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From Usatoday.com

Five episodes give viewers a healthy scare (buffy mention)

By Robert Bianco

Thursday 4 March 2004, by Webmaster

Five classic episodes give viewers a healthy scare

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Kingdom Hospital is closer to horrible than horror-full, but that doesn’t mean TV doesn’t know how to give you a few jolts. True, television is more often suspenseful (like The Twilight Zone) than flat-out scary, but it has been known to provide an intentional fright or two. USA TODAY’s Robert Bianco counts down five of TV’s scariest moments:

Stephen King’s It (1990)

Well, half of It. The first half of this ABC miniseries, with Tim Curry’s horrifically demented clown luring children to their deaths, is terrifying. The second half, with the kids grown up and the clownish "It" revealed to be a giant space spider, is terrible. If you rent the movie, stop at the middle. (Available on video)

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: An Unlocked Window (1965)

Filmed in the Psycho house, this classic "dark and stormy night" thriller focuses on nurses Stella and Betty, trapped in an invalid’s house while a male nurse/killer is on the prowl. Stella tries desperately to make the house safe, only to discover that "Betty" is actually the murderer in disguise. The man-in-drag trick would be less novel now, but the growing, claustrophobic sense of dread stands the test of time.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hush (1999)

Who knew silence could be so scary? Joss Whedon, for one, who wrote and directed this largely silent episode about a group of demons who steal voices - and then return to steal hearts. The sight of "The Gentlemen," smiling as they float through town on their heart harvest, is one of the show’s enduring images. (Available on video)

The X Files: Squeeze (1993)

Some of the best X-Files episodes dispensed with aliens and found more earthly forms of paranormal villains - such as fan favorite Eugene Victor Tooms, who returned that same season for a second go-round. It’s hard to say what was creepier: Tooms’ ability to fit his body into the tiniest of spaces, or his habit of using that talent to collect and eat human livers. (Available on video)

Thriller: The Cheaters (1960)

In this salute to justified paranoia, the "cheaters" were a special pair of eyeglasses that allowed you to hear what other people really thought of you - and forced you to see yourself for who you really are. If you don’t think that’s frightening, you’re not thinking clearly.