Only a few days before Halloween! This is the best week of the year to binge watch some of the scariest television I know of (or perhaps dared watch?) Three series make an appearance year after year: The X-Files, Fringe, and Supernatural. This week’s regularly scheduled posts will be joined by three extra, special Halloween posts, each rounding up the scariest episodes of these three shows.

Fringe was oftentimes called a modern, alien-free version of The X-Files, so it must come as no surprise that it is being featured this week. One of the main things that this show had going for it—similar to what The X-Files had going for it—are the three actors at the core of the show (well The X-Files had two, but you get my point). There were also two types of episodes in this show: mytharc and monster-of-the-week. While the first two seasons features many monsters of the week, as the mythology got deeper, more time was devoted to it. This is why most of the recommended episodes are from the show’s first two seasons.

My top ten Halloween worthy Fringe episodes are:

The Same Old Story (1 x 02): You can imagine how gross a scene during which a woman goes from non-pregnant to delivering a baby within a few minutes can be. That big, distorted, moving belly… Just… Yuck.

The Cure (1 x 06): There has always been a bit of distrust for the medical/scientific community; this episode will make you wonder exactly what a “special treatment” you or a loved one is being offered and if it will make your head and the heads of those around you explode as gruesomely as it did in this episode.

Bad Dreams (1 x 17): The thought of losing control of our minds and who we are is quite a scary thing; this episode will make you feel grateful that you can’t unwillingly influence others to, say, jump to their death from the top of a high building.

Dream Logic (2 x 05): The theme of perception running throughout the entire series, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the concept of losing control of one’s mind is a recurring feature. This time however, it’s about seeing horrible things in your dreams that you may have caused making sleep the most terrifying thing ever.

Earthling (2 x 06): What really is out there in the dark ink of outer space? Fringe writers felt compelled to share their vision and scare anyone from wanting to become an astronaut.

Of Human Action (2 x 07): Kids can be a little creepy—I mean, what’s going on behind their heads is a beautiful question when they are sweet, but when they are silent and sullen and have a tendency of reading for knives, well, you kind of start worrying. Just wait until you see what happens to this kid.

Snakehead (2 x 09): A multi-tentacle parasite that emerges from the mouth… Just… Yuck.

What Lies Below (2 x 13): How about another reason to distrust the medical/scientific community: a contagion is released in a high rise that makes victims die in a pool of their own blood.

Marionette (3 x 9): I’ll just say that this one is a modern day, “romantic” and gross Frankenstein story.

6B (3 x 14): A ghost story (of sorts) about love, loss, grief, and detachment. This one is the least scary of the list but the most tender.