With fall right around the corner, and thus being just down the street (so to speak) from Halloween, we thought now would be a fun time to start talking about the creepier side of Star Trek. The series has always been a sci-fi utopia of sorts, but it has not been afraid to venture into the realm of the unsettling more times than not. A lot of the original Star Trek series is borderline fuel for nightmares.
From the Salt Vampire to the fake visage of Balok, the original series knew how to make things uncover. Though, it'd be fair to say that while they went for the strange and at times repugnant (The Devil in the Dark?), they didn't go full horror. The show in the franchise that embraced that element of storytelling was Star Trek: Voyager.
Voyager often went full horror and did so remarkably. So with the Halloween season nearly among us, we recommend these three shows to watch.
Phage (S1, E5)
The show went right into horror pretty early on with the fifth episode of the series. Titled" Phage", Trek fans were introduced to the horrifying Vidians, an alien race who tried to play god too many times and ended up creating a disease that eats away at their organs. Disfigured and desperate, the race of aliens now steals organs both internally and externally to live just a little longer. Essentially The Hills Have Eyes of Star Trek.
Revulsion (S4, E5)
Not all Star Trek shows are obvious horror episodes. Case in point Revulsion. It's a story about a sentient hologram, not unlike The Doctor, who begins to resent the corporeal life forms in the universe and goes out of his way to kill as many as possible. Considering the quick advancement of AI and the concerns therewithin, many are now looking at this episode as a cautionary tale of what could be for many of us.
Night (S5, E1)
Many people are afraid of the ocean and for the same reasons, outer space. It's the idea that there isn't anything out there that seems to unnerve some among us. In the first episode of season five, Voyager tackles that very fear by throwing the USS Voyager into a part of space where there is no one to help and nothing to see. A dark, empty void, with not a star in sight. For those who feel that sinking sensation when they look into the sky or out to sea, "Night" remains a masterclass of terror.