My Love for Horror Anthologies

One type of horror film/television show I’ve always enjoyed has been the classic horror anthology. Growing up there was no shortage of these, with several of them even aimed for children my age like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Goosebumps, and the children’s animated Tales from the Cryptkeeper, based off the much more adult Tales from the Crypt.

I think a large part of my love for these horror anthologies can be attributed to my dad. He’s the one who got me into watching them, introducing me at a young age to horror gems like Creepshow, Tales From the Darkside, Twilight Zone, and Cat’s Eye to name a few. They’re movies and shows (and in some cases both) that we’ve always liked watching together, especially this time of year. I think that’s why this sort of horror will always hold a special place in my morbid little heart. ❤

That said, let’s do this! There are too many of these sorts of films/shows to possibly get to them all in a single post, so I’m just going to discuss some of my top favorites with you guys. Please feel free to let me know what ones top your list. I’d love to hear about them! 🙂

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Creepshow (1982) & Creepshow 2 (1987)

These collaborations of George A. Romero and Stephen King are fantastic. Especially the first one, which is one of my favorite horror anthologies of ALL TIME. The film features on-screen cameos from Stephen King himself, along with his son Joe Hill, as well as the likes of horror icon Tom Savini. I’d have to say my favorite of the tales of terror in the first film is without a doubt, “The Crate”. It both terrified and fascinated me as a child.

In the second Creepshow film, “The Raft” is the story that takes the cake for me, telling the tale of some stranded teenagers being terrorized and hunted by a mysterious and hungry creature hiding just beneath the water, and just what they’d do to survive.

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Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

My dad may have introduced me to horror anthologies, but 10 years ago I got to return the favor by introducing him to Trick ‘r Treat, and it’s become one of our Halloween traditions to watch it together every year since. If you love Halloween and horror, do yourself a favor and check this one out. It embraces the spirit of Halloween and is full of enough horror and humor to make it stand along with the classics like it’d been there the whole time. It’s actually got some really good surprises woven throughout it as well.

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Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

Being a fan of both the show and the movie, I figured it would be easier just to talk about the movie for now. Debbie Harry, Matthew Lawrence, and Christian Slater make up some of the cast in this anthology where a young boy tries to save his own skin by distracting a hungry modern-day witch looking to turn him into her next meal by telling her a series of horror stories, all in an effort to buy himself just a little more time. My favorite of which is “Lover’s Vow”.

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Obviously there are more to talk about, some arguably more iconic than these, but I’m gonna wrap it up with these ones since they’re some of my top picks for horror anthologies. Are you a fan of horror anthologies, too? Do you have any favorites?