Horror series have to try to capture viewers' attention from the very start; it's such a specific genre, and not one that appeals to everyone. So it all has to start from the beginning, with the opening credits. Series such as The Twilight Zone feature iconic opening credits, but for the purposes of this list, we are going to focus on more modern horror television.
American Horror Story:
Each season of American Horror Story tells an entirely different story, and the opening credits change accordingly. But the credits are always accompanied by the same eerie, disconnected theme song, and feature unsettling, often puzzling visual imagery that will eventually come to light in that season’s storyline. And each season’s opening credits make it crystal clear that this is a horror series.
The intro for season one (American Horror Story: Murder House) featured a basement, fetuses in jars, old photos of deceased babies, and flames. As we will learn during the season, a surgeon named Charles Montgomery originally lived in the house with his wife Nora, and the two performed illegal abortions in the basement.
American Horror Story’s theme song was written by Charlie Clouser and Cesar Davila-Irizarry.
Salem:
Salem ran for three seasons on WGN. It was loosely (VERY loosely) based on the 17th century Salem witch trials, and starred Janet Montgomery, Shane West and Seth Gabel. It was alternately creepy, ridiculous (it leaned towards gothic romance quite often) and surprisingly gory, but it was a super-fun viewing experience for those who enjoy goth-inspired horror.
The opening credits were very effective, and all in black and white. Our eyes were treated to quick cuts of witch-torturing methods such as hanging and submerging in water, creepy artifacts and unsettling images of the woods of Salem.
Topping it all off was the theme song: Cupid Carries a Gun, by Tyler Bates and Marilyn Manson (who also played a recurring role in season three). The lyrics were fitting for a show about witches, and the song got stuck in my head consistently while I was bingeing the series on Hulu. “Pound me the witch drums, the witch drums, better pray for hell, not hallelujah.”
Hannibal:
NBC series Hannibal was based on The Silence of the Lambs’ character Hannibal Lecter, and the related books by Thomas Harris. Powered by the acting performances of Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal and Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, it was a very dark horror drama, with an unusual amount of grisly content for a network series.
Obviously, Hannibal Lecter was fond of eating the flesh of his victims, and in the series he was also quite the gourmet chef…so we were never quite sure if the extravagant meals he prepared included meat procured from the supermarket, or if they were “the other white meat.”
The opening credits were extremely simple, with a very spare opening theme written by Brian Reitzell. The visual component was what appeared to be a red fluid (Wine? Blood?) that formed into the shape of Hannibal Lecter’s face. It fit right in with the artistic, often graphic gore and murder scenes in the series.
Dexter:
During its initial 8-season run on ShowTime, this series managed to make us laugh, horrified us, and even brought us to tears on occasion. In its heyday, Dexter had the power to truly shock with unexpected twists (poor Rita), before it dropped the ball big-time in its final two seasons. I honestly liked Dexter: New Blood MUCH more than those two seasons, which I have often wished I could un-see.
The opening credits perfectly fit the series’ feel. The visuals were mostly Dexter preparing his morning breakfast of eggs, slices of ham and fresh-ground coffee, but also included him shaving (complete with drops of blood falling in the sink) and chewing the ham with a ferocious look on his face. Michael C. Hall absolutely knows how to mimic the facial expressions of a sociopath!
Rolfe Kent wrote the opening theme song, and it didn’t sound at all like the theme to a horror series about a serial killer who only kills people who deserve it. But, somehow, it was perfect.
True Blood:
Part campy love/sex story, part fantasy/monster of the week story, True Blood had it all. It included vampires, werewolves, fairies, and more, plus we got a GREAT character in Anna Paquin’s Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie was a waitress at a Louisiana bar, and she was highly telepathic. In a US where vampires were living openly, a synthetic blood was created in the hopes of preventing them from drinking from humans, and it worked in some cases.
The opening credits were set to Jace Everett’s sultry, sexy, bluesy-sounding Bad Things, and included some gruesome images such as rotting roadkill and dead fish. Just to accentuate the fact that the series is set in the swamps of Louisiana, there is also footage of alligators, snakes and bayous.