Every once in a while, a seemingly innocent TV show you know and love can throw you for a loop with an episode so creepy and frightening that it leaves a lasting impact on the viewer. Whether it’s a sitcom, an animated show or even something aimed primarily at children, showrunners and writers have a tendency to scare unexpected fans, whether they like it or not.
In honour of the Halloween season, we’ve taken a look at 10 examples of when a non-horror TV show decided to scare the living hell out of us. You have been warned!
Doctor Who – The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
For a show aimed at families, Doctor Who has a surprising track record of episodes and monsters that give people the shivers. From Blink to Flatline and even Midnight, the revival of this iconic sci-fi show delivered many spine-chilling instalments that could easily have made this list, but the one that started it all was the The Empty Child two-parter from Series One. The image of a child wearing a gas mask may already be eerie as it is, but the zombie-like behaviour of the creature, mixed with the chilling repeated phrase ‘Are you my mummy?’, made this story instantly iconic and utterly creepy at the same time. Thanks, Steven Moffat.
Inside No. 9 – Deadline
Inside No. 9 had its fair share of horror-adjacent episodes that played with audience expectations, but Deadline is the only instance where the show dived into full-on horror, leaving many fans scarred in the process. Broadcast on BBC Two on 28th October 2018, this live episode of the show started just like any other. However, things quickly take a turn for the worse as technical issues force them to air an old episode of Inside No. 9 titled A Quiet Night In in its place. In typical Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith fashion, though, all of this is part of the act. As ghosts wreak havoc with the broadcast, respected actors are killed on the studio floor, the transmission continues to glitch out, and jump scares ensue. In a similar vein to 1992’s Ghostwatch, Deadline put everyone who watched it on edge from start to finish, as it remains the scariest episode the show has ever produced.
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series – When Sparks Fly
This criminally underrated Spider-Man show from the early 2000s had plenty of unique takes on the pre-existing characters, such as The Lizard, Kraven the Hunter and Silver Sable. However, one of the most terrifying reimagined villains came in the form of Electro, who, in the episode When Sparks Fly, is treated like a creature from a horror film. The skeletal physique, the unsettling reversed messages he sends to Sally through her TV and his attempt to convert her into an electrical being like himself are handled in such a horrifically disturbing manner, and are made all the more chilling when you remember this is from a Spider-Man show of all things.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Genesis
Body horror and Star Trek rarely go hand in hand…unless you’re talking about the episode Genesis from Star Trek: The Next Generation. This disgusting episode doesn’t hold back in the slightest as we see several members of the Enterprise crew morph into humanoid amphibians, spiders and lemurs courtesy of an experiment by Dr Crusher. The results are these grotesque, hybrid abominations that rival the likes of David Cronenberg’s The Fly or John Carpenter’s The Thing. It’s a visceral moment in The Next Generation’s history, and one that fans won’t forget any time soon.
The X-Files – Home
Commonly cited as the most unsettling episode in the show’s entire run, Home offered a mix-up to the formula many had come to expect from The X-Files at that time, and the result was a disturbing experience, to say the least. Taking heavy inspiration from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Home is one of the most overtly horror-centric episodes the show ever had, offering everything from a mutated, inbred family to brutal murders. This one episode became so infamous and traumatic that it was pulled from rerun schedules by Fox due to its graphic content, even if it has now become a favourite among fans for those very reasons.
Family Guy – Seahorse Seashell Party
Family Guy rarely delves into the realm of horror; even when episodes get a little bit creepy, they still keep things lighthearted and focused on the comedy…Seahorse Seashell Party is the one exception to this. As a hurricane forces the Griffins to stay inside and ride it out, Brian decides to take mushrooms he’s secretly been storing in the house in case of an emergency. What follows is one of the most visually disturbing episodes the show has ever conceived of, with twisted imagery being thrown at the audience every few seconds, intense flashing sequences and even occasional jump scares. This episode is constantly regarded as one of the worst in the show’s entire run, and considering how different and horrific it is, I can completely understand why.
Firefly – Bushwhacked
A lot of sci-fi shows like to break up their flow with either a bottle episode or a self-contained thriller episode; Firefly’s Bushwhacked seemed to go for the second option. As this episode appears so early in the season, you’d expect it to be a run-of-the-mill sci-fi adventure, but that is clearly not the case. When the crew of the Serenity stumble across an abandoned transport ship, what follows is an intense and atmospheric instalment that leaves a chill down your spine whilst establishing the threat of the psychotic Reavers for the rest of the season.
Star Wars: Visions – Screecher’s Reach
The brilliant Star Wars: Visions allows different animation studios and artists to leave their own distinct mark on the Star Wars franchise. The likes of Aardman, Punkrobot, Studio Trigger and Project Studio Q have all brought their own unique styles to the series with great effect, but arguably the studio that left the biggest impact was the small Irish animation house Cartoon Saloon, which gave us the memorable but ghoulish short Screecher’s Reach. Besides the stunning animation on display, this short mixes the mythology of the Star Wars universe with Celtic folklore in an exciting yet macabre way that is reinforced with some truly sinister imagery.
Stargate Atlantis – Whispers
Compared to its parent show, Stargate SG-1, Atlantis wasn’t afraid to dip its toe into the creepy and unsettling. I mean, just one look at the Wraith proves this point. With that being said, this one episode from season 5, titled Whispers, delved further into horror than many fans were initially expecting. As Colonel Sheppard and Dr Beckett venture their way through dimly lit corridors, fighting Wraith-engineered mutants along the way, the blend of growing suspense alongside the zombie-esque appearance of the mutants themselves makes this a legitimately terrifying episode from the cult sci-fi show.
Not Going Out – Camping
Out of all the examples from this list, this one will probably surprise you the most. 99% of the time, Not Going Out is a reliably funny studio sitcom with constant one-liners and clever wordplay. However, during one episode where Lee, Tim, Daisy and Lucy agree to go camping together, things quickly go from hilarious to tense as they continue to be stalked from their car by individuals wearing clown masks. The episode still manages to keep the laughs coming, and the eventual reveal of why the masked people outside are stalking them is genuinely funny, but the remainder of the episode is filled with jump scares and tension that is unlike any other episode the show had done up to that point.
