Vulture's Brian Tallerico's The 40 Most Terrifying TV Episodes to Watch This Halloween (2020)
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- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsSam WaterstonHelen ShaverDick CavettWhile guesting on a talk show, horror novelist Jordan Manmouth claims he is immune to being frightened by the nightmarish creatures he creates - and comes to regret the taunt when he is terrorized by a black-caped phantom.
- DirectorDavid SemelStarsDylan McDermottConnie BrittonEvan PetersThe line between the living and the dead blurs on Halloween as two of the house's previous residents give the Harmons decorating advice.
- DirectorDavid SemelStarsConnie BrittonDylan McDermottEvan PetersWhile on a date with Violet, Tate is harassed by a group of bloody teens. Ben and Vivien are haunted by one of the house's newest guests.
- DirectorMichael UppendahlStarsZachary QuintoJoseph FiennesSarah PaulsonA new patient claiming to be Anne Frank exposes Arden's past. Kit learns why Grace was admitted to Briarcliff.
- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsZachary QuintoJoseph FiennesSarah PaulsonSister Jude digs up dirt on Arden. Kit makes a surprising confession. Bloody Face is unmasked.
- DirectorScott McGinnisStarsDavid BoreanazCharisma CarpenterGlenn QuinnCordelia falls in love with a rent-controlled apartment that turns out to be haunted, and a demon comes to collect on Doyle's loans.
- 1990–200022mNot Rated8.3 (1.4K)TV EpisodeDirectorRon OliverStarsAron TagerChristian TessierDaniel FinestoneA kid named Josh decides to prove that a fun house isn't haunted by stealing the nose of the clown who is supposed to haunt the place. He learns that the story isn't fiction when Zeebo pays him a little visit.
- DirectorHiro MuraiStarsDonald GloverBrian Tyree HenryLaKeith StanfieldWhen Darius goes to pick up a piano, he meets Teddy Perkins, a strange, eccentric man who makes him feel uneasy.
- DirectorDan TrachtenbergStarsWyatt RussellHannah John-KamenWunmi MosakuAn American traveler short on cash signs up to test a revolutionary new gaming system, but soon can't tell where the hot game ends and reality begins.
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsSarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonAlyson HanniganWhen everyone in Sunnydale loses their voice, the Scooby Gang must silently solve the mystery of the monsters who stole their ability to speak.
- 1997–200342mTV-PG8.9 (3.6K)TV EpisodeDirectorNick MarckStarsSarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonEmma Caulfield FordBuffy strikes up a conversation with a vampire who was once an acquaintance in high school. Dawn defends Joyce from a menacing creature.
- DirectorGreg YaitanesStarsAndré HollandMelanie LynskeyBill SkarsgårdMemories haunt Ruth Deaver.
- DirectorSteven PietStarsAmy ForsythAisha DeeJeff WardA college student is challenged by her friends into entering No-End House, an infamous attraction containing six different rooms, each more terrifying than the last.
- DirectorE.L. KatzStarsMaria StenBrandon ScottSteve M. RobertsonA newlywed couple find a mysterious door in the basement of their home.
- DirectorHettie MacdonaldStarsDavid TennantFreema AgyemanCarey MulliganSally Sparrow receives a cryptic message from the Doctor about a mysterious new enemy species that is after the TARDIS.
- DirectorDouglas MackinnonStarsPeter CapaldiJenna ColemanSamuel AndersonWhen ghosts of past and future crowd into their lives, The Doctor and Clara are thrown into an adventure that takes them to the very end of the universe.
- DirectorRobert KingStarsKatja HerbersMike ColterAasif MandviThe Catholic Church hires forensic psychologist Kristen Bouchard to determine whether a serial killer is possessed by a demon or merely a psychopath.
- DirectorJoe ChappelleStarsAnna TorvJoshua JacksonLance ReddickFringe Division seeks a man who has been harvesting transplanted organs, leaving victims with nearly nullified decay rates. Olivia faces the aftermath of Fauxlivia running her life.
- 198052mTV-146.6 (784)TV EpisodeDirectorTom CleggStarsNicholas BallRachel DaviesBrian CroucherA family move into a house that was the scene of a macabre murder years ago, but soon after moving in A series of strange events begin.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsHugh DancyMads MikkelsenCaroline DhavernasJack devises a plan to apprehend Hannibal, while Hannibal prepares for his departure. Will makes his decision, and it results in devastating consequences.
- DirectorMike FlanaganStarsMichiel HuismanCarla GuginoHenry ThomasA dark specter with an unsettling silhouette has haunted Nell since she was a girl. Now "the Bent-Neck Lady" is back -- and she's calling Nell home.
- DirectorLiam GavinStarsVictoria PedrettiOliver Jackson-CohenAmelia EveShe's seen it all. The memories come flooding back for housekeeper Hannah Grose as she reflects on the living and dead trapped at Bly Manor.
- DirectorBobby RothStarsNaveen AndrewsHenry Ian CusickEmilie de RavinAs Ben takes Locke to see Jacob and reveal the island's secrets, Ben's background on the island is exposed--as well as what happened to the Dharma Initiative.
- 2005–200759mTV-MA7.5 (9.8K)TV EpisodeDirectorJohn CarpenterStarsNorman ReedusColin FooUdo KierWith a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.
- 2005–200751mTV-MA6.5 (5.9K)TV EpisodeDirectorDon CoscarelliStarsBree TurnerAngus ScrimmJohn DeSantisWhile driving at night along a lonely road through the mountains, Ellen gets distracted by her radio and hits a car parked on the road. She faints and looks for help since her car does not start again. She meets Moonface pulling a woman in the woods. He's a deranged monster-like man that collects human bodies. She is abducted by Moonface, but she recalls the survival lessons of her husband Bruce as she faces and fights back against the killer.
- DirectorCraig William MacneillStarsNicole BeharieHamish LinklaterKaitlyn DeverA New Orleans socialite wrestles with her past.
- DirectorTimothy GalfasJeannot SzwarcStarsLaurence HarveyEd NelsonJoanna PettetSteven Macy lusts after his boss' wife and plans to use an earwig to be rid of him. / The government plays up to a genius' delusion that his dead daughter still lives so he can finish his experiments even though his mind is still clouded.
- DirectorGerd OswaldStarsScott MarloweKent SmithBarBara LunaA dustball caught in a vacuum cleaner gives birth to a mindless energy creature, which a research director uses to mercilessly exert unconditional control over his staff.
- DirectorWilliam FruetStarsRay BradburyWilliam ShatnerKeith DutsonA caring father, deeply traumatized by the constant bullying he suffered as a child at the local playground, is forced by his sister to face his demons and take his little boy to the same playground. However, the demons return as well.
- DirectorFabrice GobertFrédéric MermoudStarsAnne ConsignyFrédéric PierrotClotilde HesmeTensions are high between the living and the dead, as a newer, creepier wave of the returned descends upon them. With the townspeople in fear and the stakes higher than ever, everyone will have to choose sides.
- 2016–202547mTV-148.5 (27K)TV EpisodeDirectorMatt DufferRoss DufferStarsWinona RyderDavid HarbourFinn WolfhardAmerican scientists, working without oversight in an obscure laboratory in a backwater town, have managed to bring about the total destruction of mankind.
- DirectorPhilip SgricciaStarsJared PadaleckiJensen AcklesAlona TalAfter the events at the hospital, the brothers have no idea where the demon that killed their mother is hiding. While biding their time trying to come up with an idea, they investigate murders committed by a killer clown.
- 1989–199622mNot Rated7.7 (2.2K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJohn KassirMary Ellen TrainorLarry DrakeA greedy woman makes the mistake of murdering her husband while an escaped mental patient dressed in a Santa Claus outfit is on the loose.
- DirectorJosef Kubota WladykaStarsDerek MioKiki SukezaneCristina RodloMembers of a Japanese community encounter a cultural monster in an internment camp in California during World War II.
- DirectorAndy GoddardStarsJohn BarrowmanEve MylesBurn GormanIn the countryside north of Cardiff, the Torchwood team investigates the disappearance of 17 people in the last few months. No bodies have been found and the police haven't a clue as to what may have happened to them. They set up camp in a field but when their SUV is stolen and then parked in a small village just a few miles away, they realize they're being lured into a trap. In the village, they find the remains of several inhabitants - stripped of flesh and organs - and one terrified survivor who promptly shoots Gwen with a shotgun. With Ianto and Tosh taken prisoner, they all soon come to realize that people are being hunted.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsTelly SavalasMary LaRocheTracy StratfordA frustrated father does battle with his stepdaughter's talking doll, whose vocabulary includes such phrases as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you".
- DirectorAlvin GanzerStarsInger StevensAdam WilliamsLew GalloA young woman driving cross-country becomes frantic when she keeps passing the same man on the side of the road. No matter how fast she drives, the man is always up ahead, hitching her for a ride.
- 1985–198948mTV-PG7.1 (556)TV EpisodeDirectorRick FriedbergWilliam FriedkinTommy Lee WallaceStarsSeason HubleyNicolas SurovyScott GrimesStruggling with a major life decision, Carol Shelton meets a boy who seems to be stalking her. Shopper Janice Hammond buys an antique oil lamp that can grant wishes. Drifter Price shares his Vietnam War memories with diner patrons.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickCooper and the One-Armed Man inspect guests at the Great Northern. Hawk finds Harold Smith dead - with a mysterious suicide note and the diary torn to shreds. Leo speaks to Bobby about "new shoes."
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsAndrew LincolnJon BernthalSarah Wayne CalliesDeputy Sheriff Rick Grimes awakens from a coma, and searches for his family in a world ravaged by the undead.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonTucker SmallwoodThe remains of a murdered deformed infant lead the agents to a family of murderous, inbred, animal-like brothers living on a secluded farm in a remote section of Pennsylvania.
- DirectorHarry LongstreetStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonDoug HutchisonMulder and Scully search for a humanoid killer whose savage murder spree reoccurs every 30 years.
- DirectorDavid NutterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonDoug HutchisonEugene Tooms, a supernatural killer whom Mulder helped incarcerate, is released on parole.