From 'Twilight Zone' to 'The Addams Family': TV's spookiest dramas and comedies

Oh, to be scared by ghosts on TV — and just before Halloween, too.

Except, in truth, TV ghosts are hard to come by.

Cinema has long been the go-to place for ghosts, but TV, not as much. TV is about stretching out stories while effective ghost tales are all about the abrupt and hair-raising shock, often the shorter the tale the better.

There have been plenty of successful horror franchises on TV, from "Supernatural" to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," from "True Blood" to "The Walking Dead."

But what about ghosts?

I've come up with a list of 10 notable dramas, and 10 comedies (which include some camp classics). They're spooky, but with an asterisk: Not all are entirely ghostly, while some have horror elements (inescapable, really) and lots of kitsch (ditto).

Nevertheless, these are certified spooky, or at least spooky-adjacent.

1. TWIN PEAKS, SEASON THREE (Paramount +, Pluto)

Is "Twin Peaks" — or the splendid third season — a "ghost story" or something that defies classification, as its creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, no doubt intended? Let's settle for ghosts: There was the ghost of Laura Palmer; the Log Lady's talking (and ghostly) log; the evil spirits of the Black Lodge; Killer Bob, the evil spirit who inhabited Leland Palmer (Ray Wise), and the doppelganger who took over Agent Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). Ghosts pretty much everywhere you looked in all three seasons (1990-91; 2017) but the third was the ghostliest of them all.

2. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (Netflix)

"A ghost can be a lot of things," says a character in this remarkably loose 2018 Netflix adaptation of the Shirley Jackson classic. A ghost can be "a memory, a daydream, a secret, grief, anger, guilt ... a wish." A ghost can also be evil, too. All of these "ghosts" are in this 10-parter about five kids who grow up in a haunted house, then deal with the lingering trauma as adults. "Haunting" really is about that trauma, for the most part. And while the late episodes can drag, the supernatural elements can also be jump-out-of-your-skin shocks. But that trauma is what makes this so searing, and tragic. 

3. THE X-FILES (Hulu)

To jog memories, there were essentially two kinds of "X-Files" (1993-2018) episodes — the so-called "mytharc" ones (alien conspiracy) and the monster-of-the-week ones, where Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny) literally chased after ghosts (or actual monsters — killer cockroaches, giant flukes, the occasional mutant and so forth). Because these were so ridiculous, they were often played for laughs, but not always. There was "Fresh Bones" (Season 2, Episode 15, about ghosts and Voodoo), or "Elegy" (Season 4, Episode 22, about the ghost of a murdered woman), or that arc late in Season 7 where Mulder searched for his missing sister. The fifth season's "Chinga" — haunted doll, partly written by Stephen King — is another example.

4. THE TWILIGHT ZONE (Paramount+)

Rod Serling wasn't particularly interested in ghosts. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of classic "Zone" (1959-64) ghost stories, including Season 1's "The Hitchhiker" (a dead lady who's followed by a ghost hitchhiker), or Season 4's "Death Ship" (a space ship's crew learns they are dead), and, most chillingly, Season 5's "Night Call," about the elderly lady whose dead fiance calls her from the grave.

5. AMERICAN HORROR STORY: MURDER HOUSE (Hulu, Prime Video)

While this series became progressively more Baroque and violent — less about ghosts, more about horrors — this fine first season (2011) was the exception. Full of ghost tropes, beginning with that house, this also introduced Ryan Murphy's (and Brad Falchuk's) excellent "AHS" stock company (Evan Peters, Frances Conroy, Denis O'Hare, Jessica Lange, among them). A true and memorable scare fest.

6. TALES FROM THE CRYPT (YouTube)

Adapted from the long-running EC Comics series of the same name, this HBO anthology (1989-96) was in fact more preoccupied with horror than with ghosts, but there were a few wild ghost tales, too — Season 2's "Television Terror," about a haunted hospital, and the doomed TV reporter who investigates, or Season 7's "The Third Pig" (yes, about pig ghosts). But the creepiest part was always John Kassir's peerless "Cryptkeeper" who appeared at the outset of every episode. You can't stream these episodes anywhere because of a complex decades-long rights dispute but a couple of seasons are available on YouTube.
 

7. THRILLER (YouTube)

Arriving at the end of his long career, this ghost-horror anthology was hosted by Boris Karloff who starred in a few memorable episodes, too. But every big name in Hollywood seemed to want a piece of this over its short (1961-62) and lamentably forgotten run. You can catch the whole glorious thing on YouTube — and do check out the memorable turn by a young Rip Torn in "The Purple Room."

8. PENNY DREADFUL (Prime, Hulu, Paramount +)

Showtime's three-season (2014-16) Gothic horror series probably had too much crammed into it — Dorian Gray, Frankenstein, Count Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde — but at least there were ghosts, or unseen malevolent spirits, crowding the screen, too. If you haven't seen it yet, the pilot sets up the whole shebang quite nicely (and spookily). The cast is outstanding — Timothy Dalton as the wealthy adventurer and would-be ghost slayer; Reeve Carney as Gray; Eva Green as a woman battling those unseen spirits; Simon Russell Beale as an Egyptologist; and Northport's Patti LuPone, as a shrink (in Season 3), to name a few.

9. CHANNEL ZERO (Shudder)

This Syfy series lasted four seasons (2016-19), but packed a solid ghostly wallop, particularly the fourth season about a contortionist ghost named Pretzel Jack. The first season ("Candle Cove") — about a haunted and singularly evil kids TV show — starred Paul Schneider as a guy who returned to his Ohio hometown to investigate that show's ties to some unexplained murders. "Channel Zero" was something of a novelty because it was based entirely on "creepypasta," or horror content that was shared on the web (Slender Man was a famous example).

10. NIGHT GALLERY (Prime Video)

This Rod Serling anthology (first a 1969 TV movie, then a series from 1970-73) was a novel concept — ghostly art gallery filled with paintings which have an unfortunate habit of coming to life (so to speak). Some of these episodes haven't aged well (you can buy them for a couple bucks each on Prime to see for yourself), but many are fun and appropriately spooky, like "The House," about a house haunted by a daytime ghost, or "The Cemetery" (family crypt, restless spirits — you know, the usual).

COMEDIES/CAMP

What about sitcoms — or spooky sitcoms, which sounds just like the oxymoron that it is? In fact, there are plenty of those, too, although most are comic-horror (think Starz's "Ash vs. the Evil Dead") while the classics ("The Addams Family") are about as spooky as that dust bunny you've been meaning to vacuum up.

Nevertheless, these shows occupy the alt-universe to the spooky dramas: Sunny, for the most part, and scare-free. But they are all fun, occasionally funny.

Then there's the camp, which is its own form of fun.

Let's begin with the champ of camp.
1. DARK SHADOWS (Tubi)

"Shadows" (1966-71) was gloriously, outrageously, unapologetically campy — one of the great camp romps of TV history, with a cult following to this day. Millions arrived home from school to watch the adventures of Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) and the paranormal calamities that befell his family. This show remains one of their happiest TV memories (though hard to believe anyone was ever scared by this).

2. THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Paramount+)

As familiar and beloved as any TV show in history, "The Addams Family" may also be the only one that needs absolutely no introduction (just in case — that kooky family on Cemetery Lane made up of Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Lurch and Thing.) Hard to imagine this lasted just two seasons (1964-66) and 64 episodes but each remains as fun as the day it aired.

3. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (Hulu)

Those vampire roomies who "lived" on Staten Island never got the Emmy attention they deserved — "Shadows" (2019-24) wrapped six seasons in December — but fans could have cared less. This sendup of vampirism was both priceless and immortal, just like Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja and Colin.

4. THE MUNSTERS (Peacock, Tubi)

Speaking of shadows, "The Munsters" has long remained in that long one cast by "The Addams Family," which had more cultural resonance from the beginning. (This, too, aired from '64 to '66, and was just 70 episodes.) But recall Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Eddie and Marilyn (aka the "normal" Munster), and you will recall a show nearly as fun as its rival on ABC.

5. PUSHING DAISIES (HBO Max)

"Life, death and life again" was the tagline for this droll fantasy about Ned (Lee Pace), the pie maker who could bring dead people back to life with a touch. Audiences (and ABC) gave this fantastical and imaginative tour-de-force from Bryan Fuller only two seasons (2007-09), but that was plenty.

6. DEAD LIKE ME (Prime Video)

Not to be confused with 2019's "Dead to Me" (as if), this 2003-04 genre bender was about a young woman who was killed by a toilet that fell from the orbiting MIR space station. After her death, George (Ellen Muth) became a "reaper" who had to collect a quota of souls. Most of the main characters (including Mandy Patinkin) were ghosts, or reapers, so — yes — this was a ghost story that Showtime never quite got behind. Fuller, who also created this, bolted after just five episodes.

7. GHOSTS/GHOSTS (CBS, Paramount+)

There are (were), in fact, two "Ghosts" — the original U.K. Britcom (2019-2023) and the CBS adaptation (since 2021). The latter is about Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) who inherit Woodstone Manor, ghosts included; and the former about Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) who inherit Button House, ghosts included. (Both Sam and Alison have near-death experiences that enables them to see said ghosts.) Which show is better? Your call (both stream on Paramount+), but my vote goes to the Brit version.

8. BEWITCHED (Hulu)

A witch, Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery), marries a mortal (first, Dick York, then Dick Sargent) and — presto! — an eight-year-long hit materializes out of thin air. The real magic of "Bewitched" (1964-72) was Montgomery, and her witchy mother Endora (Agnes Moorehead).

9. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (YouTube)

Carolyn Muir (Hope Lange), a writer and widowed mother, moves into a haunted seaside house in Maine. And ... cue the ghost, 19th century sea captain Daniel Gregg (Edward Mulhare). Despite the source material (a hit 1947 movie with Gene Tierney) and two consecutive best actress Emmys for Lange, this sitcom of doomed ghost love never took off, lasting just two seasons. But it was a charmer, as you can see for yourself. 

10. KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER (Peacock)

Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin), dogged reporter for a Chicago news outlet, chases ghosts, werewolves and vampires for his scoops, which rarely fail to get published. As mid-'70s kitsch, this has aged reasonably well because McGavin was always in on the joke.