One of the most creative shows in recent years is HBO's Lovecraft Country; based on the book of the same name by Matt Ruff and set in the Jim Crow-era South, the show follows Atticus Freeman, a young Korean War veteran who goes on a road trip with his uncle and childhood friend to search for his missing father. Along the way, they encounter strange phenomena inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft that go hand in hand with the cruelties of racism that were present during that era.
Lovecraft Country is just one of many shows that puts a unique spin on the horror genre for television; at the same time, there are just as many other horror novels that could do the same if adapted successfully (even if some have already been adapted).
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Essentially a mixture of Scooby-Doo and Stephen King's It, Meddling Kids focuses on the Blyton Summer Detective Club, a group of teens who solved mysteries in the town of Blyton Hills. Their last case was in 1977, when they stopped a crook dressed as a lake monster. The group split up since then due to suffering deep psychological trauma, and not from the guy in the costume; there was something more sinister there that night, and it might not have been human. Believing that their collective suffering stems from that unsolved case, the group reunites in 1990 to figure out what actually happened.
There's much more to this book than that synopsis will allow, but it's an engrossing mix of Lovecraftian-style horror, subversive humor and three-dimensional character work that could work wonders as a miniseries on a cable network or streaming service.
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Though Seth Grahame-Smith's mashup novel was already made into a film back in 2012, it mostly skimped on the book's brilliant weaving of horror and historical events in favor of more over-the-top, bloody action scenes. Though even so, there's only so much one can fit into a movie.
The book goes through Lincoln's entire life, and a TV adaptation would have more time to go into his motivations, his relationship with his mentor Henry Sturges, and the balancing of his vampire-slaying duties with his political duties. Similar to Lovecraft Country, this show could go deeper into exploring racial attitudes though a horror lens, especially when it comes to the depiction of slavery.
Needful Things by Stephen King
Needful Things is set in the town of Castle Rock (a common location for a lot of King's stories), where one day a new shop opens up called "Needful Things". Owned by a mysterious elderly man named Leland Gaunt, the shop sells items that fit the desires of each of the town's inhabitants; Gaunt gives away each item to that person in exchange for them pulling a prank on someone else in town. These pranks soon escalate from harmless to destructive, with Sheriff Alan Pangborn trying to contain the chaos and end Gaunt's manipulations.
The novel itself is divisive among King's fans, and the 1993 film adaptation wasn't too successful. But the TV medium would allow for more time to get invested in the characters before they're let loose on each other, and could be told either in a season of the TV series Castle Rock or as a separate series altogether.
World War Z by Max Brooks
With the World War Z sequel being canceled, it might be worth it to start from scratch and adapt the original novel for television.
Because the novel is made up of interviews from survivors of a zombie plague, a series could function like an anthology, where a different survivor gets interviewed in each episode. Every personal account would reveal more information about how the plague might have started, how the world reacted, and what efforts were to made to combat the infection (if at all). Given the country's current situation, a series could hit much closer to home than we realize.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend has been adapted to film no less than three times, with each version straying from the author’s work. And while most would insist that a novel that's already had three adaptations should be left alone at this point, there's no denying the potential that I Am Legend would have on television, most fittingly as a miniseries.
There would be more time to explore how much the vampire pandemic has ravaged the world, as well as the months and eventually years that Robert Neville has spent trying to develop a cure. With the right creative team on board, maybe there's hope for this story yet.
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
Carrion Comfort focuses on a group of psychics who possess what’s called “The Ability”; this allows them to control the actions of others from a distance and make them do whatever they want (which includes murder) and have influenced multiple events throughout history. The story takes place over several timelines, mainly following a group of investigators on the trail of these psychics (some more sinister than others) in the 1980’s.
A TV series could benefit from the unique murder mystery aspect of the story, not to mention the different time periods the psychics show up in, allowing more time to delve into their abilities and their effect on history.
Herbert West-Reanimator by H.P. Lovecraft
While it's hard to imagine anyone playing Herbert West as well as Jeffrey Combs did in the 1985 film, there's no doubt that the story could in fact work for television with the right direction. The film isn't a completely faithful adaptation, and there are some elements that could be revisited.
One such element is the relationship between West and the narrator: the narrator is horrified by what West's serum is capable of and how conflicts with his existential beliefs, while West is a complete narcissist who cares very little about humanity. Balancing this dynamic in the midst of the more visceral horror would allow a new version of this story to stand on its own from the previous one.
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Z Brewer
This YA series focuses on Vlad, a young vampire whose parents were killed in a house fire. Growing up with his aunt Nelly and best friend Henry, he experiences the typical anxieties of school life--bullies, crushes, etc.--while also trying to navigate the difficulties of being a vampire in a world where there are many who want him dead.
Taking place over five books, readers see Vlad grow more conflicted with his potential destiny while trying to keep his true nature a secret from others (aside from Nelly and Harry). With plenty of interesting characters and material to work with, a TV adaptation could do justice by this series over several seasons.
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
While he's best known for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Chbosky's follow-up novel was a huge departure from that coming-of-age story. A mother moves with her son to Pennsylvania to escape an abusive relationship, and things seem fine at first.
It's only when the son goes missing for several days and returns with a voice in his head telling him to build a treehouse that things start to unravel. While it sounds somewhat similar to the ABC series The Whispers, this is a more confined story that still manages to channel an unsettling tone, drawing from the works of writers like Stephen King. A miniseries would work best for this one.
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
Werewolves aren’t as common in media nowadays as they once were, but with the popularity of Teen Wolf and a Wolf Man remake starring Ryan Gosling in the works, the bloodthirsty beasts of yore seem to be making a comeback.
Jones's Mongrels serves not just as a well-told, often funny werewolf tale, but also a coming-of-age story, as a young boy grapples with his place in the world while dealing with his unique affliction. The boy ages from 7 to 17 over the course of the story, leaving plenty of room for a series to explore this narrative.