Horror TV Shows Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Walking Dead

Based on the famous graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman, "The Walking Dead" was created on AMC by frequent Stephen King adaptor Frank Darabont (who was forced to leave the show before season two). The show, following a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic zombie dystopia, has since become one of the top-rated cable TV shows ever made and somewhat led a renewed interest in zombie media.

The show follows many key parts from the graphic novels, but with notable differences to ensure a fresh experience for all followers.

Answer: American Horror Story

Ryan Murphy created this FX show with the anthology in mind. Each season would bring in a new theme, plot, and setting, but maintain a rotating cast of repertory actors, each taking on different roles to suit. With casts including Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto, Lily Rabe, and others, the show has since been to a Los Angeles haunted house, an east coast asylum in the 1960s, a New Orleans witch academy, and a Freak Show in 1950s Florida.

The show has won numerous Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.

Answer: Hannibal

A show with almost-too-ironic food styling, "Hannibal" is a dark, brooding adaptation of Thomas Harris' "Red Dragon" series starring Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen. Following FBI consultant Will Graham and his battles with cannibal Hannibal Lecter, the show can be very graphic and disturbing at times, mainly because the crimes examined on the show are almost as mesmerizing as the food (which in all fairness, are usually made of people).

The show was critically lauded upon its debut despite consistent low ratings.

Answer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Not actually based on the earlier film version, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as 'The Slayer'. Buffy's powers awakened prior to the show so that she could face off against big bad enemies, most of which were vampires but which also extended to other cursed creatures over time, mainly because the town of Sunnydale was a hotbed for this kind of stuff. Made with the cheeky humour that Joss Whedon fans eat for breakfast, the show was a critical darling and a consistent ratings winner.

Its spin-off, "Angel", was also quite successful.

Answer: Helix

Often outlandish at the best of times, "Helix" ended up doing quite well for SyFy early on, mainly by blending campy elements with balls-to-the-wall zombie craziness. Set in an infected, state-of-the-art, independent arctic laboratory, the show followed a group of CDC officials bringing an outbreak situation back to normalcy. Didn't quite happen that way. Over the course of the show we saw odd familial relationships spring out of nowhere, zombies throwing up everywhere, almost-sinister alien(?) plots, and more than a couple hallucinatory sequences. I'm still not sure what exactly happened.

Answer: Masters of Horror

"Masters of Horror", while only lasting two seasons, was quite notable for television at a time when horror television wasn't prominent in the slightest. Taking a new horror director for every episode, the hour of the show would follow a new plot each time; one episode would be about a monster while another would be about a plague or a vampire or a curse or whichever. Created by Mick Garris, the show was canceled after twenty-six episodes but found new life on NBC as "Fear Itself", an anthology show with the same premise.

The latter was canceled before finishing its first season, mainly due to a lack of interest in horror on network TV about five years before its emergence.

Answer: Penny Dreadful

Named after a particularly popular pulp-horror novel from the era it sets out to emulate, "Penny Dreadful" starred Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Billie Piper, and others navigating their way through an evil-plagued Victorian London. Over the course of the show, as famous fictional horrors wove their way through the plot, the protagonists had to set out to solve some unique, exotic mysteries, sometimes involving transforming beings or Egyptian runes or the like.

The show was created by John Logan who, several times, has been nominated for Oscars for his screenplays.

It was also produced by "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes.

Answer: Bates Motel

Preceeding the events of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" film, "Bates Motel" follows a young Norman Bates and his mother as the deranged boy becomes a deranged man. After purchasing the titular motel, horrible events befall the mother and son leading to murder and the eventual cover-up while, slowly, Norman begins to detach and the duo ends up putting themselves into more danger.

The show has seen Farmiga nominated for several awards over its run. Carlton Cuse, the main writer for the show, is also known for co-writing "Lost".

Answer: Sleepy Hollow

Premiering on FOX in 2013, "Sleepy Hollow" starred Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie-- the former as Ichabod Crane, preserved in time and brought back by a curse in the present day to fight the Headless Horseman and the latter a modern day detective. The show, dense in its own mythology, was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, both responsible for J.J. Abrams' "Fringe" amongst other things. "Sleepy Hollow" was one of the most popular debut shows of its first season, perhaps indicating a shifting tide and eagerness to see horror on network TV.

Answer: Supernatural

Running for more than ten years with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki in the roles of Dean and Sam Winchester, "Supernatural" has been a fan favourite for the network following the brothers as they set out to stop evil from reigning across the country.

While early seasons followed classic horrors from urban myth, seasons progressed towards other issues, notably demons, evil angels, and gods. Along the way, the show has also introduced popular secondary characters, igniting careers for others like Misha Collins and Jim Beaver.