Science fiction and horror tread a fine line between one another, but can be blended together smoothly, Classic examples from literature clearly illustrate how connected they can be. Take these English language novels; Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. First and foremost, they're sci-fi tales of lab experiments gone awry, however a primary goal is to scare us.
Catspaw
It has witches, a bubbling cauldron and even a black cat. It was intentionally designed as a Halloween themed episode and mostly succeeds in its chilling mission. When Kirk's crew come upon a planet with a Gothic style castle - complete with spell casting, cackling witches - it's a spookfest. Writer Robert Bloch (Psycho) scripted the surreal, spooky tale, where Kirk's enormous starship Enterprise is reduced to a piece of jewelry.
Return Of The Archons
Much of this episode takes place at night, or sees the actors running about in dark caves. Kirk's crew must free a society in the grip of a domineering being calling itself Landru. This beastial despot uses robed guards to zap anyone who doesn't do his bidding. The hooded flunkies wear thick hoods too - you can barely make out their faces - and talk in a weird, electronic vibrato, making them really creepy.
Charlie X
When you're a teenager, much of life and growing up can be downright scary. For teenager Charlie (Robert Walker), everything he does or says seems to give those around him a fright or a laugh. Charlie's human, but was gifted with fantastic powers by a weird energy based race. When the Enterprise crew cramp Charlie's style, he proceeds to rip their faces off or turn them into lizards. Talk about scary stuff!
Schisms
It's more than a little ironic when an advanced Starship staffed with a capable crew become target of alien abductors, but that's just the premise here. It's not so much the story, but the slick execution of just how the Enterprise crew are reduced to little more than lab animals for an advanced inter-dimensional race conducting experiments. The lighting and sets heighten the fright factor, but it's the clever sound design of the creepy clicking creatures which really shakes things up into a fear realm.
Man Of The People
A diplomat's life is challenging, even frustrating - but scary? An ambassador (Chip Lucia) causes Counselor Troi to become a raving thing, and that's when the scares begin. We see Troi transformed into a screaming, witch like husk of her former self, while the diplomat's possession of her comes to a nightmarish boiling point.
TNG writer and producer Brannon Braga took his own real life fear of flying and injected it into main character Lt. Barclay in this spooky tale of missing persons. When Barclay must help out in recovering tech in the mission, he starts experiencing flashes or hallucinations of weirdly floating creatures. Fearing he could be going nuts or even dying of a rare condition called 'transporter psychosis', he visits Counselor Troi for therapy. Actor Dwight Schultz brings such a dread fear to the proceedings, he more than communicates it to us.
Whispers
Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream? Edgar Allen Poe knew what scared us, and in this weird tale, Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) plays a man lost within his own known world. This one is so spooky, much like Chief O'Brien's experiences within the tale, we're not sure of anything until the stunning final act.
Sound Of Her Voice
More suspenseful than scary, yet there's still a creepy vibe permeating till the final act. The Defiant is on a rescue mission. It's perilous because the Dominion could be engaged. The Starfleet officer they're seeking isn't only injured, but will die because of high levels of carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere. The tale's desolate quality is heightened by the fact Defiant only gets audio signals from her, so it feels like a radio play throughout the episode. Debra Wilson (MAD TV) plays the injured woman with the captivating voice. It's a triumphant performance since she's never seen on camera.
Phage
There's an urban myth - there are criminals who rob people of organs, to sell to clinics or the wealthy for transplants. This tale plays with that horrible medical premise. It created a whole new villainous race for Voyager to contend with for many a season. When it's revealed that the aliens want the organs for their own disease infected species, it's poignant, but no less chilling.
Haunting Of Deck Twelve
Neelix, the starship cook and mascot, scares up chills with a ghost story. The Borg kids become alarmed when they can't regenerate properly, so Neelix seeks to distract them. What's designed to be a fun, yet chill filled time, devolves into something far darker and spine tingling.
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