inspired by a different creepypasta. With varied and unsettling subject matter, the show is considered by many to grow scarier with each passing season after beginning at a high level of fear.
1 The Terror Adds The Supernatural To A Real-World Tragedy
Horror fiction is often heavily inspired by real events, but never more directly than when it adapts the actual events themselves. 2018's The Terror is an adaptation of a book that retells the story of Sir John Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition. It follows two Royal Navy ships, Erebus and Terror, as they become stranded in ice, and their crews are preyed upon by a monster.
The expedition is real, but the supernatural elements were added in the novel. Even with the breaks from the true and horrifying story, the first season received widespread praise, particularly for its scares. Its second season, an unrelated story subtitled Infamy, also received praise, but less than the show's first effort.