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List of horror television programs

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The following is a list of horror television programs. Programs are listed in chronological order.

History

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John Kenneth Muir in his book Terror Television found that most of the American output of horror television programs were more aligned to science fiction with programs like The Outer Limits, fantasy with The Twilight Zone, and crime melodramas with Thriller with only Rod Serling's Night Gallery in the early 1970s being solely horror.[1]

Following World War II, television became the new source of entertainment to replace cinema.[2] Early horror related programs were based on well-established radio programs such as Lights Out and Inner Sanctum.[2] and other popular stories such as The Monkey's Paw , Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde and were adapted to Suspense.[2] Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde was among the most popular stories adapted, being done in Climax! in 1955 and again in two years by NBC Matinee Theater.[2] Both shows also made adaptations of Frankenstein and Dracula.[2]

Early horror television work did not have the budget for expensive make-up effects or multiple-camera set-ups which led to stories with more psychological plots and character-driven narratives than traditional monsters.[2] Muir found that television only was able to showcase "some of the most grotesque and complex make-up" seen on network television with the arrival of Night Gallery.[1] Boris Karloff adapted to the medium early with series such as Mystery Playhouse Starring Boris Karloff in 1949 and hosting the unsold series The Veil which was a 10-episode series with a mildly supernatural slant.[3] Writer Nigel Kneale also expanded into television in the United Kingdom with his series The Quatermass Experiment, a hybrid of science fiction and horror, for the BBC.[3] The Quatermass Experiment led to other similar serials being made such as The Trollenberg Terror and The Strange World of Planet X both in 1956.[3]

US television began broadcasting horror films late at night in the 1950s. Local stations used horror hosts such as John Zacherle and Ottola Nesmith to introduce movies from a series of 52 films called Shock.[4]

1960s

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In the early 1960s, there was a short-lived wave of anthology series such as Moment of Fear, Dow Hour of Great Mysteries, Great Ghost Tales, and Tales of Mystery.[3] Comedic material influenced by the Universal Classic Monsters were introduced in 1964 with The Munsters which ran for two years. Along with The Addams Family, the series would later lead to a series of spin-off films, cartoon adaptations and remakes.[3] In the United Kingdom, Mystery and Imagination ran from 1966 to 1970 and featured hour-long adaptions of classic horror stories such as Dracula and Frankenstein.[3] Supernatural themed soap operas also began appearing with Dark Shadows while the Canadian made Strange Paradise tried to emulate the shows format.[3]

1970s

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In the early 1970s, Rod Serling's program Night Gallery debuted, alongside similar programs such as The Sixth Sense, Ghost Story, The Evil Touch, Orson Welles Great Mysteries.[5] The two television films The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler led the ABC television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.[5] Other horror related series from the mid-1970s series and specials included The Stone Tape, and short-lived series such as Quatermass, Struck by Lightning, and Supernatural.[5]

1980s

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"Television has really asked the impossible of its handful of horror programs - to terrify without really terrifying, to horrify without really horrifying, to sell audiences a lot of sizzle and no steak."
—Author Stephen King on television horror in 1980.[6]

In the early 1980s, Hammer Films had their second attempt at television work with Hammer House of Horror, an hour-long anthology show that was later reworked into a format for made-for-television films, known as Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense.[5] Other early series included a pilot for the show Comedy of Horrors in 1981 hosted by Patrick Macnee, Tales of the Haunted hosted by Christopher Lee and Darkroom hosted by James Coburn.[5]

Some television series were adapted from popular film franchises, such as Friday the 13th: The Series which had nothing to do with the film series, but was about an antique store owner trying to recover cursed objects.[5] The late 1980s featured two late anthology series with Tales from the Darkside and Monsters, and Freddy's Nightmares hosted by Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.[5] Among the longest of these series was HBO's Tales from the Crypt which lasted from 1989 to 1996.[5]

1990s and 2000s

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Early 1990s horror series were based on classical horror figures such as a blond-haired Count in Dracula: The Series and She-Wolf of London.[5] Series in the 1990s were often either based on their locations such as Shades of LA, Eerie Indiana, and Twin Peaks or focused on vampires with Geraint Wyn Davies playing an undead cop in Forever Knight and the most influential vampire show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[5] A spin-off series followed in 1999 with Angel.[5] Series based on popular children's series also grew in popularity with Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Goosebumps and Bone Chillers.[7]

Other series in the 1990s and early 2000s focused on secret societies and groups investigating the supernatural with Poltergeist: The Legacy, Sleepwalkers, The Others and FreakyLinks.[5][7]

By the 2000s, television was awash with several horror programs.[7] These included British series such as Shockers, Urban Gothic, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, The Fear, Spine Chillers, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.[7] Toward the mid-2000s, Showtime's Masters of Horror was described by Stephen Jones as pushing the envelope for horror on the small screen.[7]

1940s – 1960s

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1970s

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1980s

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1990s

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2000s

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2010s

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2020s

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References

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  1. ^ a b Muir 2001, p. 1.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Jones 2018, p. 202.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Jones 2018, p. 203.
  4. ^ "Night Harbingers of Horror". Life. 1958-05-26. p. 63. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jones 2018, p. 204.
  6. ^ Jowett & Abbott 2013, p. 131.
  7. ^ a b c d e Jones 2018, p. 205.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Vincent, Brittany (October 31, 2013). "JapanaTen: Our Top Ten Horror Anime". Japanator. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e Veron, Red (October 31, 2015). "JapanaTen: Halloween Horror". Japanator. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "Discotek Adds Requiem From the Darkness Horror Anime". Anime News Network. December 10, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Len, God (October 28, 2008). "Tuesday Otaku Debate: Elfen Lied vs. Higurashi vs. Ghost Hunt". Japanator. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  12. ^ "U.S. TV Channel Chiller Adds Horror Anime on Mondays". Anime News Network. July 15, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  13. ^ "Crunchyroll to Simulcast Gosick Mystery Horror Anime". Anime News Network. January 4, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  14. ^ "Promo for Episode 0 of Horror Anime 'Another' Streamed". Anime News Network. February 2, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  15. ^ "Rensuke Oshikiri's Pupipō! Horror Comedy Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. November 20, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  16. ^ "3rd Yamishibai Horror Anime Season's 2nd Ad Streamed". Anime News Network. December 21, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  17. ^ Bamboo Dong; Hope Chapman; Nick Creamer; Theron Martin; Zac Bertschy (October 8, 2014). "Parasyte -the maxim-". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  18. ^ "Crunchyroll to Stream Pupa Horror Anime". Anime News Network. January 3, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  19. ^ "Re-Kan! Horror Comedy Anime's Promo Video Previews Theme Song". Anime News Network. March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  20. ^ "Funimation Announces Tokyo Ghoul √A English Dub Cast". Anime News Network. February 18, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "Live-Action Higurashi Show Casts Yuuma Ishigaki as Male Lead". Anime News Network. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  22. ^ Arias, María José (29 November 2020). "Eduard Fernández: "El gran acierto de '30 Monedas' es el costumbrismo y ese mundo de terror, género y thriller"". Público.
  23. ^ Lang, Jamie (16 October 2020). "Icelandic Industry Plots Next 10 Years in New Action Plan – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  24. ^ Schaefer, Sandy (December 4, 2019). "Locke & Key Netflix TV Show Gets a Poster and Release Date". ScreenRant. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  25. ^ Chase, Stephanie (December 5, 2019). "Netflix horror show Locke & Key finally confirms release date". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  26. ^ Brito, Carlos (April 24, 2019). "Criador de 'Black mirror' vem ao Rio e diz que a série não é contrária à tecnologia". G1 (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  27. ^ Barraclough, Leo (September 22, 2020). "Nick Frost, Simon Pegg Comedy 'Truth Seekers' to Debut at Canneseries". Variety. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  28. ^ "CannesSeries: 'Truth Seekers'". Canneseries.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  29. ^ Tassi, Paul (January 17, 2020). "AMC Confirms 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' Will Only Run For 20 Total Episodes". Forbes. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  30. ^ Lang, Jamie (13 October 2021). "ZDF Enterprises Boards VIS Legendary Spanish Horror Anthology Reboot 'Stories to Stay Awake' (Exclusive)". Variety.
  31. ^ "Quirky, Spooky and Hilarious World Of 'DeadEndia' Comes To Netflix In A New Animated Series". Netflix Media Center. 2 July 2020. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020.
  32. ^ Nakamura, Reid (May 14, 2018). "Guillermo del Toro Horror Anthology '10 After Midnight' Gets Series Order at Netflix". TheWrap. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  33. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 14, 2018). "Guillermo Del Toro Horror Anthology Series a Go at Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  34. ^ Poniewozik, James (2023-01-12). "Review: 'The Last of Us' Is a Zombie Thriller About Single Parenting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  35. ^ Zinoman, Jason (2023-12-08). "The Creepiest Moment Onscreen This Year Occurred in a Comedy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  36. ^ Chihaya, Sarah (2024-01-12). "The Metaphysical Horror of "The Curse"". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2024-01-14.

Sources

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  • Jones, Stephen (2018) [1st pub. 2006]. "Horror on Television". The Definitive Guide to Horror Movies. London: Carlton Books. ISBN 9781787391390.
  • Jowett, Lorna; Abbott, Stacey (2013). TV Horror: Investigating the Darker Side of the Small Screen. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0857724489.
  • Muir, John Kenneth (2001). Terror Television: American Series, 1970-1999. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0890-1.
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