Terrible Endings That Ruined Horror TV Masterpieces

Based on the novel series "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" by author Charlaine Harris, HBO's "True Blood" was a major success, running for seven seasons. The show features a world where vampires exist publicly with the help of a synthetic blood, which inspires other supernatural creatures to emerge. In the middle of the paranormal action is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic server caught in a bad romance with vampires Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård). In the final season, vampires are ravaged by a worldwide virus while Eric confronts the source of the synthetic blood, the Yakanomo Corporation.

In the series finale, Sookie helps an infected Bill stake himself after Eric dismantles the corporation. The story flashes-forward four years, with Eric heading a company that provides a new synthetic blood which cures the deadly virus. Sookie is married to a new, unnamed character and pregnant with their child, while her brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) has married Brigette (Ashley Hinshaw). For a show that had so long embraced its campy premise, "True Blood" ends on a bland note that forgets to have fun. The final injustice is, after waiting seasons to see who Sookie ends up with, seeing her with no established character at all. "True Blood" ends on a misdirect, which is always vaguely insulting to viewers so invested in the characters and their relationships.

For eight seasons, audiences watched serial killer with a heart of gold Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) prey on the violent criminals of Miami. A genius forensic technician, Dexter channels his secret bloodlust to target those who have escaped punishment from the legal system. This lethal side hustle as Miami's most murderous vigilante pits Dexter against other devious killers, often resulting in deadly games of cat-and-mouse between them. In the midst of dispatching these bloodthirsty criminals, Dexter hides his violent double life from his family and coworkers in the Miami Police Department.

The final season of "Dexter" offers a lurid, uneven story, particularly for Dexter's adopted sister Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter) and the way she handles learning her brother's secret. Debra's questionable plot trajectory ends with Dexter euthanizing her in a hospital after she becomes brain dead from a surprise stroke. As his personal life crumbles, Dexter fakes his death but resurfaces working in Oregon as a lumberjack under an assumed name. The ludicrous way for Dexter to escape the consequences of his actions and abandon his young son split fans, who widely derided the finale. Eight years later, the revival series "Dexter: New Blood" rectified this reviled ending by giving Dexter a far more fitting and definitive send-off.

Premiering in 1990, "Twin Peaks" grew into a surprise success, embracing the narrative eccentricities crafted by creators Mark Frost and David Lynch. FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) investigates the eponymous Pacific Northwestern small town after local homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is murdered. Dale descends deeper into the supernatural elements influencing the town, including the malevolent entity known as Killer BOB (Frank Silva). The finale to the second and final season (at least for a very long time) ends on a major cliffhanger, with Killer BOB possessing Dale as he laughs maniacally.

Lynch left "Twin Peaks" early into production on its second season, with the season seeing a noticeable loss of direction shortly thereafter. After solving Laura's murder midway through the season (something Lynch and Frost didn't want to do), the overarching story grew meandering and bizarre, culminating in its abrupt finale. Lynch publicly disowned the second season of "Twin Peaks" and, like many fans, was thoroughly dissatisfied with the ending. To give the story a proper sense of closure, Lynch returned to "Twin Peaks" for a revival series on Showtime in 2017, 26 years after the original series finale.

In an era when wholesome sitcoms like "Leave It to Beaver" were ruling the airwaves, "The Twilight Zone" made its mark as the medium's early foray into the dark and twisted. Created by Rod Serling, the original iteration of the anthology series ran for five seasons from 1959-1964, with each episode covering a standalone story. From whimsical fantasies to intense, horror-driven tales that embraced the macabre, "The Twilight Zone" was an early pioneer of genre television. The final season saw a change in producers behind-the-scenes that noticeably affected its quality, including with the show's series finale.

The last episode of "The Twilight Zone" to air was "The Bewitchin' Pool," a fantasy about children who are able to escape from unhappy homes through a magical swimming pool. Running heavy on schmaltz, with a flimsy premise and uneven pace, the episode is among the worst in the series. The last episode technically produced for the series is "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which aired four months earlier. The episode comes from a heavily edited French short film, repurposed to fit the show's format and bought for a significantly lower price than standard production costs for an episode. Both episodes fail to give "The Twilight Zone" a sendoff befitting a groundbreaking series.

The popular daytime soap opera "Dark Shadows" started out as a Gothic romance that quickly veered into supernatural horror with the introduction of ghosts, vampires, and werewolves. The paranormal hijinks escalate when vampire Barnabas Collins is freed from his coffin, with actor Jonathan Frid quickly becoming the star of the show. "Dark Shadows" aired from 1966-1971 and spawned an entire wave of merchandising, not to mention three theatrical features. Though Barnabas eventually overcomes his vampirism and receives a happy ending, "Dark Shadows" aired for an additional 48 episodes, ending the series with a decided whimper.

Frid grew tired of playing Barnabas and, fearing typecasting, declined to continue the undead role in early 1971. This complicated not only plans for a sequel to 1970's movie "House of Dark Shadows," but also the future for the television series, which was still very much on the air. For its final months, the narrative took a detour to an alternate timeline version of the Collins family in 1841. Though the supernatural elements remain, they're considerably downplayed, with the story leaning more into romantic intrigue. "Dark Shadows" was canceled in April 1971, with a narrator providing closure to the outstanding plot lines in the rushed series finale.

The HBO Max original series "Raised by Wolves" was backed by celebrated filmmaker Ridley Scott, who directed the first two episodes and executive produced the project. However, even this high level of Hollywood prestige couldn't save the show, which was canceled after two seasons in 2022. The cancellation came as a result of corporate restructuring, with WarnerMedia transforming into Warner Bros. Discovery earlier that year. This change in content strategy caused "Raised by Wolves" to end with a series finale that asked questions ultimately never to be answered.

"Raised by Wolves" blends horror and science fiction into a tale of androids developing a human colony on a remote exoplanet after Earth's destruction. The series finale reveals the android Grandmother (Selina Jones) intends to revert humanity into a fish-like aquatic race. Meanwhile, the human protagonist Marcus (Travis Fimmel) is incapacitated and crucified by the villainous Lucius (Matias Varela). This unresolved cliffhanger, along with the nature of the show's cancellation, understandably incensed "Raised by Wolves" audiences.