(01 of20)
Open Image ModalUnsolved Mysteries (1987-2002)(02 of20)
Open Image ModalLOST (2004-2010)(03 of20)
Open Image ModalThe enigmatic creation of J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Jeffrey Lieber, ABC’s supernatural serial about a group of survivors stranded on an island after a crash landing went way beyond any Gilligan’s Island episode we ever saw. While heavy on drama, the cryptic sci-fi show introduced viewers to flash-forwards, flash-sideways, smoke monsters, dual timelines, and an endlessly intriguing mythology diehard fans have been picking apart ever since. (credit:abc.com)
The X-Files (1993-2002)(04 of20)
Open Image Modal“The truth is out there,” echos Chris Carter’s sci-fi yarn of two FBI agents (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) who are assigned to solve the unsolvable. Fraught with horror, paranormal activity, sexual tension, and breeding a general mistrust of our government ever since, the Fox show spawned a spin-off, two films, and became one of the longest-running sci-fi programs in U.S. TV history. (credit:Everett Collection)
Fringe (2008-2013)(05 of20)
Open Image ModalAnother crazy concoction from the mind of J.J. Abrams, this mindtrip follows the FBI’s “Fringe Division” in its investigations of unexplained happenings and combined the best of procedural dramas with serial storytelling. In true Abrams fashion, alternate timelines, parallel universes and a deep mythology pervaded the cult-favorite, thus making “fringe” lunatics of even the most casual sci-fi fans. (credit:Everett Collection)
Carnivàle (2003-2005)(06 of20)
Open Image ModalGood versus evil, fate versus free will, Christianity and the supernatural, all collide in... a travelling carnival? HBO’s drama about a young man and preacher each with their own unique powers set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s may not have found a big audience in its two-season run, but between the sense of dread and highly cryptic (and sometimes frustrating) plot, the carnies were only the tip of the iceberg in this complex (freak)show. (credit:Everett Collection)
Eerie, Indiana (1991-1992)(07 of20)
Open Image ModalMoving is always difficult, especially if you’re a teenager. Also if your neighbors are Elvis and Bigfoot. Starring that boy known by Millennials as the hero from Hocus Pocus before he hit puberty, Eerie, Indiana was The Twilight Zone for kids, and one that was no less bizarre. Sure, the show qualifies on name basis alone, but we blame horror-meister Joe Dante (The Howling, Piranha) for turning a would-be kids’ show into something akin to a David Lynch movie. (credit:Everett Collection)
Tales From the Crypt (1989-1996)(08 of20)
Open Image ModalMillennium (1996-1999)(09 of20)
Open Image ModalBefore running his course on The X-Files, producer Chris Carter tapped into the pre-Y2K zeitgeist by casting Lance Henriksen as an ex-FBI agent part of an ambiguous organization who can see into the minds of criminals (think Will Graham of the Hannibal Lecter series with a dash of Se7en). It didn’t live to see the actual turn of the millennium, but points to Carter for making use of a mustachioed Terry O’Quinn before his LOST days. (credit:Everett Collection)
Tales From the Darkside (1983-1988)(10 of20)
Open Image ModalSpawned from his anthology horror feature film Creepshow, Zombie-master George A. Romero’s precursor to Tales From the Crypt moved away from the EC comics inspiration of the 1950s and branched out into sci-fi, fantasy, and even dark humor. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t creepy to boot — especially when channeling the mad minds of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Robert Bloch for inspiration. (credit:Everett Collection)
Picket Fences (1992-1996)(11 of20)
Open Image ModalIt was a quirky show about normal life. If normal included human babies birthed from cows and mayors spontaneously combusted. Created by David E. Kelley, the CBS drama followed the residents of the all-American town of Rome, Wisconsin, whose bizarre nature was matched only by the show’s willingness to pose thought-provoking questions about real life’s heavy subjects — from abortion and LGBT issues, to polygamy and shoe fetishism. Laugh all you like; it picked up 14 Emmy Awards in its four-year run. (credit:Everett Collection)
Goosebumps (1995-1998)(12 of20)
Open Image Modal“Reader beware, you’re in for a scare.”In the 1990s, few could escape R.L. Stine’s paperbacks. Those who could, however, were bombarded all the same when turning on their television sets, thanks to Canada’s YTV, which adapted many of the books into 30-minute live-action episodes. Heavily edited and some outright banned by UK censors, tales of living dummies and haunted masks that turn kids into monsters did more than deliver on the show’s titular promise. (credit:Everett Collection)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1965)(13 of20)
Open Image ModalAmerican Gothic (1995-1996)(14 of20)
Open Image ModalAfter he unleashed the Evil Dead and before he dragged us to hell, genre director Sam Raimi produced a short-lived tale about a small town sheriff, a teacher, and young boy that all seemed pleasant on paper but was anything but, once viewers discovered the sheriff is Satan who raped the young boy’s mother and uses his powers for — what else — evil. It’s a story about purity and corruption in the form of ghosts, the supernatural, and the devil himself masked in good ol’ southern hospitality. (credit:Everett Collection)
The Outer Limits (1963-1965)(15 of20)
Open Image Modal“There is nothing wrong with your television set.... You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to — The Outer Limits.” Often seen as the Robin to The Twilight Zone’s Batman, The Outer Limits was no less eerie and placed even greater emphasis on sci-fi, while also helping pioneer the twist ending now seen as customary to the genre by today’s standards. (credit:Everett Collection)
American Horror Story (2011-Present)(16 of20)
Open Image ModalDrawing from classic horror and real-life tragedies alike and wrapping them all up with a creature in a latex suit, the FX series stacked with sex and scares is elevated in creep factor by its daring talent (notably Jessica Lange) who change up roles for each new season. With frankenstein babies, ripped-from-the-headlines school shootings, ax-murders, and aliens already ticked off the list, one can only wonder what skeletons the anthology series has left in its closet. (credit:Everett Collection)
Amazing Stories (1985-1987)(17 of20)
Open Image ModalHelmed by Steven Spielberg, Amazing Stories was a show that could get away with its lofty title, even when the episodes were less than amazing. Mashing up elements of fantasy and horror, the NBC series featured an impressive roster of famous faces and gave big-name directors like Robert Zemeckis, Clint Eastwood, and Martin Scorsese a chance to appeal to larger audiences via the smaller screen. (credit:Everett Collection)
Masters of Horror (2005-2007)(18 of20)
Open Image ModalThe brainchild of director Mick Garris and his fearsome friends, Showtime’s Masters of Horror pulled from the best in the business, featuring the work of horror heavyweights John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Tobe Hooper, Dario Argento, Guillermo del Toro and other fan favorites. A scary movie buff’s dream (er, nightmare?) come true. (credit:Everett Collection)
Twin Peaks (1990-1991)(19 of20)
Open Image ModalMark Frost and David Lynch’s whodunnit melodrama about the mysterious death of a small town homecoming queen and its eccentric townsfolk is many things to many people, but all these things, much like the show’s owls, are not what they seem. Earning critical acclaim as one of the greatest shows of the ’90s and earning a rabid fanbase along the way, Twin Peaks is a surrealist soap opera as conceived only by David Lynch. (credit:Everett Collection)
The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)(20 of20)
Open Image ModalA marriage of pulp fiction and commentary on human nature, Serling’s brainchild of an anthology remains to this day one of the creepiest (and most critical) programs exploring our darkest fears and anxieties. As a television show, film, radio program, magazine, and comic book, the series’ influence is seen as much throughout pop culture as it is in our collective nightmares.CORRECTION: An earlier caption misspelled Rod Serling's last name. (credit:Everett Collection)