13 Scariest TV Shows Ever Made

One of my favorite shows of all time, Black Mirror takes a sinister look at the effects and implications of technology on our modern lives. If you’re even remotely concerned with how reliant we are on smartphones, GPS, and other devices, the show will scare you to the core. By ensuring that every episode is a standalone, the show never sticks to a singular grim take on new technologies. 

Related: The Best Black Mirror Episodes to Get You Addicted 

Showrunners Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones were inspired by another show on this list, The Twilight Zone. Drawing inspiration from the classic series, the two have produced Emmy award winning episodes that include “San Junipero” and “USS Callister.” 

The episode “Nosedive,” from Black Mirror's most recent season, comments on our social media-centric present. In a world similar to our own, everyone rates each other (on a 5 star scale) on a per-interaction basis, determining where each individual ends up socially. It’s so horrifying because much of it is eerily reminiscent of what we are currently living.

This might be less effective for some, especially if you didn’t grow up in the 90s when the show originally aired. However, Are You Afraid of the Dark? was the runaway hit for all kids and preteens looking to get a horror fix, without having to break some rules and delve into the rated R films mom and dad probably kept off-limits. You could catch episodes crammed between other Nickelodeon hits like Goosebumps and Legends of the Hidden Temple.  

For those unfamiliar, the premise involves a group of teens that gather around a campfire at night to take turns telling horror stories. Calling themselves “The Midnight Society,” they toss some “midnight dust” into the fire and the story plays itself out as the current episode. Much of the fare involves ghosts, demons, urban legends, and other standard scares. Going back nowadays reveals a show that is as kitschy as it is charming.

Agents Mulder and Scully are one of the most effective and well-written character duos in the history of television, especially in the world of sci-fi and horror. Their on and off-screen complexity has left fans constantly theorizing about their relationship, right on down to Mulder’s tendency to be too obsessed with the X-Files to entertain any possible romance. Then again, the duo lights the way for countless memorable episodes, that include a nod to John Carpenter’s The Thing in the episode "Ice" and a cameo in Cops in the episode "X-Cops." The show is full of everything from seductresses and shapeshifters, to brutal curses and unexpected superpowers (with a particular side effect). 

Related: 13 Scariest Episodes of The X-Files That Still Haunt Our Nightmares 

The X-Files runs nine seasons with a variety of content. The main story arc, involving Mulder’s sister going missing, alien abductions, and a synthesis of all the usual conspiracy theories about Area 51 and UFOs, is good fun on its own, but it’s the stand-alone episodes that are likely to give you the scare you desire. 

I’m sure the Cryptkeeper, the combination mascot and narrator that introduces every episode, will be recognizable to most. The talking corpse cackles and truly enjoys every single story, and the content that the show emblazoned on its viewers was far more graphic and profane than what was typical back in the 80s and 90s. Oozing with style, each episode is presented like its own standalone comic book. 

Related: 14 Spine-Tingling Tales from the Crypt Episodes  

The show ran for seven seasons and was also expanded into feature films and a Saturday morning show spin-off called Tales from the Cryptkeeper. Tales from the Crypt is worth a watch for the throwback lore alone, as its style has aged incredibly well. However, you’ll be surprised to find which episodes end up creeping you out… because one will. Just you wait.

This highly influential series, which helped shape The X-Files, stars the wire service reporter Carl Kolchak, as he investigates all kinds of creepy and mysterious crimes. We’re talking more than serial murder here, with many cases that delve into supernatural territory. 

Viewers will quickly find Kolchak smart and endearing, as he ventures into cases that involve Jack the Ripper, zombies, vampires, Satanic worship, mummies, and more. Though the show takes on supernatural scares that a less effective show might fumble, making it more of a laugh, Kolchak: The Night Stalker remains fearsome. Kolchak is a harbinger of the darkness, and where he goes, few ever survive. 

This show scared the hell out of me as a kid. Everything from its ominous intro theme, to Robert Stack’s grim narration sent a shiver down my spine. But perhaps the biggest draw of all: these were true stories. Unsolved Mysteries brought true crime to the mainstream and scared many a viewer. 

Related: 11 Chilling Shows to Watch After You’ve Binged Every Episode of Unsolved Mysteries 

The manner with which the mysteries themselves were presented was quite refreshing and new. Actors reenacted the strange events, while Stack’s chilling voice provided the necessary ebb and flow to string the scenes together. The show never strayed from driving home the fact that these stories were a) real and b) unsolved, which only increased the chill factor. With a new season now streaming, it’s back and better than ever.

Channel Zero was created by showrunner Nick Antosca to be an anthology series dedicated to creepypasta, or horror urban legends told and retold on the internet. Running four seasons, each focuses on an entirely new setting. The first season brought viewers to the idyllic hometown of a psychologist trying to unravel the mysterious connections between his brother's disappearance and a television series airing at the same time. Season two dropped a young woman and her friends into an amusement park gone wild with horror. The third season focused on the cursed city trope, with its residents being tormented by unsuspecting horrors. Striking close to home, literally, the fourth and final season followed newlyweds who move into a house with a strange door in their basement that unearths their darkest secrets. Channel Zero is a true high watermark for this brand of pure horror. Aficionados seeking comfort in the unsettling will find it in droves. 

This series is criminally underrated and it could be due to a number of factors, one being that it is about zombies. It came out in 2008, right around the height of zombie popularity. But what makes it so unique is its setting and the manner with which it focuses on the sanity of its characters. 

Related: Dead Set Is the Little-Known Zombie Miniseries You Didn't Know You Needed 

Running five episodes, with each episode functioning as one day, Deadset chronicles a zombie outbreak from the perspective of people on a Big Brother type show—completely shut off from the outside world. Naturally, because of their distance, they are late to the revelation of the zombie outbreak. The set becomes a sanctuary for its characters from the horrors outside. But under the pressure cooker of their closed-off environment and the cameras capturing their every move, the cast cannot avoid the horrors that befall those stuck in close quarters for extended periods of time. 

A series that has climbed to the top of the pack, American Horror Story has achieved quite a lot in its nine seasons–and there’s plenty more to be had. What’s so interesting and effective is how showrunners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk position each season of the show as its own miniseries, complete with its own theme and storyline. From the first season’s focus on the classic haunted house trope, to the third season's theme of covens and witchcraft, the show expertly uses its screentime. It fully develops unique themes and characters, while still achieving what films do so well—wrapping everything up before plots spin out and become heavy-handed. The show is incredibly creepy too, honoring and respecting horror history, while offering a fresh take of the pivotal themes it draws upon.

Related: The Best American Horror Story Characters, Ranked 

The outlier on this list, Ghost Hunters is a nonfiction paranormal investigation series. Originally airing on SyFy, the show stars Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, the founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS). In each episode, the team investigates paranormal activity in various locations, including notable and infamous sites like Eastern State Penitentiary, Waverly Hills Sanatorium, and even The Stanley Hotel, the inspiration behind Stephen King’s The Shining. 

Related: 20 Haunting Ghost Movies That Will Send Chills Down Your Spine 

It’s important to mention how the show was one of the first of its kind. Its success popularized the whole “ghost hunting” television format. With episodes featuring Eastern State Penitentiary and the St. Augustine Lighthouse, Ghost Hunters has some genuine scares for the unsuspecting (and maybe cynical) viewer.

There’s just something so wholesome yet unsettling about the “small town with a secret” motif. It has long worked wonders when implemented well, and the 1992 show Eerie, Indiana, is a standout example of the ominous motif in action. 

The series introduces viewers to Marshall Teller, a teenage boy who relocates to the titular town with his family. The Indiana town is small, quiet, and desolate, and what commences is nothing short of bizarre. We’re talking about a town that’s comprised of some weird people and phenomena. What kind of weird? How about extremely intelligent dogs planning world domination, a crazy tornado hunter, Bigfoot sightings, and Elvis Presley himself, alive and well. There are so many ideas at work in the show, it is a shame that it didn’t run for more than one season. 

Like the film of the same name, The Exorcist is perhaps one of the scariest shows of all time. The idea of demonic possession is, next to home invasions, one of the most personal and horrifying concepts ever put down on paper. 

Related: Evil Among Us: Was the 1973 Horror Classic The Exorcist Cursed? 

The television series functions as a sequel to the film, with two priests, Father Tomas Ortega and Father Marcus Keane, studying and investigating cases of demonic possession. Also back from the film is that uncanny tension that is almost impossible to describe, like the actual images you’re viewing are possessed. The series is a textbook example of the strengths of a television show, though you may end up wanting to return to the original film for another viewing… which might be a scare in and of itself. 

To say that The Twilight Zone was an inspiration to so many other anthology television series is a vast understatement. Many of the shows on this list (and any list) have benefited from The Twilight Zone’s existence. 

Related: 11 Dark and Twisty Shows Like The Twilight Zone That'll Mess with Your Mind 

Rod Sterling created nothing short of an enterprise. During its height, the show boasted episodes written by horror masterminds like Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury, among others. And who could ever forget that mesmerizing theme, Sterling’s mood-setting opening narration, and a ticker tape of enthralling (and extremely diverse) episodes. There was a little bit of everything in The Twilight Zone. Its influence runs so deep in modern cinema and television that you just might recognize references in later films and shows, while viewing the original series. I dare you to travel to that dimension. I dare you to enter the Twilight Zone.