Best supernatural TV shows ever, ranked - GoldDerby

It’s that time of year again, when it’s fun to give a scare, or even get a scare. Many TV programs offer up a special Halloween episode, some with a light tone and others adding a little mystery, but some TV shows are spooky year round.

People have always been fascinated with the unknown, and “The Twilight Zone” was one of the first series to successfully offer up episode after episode of bizarre stories. In the 1960s, sitcoms like “Bewitched,” “The Addams Family” and “The Munsters” offered a comic take on movie monsters and the occult, while also giving lessons on acceptance. In the 1990s, “The X-Files” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” became huge hits, developing cult followings and leading to the popularity of series featuring supernatural forces. Today, shows like “Stranger Things,” “The Walking Dead” and “Supernatural” have loyal viewers who eagerly await the next adventures of the heroes, and to see who will survive the latest supernatural occurrences.

We are ranking the 25 best supernatural shows from the past 60 years, just in time for Halloween. From the comical to the creepy, from witches to vampires to zombies to aliens, there’s a little something for everyone.

In addition to the shows mentioned above, our ranked photo gallery also includes “Charmed,” “Dark Shadows,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “American Horror Story,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Wizards of Waverly Place,” “True Blood” and more.

The Russo family seem like average folk, with a mom and dad who run a sandwich shop while raising three kids. However, the kids are actually wizards in training, which they inherited from their dad, and will have to eventually battle to see which one will become the Family Wizard, while the other two will become mortals. Not only do the parents have to deal with the usual sibling rivalry, but they also have to deal with their kids playing with real magic, dating vampires and werewolves – and trying to keep the rest of the world from knowing their secret.

Horrific classic literature characters terrorize Victorian London, abducting and mutilating innocents, and bringing to life otherworldly creatures. Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein and his Creature, Henry Jekyll, Count Dracula and Abraham Van Helsing are a few of the iconic characters who come together to create a psychological thriller like no other.

This spinoff from “The Vampire Diaries” follows the Mikaelson siblings, centuries-old vampires who are in fact “The Original” vampires. They are looking to take back New Orleans, the city they helped build, with eldest Klaus, a half-original vampire and half-werewolf, fighting for control with Marcel Gerard, a vampire he sired and mentored. The family must protect Klaus’s miracle baby while surviving turmoil among the various supernatural factions in the city – as well as come to terms with their own mysterious past.

Ichabod Crane (head intact) is propelled through time to the year 2013 by his wife, a witch, in order to save his life. As he learns to live in modern times, he teams with Lt. Abigail Mills to fight the evil forces that will lead to the End of Days. Combining Biblical prophecy and folklore legend, “Sleepy Hollow” is a masterful blend of fantasy and mystery with a dash of humor.

Homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt discovers that he’s a “Grimm,” a guardian tasked with keeping a balance between humanity and mystical creatures known as “Wesen.” With the ability to see the monsters who are masquerading as humans, Nick fights supernatural characters inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales, often with the help of a “Big Bad Wolf” turned informant.

Fairy tales come to life in Storybrooke, Maine, where the Evil Queen has sent the characters to live as mortals with no knowledge or memory of their true existence. Emma Swan is their only hope for rescue, as she is the only daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and was saved before the curse took effect. Characters from several different tales weave their way through the stories, and journeys are taken through fantastical worlds like Neverland and Camelot.

The family who lives at 1313 Mockingbird Lane aren’t the typical suburban family – but they think they are. Dad Herman is a Frankenstein-like monster, mom Lily is a vampire, their son is half-vampire, half-werewolf, Grandpa is a very old befuddled vampire and niece Marilyn is a blue-eyed blonde who is the family outcast. They just want to be an average family, and can’t imagine why anyone thinks they’re odd – even as they drive down the street in their hearse-like “Koach.”

This dark take on the Archie Comics series finds Sabrina Spellman torn between her human half trying to be a normal teenager and her witch half trying to embrace her darkness. With the aid of her witch aunts Hilda and Zelda and her warlock cousin Ambrose, Sabrina navigates the world of witchcraft, while her human friends Harvey (a descendant of witch hunters) and Jaz (a seer) try to keep her from straying too far into Satan’s world.

Secret Service Agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering are assigned to Warehouse 13, which stores seemingly ordinary artifacts that when possessed with supernatural energy can become very dangerous. This is the 13th Warehouse throughout history to hold these items, with a powerful country always home to the operation. Lattimer and Bering, along with their team, are now the ones responsible for hunting down these items and neutralizing them before they can cause harm.

Thanks to the creation of synthetic blood, vampires and humans are able to coexist; however, there are those on both sides that believe that harmony between the two cultures can never be attained. Telepath Sookie Stackhouse finds herself caught up in the conflict when she falls in love with 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton and also finds herself attracted to 1000-year-old vampire Eric. Shapeshifters, werewolves, witches and faeries also add to the mystery swirling around Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Yes, he’s THAT Lucifer. The beautiful and powerful angel cast out of Heaven. But after spending an eternity in Hell, he’s bored and decides to leave that kingdom and take up residence in Los Angeles, where he runs a nightclub and ends up as a consultant to the LAPD, working with Detective Chloe Decker. It’s certainly helpful to have the Devil himself on your side when fighting celestial and demonic threats, even as he’s fighting his own temptations to go back where he belongs.

Their house is like a museum, with oddities like a suit of armor and a bed of nails and pets that include a lion and a black widow spider. But for all their macabre tastes, Gomez and Morticia are loving parents to mad-scientist-in-training Pugsley and odd but sweet Wednesday. And they are always kind and accepting of any strangers who come into their home, and seem genuinely puzzled when those good folk want to run away at the sight of their giant butler Lurch or their other loyal servant, Thing, or Uncle Fester lighting up a bulb with his mouth, or Grandmama throwing knives, or Cousin Itt. . .

This comical take on the Archie Comics series finds Sabrina Spellman discovering her magical powers on her 16th birthday. Sabrina learns to control her magic with the help of her aunts Hilda and Zelda, as well as black cat Salem, a witch turned into a cat because he tried to take over the world. Mayhem swirls as Sabrina tries to be a “normal” teenager as well as catch the eye of her crush Harvey, while the world of magic wreaks havoc on her plans.

As a vampire cursed with a soul, Angel is tortured by memories of his horrific past deeds until he finds love with the vampire slayer Buffy and redemption by helping her fight forces of evil. However, part of the curse is that he loses his soul if he experiences true happiness, so he leaves Buffy to fight those same dark forces in Los Angeles in the form of a detective agency. With employees who have psychic abilities and friends of the demon variety, Angel fights the dark forces around him to help maintain peace and order in the human world and to retain his soul.

Vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore have a centuries-old very complicated relationship, which is further burdened by their shared love of Elena. The kind-hearted Stefan and the enigmatic Damon mend their differences, joining forces to protect Elena and their town, with their history being revealed as time goes on.

Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes awakes from a coma to discover that “walkers” have taken over the world during a zombie apocalypse. He becomes leader of a group of survivors who not only have to protect themselves against the walkers, but also other humans who will do anything to survive. The anticipation of seeing who will survive has led to a loyal viewer following and great critical acclaim, as well as the spinoff series “Fear the Walking Dead” and the promise of future spinoffs.

This anthology series offers up a different horror tale each season, some loosely based on actual events. From witches to haunted houses to cults to freak shows, “AHS” has delivered some of the most fascinating tales of the supernatural for the small screen, developing a solid cult following and receiving critical acclaim.

Haunted by the murder of their mother by a demon, brothers Sam and Dean Winchester follow in their father’s footsteps to hunt down these creatures. Together, they travel the country in their rigged-out 1967 Chevy Impala, going up against every kind of other-worldly creature, including demons, vampires, demigods, witches and even angels, in their quest to rid the world of the kind of evil that affected their family.

This gothic soap opera follows the wealthy Collins family who is plagued by mysterious occurrences and a tortured history, including a distant relative who is indeed the 200-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins. Featuring a parallel timeline that tells the vampire’s ill-fated love story and a cast of characters that includes witches, warlocks and werewolves, the wildly melodramatic storylines attracted a cult following that tuned in everyday to catch the next twist in the adventures of this mysterious family.

The Halliwell sisters discover they are the “Charmed Ones,” witches with varying powers who are tasked with keeping the world safe from dark forces. Prue, Piper, Phoebe and, later, Paige, use the “Power of Three” to defeat demons, ghosts and other worldly creatures.

Trouble brews when a witch marries a mortal, and her family disapproves of the mixed marriage. Samantha agrees to refrain from using her powers to satisfy her husband, but her meddlesome mother Endora, as well as an array of wacky aunts and uncles, are always “popping in” to wreak havoc in the mortal world. With nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz trying to figure out the crazy shenanigans, Samantha often has to put things right with a twitch of her nose.

Following the disappearance of Will Byers in the fall of 1983, his group of friends go on a mission to find him, and discover a secret government research lab, a portal to an alternate dimension called “the Upside Down” and a psychokinetic girl named Eleven. With monsters like the Mind Flayer and the Demogorgon terrorizing the good citizens of Hawkins, Indiana, and both the U.S. and Soviet Union trying to control the portal, this thrill ride pays homage to the best of 1980s horror and fantasy films.

You never know what will happen once you enter “The Twilight Zone.” Alien invasions, time travel, murderous dolls, twists of fate – anything could happen to those caught unaware in the fifth dimension. Each week, Rod Serling presented a new episode in which a bizarre event or circumstance ended with a surprise event, usually with a moral message. Masterfully blending sci fi, fantasy and horror, this program has greatly influenced later generations, with the majority of episodes still holding up 60 years later and a theme song that likely goes through your head anytime something weird happens.

FBI agent Dana Scully is skeptical when it comes to the existence of paranormal activity, but her partner Fox Mulder is a believer, determined to expose paranormal influences in the bureau’s unsolved case files. Despite their opposing views, the two form a strong bond (that later leads to romance), and uncover a number of government conspiracies and alien invasions, all while taking down other mutants and monsters that wreak havoc on Earth.

As the “Chosen One,” Buffy slays not only vampires, but also demons, gods, trolls and even the occasional robot. Defying the loner status assigned to her by fate, she is often aided by her best friend Willow, who becomes a powerful witch; a 1000-year-old revenge demon who has been turned human; and a couple of “reformed” vampires. Not only does Buffy go through the regular trials of growing up like failed romances, trying to fit in and family problems, but she also saves the world. A lot.