Top 10 Creepiest TV Shows Ever Made

#10: The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

If youre an eat the rich enthusiast with a fondness for Edgar Allan Poe, this is the show for you. It follows Roderick Usher, the morally bankrupt CEO of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. Think of it as the fictional stand-in for Purdue Pharma, the conglomerate that kickstarted Americas opioid crisis with OxyContin. After the Usher heirs lose their lives under sinister circumstances, the patriarch of the house sits down for a confession. Thus unfolds his blood-wrought rise to ungodly success, for which the ominous, shape-shifting Verna exacts revenge. Now, admittedly, this isnt Mike Flanagans best work. Midnight Mass accomplishes a better payoff. Meanwhile, The Haunting is the finer horror. However, the way he elegantly conjures the gothic world of Poe here is remarkable.

#9: Utopia (2013-14)

Consider this show a public service announcement. Leave that conspiracy theory subreddit. Utopia follows a group of online friends who think the graphic novel The Utopia Experiments has been foretelling major health crises. Curious about the future, they seek out the unreleased sequel, only to get involved with a lethal covert organization called The Network. With the fate of an unnervingly colorful world in their hands, our protagonists descend into the darkness, guided by one mysterious Jessica Hyde. While there is some heavy-handed violence depicted, what makes this show truly jarring is how it hits dangerously close to home in a matter-of-fact way. As a bonus, the soundtrack is an eerie delight. So, dont miss it!

#8: Channel Zero (2016-18)

Remember those days you spent going down the rabbit hole of creepypastas, only to regret it as the clock struck midnight? Revisit that bone-chilling dread of the mid-2010s with this show. Channel Zero breathes life into some of the most bizarre online urban legends with vivid visual detail that will put your imagination to shame. It resurrects nightmarish characters like the sickening Tooth-Child, evoking a visceral fear in audiences that lingers long after the show ends. If youre at least familiar with the original lore of these fiends, you might be spared the nausea. However, if this is your introduction to creepypasta, good luck trying to sleep at night.

#7: Dark (2017-20)

If you take your dose of horror with a side of self-torment, this German thriller will be right up your alley. One of the most convoluted yet well-written TV shows in recent history, Dark takes us into the inner quarters of four broken families amid strange disappearances in the town of Winden. Were thrown in and out of disjointed timelines, from one world to another, while the terror of existential nihilism looms over our characters. The narrative hurls questions at you that it has no intentions of answering until the very end, all while youre grasping for straws in the plot. The suffocating aesthetic of the show, combined with the vein of hopelessness that runs through it is enough to leave you reeling.

#6: Mindhunter (2017-19)

Whats creepier than the cruelty of one human toward another? Mindhunter is a crime drama that plunges into the twisted psyches of serial killers to decode evil. Featuring the stories of real criminals like Edmund Kemper and Charles Manson, this show is shockingly clinical. We follow FBI agents Ford and Tench as they experiment with criminal profiling based on interviews with convicted murderers. They approach their subjects with an analytical lens while buckling under the pressure of facing their depravity. The screenplay incorporates actual excerpts from interviews with criminals, which makes the show even more unsettling. After all, truth really is stranger, and in this case, murkier than fiction.

#5: Hannibal (2013-15)

Dont let Mads Mikkelsens fatal allure and Hugh Dancys tender charms fool you. Hannibal is not a dark romance, not entirely. Our titular villain protagonist is a forensic psychiatrist, moonlighting as a man-eating serial killer. He meets FBI profiler Will Graham, and suddenly finds himself unraveling like an open book. An obsessive relationship blooms between the two, often taking the form of emotional intimacy and psychological manipulation. Theyre doomed to mutual destruction, but are the only ones who understand each other, putting the audience in the questionable position of being drawn to both. The show makes you stare into the heart of wickedness and look away because our so-called murder husbands made prolonged eye contact. Still, theres no denying that they are colossally messed up.

#4: The X-Files (1993-2002; 2016-18)

This series raised generations of sci-fi lovers despite, or perhaps because of, how gruesome, weird, and peculiar it was. In case you missed it, The X-Files follows FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who set out to solve the most inexplicable cases. Mulder believes otherworldly forces, such as aliens and the supernatural, are at play, whereas Scully prefers science. However, through their investigations, they encounter strange creatures and unearth buried secrets. Nothing is as it seems in the world of The X-Files, and a fresh mystery awaits at every turn, likely accompanied by a new monster. This show is truly timeless, and if you havent jumped on the bandwagon yet, theres no better time than now.

#3: The Twilight Zone (1959-64)

There hasnt been a bigger cultural reset in the history of television than this show. Rod Serlings The Twilight Zone is the blueprint for the intersection of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In every episode, the show explores the realm of the great unknown. The premises are surreal and absurd, but culminate in deeply human moral lessons, which often catch viewers off guard. A lot of the shows uncanny atmosphere is also owed to the soundtrack, as well as Serlings disturbingly calm monologues. There are no bells and whistles here, but the storytelling alone will give you goosebumps.

#2: American Horror Story (2011-)

The cult following that AHS enjoys is mostly thanks to the fact that it is consistently and excessively creepy. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk leave no stone unturned in creating the most harrowing visuals on the show that never fail to give us the heebie-jeebies. From spooky pregnancies to horrifying organ transplants and science experiments gone terribly wrong, the series has ample scares in store for a hair-raising experience. These tales are brought to life by an excellent lineup of performers across seasons, such as Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Emma Roberts, and unexpected scene-stealers like Kim Kardashian. American Horror Story knows exactly how to appeal to current trends while tapping into primal fears, and thats why its so successful.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Servant (2019-23)

M. Night Shyamalans Study of Grief Takes a Ghastly Turn

The Strain (2014-17)

Guillermo Del Toro Brings Us Vampires on a Plane

Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022)

Evan Peters as the Milwaukee Monster Is Pure Nightmare Fuel

The Rehearsal (2022-)

A New Brand of Creepy, Where the Audience Eavesdrops on Painfully Personal Conversations

The Kingdom (1994-97; 2022)

Lars von Triers Dark Comedy About a Haunted Hospital Is a Fever Dream

#1: Twin Peaks (1990-91; 2017)

Coming from the man whose name itself is a whole genre, it is no surprise that this show is legendary. David Lynchs Twin Peaks starts as a whodunnit about the death of Laura Palmer and slowly spirals into a phantasmagoric trance that pulls the viewer in like quicksand. The quaint setting is an ideal playground for dream logic, which makes the mundane look trippy if you stare too long. Mythology, the supernatural, and science fiction collide in spaces like the Black Lodge, and evil is terrifyingly inescapable. Decades have passed since Twin Peaks was first released, but it remains one of the most haunting works of art to this day.

Who is the creepiest character youve ever seen in a TV show? Tell us in the comments section!