1. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
This ABC Movie of the Week burned itself into the minds of an entire generation with its whispering goblin-like creatures and creeping dread, according to Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian. Kim Darby stars as a housewife who inherits an old mansion and accidentally unleashes tiny demons living in the fireplace. The film’s low-budget effects somehow made it scarier—what you didn’t see was often worse. Kids who watched it in the ’70s still talk about hearing those raspy voices in their nightmares.
It was so disturbing that despite being a TV movie, it inspired a theatrical remake by Guillermo del Toro in 2010. That’s a testament to just how much it got under people’s skin. The movie also tapped into then-unspoken fears about domestic isolation and gaslighting. It’s one of the earliest examples of horror using suburban normalcy to deeply unsettling effect.
2. Trilogy of Terror (1975)
This anthology film made-for-TV introduced one of the most terrifying dolls to ever appear on screen—the Zuni fetish doll in the final segment, Amelia. Karen Black starred in all three parts, but it was her battle with that screeching, knife-wielding little figure that traumatized viewers most. The sound of its grunts and the way it moved through the apartment like a feral animal left an imprint. For many kids in the ’70s, this aired at just the right time to ruin sleep for weeks.
It wasn’t just scary—it was wildly influential. The doll became a proto-Chucky decades before Child’s Play. Karen Black’s tour-de-force performance added legitimacy to what could have been throwaway schlock. Instead, it became legendary and still gets referenced in horror circles today.
3. The House That Would Not Die (1970)
Starring Barbara Stanwyck in one of her rare TV horror roles, this ghost story blends old-school gothic chills with a made-for-TV sensibility, according to Rob Hunter from Film School Rejects. She plays a woman who moves into a colonial house in Pennsylvania, only to discover it’s haunted by restless spirits tied to Revolutionary War-era secrets. The haunting starts subtly—creaking floors, whispers, sudden cold—but builds to séances, possessions, and past lives. It’s the kind of slow-burn horror that keeps tightening the screws until everything explodes in a ghostly climax.
This was part of the ABC Movie of the Week lineup and left a surprising impression thanks to its serious tone and mature performances. The atmosphere is thick, with candlelit rooms and stormy nights straight out of a gothic novel. It’s not flashy, but it’s deeply eerie and soaked in mood. For many who caught it in 1970, it was their first real haunted house experience on television—and it absolutely lingered.
4. The Night Stalker (1972)
This is the movie that introduced investigative reporter Carl Kolchak and helped lay the groundwork for The X-Files. It follows a Las Vegas journalist chasing a vampire killing spree, blending noir, horror, and a bit of snarky humor. Darren McGavin made Kolchak unforgettable—a sort of supernatural Columbo. The movie was so popular, it became the highest-rated TV movie of its time, according to Jim Vorel from Paste Magazine.
But more than that, it was scary. The vampire in question, Janos Skorzeny, was more beast than man, and his violent attacks were shocking for network television. The tension builds steadily, and the final confrontation is intense and claustrophobic. It proved that horror could work incredibly well within TV limitations.
5. Salem’s Lot (1979)
Technically a two-part miniseries, but for many, it played like an extended movie event. Based on Stephen King’s novel, it brought his brand of small-town dread to primetime viewers with terrifying results. The image of a vampire kid floating outside the window scratching at the glass? Pure nightmare fuel.
Directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), the film embraced atmosphere over gore, relying on fog, shadows, and eerie performances. David Soul of Starsky & Hutch fame played the lead, adding some star power. It helped solidify King’s transition to screen dominance and introduced many to his style of slow, creeping horror. It left an entire generation checking their windows before bed.
6. The Screaming Woman (1972)
Based on a Ray Bradbury short story, this TV movie stars Olivia de Havilland as an aging woman recovering from a mental breakdown who hears a voice crying for help from underground, according to IMDb. No one believes her, of course, and that gaslighting element adds a thick layer of psychological tension. As she digs deeper (literally), she’s racing to prove she’s not delusional and to save whoever—or whatever—is buried alive in her backyard. It’s less about jump scares and more about slow-building dread and existential fear.
De Havilland gives the film real emotional weight, portraying a woman caught between fading independence and true terror. The movie leans into themes of isolation, aging, and the fear of being dismissed—especially as a woman. It terrified audiences not because of monsters, but because the horror was plausible and deeply human. And that muffled screaming? It stayed in people’s heads for years after.
7. Bad Ronald (1974)
This is one of the more psychologically disturbing entries—a boy hides in a secret room in his house after committing a crime, and when a new family moves in, he starts watching them. It’s claustrophobic, creepy, and unnerving in all the right ways. Scott Jacoby’s performance as Ronald is both sympathetic and deeply unsettling. The fact that this aired on ABC during family-friendly hours only makes it more bizarre.
The movie plays into very primal fears: being watched, invasion of privacy, and the idea that evil can live just behind your walls. It’s not overtly violent, but the tension is palpable throughout. Today, it’s often cited in “most disturbing TV movies” lists, and for good reason. It’s the kind of horror that sticks because it feels possible.
8. The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975)
Starring Elizabeth Montgomery—aka Bewitched’s Samantha—as the infamous axe murderer, this film gave a chillingly ambiguous take on the real-life case. It shocked viewers who only knew Montgomery from her sitcom days. The calm, eerie way she portrays Lizzie made the violent acts even more disturbing. It wasn’t just a retelling—it was an atmosphere piece drenched in psychological horror.
While it doesn’t show much graphic violence, the implication of it is enough to unsettle. The film smartly plays with the audience’s expectations, keeping you unsure of Lizzie’s guilt. It also helped kick off the true crime genre on TV, blending fact with horror theatrics. Even today, Montgomery’s performance is considered one of her best.
9. Home for the Holidays (1972)
Think Black Christmas meets Knives Out, but with 1970s grit and a holiday twist. Four sisters return home for Christmas only to be stalked by a killer in a yellow raincoat. The cast is stacked—Sally Field, Jessica Walter, and Julie Harris all deliver chilling performances. It was one of the first slashers to use the holidays as a backdrop for murder, predating many theatrical entries.
The suspense is real, with the killer picking off family members one by one. The rainy, bleak setting and growing paranoia give it a uniquely grim vibe. While often overlooked today, it helped shape the slasher formula before it exploded in theaters. It’s one to revisit when you’re sick of cheerful Christmas specials.
10. Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978)
Yes, the title sounds ridiculous—but this one seriously spooked people when it aired. It’s about a seemingly normal family who adopts a stray puppy, only to discover it’s literally a hellhound sent by a satanic cult to corrupt their souls. Richard Crenna plays the bewildered father trying to protect his wife and kids as the dog’s evil influence spreads like a virus. The movie takes itself completely seriously, which somehow makes it even more unnerving.
There are scenes—like the dog glowing red eyes or mind-controlling people into doing horrible things—that genuinely rattled viewers, especially kids who watched it unsuspectingly. It fed into the 1970s obsession with demonic possession, but gave it a suburban twist. Despite the campy premise, it’s played with a straight face, which adds to its creep factor. It became a cult favorite precisely because it straddles the line between absurd and truly disturbing.
11. Crawlspace (1972)
This unsettling thriller stars Arthur Kennedy and Teresa Wright as an older couple who take in a young boy after his parents die—only to discover he’s hiding some deeply disturbing secrets. The boy becomes obsessed with the crawlspace in their house, spending more and more time beneath the floorboards while strange things start happening. The tension comes not from gore or jump scares, but from the eerie, off-kilter behavior of the child and the sense that something is fundamentally wrong. As the couple tries to help him, the line between sympathy and fear gets dangerously blurry.
Airing on CBS, Crawlspace played like a domestic drama gone terribly wrong, and that’s what made it so creepy—it felt too real. The performances are grounded, which makes the increasingly strange behavior even more jarring. The slow pace and minimal effects make the final reveal hit harder than you’d expect. It’s a forgotten gem of psychological horror that still makes your skin crawl.
12. The Possessed (1977)
This exorcism-themed TV movie came at the height of The Exorcist’s popularity, but offered a unique spin with a priest (played by James Farentino) returning from death to combat demonic forces at a girls’ school. It sounds cheesy, but the execution is surprisingly effective. The build-up is slow and sinister, with eerie possessions and ghostly apparitions. A pre-Charlie’s Angels Joan Hackett and a young Harrison Ford round out the cast.
There’s a constant sense of something watching, waiting. It plays more like a gothic mystery than a straight-up horror, but when it goes dark, it really goes there. It wasn’t a huge hit on release, but horror fans have been rediscovering it in recent years. Think of it as Dead Poets Society meets The Exorcist, if that makes sense.
13. This House Possessed (1981)
This one is delightfully weird: a famous singer (Parker Stevenson) and his nurse move into a smart house that starts obsessing over them. The house itself becomes a stalker, controlling lights, locks, and even TVs. It’s part ghost story, part techno-thriller before that was even a thing. The creepy factor is amped up by how normal everything seems—until it’s not.
The movie plays on fears of technology, isolation, and being trapped by something you trusted. The house literally bleeds at one point, and the story veers into surreal territory. It’s more bizarre than terrifying, but it left many viewers with a strange unease. It’s a great example of how horror TV in the ’80s wasn’t afraid to get weird.
