The Haunted Museum Series Like Night Gallery (Except Scarier!)

The first two episodes of The Haunted Museum series launch exclusively on discovery+ on Saturday, October 2. I had a chance to screen the first three episodes, and it wasn’t very long before I thought to myself, “This is like a modern-day Night Gallery!” Except with a lot more demons and much scarier!

Which, if you’re worried about spoilers, that’s the only one I’ll drop. Yes, even in the scripted series, Zak can’t resist incorporating demons into his project.

At least, demons appear in the first three episodes. But based on the episode descriptions, I think it’s safe to say demons will pop up in all of the episodes.

But what does that have to do with Night Gallery? Demons don’t, but artifacts do.

In case you’re not familiar with the show Night Gallery, I’ll start there and work my way through this review of The Haunted Museum series. (If you’re already familiar with Night Gallery, feel free to skip that part and jump ahead to the rest!)

Night Gallery

The Twilight Zone‘s last episode aired in 1964. It would be five years before Rod Serling launched Night Gallery, another spooky TV series. The pilot aired on Nov. 8, 1969, but the series officially premiered on Dec. 16, 1970. The last episode aired on Oct. 28, 1972.

It always started with Serling standing in a room of paintings suspended by…what? They just seemed to hover supernaturally behind him without strings or affixed to any walls.

Which was fitting because each episode began with Serling singling out one of the artworks, which always had a macabre backstory that Serling would describe.

Although some episodes contained more than one “vignette” so sometimes he’d single out two paintings during an episode.

Anyway, the story or stories in each episode of Night Gallery all stemmed from those canvases. That’s basically what The Haunted Museum series does too. Except the artifacts in Zak’s museum are real.

The Haunted Museum Series

Just like Rod Serling did in the Night Gallery, Zak starts each episode of  The Haunted Museum by sharing a quick anecdote about a certain artifact in his collection. Usually how he found it —or how it found him— and a brief history of its haunted or cursed background.

Which is a little different from the Night Gallery series, because Rod wasn’t in an actual museum nor was any of the pieces ones from his private collection.

Anyway, then Zak questions some aspect of the featured artifact. And that’s where horror master Eli Roth takes over, by weaving a terrifying tale inspired by the object.

Like in the first episode, “Dollhouse of the Damned.” Zak’s not sure who owned the dollhouse before he acquired it at an antique store.

However, a psychic told him she got the impression it was a young family who was ripped apart after bringing the dollhouse into their lives. She believed it was one of the most dangerous and demonic objects she’d ever seen and was a dangerous portal for the demonic activity still dwelling within it to this day.

That’s the inspiration for the scripted story that follows. An imagining of what might’ve happened to the family.

The episodes all follow that same formula, end also end with the same one. It tells when Zak acquired the object, whether or not it’s still on display in his Las Vegas museum now, and then a cutaway shot zooms in on the object itself.

Oh, and I’d be remiss not to mention the intro montage. It reminded me a lot of an American Horror Story opener. So if you like those too, then you’re probably also going to be thrilled with The Haunted Museum‘s opening montage.

The Haunted Museum Rating

Does it deserve a perfect five out of five skulls?

Probably. It’s super bingeable. I had no trouble devouring all three of the episodes I was allowed to screen in one sitting.

And was it scary? Compared to Night Gallery, they’re terrifying. I’m sure Night Gallery seemed spooky at the time too, but The Haunted Museum makes them look tame.

They’re not unbearably creepy, though. There really aren’t any jump scares —or if there were meant to be, I didn’t jump. Then again, I rarely do.

But the imagery was haunting, the FX was good, and so was the acting and storylines. There’s even a couple of F-bombs, which you definitely didn’t hear in any Night Gallery episodes. That’s my way of saying they’re meant for mature audiences.

So why am I only giving the series 4.5 skulls then?

Let’s just say the demons stole that half a skull.

Demons just aren’t my bag, baby. Before he died, my friend, Scott Morrow, always used to warn me that I may not believe in them, but they believe in me. We’d then have great debates about how I’m much more concerned with evil people, who he’d always say might be evil because they’re possessed by a demon.

He might have liked The Haunted Museum series then, which pretty much argues the same point.

Whether you believe in demons or not, if you’re a Ghost Adventures / Zak Bagans / Eli Roth / horror story anthology fan, or if you liked Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, I’m pretty sure The Haunted Museum series is going to be right up your alley.

Sneak Peek of the “Dollhouse of the Damned”

Thanks to discovery+, you can get a little taste of one of the creepier moments from the first episode of The Haunted Museum series.

Check-In

Which did you like better: The Twilight Zone or Night Gallery?