The following article contains spoilers for the episodes mentioned.
Horror can be a challenging genre to do justice to on television. A form of storytelling that typically shines best at a midnight screening or drive-in theaters, the blood and guts that come with the territory tend to trigger an allergic reaction with network censors. However, despite all the obstacles that televised horror can face, the result can sometimes lead to legendary episodes of the supernatural.
Between the rise of cable programming, where the carnage can flow freely, and the talent of a few horror visionaries, some outright devious hours (or less) of horror television have been produced. The following few episodes are prime examples of scares on the small screen that fans of the genre regularly cite as some of the best.
10
“Piggy Piggy”
‘American Horror Story’ – Season 1, Episode 6 (2011)
American Horror Story fans learn the dark backstory to Ben’s (Dylan McDermott) patient, Tate (Evan Peters), in the Season 1 episode “Piggy Piggy.” After Violet (Taissa Farmiga) learns that Tate has a notorious and bloody place in history, his mother Constance (Jessica Lange) comes clean about how he’s still in the house. If that wasn’t enough, an urban legend about a killer named the Piggy Man will remove porkchops from the menu for at least a few weeks.
The first season of American Horror Story is remembered as one of the best because of the reveals that continually changed viewers’ relationships to the characters. Tate was clearly struggling with inner demons, but few would predict the level of carnage he was capable of. Few ghosts or monsters compare to real-life terrors, and seeing Tate stalk the library of his school like the predator he was is still chilling years after “Piggy Piggy” premiered.
9
“Hush”
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ – Season 4, Episode 10 (1999)
Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) sent many blood suckers packing during her time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but one of her scariest foes was something else entirely. In the Season 4 episode “Hush,” a group of well-dressed monsters known as “The Gentleman” steal the voices of Sunnydale residents before drifting through the night. Selecting their targets leisurely, they harvest the hearts of their victims while they are forced to silently scream during the operation.
“Hush” is packed with the expected level of camp normally found in the series, but the unique villain and largely silent presentation make it one of the best Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes. The dreamlike nature of the episode gives the story a more pointedly horror feel, and The Gentleman’s slenderman-like appearance leaves an impression. It’s easy to dismiss the goulish characters at first glance as being cheesy, but their leering grey faces become more unsettling the longer they remain on screen.
8
“The Murmuring”
‘Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities’ – Season 1, Episode 8 (2022)
A grieving couple goes to an old house to immerse themselves in their work studying a species of bird, but spirits with unsettled business provide a distraction in “The Murmuring.” Nancy Bradley (Essie Davis) hears voices on their scientific retreat, but her husband, Edgar (Andrew Lincoln), thinks his wife is suffering from sleep deprivation. Unswayed, Nancy digs deeper until she confronts the secrets of her temporary home.
A classic ghost story with a satisfying, measured build, “The Murmuring” is one of the most enthralling entries in the Netflix anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Directed by Jennifer Kent of The Babadook fame, “The Murmuring” deals with common themes of loss and grief, but it will also cause a few surprised screams while doing so. The slower pace probably won’t raise the heart rate of gore hounds, but the performances from Davis and Lincoln are worthy of everyone’s full attention.
7
“Beyond the Sea”
‘Black Mirror’ – Season 6, Episode 3 (2023)
Two astronauts on an extended mission in space are helpless to protect those they love on Earth in “Beyond the Sea.” The Black Mirror episode follows Cliff (Aaron Paul) and David (Josh Hartnett), two astronauts stationed together on a six-year mission in space, but they remain connected to their families using robotic bodies as avatars for their consciousness. When David’s family meets a tragic encounter, animosity and jealousy threaten to consume both men.
There are scary episodes of Black Mirror that offer a more traditional horror aesthetic, such as the Season 3 episode “Playtest,” but “Beyond the Sea” digs under the skin in a way that’s hard to shake off. The home invasion scene is a nightmare in itself, but the fallout of that trauma, the isolation that transforms into madness, creates unbearable tension despite the calm facade. Even fans of the series who expect the worst feel a growing dread about how the story will end, not that it can possibly soften the blow of its gut-wrenching climax.
6
“The Bent-Neck Lady”
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ – Season 1, Episode 5 (2018)
Hugh Crain (Henry Thomas) and his wife, Olivia (Carla Gugino), move into the beautiful Hill House with designs to renovate the property, but the ghosts who were there first have different feelings. As the couple and their young children encounter the many spirits, a tragedy will split the family apart. Years later, an equally great loss will unite the Crains and draw the family back to the place where their heartache began.
It’s impossible to exclude Mike Flanagan’s masterpiece, The Haunting of Hill House; however, it’s more daunting to pick one episode above the rest. The Netflix miniseries is more a sum of its parts, a story that benefits from a character-driven build rather than jump scares, but the most memorable installment is “The Bent-Neck Lady.” Nell (Victoria Pedretti) and her fraught connection to the ghost known as the Bent-Neck Lady were well-established, but seeing the horrific plot twist of why the apparition pursued the woman is sure to leave a lump in the throat.
5
“And All Through the House”
‘Tales From the Crypt’ – Season 1, Episode 2 (1989)
“And All Through the House” starts with a little Christmas Eve homicide when Elizabeth (Mary Ellen Trainor) asks her husband Joseph (Marshall Bell) for a divorce via a fireplace poker to the head. While the newly single Elizabeth attempts to clean up the mess and put her young daughter to bed, she’ll soon have a visitor in the form of a killer Santa (Larry Drake) in the midst of a holiday rampage.
It wouldn’t be right to talk about horror shows and not have at least one appearance from the HBO series Tales From the Crypt. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also served as Executive Producer, “And All Through the House” is a perfect distillation of what made the anthology series as popular as it was. No moment is wasted as the episode bounces from horror to comedy while continuing to escalate the tension in a morality play with a clever ending that Tales From the Crypt became known for.
4
“Lonely Souls”
‘Twin Peaks’ – Season 2, Episode 7 (1990)
The surreal and unnerving Twin Peaks managed to work as a dark soap opera, a murder mystery, and a great horror series all at once. The death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) and the search for her killer gave viewers a chance to look closer at all the oddball residents of the small town, looking for hints at who the culprit could be. However, few would have been quick to point out Laura’s grieving father, Leland (Ray Wise).
In Leland’s defense, he WAS possessed by the evil spirit of Bob (Frank Silva), and viewers saw the extent of Bob’s influence in the Season 2 episode “Lonely Souls.” While Sarah Palmer (Grace Zabriskie) crawls across the floor in a haze, Bob uses Leland’s body to brutally murder his niece, Maddy (Sheryl Lee). The final moments of the episode spare no detail as Leland relishes his kill, first chasing Maddie down before beating her, slow dancing with her limp body, and slamming her head into the wall for a final killing blow. Everyone wanted to know the killer, but the way they found out was through an uncomfortable and frightening watch.
3
“Babylon”
‘Carnivàle’ – Season 1, Episode 5 (2003)
Carnivale was a criminally underwatched 2000s show on HBO, which means few have experienced the fantastically creepy episode of “Babylon.” Following a mysterious traveling carnival during the Great Depression, Carnivale explored concepts of religion and modern mysticism with a sprawling, dense narrative. Each week, the mystery of drifter Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) and how his healing powers connected to a rising evangelical minister (Clancy Brown) unfolded in eerie fashion.
The town of Babylon was a supposedly cursed location that no one in the carnival looked forward to stopping in, and the seemingly deserted town lived up to its reputation. When the ghostly crew of Babylon miners appears from the darkness with lanterns in hand, there’s a palpable sense of dread that comes with them. Death for someone in the carnival seems a forgone conclusion, but the final moments are as heartbreaking as they are haunting.
2
“Living Doll”
‘The Twilight Zone’ – Season 5, Episode 6 (1963)
The Twilight Zone has many episodes worth mentioning, but none potentially caused as many sleepless nights as “Living Doll.” Cantankerous Erich Streator (Telly Savalas) runs his household through fear rather than love, but he meets his match with his stepdaughter’s new doll, Talky Tina. Everyone else sees a harmless toy, but when Talky Tina is alone with Erich, her promise to kill him reveals a darker side to the doll.
Years before horror icons like Chucky claimed their first victims, Talky Tina made parents think twice about what toys they bought their children. Viewers don’t see the doll running around and making attempts on Erich’s life, and that only adds to the eeriness of the situation. There’s a chance that the threats are all in the man’s paranoid mind, the first signs of a mental collapse, but by the end of the episode, it’s clear that Talky Tina is a doll worth listening to.
1
“Home”
‘The X-Files’ – Season 4, Episode 2 (1996)
Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) wish for the safety of aliens after the events of “Home.” The discovery of a deformed informant buried alive prompts Mulder and Scully to assist in finding the perpetrators. When the trail leads to a reclusive family ravaged by years of inbreeding, the FBI agents and the local authorities will be met with a savagely violent resistance.
An episode so shocking that Fox banned “Home” from repeat viewings after its initial airing, it has a special reputation among The X-Files fans. The X-Files didn’t shy away from horror-inspired stories; in fact, some of the most famous episodes were ones like “Squeeze,” where monsters and not little green men were the threats. “Home,” however, was arguably the darkest point of the series, making it appear Mulder and Scully had stumbled onto the set of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The X-Files
- Release Date
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1993 – 2018-00-00
- Network
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FOX
