Horror as a genre remains significantly more popular in movies than in TV shows, but that doesn't mean that small screen projects in the genre are lacking, especially in the 2000s. Now, the popularity of Mike Flanagan's Netflix projects reaffirms that there's a market for horror TV. Gillian Anderson became famous for portraying Dana Scully on The X-Files — a highly successful horror show, but also one of the longest-running ones. Supernatural has the title of the longest-running horror show in TV history and is the longest-running sci-fi show after Doctor Who. So, horror is clearly popular beyond the big screen.

For instance, the sci-fi TV show that should be remade since it got canceled too soon in 1998. Like Brimstone, many great 2000s horror TV shows have been forgotten.

10 Harper's Island (2009)

1 Season, 13 Episodes

Katie Cassidy, famous for playing Arrow's Laurel Lance, a female TV show character who deserved a better ending, stars as Trish in Harper's Island. Trish is getting married in the titular location, and her fiancé's best friend, Abby Mills, who is the protagonist of the show, finally returns there after 7 years. She had been sent away by her father, a police detective, after his wife was murdered by a serial killer as part of his killing spree.

Soon after Abby's dreaded return to her homeland, a new spree of murders begins, and this time, everyone is a suspect. Harper's Island is an atmospheric limited series with unexpected twists and turns. The ending scene is quite unforgettable, and while the show garnered significant viewership during its first time on air, especially for its final episode, it is rarely talked about today. A slow burn, it uses its 13-episode run to gradually build anticipation as more and more murders and secrets are revealed.

9 Masters of Horror (2005 – 2007)

2 Seasons, 26 Episodes

A uniquely entertaining horror show, Masters of Horror is a must-watch for fans of the genre. Conceived by long-time horror filmmaker Mick Garris, who also directed an episode in each season, the series is like a showcase for famous horror directors. Masters of Horror is an anthology show where each episode, practically an hour-long horror film, is directed by a different master of the genre, based on a story and a screenplay of their choice.

Imprint, the finale of the first season, was never aired because of concerns over its disturbing content, despite its mature rating.

Masters of Horror naturally doesn't have a specific style to it, but instead contains elements in each episode that are trademarks of their directors. It was a hit when it aired, and some of the episodes even had theatrical releases in various parts of the world. The standout episode from the first season is Imprint, directed by Takashi Miike, famous for directing Audition, which features a shocking scene that makes viewers audibly gasp. From John Carpenter to Dario Argento, some great directors worked on the episodes, and the show deserves more recognition.

8 Glory Days (2002)

1 Season, 9 Episodes

Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplay for Scream and created Ghostface, a horror movie character who helped reshape genre expectations, also created a horror show in 2002. Williamson had previously created another iconic and famous sensation – Dawson's Creek – considered one of the best teen shows of all time. He intended to maintain a similar tone, but for the horror genre. However, he was told to make Glory Days a mystery show.

Eddie Cahill, who was already famous for portraying Rachel Greene's attractive assistant in Friends, stars as the protagonist.

The mess that resulted from the studio intervention justifies why the show got canceled after a mere 9 episodes. Eddie Cahill, who was already famous for portraying Rachel Greene's attractive assistant in Friends, stars as the protagonist. He's a novelist who returns to his hometown after mysterious occurrences are reported there. While the few episodes that aired and are available surely don't do justice to Williamson's vision, the show deserves to be talked about, and that might hopefully create interest in a reboot.

7 The Chronicle (2001 – 2002)

1 Season, 22 Episodes

The Syfy Channel, known for underappreciated sci-fi TV shows like Childhood's End and Killjoys, aired another underrated show in the early 2000s, called The Chronicle. It follows the experiences of a newly jobless reporter who s the titular tabloid in search of a profession. What he didn't sign up for, however, is learning that monsters and mutants are real, and they need to be fought off to protect humanity.

Featuring a dragon and a Bigfoot, The Chronicle depicts bizarre sci-fi phenomena, and it's unfortunate that such a lovely show got canceled after just one season. Mark Sumner's News from the Edge novel series served as inspiration for the show. It adopts a unique blend of comedy and horror, using a monster-of-the-week pattern for its imaginative episodes. It was originally meant to be a lighthearted version of The X-Files with half-an-hour-long episodes on NBC, but the network ed on it. The SciFi channel then picked it up for hour-long episodes.

6 Dead Set (2008)

1 Season, 5 Episodes

In 2011, one of the most popular sci-fi shows of all time aired on Channel 4. Black Mirror, which continues to charm audiences with its uniquely imaginative dystopia-of-the-week structure, is screenwriter and showrunner Charlie Brooker's Magnum Opus. But before he started working on the anthology, he had created another unique horror TV show in 2008, based on another E4 show — Big Brother.

Six weeks after Big Brother's finale aired, the first episode of Dead Set was released. It follows people who are working on a fictional season of Big Brother, where a zombie outbreak occurs during the filming of the episodes. In some ways, it is similar to Silo, a sci-fi TV show with an excellent mystery element, as the survivors create a make-shift fortress for themselves to hide from the zombies. Brooker's signature dark sense of humor can be found in the character interactions, which create drama for the survivors as they clash with each other all the time.

5 FreakyLinks (2000 – 2001)

1 Season, 13 Episodes

Haxan Films, the studio behind The Blair Witch Project, which was followed up by one of the worst movie sequels of all time, created the show FreakyLinks. The show aired on Fox a year after their famous film had been released in theaters. They continued their work in the found-footage genre with the show as well, which features some memorable jumpscares, but it unfortunately got canceled after 13 episodes. It does have a cult following today, but the show deserves more attention and a possible revival as a new The X-Files.

After his twin mysteriously dies, Derek Barnes takes over his brother's website FreakyLinks.com and decides to run it with the help of his friends. The website investigates claims of rumored supernatural phenomena in the world, and FreakyLinks follows the central trio of characters as they track down such rumors for their work. Alongside reporting on supernatural occurrences, they plan to use the site's resources to track down what happened to Derek's brother.

4 Rose Red (2002)

1 Season, 3 Episodes

One of the most popular horror TV shows in recent years is Mike Flanagan's 2018 Netflix Original series The Haunting of Hill House. It is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name. The same novel was adapted by Robert Wise over half a century before Flanagan's show came out. That film, titled The Haunting, inspired Stephen King to write a screenplay for Rose Red, which was meant to be a loose adaptation of Wise's movie.

Stephen King had originally hoped Steven Spielberg would be interested in making the movie based on his pitch for Rose Red, but within 4 years of his pitch, the remake film came out, and the plans had to be scrapped.

After the movie was remade in 1999, King's screenplay was expanded into a teleplay and turned into a three-episode-long limited series in 2002. Rose Red follows Dr. Joyce Reardon, played by Nancy Travis, who is known for her role as Vanessa Baxter in the sitcom Last Man Standing. Reardon leads a team of scientists who attempt to record data at the titular mansion, so they can prove the existence of paranormal phenomena. They awaken a vengeful spirit and deaths follow as a consequence. Fans of Flanagan's Haunting series should check out this forgotten show.

3 Night Visions (2001 – 2002)

1 Season, 13 Episodes

The obscurity of some older TV shows and movies can be attributed not to a lack of interest, but simply a lack of accessibility. Fox's unique horror show Night Visions is one such series. Apart from the rare occasional rerun on a niche channel, all that remains of it are old VHS recordings. Henry Rollins was the uncredited host of the anthology show that aired thirteen hour-long episodes, each consisting of two half-an-hour segments.

Some brilliant directors, including Tobe Hooper and Joe Dante, worked on it.

Each segment would deal with a certain kind of macabre experience, from murderous bears and the afterlife to serial killers and unhinged individuals. The show featured a stacked cast of brilliant actors, including Timothy Olyphant, Pam Grier, Malcolm McDowell, Bill Pullman, and Natasha Lyonne, who also starred in Russian Doll, another short and excellent sci-fi TV show to binge in a day. Several great directors, including Tobe Hooper and Joe Dante, worked on it, and hopefully, someday Night Visions will be reappraised, so everyone can access it.

2 Kingdom Hospital (2004)

1 Season, 13 Episodes

Lars von Trier is known for making disturbing and dystopian cinema that explores the extreme depths of depravity in humanity. Hot off the success of Europa in 1991, Trier created The Kingdom in 1994, naming David Lynch's Twin Peaks, a beloved TV show that should never be rebooted, as one of his inspirations. The show aired a second season in '97, and a third in 2022.

Stephen King wrote the teleplay for the American remake of the show in 2004. King had initially conceived it as a miniseries, but it was later developed into a 13-episode-long show, that unfortunately wasn't renewed for another season. The titular Kingdom Hospital is a hospital built to replace an older one that burned down, on the site of a mill that served the military during the Civil War. Spirits haunt the premises and a psychic woman goes there to seek out a cynical doctor so she can uncover the truth behind the haunting.

1 Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006)

1 Season, 8 Episodes

Stephen King adaptations aren't always promising, even when the author himself is present. One of the authors who often writes his own movie and TV adaptations, King created the anthology show based on stories from his collection, Nightmares & Dreamscapes. Three of the episodes are adaptations of stories outside the collection, but the rest are based on stories from it.

While it can be a mixed bag at times, Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King is a fascinating collection of stories that fans of the author's work will undoubtedly appreciate. It features some remarkable talent in front of the camera and behind it, and was even nominated for five Emmy Awards in 2007, of which, it won two. William H. Macy, who was nominated for an Emmy for his role in one of the episodes, delivers a standout performance, but the show also features other great actors like William Hurt and Ron Livingston.