10 Best Anthology Horror TV Shows Ever Made

Horror anthology series have long been dominating TV, and for good reason, with the best of them consistently delivering delightfully spooky thrills one story at a time. While most great horror TV series tend to remain somewhat niche in popularity, a glaring exception remains in anthology horror shows. This refers to series that tell entirely new stories every episode or season, functioning as a loose collection of chillers with only perhaps a handful of themes in common.

While horror anthology movies have already proven themselves as great uses of the genre, TV shows using the same techniques are arguably more famous. The episodic nature of TV storytelling works perfectly for an anthology format, and horror stories don’t have to worry about keeping any survivors around for the next episode with a self-contained narrative. This means that the tension and uncertainty are able to steadily increase over the course of each installment, captivating audiences over and over again.

10

Tales From The Crypt

Ghoulishly charming star power

The original Tales from the Crypt movie in 1972 is one of the scariest PG movies of all time, managing to remain quite spooky despite the limitations in content. This nearly family-friendly approach to horror storytelling will be further elaborated on in the spin-off TV series, based off of the original EC Comics series of the same name. Every week, the Cryptkeeper would introduce some profane new story with cackling glee, spitting out a few endearing puns based on the premise along the way to the tune of an amazing Danny Elfman soundtrack.

The series also stands out among other horror anthologies for its trademark sense of humor, usually present to some degree in most episodes.

Tales from the Crypt was a true who’s who of 90s stardom, with high-profile names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Christopher Reeve, and Demi Moore all finding themselves in the Crypt at some point or another. It’s easy to see how the show became a household name with its delightfully cheesy set dressing, practical effects, and relative appeal to all age brackets. The series also stands out among other horror anthologies for its trademark sense of humor, usually present to some degree in most episodes.

9

Creepshow

A modern take on some classic horror creators’ work

Of course, Tales from the Crypt wasn’t the only film to try to recapture the magic of the EC Comics with a horror anthology film that would later become a TV series. 1982’s Creepshow was a dream team-up between Stephen King and George A. Romero of Night of the Living Dead fame, delivering on a potent promise between two powerhouse horror masters. The film spawned a series of sequels, and eventually a dedicated TV show in the modern era.

The Creepshow series is a loving callback to King and Romero’s original work, running a gamut of supernatural horror subjects like demons, zombies, vampires, and werewolves. It’s admirable just how much clear love the series has for the original movie, even replicating its endearing comic book feel with daring editing choices and fake advertisements for spooky products spliced into the action. Dripping with charm, eeriness, and deliciously cheesy creep factor, Creepshow‘s praises can’t be sung of highly enough.

8

Channel Zero

Capitalized on the digital age of horror

One remarkable thing about the digital age is the way it has morphed traditional horror storytelling. Thanks to the internet, a new form of scary stories known as “creepypastas” have emerged, using the digital campfire to prey on the fears of readers and establish a modern folklore. Channel Zero was a short-lived horror anthology series that aimed to take advantage of this new form of culture, unleashing episodes heavily inspired by such grisly tales.

Rather than have each individual episode be its own story, Channel Zero allowed itself to be serialized a bit, with each season telling a new overarching story rather than starting from complete scratch each episode.

However, within these seasons, many different horrifying concepts were able to be explored, with premises flexible enough to offer multiple different types of scares. Utilizing the perspective of kids and teenagers, Channel Zero was able to evoke the uneasy feelings of reading a scary story online.

7

American Horror Story

The ultimate popcorn horror series

While Channel Zero may have utilized the format of each season being a distinct story rather than each episode, the idea was popularized in the first place by American Horror Story. A truly groundbreaking and eye-catching piece of media, each season of American Horror Story promises some new terrifying supernatural world to get lost in. Subjects ranged from haunted insane asylums to covens of scheming witches to covert alien invasions.

With the weighty name recognition of Glee‘s Ryan Murphy at the helm, American Horror Story is able to throw around its weight in terms of production value, which only soars higher and higher as the series progresses. Star power like Lady Gaga, Evan Peters, and even Kim Kardashian has kept the series relevant well into the modern day, always ready to unearth some new depraved terror on unsuspecting viewers. Even if some seasons are better than others, American Horror Story is always entertaining.

6

Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities

Consistently stylish terror

A more recent horror anthology, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities takes a more auteur approach to episodic horror storytelling. Though the show is only hosted by him, Guillermo del Toro’s films are certainly evoked by the eight episodes of this brief self-contained series on Netflix. With an impressive lineup of devious directors, del Toro was able to assemble a truly peculiar lineup of supernatural horror stories.

Subjects range from alien parasites to extradimensional witches and eldritch horrors from beyond the scope of human imagination unleashed by disturbing paintings. The stories vary in quality wildly, perhaps more so than any horror anthology series listed yet, but they always nevertheless leave an impact with their creativity and striking creature design. Guillermo del Toro has certainly proven his eye as a curator of uniquely macabre and gothic horror shorts.

5

Monsters

Introduced legions of terrifying creatures to TV

If there’s one horror anthology series that certainly can be said to have lived up to its title, it’s the seldom-known show Monsters. True to its name, Monsters was a monster-of-the-week series that unleashed some terrifying new villain on its viewers every week, with only a handful of exceptions. Produced by Richard P. Rubinstein of Tales from the Darkside fame, the series had a prestigious pedigree despite its relative obscurity.

The series was also infamous for being an early stop in the careers of actors who would become famous later, such as Matt LeBlanc and David Spade.

The best thing about Monsters was its impressive practical effects and makeup, courtesy of acclaimed special effects guru Dick Smith, who stretched the series’ limited budget beyond human imagination. The show was keen to show off his creations, from the monstrous family that introduced every episode to the nightmarish beasts that would be unleashed within them. The series was also infamous for being an early stop in the careers of actors who would become famous later, such as Matt LeBlanc and David Spade.

4

Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Stays spooky despite being aimed at kids

It’s rare that horror shows are directly aimed at children, taking on the difficult task of being scary but not overtly so, and all while eschewing more intense imagery or themes unsuitable for younger viewers. Yet this is exactly the realm that Are You Afraid of the Dark? is able to thrive in, terrifying generations of kids. The original series was a relic of the 90s, but the title has been brought back from the grave with a 2019 reboot.

The show uses the framing device of a club of kids who call themselves “The Midnight Society” gathering to tell scary stories around a campfire, relating them to the viewer at the same time. While the original series was a strict anthology, the reboot elaborates a bit more on the lives of the Midnight Society themselves, with each season elaborating on a new frame story surrounding the morbid tales. From killer clowns to haunted dolls and vampire neighbors, Are You Afraid of the Dark? balances on the razor’s edge between terrifying and child-appropriate.

3

Tales From The Darkside

The pinnacle of 80s horror anthology talent

Though producer Richard P. Rubinstein did great work with Monsters, Tales from the Darkside was arguably his true magnum opus. Giving George A. Romero another shot at horror anthology madness beyond the Creepshow film, Tales from the Darkside was born out of Romero’s desire to continue the efforts of the film despite the intellectual property falling outside his grasp. Yet as a result, Tales from the Darkside was arguably scarier than the official Creepshow series.

The show featured episodes penned by some truly talented voices in horror, including Romero himself, Stephen King, and Clive Barker of Hellraiser fame. Many of these episodes were actually adaptations of pre-existing short stories, making the series a valuable showcase of more obscure literary horror that might have otherwise been overlooked. For the sheer richness in quality of the writing, Tales from the Darkside is still a venerated classic.

2

Black Mirror

Honed terror for the digital age

While many horror anthology shows thrive in the pulp speculative fiction of the past, Black Mirror is a distinctly modern take on the popular format. The Netflix original series’ name comes from the image of a powered-off smartphone, examining how the advancement of technology can inflict all sorts of previously unimaginable horrors on the human race. The episodes of Black Mirror range from taking place in a far-off future to an alarmingly possible modern day.

Some episodes of Black Mirror read as eerie warnings, whereas others simply exist as delightfully ghoulish thought experiments all in good fun. Whatever the case, the series is seldom boring, with hoardes of creative hypothetical gadgets and gizmos to terrify with existential dread. Progress always comes at a cost, and Black Mirror is still so beloved because it’s able to examine the price tag more closely.

1

The Twilight Zone

The progenitor of all horror anthology shows

It’s fair to say that the very format of the horror anthology series wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for The Twilight Zone. From the jarring theme music to Rod Serling’s stoic narration, it’s remarkable just how well The Twilight Zone has managed to remain in the pop culture zeitgeist despite originally airing as long ago as 1959. There’s a good reason why the series is still so ubiquitous today despite being decades old.

For one, the episodes of The Twilight Zone are relentlessly creative, with spooky premises that continue to capture the imagination and even remain famous in pop culture to this day. From gremlins perched on the wings of aircraft to bratty children with godlike powers, the black-and-white cinematography of the series only helps contribute to the eerie atmosphere each story was able to blanket its viewers in. The horror genre as a whole still owes a lot to The Twilight Zone.