Top 10 Scariest TV Shows You Didn't Know Existed
#10: “Penny Dreadful” (2014-16)
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Though critics and fans adored “Penny Dreadful” during its criminally short three-season run, it failed to gain traction among mainstream audiences. The cast of characters consisted of both original creations as well as classic figures from fiction, including Dorian Gray and Frankenstein’s monster. The horror elements are interwoven into the story in a more elegant manner than most shows that deal with the supernatural, providing tightly plotted thrills and scares at every turn. With gorgeous cinematography and a talented cast to bolster its creepy atmosphere, “Penny Dreadful” will sink its teeth into you and won’t let go.
#9: “The River” (2012)
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Back in the heyday of the “Paranormal Activity” series, found footage movies were a dime a dozen. Fortunately, the director of the original movie, Oren Peli, was able to translate that genre to television with this little-known gem. The series followed a crew searching for a famous explorer who had gone missing seeking magic along the Amazon basin. Its unique setting allowed for a wide range of horrors and mysteries, with wonderfully terrifying worldbuilding on an extremely personal scope. Combining the found footage genre with the exotic supernatural intrigue of its setting made for a unique viewing experience, but not one for the faint of heart.
#8: “The Exorcist” (2016-17)
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Before “The Exorcist” premiered, many were quick to write it off as an offering that would never measure up to the original film. While it may not have achieved that nigh-impossible task, those who tuned in were treated to a tense tale of psychological horror. Instead of trying to remake the classic film, it acted as a follow up, telling a new story in the same vein, and paying tribute to it just the right amount. Both seasons focus on different cases, but the first season, led by a captivating Geena Davis, deserves special praise. It may not stand the test of time like its predecessor, but give it a chance and you’ll have a head-spinningly good time.
#7: “Channel Zero” (2016-18)
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If you’ve ever fallen into the rabbit hole of internet creepypasta, you know what kind of bizarre horrors this show is steeped in. Taking on an anthology format, each season adapts a different internet horror story into a six-episode arc, each grimmer than the last. It used its admittedly sparse source material to dive into themes such as mental illness, trauma, and duplicity, bringing a surprising depth to each iteration. With four eerie settings populated by well fleshed-out characters, the show takes the viewer into the depths of internet hell each season, and we couldn’t think of anything scarier.
#6: “Kingdom Hospital” (2004)
Stephen King adapted this miniseries from a Lars von Trier project, and with those two names involved, it was just as bananas as you’d Taking place at the titular Kingdom Hospital, the patients come and go, but the enigmatic spirits remain as the mysteries behind them deepen. You never know what to expect with the show, since it can be funny in one moment and terrifying in the next, but it just makes the dread all the more palpable. With a setting that rivals some of King’s best works and a tone as dark as Von Trier’s most dismal, it’s a wonder this series flew under the radar.
#5: “Night Gallery” (1970-73)
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Though “The Twilight Zone” is the most recognizable of Rod Serling’s projects, he also developed another anthology series that dealt with more horrific, supernatural elements. Each segment is connected by its framing device, in which Serling appears and introduces a painting, which embodies each episode’s plot or themes. It has unfortunately been overshadowed by its sister series in the decades since, but that doesn’t mean that some of these segments can’t stand toe-to-toe with the best of the “Zone”. Not to mention, “Night Gallery” began the Hollywood career of a talented up-and-coming young man named Steven Spielberg.
#4: “The Strain” (2014-17)
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After a slew of sappy vampire dramas during the “Twilight” craze, these bloodsucking fiends were in need of reinvention. Thankfully, FX’s adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s novel trilogy brought life back to the genre. It tells the story of a New York City ravaged by a vampirism virus, with all of the gore that that implies. As the layers of horrifying truth are peeled back on the contagion, the stakes grow ever higher, and the scares become more frequent and intense. For those who like their horror relentless, aggressive, and vivid, this series is for you.
#3: “Harper’s Island” (2009)
Several shows have tried to stretch a slasher movie into a full season of television, but none succeeded quite as well as “Harper’s Island.” When guests attend a wedding on an island with a history of murder, they begin to get picked off one by one. Secrets of the island and its guests begin to reveal themselves in twisty fashion, as some creative and gruesome deaths befall the surprisingly compelling characters. The writers clearly did their homework here, as the series both plays into and subverts what you’d expect from a typical slasher narrative. We don’t want to give too much away, but take our word for it: it’s better than it had any right to be.
#2: “American Gothic” (1995-96)
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In the town of Trinity, South Carolina, there lives a murderous, corrupt sheriff with supernatural powers. In order to claim his illegitimate son Caleb, he murders the boy's family - kicking off a power struggle to protect Caleb from his villainous guardian. Featuring a supremely creepy pre-“American Horror Story” Sarah Paulson, “American Gothic” gave us one of television’s most underrated villains in the atrocious Sheriff Buck. This all proved a bit too sinister for network audiences in the ‘90s, though, and it failed to get picked up for a second season. Although considering how dark horror shows have gotten since then, we’d say it was simply ahead of its time.
#1: “The Terror” (2018-)
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The HMS Terror was a Royal Navy ship that became stranded in the Arctic in the nineteenth century. This would already be a haunting premise for a series, but “The Terror” ups the ante by adding a sinister creature to the equation. Based on Dan Simmons’ novel of the same name, this AMC series spins a ghastly yarn of men driven to the utmost desperation, with no hope on the horizon. In addition to being petrifyingly shot, it hits an unsettling emotional nerve as the viewer journeys inwards towards doom with the protagonists. Bleak, stylish, and with the kind of production values we expect from AMC, this is a series you should check out while it’s still around.
