Channel Zero is a rare kind of anthology horror series. Over its run, it managed to produce four visually stunning, well-acted, and original tales of terror. Created by Nick Antosca, the SyFy series takes Creepypastas from the Internet and transforms them into artistic, compelling television.
After its fourth season ended in 2018, SyFy officially canceled the series. While you can watch all four seasons on the new horror streaming service Shudder, there exists a slew of other horror anthology series that adapts the same cerebral tone and style as Channel Zero. This list compiles 10 such series. They may span decades and range in their approaches to storytelling, but they are all guaranteed to make you think without compromising hair-raising thrills.
Night Visions (2001 - 2002)
Punk rocker Henry Rollins serves as host for Fox's short-lived series that sought to update the classic primetime scary story for the new millennium. Taking queues from cross-genre predecessors like The Twilight Zone, each episode of Night Visions includes two creepy tales. The vignettes are directed by some of the best names in horror such as Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper, and Ernest Dickerson.
Despite receiving positive reviews, Night Visions' dark and violent tone proved too much for mainstream cable audiences, and it only lasted one season. The series also boasts a star-studded list of actors including Malcolm McDowell, Timothy Olyphant, and Bridget Fonda.
The Haunting (2018 - Present)
The Netflix original series The Haunting of Hill House is considered one of the best series of 2018. Inspired by the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name, it follows a family whose tragic undoing is brought on by moving into the haunted Hill House. An ensemble, modern reimagining, the show is created by Mike Flanagan.
What some fans may not know is Flanagan's intention from the start was to use the series as the starting point for an anthology based on classic literary works of horror. Connected under the umbrella title The Haunting, Flanagan's next venture is inspired by Henry James's oft-adapted novella The Turn of the Screw. The latest series, The Haunting of Bly Manor, is set to be released later in 2020.
Thriller (1960 - 1962)
For a few magical years on NBC, genre icon Boris Karloff hosted a macabre anthology show that features gothic tales, detective mysteries, and, of course, thrillers. In each episode of intrigue, Karloff always includes the line, "As sure as my name is Boris Karloff, this is a thriller!"
After going through a series of writers, the show's producers stuck with William Frye for the duration. Frye gave the series the horrific edge it's known for. Over its two year run, Thriller generated 67 chronicles featuring a spate of well-known actors. Karloff himself stars in five episodes. Other memorable actors include Leslie Nielsen, Mary Tyler Moore, Rip Torn, and John Carradine.
Lore (2017 - 2018)
Fans of spooky podcasts are already familiar with Lore. The podcast, hosted by Aaron Mahnke, employs a dramatic monologue style to share stories about unexplained phenomena, supernatural events, and strange historical occurrences that inform the current state of folklore.
The series, which aired on Amazon Prime for two seasons, mimics the podcast's anthology format, and each episode tells a stand-alone story. The episodes include fictionalized accounts of real people and real events, from murderous Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Bathory to occult rocket scientist Jack Parsons. It merges documentary footage and reenactments, blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Lore includes performances from Robert Patrick, Holland Roden, and Adam Goldberg.
Out of the Unknown (1965–1971)
This is the series for fans of British horror and science fiction. Out of the Unknown aired on BBC2 for six years, and it features four seasons of intellectual cross-genre stories full of dread and hallucinatory imagery. Even though the series was initially commissioned to compete with other popular sci-fi series like Doctor Who and Lost In Space, showrunner Irene Shubik ultimately decided to take a more experimental and high-brow route.
Some of its 49 episodes were written just for the show, but most were adapted from stories by popular authors of speculative fiction. Contributors include Isaac Asimov, Rad Bradbury, and J.G. Ballard. Unfortunately, only 20 of the show's episodes have survived.
Tales From The Darkside (1984 - 1988)
Night of the Living Dead director George Romero created this horror anthology series for late-night syndication. It lasted four seasons, and each of its 90 episodes includes a single-story ending with a strange plot twist. While horror at its core, Tales from the Darkside incorporates science fiction, fantasy, and dark comedy.
Like other series on this list, the show adapts literary works from popular genre authors at the time. These authors include Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, and Clive Barker. Tom Savini is a frequent director, and Romero himself wrote multiple episodes.
Castle Rock (2018 - )
Hulu's Castle Rock is one of the most audacious and obtuse horror anthologies in recent years. Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, the series situates its events in the worlds and scenarios described in the various novels and stories written by the most popular horror novelist of all time, Stephen King.
Castle Rock's two seasons both unfold in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Loosely connected in supernatural themes and geography, they both feature talented actors trying to understand the complex, nightmarish forces at work beneath the scenes in the small town they inhabit. The first season stars Andre Holland, Bill Skarsgaard, and Sissy Spacek. The second season stars Lizzy Caplan, Tim Robbins, and Paul Sparks. Mythological and violent, this mesmerizing series defies expectations and answers.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962)
The king of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, maintained a prolific television career that matches his command over chilling feature films. His best anthology series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, aired on both CBS and NBC over a 10-year span. At a time when censorship laws prohibited movies and television from depicting explicit violence or sexuality, Hitchcock managed to make some of the most important films and television shows in horror history, works that still provide scares to this day.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, renamed the Alfred Hitchcock Hour between 1962 and 1965, combines classic suspense and horror flawlessly. Hitchcock only directed two episodes over the show's run, using his name to provide a platform for other writers and directors. One of the more famous episodes, based on the Roald Dahl story "Man from the South," stars Steven McQueen and Peter Lorre. McQueen plays a man who bets his own finger he can produce a flame with his lighter 10 times in a row.
Masters of Horror (2005–2007)
Inspired by a series of dinners he hosted in his Hollywood home with fellow horror movie directors, Mick Garris struck a deal with Showtime to showcase the work of his fellow genre filmmakers. Named after the title bestowed upon the meals by Guillermo del Toro, Masters of Horror aired for two seasons and features 60-minute episodes directed by the biggest names around.
Based on scripts and short stories from various sources, each film-length episode went on to inform series like Hulu's Into the Dark. Directors include John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, Dario Argento, and Quentin Tarantino.
The Terror (2018 - )
The Terror is another season-to-season anthology series based on disparate sources. The first season is based on Dan Simmons's novel of the same name, a fictionalized retelling of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition in 1845 to 1848. Starring Jared Harris, the first season received praise for its top-notch acting and chilling atmospherics.
The second season of the AMC series focuses on WWII-era California, where thousands of Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps. Both seasons combine history and horror in exciting and dramatic ways, adding supernatural and spectral elements to these already dreadful ordeals.