With its mission of portraying a positive, optimistic future for mankind, Star Trek isn’t really known as contributing anything to the horror genre. But this Halloween, you may want to booooo-ldly go with these kind-of horror installments to the franchise.

This is the most famous Trek/horror episode, and was famous released a few days before Halloween in 1967 to tie into the holiday. The highlight of the episode (for me at least) is hearing William Shatner mispronounce the word “telekinesis.” (He says it “tele-KEN-isis.”)



Runner-up: Wolf in the Fold (Jack the Ripper in space? C’mon you can’t beat that. You can’t beat that with a stick.)

This episode is most famous for the “Ode to Spot” cold open, but it is a genuinely creepy abduction story. One of the most effective uses of the holodeck too. Bonus points for its original release being just before Halloween.



Runner-up: Check out Sub Rosa for a pretty good ghost story or Clues for a very good mystery story.

Our standard space station sets become a haunted house when Cardassians run amok.



Runner-up: There are some bad choices, like The Assignment or The Muse, but I’d go with Dramatis Personae, which features a lot of mind control and Sisko (spoiler alert) building a clock.

So to help wash the terror out of my eyes from binge-watching American Horror Story– while still appreciating the Halloween scare that only a creepy clown can give you – I recently rewatched Voyagers The Thaw, featuring one of Spinal Tap’s lead guitarists as the embodiment of fear.



Runner-up: The Haunting of Deck 12

A fun little ghost story starring Enterprise’s inimitable Hoshi Sato, Vanishing Point feels like it would make a good Twilight Zone episode, especially with the twist ending(s).



Runner-up: If you’d rather just find inspiration for good “slutty” Star Trek costumes, check out in In a Mirror, Darkly.

Wanting even more Halloweeny goodness?

So, you’ve watched all of the spooky Star Trek episodes you can think of, and you’re still reeling for more Halloween fun? Look no further than the Star Trek comics, specifically the fourth issue of Marvel’s 1980 series, “The Haunting of Thallus!“. It is self-advertised to be “The starship Enterprise’s weirdest voyage”.

Now, if all that still isn’t good enough for you, check out this article on Comics Alliance about when the Enterprise found a haunted house in space.