Search results
Consistent unpredictability and guaranteed variety
- While the serialized series is always enjoyable, the beauty of the anthology formula is the consistent unpredictability and guaranteed variety that keeps audiences hooked.
collider.com/horror-anthology-shows-best-ranked/10 Best Horror Anthology Shows of All Time, Ranked - Collider
People also ask
Why are horror anthology series so popular?
Why is American Horror Story a great horror TV show?
Is there a horror anthology?
Will there be a horror anthology series with more iconic episodes?
Why is Castle Rock a great horror anthology TV show?
Why is the Twilight Zone a great horror anthology TV show?
Oct 12, 2020 · From American Horror Story to Scare Package, Books of Blood, and Welcome to the Blumhouse, there are so many new horror anthology movies and shows being released it begs the question: why now? Related: Slasher: Why The Netflix Series Is The Smartest Horror TV Show
- 10 Best Horror Anthology TV Shows, Ranked (According To ...
Throughout television history, the popularity of anthology...
- 10 Best Horror Anthology TV Shows, Ranked (According To ...
- Lights Out (1946; 1949–52) First of all, no, that first date is not a typo. Created by Wyllis Cooper, Lights Out began as a radio show in 1934 and made the jump to television in 1946 as a series of four specials, eventually earning an upgrade to a proper series in 1949.
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–65) The horror history of its titular presenter would be plenty enough to inspire most people to consider this long-running anthology worth a watch, but Alfred Hitchcock didn't just lend his name to the series.
- One Step Beyond (1959–61) Although created by Merwin Gerard and produced by Collier Young, the name most associated with this series is John Newland, who served as host and directed all 96 of the series' episodes over the course of its three-season run.
- The Twilight Zone (1959–64) What more can be said about the series that remains the gold standard for anthology series? Thanks to creator Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone is so venerable that it's been revived no less than three times since originally leaving the air in 1964, and, let's be honest...
- 10 American Horror Story (2011-) - 77%
- 9 Tales from The Crypt (1989-1996) - 82%
- 8 The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) - 82%
- 7 Black Mirror (2011-) - 84%
- 6 Nightmares & Dreamscapes (2006) - 85%
- 5 Castle Rock (2018-2019) - 88%
- 4 The Midnight Club (2022-) - 87%
- 3 Room 104 (2017-2020) - 88%
- 2 The Outer Limits (1963-1965) - 92%
- 1 Cabinet of Curiosities (2022) - 95%
Stream now on Netflix
American Horror Storyis a different breed of horror anthology series. While most before this presented a season of self-contained episodes of horror, this series created by Ryan Murphy had each season telling a horror story, and the anthology format was that every season was different. It also was unique because each American Horror Story seasonpresented a different subgenre of horror. While the first season was a ghost story, the following seasons included witch covens, freak shows, slasher...
Stream now on HBO Max
While most people think of the Crypt Keeper when talking about the HBO horror anthology TV series Tales From the Crypt, there is a lot more to remember than just the creature introducing the show. This was a series that brought in some big-name stars to tell horror stories influenced by EC Comics. This series had A-list stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas, John Lithgow, and young up-and-coming stars like Brad Pitt and Daniel Craig. When it comes to a horror...
Stream now on Peacock+
While Jordan Peele brought back The Twilight Zoneto Apple TV, not even his unique and singular approach could match the original. Creator Rod Sterling brought about the horror anthology series that mixed in some sci-fi and became the show that all others strived to match. However, even with its prestige, the show still ranks below others with an 82 percent rating. Regardless of the Rotten Tomatoes score, there might not be a horror anthology series with more iconic episodes. "Nightmare at 20,...
Stream now on Netflix
Black Mirroron Netflix is less horror and a little more sci-fi. However, the stories easily fit into the horror genre, as the theme of the series is a fear of technology. These shows present high-tech advancements and then reveal everything that can go wrong with it. Black Mirror followed American Horror Story in helping to make horror anthology TV shows popular again. However, it did a little more since it went back to the traditional format of stand-alone episodes. The series did try for on...
Not streaming at this time
Stephen King is The Master of Horror, but he is not only known for his spine-tingling novels. He is also a master at writing short stories, and he has a plethora of collections out of his short-form fiction. In 2006, TNT released a horror anthology series based completely on adaptations of King's short stories. This was also named after one of King's collections, called Nightmares & Dreamscapes. The best episodes from Nightmares & Dreamscapesfeatured some of King's most twisted tales. While s...
Stream now on Hulu
Castle Rock is a Stephen King horror anthology TV series that ranks even higher than Nightmares & Dreamscapes. What is most interesting about this Hulu series is that it is not based on a King story. Instead, this is influenced by King's stories and is set in the King-created town of Castle Rock, Maine. There are many things from King's stories here. Outside of Castle Rock, there is a trip to the Shawshank State Penitentiary, Ace Merrill from Stand By Me, and in Season 2, a very young Annie W...
Stream now on Netflix
The Midnight Club is still new enough to make a movie one way or the other in the eyes of Rotten Tomatoes critics. Released in 2022, this horror anthology TV series focuses on members of the Midnight Club, people who meet each night to tell each other scary stories and to look for signs of the supernatural in the real world. This is based on a book series and Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) serves as the co-showrunner. While the episodes remain book-ended by the storytellers, each...
Stream now on HBO Max
Room 104was an anthology TV series on HBO that was a hard one to categorize. Mark and Jay Duplass created the show, and it bounced around a variety of genres. There were action based episodes, horror ones, fantasy and sci-fi, funny ones, and even musical episodes. However, regardless of the genre, each episode had a tinge of something ominous behind the scene, making it fall squarely into the various horror sub-genres. Each episode took place inside the same room of a roadside motel - the hor...
Stream now on Roku & Pluto TV
While more people talk about The Twilight Zone as the horror anthology series that revolutionized the genre, The Outer Limits is the classic series with the highest Rotten Tomatoes score. It has a full 10 percent higher rating than The Twilight Zone, although it focuses on a lot more horror stories early on before going more sci-fi after the first season. Critics praised the series, one calling it B-movie horror that looked like a European art film. When recommending great episodes, critics o...
Stream now on Netflix
When Guillermo del Toro creates something horrific, fans usually buy-in and that happened with Cabinet of Curiosities. Not only is this the highest-rated horror anthology TV series according to Rotten Tomatoes, but its score rose after the first two weeks on Netflix. Much like the classic Masters of Horror, this brought together acclaimed horror directors and had them create new short horror tales for fans. Filmmakers involved include Vincenzo Natali (Cube), Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), Je...
- Senior Author
- The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) Stories include a flight passenger (William Shatner) convinced he sees something on the wing, a woman (Maxine Stuart) desperate to improve her looks with surgery, a book lover (Burgess Meredith) who becomes the sole survivor of a global disaster, and more.
- The Outer Limits (1963-1965) A collection of bizarre, thought-provoking, and unsettling stories — including a miner chosen to participate in an experiment to monitor the evolutionary process and a race of insect-like extra-terrestrials hoping to turn Earth into a prison planet — framed as an otherworldly force’s infiltration of the airwaves.
- Black Mirror (2011-Present) Average people contend with extraordinary situations that primarily involve technology and its domineering and transformative effects on the human psyche in the not-too-distant future.
- Tales From The Darkside (1983-1988) A graduate student suspecting there is something living in a veterinary school room closet, an angry radio show host (Jerry Stiller) who discovers the consequences of his cynical tirades, an adaptation of a Stephen King story about a magic word processor, and more make up the strange and scary stories in this series.
- Daniel Kurland
- Senior Staff Writer
- The Twilight Zone (1959) 5 Seasons, 156 Episodes. Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone has been infinitely imitated and most anthology series strive to be a fraction as strong as this brilliant storytelling platform for social commentary.
- Inside No. 9. 8 Seasons, 49 Episodes (Ongoing) Inside No. 9 isn’t strictly a horror series, but its creators and stars–Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton–are devout horror fans who can’t help but channel the genre.
- Tales From The Crypt. 7 Seasons, 93 Episodes. Tales from the Crypt speaks to the value of an effective “master of scaremonies” and the wisecracking Crypt Keeper has taken on a rich life beyond Tales from the Crypt.
- Tales From The Darkside. 4 Seasons, 90 Episodes. Tales from the Darkside often gets lost in the horror anthology shuffle of the '80s even though it still brings a lot to the table and establishes an original voice that's not just a watered down Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, or Outer Limits.
Oct 10, 2024 · From Night Gallery to American Horror Story, the best horror anthology series deliver a variety of spine-chilling stories and unforgettable thrills.
May 21, 2022 · While the influx of quality TV primarily consists of serialized shows (think, recurring cast, and ongoing storyline), there remains an equally entertaining batch of anthology series.
amazon.co.uk has been visited by 1M+ users in the past month
Browse new releases, best sellers or classics & find your next favourite book. Low prices on millions of books. Free UK delivery on eligible orders
