A lot of shows have tried to fill the void left by the late Robert Stack’s version of Unsolved Mysteries, but none have truly succeeded in capturing the show’s creepy real-life feel. But a new contender has emerged with a horror icon for a host, and it looks to be the most serious challenger yet to Unsolved Mysteries‘ spooky throne.
True Terror with Robert Englund is a new series hosted by Freddy Krueger himself. The series is structured similarly to Unsolved Mysteries, with Englund acting as a Stack-like host pacing in a dark and foggy environment while introducing true tales of horror. The stories in the new series are not cold cases, however, but instead are bizarre reports pulled from old American newspapers. Essentially, anything weird or scary that was reported on in a legitimate newspaper over the course of American history is fair game, and can be labeled as “true” in the series thanks to their apparent journalistic pedigree. This includes, based on the trailer, flying creatures, ghosts, and bigfoot, to name a few. If something’s reported on then it must be true, right? Check out the first trailer below.
“I’m calling it a dark docudrama-Twilight Zone. What I like about it is, even though it’s myths and legends, they all were reported in a newspaper. They have a certain journalistic-reportage-cred that I think differentiates it from a show about UFOs or paranormal [activity],” Englund told EW. “We have our share of ghost stories, but these are ghost stories that were reported in newspapers and periodicals. So, even though perhaps we’ve outgrown some of those superstitions and we can explain some of those things better now in the 21st century, I still like the idea that these were stories that came from newspapers and I love the fact that they are part of our history. And then there are the ones that are obviously true, like people being buried alive during the yellow fever epidemic.”
The show definitely looks fun and scary, and Englund is an excellent pick for the host. The first season will only consist of six episodes, but here’s hoping that a lot more will follow in the future.
True Terror with Robert Englund premieres on the Travel Channel on March 18.
