Scary Good: TV's 15 Greatest Fright Nights

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER
(1974-75)

''Has-been big-city reporter'' Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) isn't afraid to do some of his own investigative journalism, even if it means losing the respect of his co-workers, or losing his job. But while other authorities deny the existence of Native American bear spirits, headless motorcyclists, high-fashion witches, and giant lizards, for Kolchak, it's just another day on the job. While the series often veered from horror into black comedy, it still summoned up a few scares, and inspired its much more successful successor, The X-Files.