Friday the 13th: The Series (1987-1990) stands as a cult classic for fans of supernatural horror. Though it shares its name with the slasher film franchise, the series carved out its own eerie niche by focusing on cursed antiques. Set in an antique shop called “Curious Goods,” cousins Micki Foster (Louise Robey) and Ryan Dallion (John D. LeMay), along with their occult expert mentor Jack Marshak (Chris Wiggins), hunt down items imbued with dark powers. Below, we rank the top 10 episodes that capture the heart of the series’ dark allure.
“The Inheritance” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The pilot episode introduces viewers to Micki, Ryan, and Jack as they begin their mission to retrieve cursed antiques. The show’s premise is laid out brilliantly, and the cursed doll storyline serves as a haunting introduction to the series’ dark world. “The Inheritance”, wastes no time plunging into the introducing veiwers to the what the can expect, with a sinister, murderous doll, and it’s pint-sized accomplice. Sarah Polley plays Mary, a little girl who knows exactly what her porcelain plaything can do, which adds an unsettling twist. No sneaky, slaughters here—the doll works on command, making for a refreshingly direct take on the killer toy trope.
Tension escalates when Mary’s stepmother punishes her for repeatedly leaving her bike in the driveway, declaring that the doll will be locked away for a full week. With no sympathy for Mary’s protests, she rips the doll from her grasp and shoves it into the closet. That night, Mary and the doll startle the stepmother, sending her stumbling backward onto a rogue roller skate, which propels her violently down the stairs. This episode is perfect introduction to the cursed antiques that will bring terror to those who dare claim them.
“Spirit of Television” (Season 3, Episode 18)
A dying woman, desperate to cheat the reaper, finds salvation in a cursed television that does more than just play the classics—it conjures vengeful spirits. Posing as a gifted medium, Ilsa Van Zandt lures in the guilty and grief-stricken, staging séances where only the unsuspecting victim sees their dearly departed. The catch? These spirits aren’t here for closure—they’re out for blood. With every fresh corpse, the cursed TV keeps Ilsa alive just a little longer, attempting to indefinitely postpone her own death.
“Pipe Dream” (Season 1, Episode 24)
“Pipe Dream” is a delightfully unhinged episode packed with cursed antiques, murder, and the kind of family reunion that makes you grateful for your own boring relatives. The cursed object this time—a pipe that specializes in creative, grisly deaths—ends up in the hands of Ryan’s father, Ray Dallion (Michael Constantine). Ray’s the picture of fatherly pride: stealing weapons designs, murdering coworkers, and planning his wedding, all while telling Ryan his career is a joke. Multitasking at its finest!
Ray has no clue the pipe he’s wielding like a homicidal chimney sweep is cursed, but Micki and Jack (finally back from wherever he’s been hiding) figure it out just in time for things to go spectacularly wrong. The episode crescendos in a gloriously gruesome climax, as Ray’s hubris meets the poetic justice of cursed antiques. John D. LeMay delivers a stellar performance as Ryan, teetering between emotional wreck and, “Why is my life a horror movie?” With its perfect mix of dark humor, over-the-top deaths, and family drama worthy of a daytime soap, this episode is easily one of the series’ best—and a solid reminder to never trust a dad with a cursed murder weapon.
“The Poison Pen” (Season 1, Episode 2)
At a secluded monastery, faith is shattered when Abbot Capilano, one of the monks, is lifted by an unseen force, rising into the air like a divine ascension—only to come crashing down to his death. The monks whisper of miracles and judgment, but Ryan and Micki see something far more sinister. A mysterious monk, eerily precise in predicting death, has their attention. Disguising themselves among the brotherhood, they step into the monastery’s darkened halls, where every shadow seems to breathe, and every whispered prayer feels like a plea for mercy.
Jack uncovers the horror lurking within—an ancient, cursed quill, its ink sealing the fate of whoever is written into its pages. But the quill’s true master remains hidden, orchestrating deaths with chilling precision. As one prophecy after another comes true, the monastery becomes a tomb, and the killer monk watches from the darkness, knowing the final names to be written may be Ryan and Micki’s. The ink is drying, and if they don’t act fast, their fates will be sealed.
“Scarlet Cinema” (Season 2, Episode 16)
Darius Pogue worships classic horror, but his devotion runs deeper than just fandom. He doesn’t just want to make monster movies. He wants to be one. A midnight ritual under the cold glow of a movie screen is his invitation to darkness, but when his classmates mock him, the real nightmare begins. His tormentor is found savagely torn apart, and soon after, Darius stumbles upon a camera that doesn’t just record—it foresees. The footage it produces is pure horror: grainy, flickering images of brutal killings by a werewolf that looks eerily like Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolf Man.
As more deaths unfold on the cursed film, Darius realizes the truth too late—he is the beast. The camera isn’t just revealing the carnage; it’s guiding him deeper into his own transformation. Flesh splits, bones twist, and the monster inside awakens. Now, there’s only one scene left to shoot. Carissa, the girl he longs for, is destined to be his final victim. This isn’t a film—it’s a prophecy. And when the credits roll, they’ll be written in blood.
“Brain Drain” (Season 1, Episode 18)
Brain Drain is a fun episode that takes one of humanity’s greatest desires—instant intelligence—and turns it into a grotesque cautionary tale. The cursed antique this time is the Trephanator, a device that looks like a medieval torture instrument designed by a mad scientist. A couple of puncture wounds to the neck, some ominous fluid transfer, and suddenly, Harry—previously working with an IQ of 58—becomes a full-fledged genius. No studying, no hard work, just a cursed shortcut to brilliance. Of course, this being Friday the 13th: The Series, there’s a horrifying catch: the victims aren’t just left a little dazed—they’re drained of their intelligence entirely, reduced to helpless meat sacks before inevitably dropping dead. Turns out you can’t cheat your way to success without leaving a body count.
Dr. Robeson, the Trephanator’s previous victim, was trying to teach a gorilla’s brain to speak so he could upload its intelligence onto a chip. It’s delightfully ridiculous, the kind of “science” that makes real researchers throw their hands up in despair. Meanwhile, Dr. Viola Rhodes, Jack Marshak’s former love interest, shows up just long enough to remind us that no woman from Jack’s past is ever allowed a happy ending.
“And Now the News” (Season 2, Episode 3)
And Now the News is drenched in psychological terror and eerie inevitability. With Jack absent, Micki and Ryan are left to face a particularly nightmarish cursed antique—a vintage radio housed in a mental hospital for the criminally insane. But this is no ordinary radio. When it crackles to life, it doesn’t just report the news—it whispers personalized horror stories, each one tailored to its listener’s deepest fear. The victims don’t just hear these reports; they believe them, living out their worst nightmares until their hearts give out or they take their own lives in blind panic. With a growing number of corpses piling up, all tied to Dr. Kevin Finch (Kurt Reis), he becomes the prime suspect. But something more sinister lurks beneath the surface.
The horror escalates with a sinister twist—Dr. Finch isn’t the one behind the madness. Instead, it’s Dr. Avril Carter (Kate Trotter), a woman Ryan initially trusts, who is secretly orchestrating the deaths. Cold, calculating, and relentless, she’s driven by a terrifying ambition: to win a Nobel Prize by curing one of the world’s most infamous serial killers. But for her experiment to succeed, the death toll must reach a specific number by a certain time. The most disturbing moment of the episode comes in the form of a man consumed by his fear of fire—his agonizing demise is a masterclass in tension, with some of the most harrowing stunt work in the series. And Now the News doesn’t just rely on supernatural horror; it taps into the fragility of the human mind, where fear itself becomes the ultimate executioner.
“What a Mother Wouldn’t Do” (Season 1, Episode 25)
“What a Mother Wouldn’t Do” is a harrowing descent into parental desperation, moral corruption, and the chilling power of a cursed antique. The object at the heart of this nightmare is an antique baby carriage, one that once carried an infant aboard the doomed Titanic. But this isn’t just a historical artifact—it’s a predator in disguise, offering a horrifying exchange: it will shield a sickly baby with a failing heart, but only if seven lives are claimed in its name. Unlike most of the cursed objects, the horror doesn’t begin with a crime—it begins with a quiet transaction, a simple sale, setting off an unstoppable chain of bloodshed. The slow build makes the inevitable feel all the more sinister.
Lynne Cormack and Michael Countryman give chilling performances as a husband and wife pushed to the brink of their humanity. Their descent is terrifying to watch—what begins as reluctance soon gives way to grim determination, their guilt corroding into something even darker. Every murder tightens the noose around them, yet they can’t stop, trapped by their own fear of losing their child. The dread peaks when their paranoia takes hold, convincing them that their babysitter is suspicious of their crimes. The decision is made—she has to die. But just as they move in for the kill, Micki and Ryan burst in, shattering the moment with the only thing that can break this spell of death: intervention. What a Mother Wouldn’t Do isn’t just an episode about a cursed object—it’s a relentless, nightmarish meditation on how far someone will go to save the one they love, even if it means becoming the monster themselves.
“The Quilt of Hathor” (Season 1, Episodes 19-20)
“The Quilt of Hathor” is a chilling two-part episode that thrusts Ryan and Micki into an isolated religious community where strict rules and hidden darkness create the perfect breeding ground for terror. At the center of it all is a cursed quilt, seemingly harmless but tied to a series of mysterious deaths. When an old woman from the village visits Curious Goods with knowledge of the object, Ryan and Micki set off to retrieve it, forced to blend in with the community’s rigid way of life. Micki, in particular, is met with immediate judgment, while Ryan finds himself dangerously drawn to Laura (Carolyn Dunn), a beautiful young woman whose spirit clashes with her father, the imposing Reverend Josiah Grange (Scott Paulin).
After Ryan is caught dancing with Laura, he quickly becomes the village scapegoat when people begin dying in their sleep. His snooping alongside Micki doesn’t help, and the tension escalates into a brutal trial by combat above burning coals. Just when it seems the mystery will be solved, the episode ends abruptly—Micki retrieves the quilt, but Ryan, in an emotional decision, chooses to stay behind with Laura, much to Micki’s heartbreak.
In part two, Ryan remains with Laura as more deaths occur, drawing the attention of Inquisitor Holmes (Bernard Behrens), an outsider investigating the strange happenings. Ryan soon uncovers the quilt’s true nature—it kills through dreams, suffocating victims as they sleep. He takes his findings to Reverend Grange, who initially seems convinced, only for it to be revealed that he has been using the quilt all along. Banished from the village, Ryan seeks help from the Inquisitor, only to find him already murdered, leaving Ryan as the prime suspect once again. Micki and Jack return, but their involvement is minimal, with Laura ultimately being the one to stop her father’s reign of terror. The Quilt of Hathor may not be the most action-packed two-parter, but its eerie atmosphere, slow-building dread, and tragic love story make it one of the series’ more unsettling entries.
“Shadow Boxer” (Season 1, Episode 8)
“Shadow Boxer” delivers a brutal and unsettling entry in Friday the 13th: The Series, centered around a pair of cursed boxing gloves that guarantee victory—but at a horrifying price. Every time the wearer fights in the ring, a shadowy doppelgänger deals lethal blows to an unsuspecting victim elsewhere. The gloves’ latest owner, Tommy Dunn (David Ferry), revels in his newfound success, while Micki and Ryan work to retrieve the deadly artifact. Despite securing the gloves, Micki is left deeply frustrated—there’s no way to prove Tommy was responsible for the murders, meaning he walks free without consequence.
What starts as a fairly straightforward episode takes a dark and intense turn when Tommy, desperate to reclaim his cursed advantage, breaks into Curious Goods and threatens Micki at knifepoint. It’s a chilling moment, and David Ferry delivers an unhinged, terrifying performance. Louise Robey, as Micki, are equally compelling, selling the sheer terror of the moment with raw, believable emotion. The climax is both clever and satisfying, tying up the horror with a fittingly poetic resolution. Shadow Boxer may not seem like a standout at first, but its escalating tension, strong performances, and gripping finale make it one of the more memorable entries in the series.
Friday the 13th: The Series remains a gem of ’80s horror television, with its anthology-like structure and strong moral undercurrents. These episodes capture the essence of the show’s eerie brilliance, showcasing its unique ability to combine psychological tension with supernatural horror. For fans of creepy tales and cursed objects, this series remains a must-watch.