10 Classic Horror TV Shows That Are Still Worth Watching

If you’re looking for something a little older to satisfy your genre cravings, these TV series are worth checking out.

Horror has always been a popular film genre, but only recently has it earned a sense of mainstream prestige that the genre seemed to have lost sometime in the 70s and 80s. Likewise, horror television has really thrived in these last few years, with shows like Hannibal, Midnight Mass, American Horror Story, and of course Stranger Things illustrating the wide appeal of genre television.

But it’s important not to overlook the horror predecessors that paved the way for these groundbreaking shows; everything from The Walking Dead to Courage the Cowardly Dog can trace their roots back to the horror programs and teleplays of yesteryear. And what’s more, a lot of these shows still hold up. If you’re looking for something a little different to satisfy your genre cravings, here are 10 classic horror shows that are still worth checking out.

"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission…"

If you’re familiar with The Outer Limits, then those classic introductory lines are probably seared into your brain. Created by Leslie Stevens, The Outer Limits is a classic horror anthology show very much influenced by The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science-fiction. Each episode presented an equally thought-provoking and eerie story that explored the boundaries of human knowledge and the consequences of scientific hubris.

The show explored everything from extraterrestrial encounters and time travel to mind control and alternate realities. While these plot elements are pretty common these days, The Outer Limits continues to resonate because of its thoughtful exploration of these heady topics, favoring ambiguity and disquiet over abject horror.

The original version of the show only aired for two seasons; it gained a massive fan base off the bat, but then ABC moved its season two time slot from Monday to Saturday, where it had to compete against the massively-popular Jackie Gleason: American Scene Magazine variety show, airing at the same time on CBS. The show's viewership plummeted, and half-way through its second season, The Outer Limits was canceled.

A reboot of the series aired from 1995-2002, and is deserving of a look in its own right. Despite the unfortunate fate that befell its predecessor, the original iteration of The Outer Limits is still worth checking out.

"…We now return control of your television set to you, until next week at this same time, when the Control Voice will take you to... The Outer Limits..."

Created by Jeff Rice and developed by star Darren McGavin, Kolchak: The Night Stalker tracked the exploits of Carl Kolchak (McGavin), a tenacious Chicago newspaper reporter who often finds himself investigating homicides linked to nightmarish monsters, including vampires, werewolves, zombies, and even Jack the Ripper.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker developed an immediate cult following thanks to its unique blend of horror and investigative journalism. Unfortunately the show had a criminally-short run, lasting only one season — 20 episodes in total, not including the two TV movies that preceded the show. Although McGavin helped create the show, he asked to break his contract after the first season, tired of juggling too many hats as the show’s lead and uncredited producer. His departure effectively killed the show.

Nevertheless, Kolchak’s influence on television and the horror genre continues to be felt, serving as a direct inspiration for later shows and movies, including the massively-popular X-Files.

Speaking of, The X-Files is a landmark sci-fi / horror series that originally aired from 1993 to 2002; it spanned nine seasons and more than 200 episodes, and spawned two movie spin-offs and a divisive revival in 2016. It was, in short, massively popular.

The show doesn't really need an introduction, but here's a brief one anyway: FBI Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchuvny), a skilled criminal profiler, an ardent supernaturalist, and a conspiracy theorist, and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), a medical doctor and a skeptic, are begrudgingly partnered together and assigned to investigate the eponymous X-Files: unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena.

The cultural impact and popularity of The X-Files continues to influence artists to this day, and paved the way for more complex and serialized storytelling in genre TV, including shows like Lost, Fringe, and Supernatural. If you haven't seen The X-Files, then you're missing out on some truly great horror television.

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“Good evening, and welcome to a private showing of three paintings, displayed here for the first time. Each is a collector’s item in its own way — not because of any special artistic quality, but because each captures on a canvas, suspended in time and space, a frozen moment of a nightmare.”

Thus began each episode of Night Gallery, a horror anthology series created by Ron Serling that ran from 1969 to 1973. Whereas Serling’s other show — the massively-popular The Twilight Zone — dealt more in fantasy and sci-fi, Night Gallery was much more macabre and horror-leaning, dealing in ghostly encounters, supernatural revenge, and the chilling depths of the human psyche.

Much like his other show, Serling introduced each episode here, serving as the curator of the titular Night Gallery, unveiling paintings (by artists Thomas J. Wright and Jaroslav "Jerry" Gebr) that depicted the stories to follow.

The show featured a variety of notable actors and directors, including Joan Crawford, Vincent Price, and even Steven Spielberg. And while it never achieved the same level of popularity as The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery nevertheless offers a diverse array of spine-tingling stories that’s more than worth checking out.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a classic anthology TV series that aired from 1955 to 1965. Hosted and occasionally directed by the master of suspense himself, the show featured a collection of thrilling and often darkly humorous short stories involving crime, moral corruption, and murder. What else would you expect from Hitchcock?

Over 10 years, more than 360 episodes were released (including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour), each one acting as a bite-sized serving of Hitchcock’s trademark stylings. The series featured exceptional writing and direction (Hitchcock directed 17 episodes himself), and attracted some truly A-List talent, with appearances from Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, Burt Reynolds, and Robert Duvall, among many others.

It’s no surprise, then, that Alfred Hitchcock Presents became a staple of television history. The series set a high standard for anthology storytelling and suspenseful TV drama, and is a true embarrassment of riches for any fan of the iconic filmmaker.

Tales From the Crypt was a horror anthology series that aired from 1989 to 1996 on HBO. Inspired by the EC horror comics of the 1950s, each episode presented a stand-alone story - usually pulled directly from the comics - and tackled every flavor of horror: monsters, ghosts, psychotic killers, killer birds - you name it. Each of the show's 93 episodes was introduced by the Crypt Keeper, a wisecracking corpse and the show’s iconic host.

Since the show was developed by HBO, it wasn't beholden to network censors, which allowed for graphic violence, profanity, and sexuality - in other words, everything that makes horror great. The series quickly developed a rabid following, and Tales Form the Crypt's success led to three feature films (each one worse than the last, unfortunately).

Like any anthology series, Tales from the Crypt is not without its dud episodes. But by and large the show was better than the sum of its parts, and is still worth checking out more than thirty years later.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a popular Nickelodeon anthology horror series that originally aired from 1992 to 1996. The show wads "hosted" by the Midnight Society, a group of young friends who gathered around a campfire to tell spine-tingling stories involving creepy urban legends, unsettling supernatural encounters and eerie mysteries.

The show was aimed at a young audience, introducing a new generation to the wonders of the horror genre in a less intense way, while still pushing the boundaries of age-appropriateness. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a 90s kid who didn’t have a nightmare or two thanks to this show.

It’s hard to believe, but Are You Afraid of the Dark? is officially more than thirty years old, meaning 90s kids are now 90s adults with their own kids. What better time to introduce the newest generation to their first taste of horror?

Tales of the Unexpected is a British anthology series that ran from 1979-1988, and was created by none other than Roald Dahl, the iconic author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, among many other children’s classics. The show was largely adapted from his own short stories; these specific tales were much darker than his other works (which are admittedly pretty unsettling to begin with). Unlike The Twilight Zone - to which the show is often compared - Tales of the Unexpected featured very few supernatural elements, and was primarily set in the "real world," making the horror all the more unnerving.

Though the show was popular overseas, Tales of the Unexpected has been largely overlooked in the States. Every episode is currently available to stream on FreeVee — totally free of charge, as the name suggests — and is definitely worth your attention.

David Lynch’s groundbreaking, totally unique, and unclassifiable series Twin Peaks is easily one of the most revered shows to come out of the 90s, which is really impressive considering just how weird it is.

Co-created by Mark Frost, the mystery series stars Kyle MacLachlan as FBI agent Dale Cooper, who is leading an investigation into the brutal murder of high school student Laura Palmer in the seemingly idyllic town of Twin Peaks. The series skillfully blends elements of mystery, drama, horror, and the supernatural, replete with Lynch's trademark surreal and dreamlike storytelling.

25 years after the less-than-ceremonious end of the show’s original run, Lynch and Frost returned to their world with the aptly titled legacy sequel Twin Peaks: The Return. The 18-episode epic cemented the show as one of the greatest in television history, and proves that Lynch still has what it takes to captivate and vex an audience in equal measure.

RELATED: Every Unmade David Lynch Movie We'll Never Get to See

It’s impossible to make a list of classic horror television shows and not include the seminal masterpiece The Twilight Zone, which is perhaps the cornerstone of genre television as a whole. Rod Serling’s legendary anthology series, which originally aired from 1959 to 1964, became known for its thought-provoking stories that blended science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thought-provoking social commentary into each episode.

The show's impact on popular culture was immense: it introduced the phrase "twilight zone" into the global lexicon, featured groundbreaking storytelling techniques that pushed the boundaries of what television could achieve in terms of imagination and message, and served as a major source of inspiration for just about every show on this list. Its enduring relevance and ability to address timeless issues have solidified its status as a cultural touchstone.

At this point, if you haven’t seen an episode of The Twilight Zone, well…you’re probably currently in the Twilight Zone.