Rod Serling was telling fables, almost allegorically. The X-Files was just one of those ideas that seemed to work on a number of levels. It's the way I sort of instinctively write, so that also fed into my ultimate concept. I also loved The Avengers TV show and that relationship between Steed and Emma Peel the intensity of the stories.

I was scared out of my wits by that show and I realised that there just wasn't anything scary on television anymore. But, basically, I just wanted to create and do something as scary as I remember The Night Stalker being when I was in my teens. Lots of stories to tell without having to be self-referencing, without having to rely on going into the lives of the characters. Also, it just seemed like a TV series to me. So terrifying - and successful - was the film that it led to a sequel ( The Night Strangler) a weekly TV series that had the intrepid reporter going up against different supernatural creatures ( Kolchak: The Night Stalker), and, indirectly, The X-Files.Ĭhris Carter (Creator/Executive Producer):

In the early 1970s, America was getting its creep on with the airing of the TV movie The Night Stalker, which had Las Vegas reporter Carl Kolchak investigating a series of murders that led him straight into the lair of a vampire. To celebrate its return, we look back at its formative days through a series of interviews conducted over two decades ago.

Not only has it reunited series creator Chris Carter with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, but it's successfully managed to capture much of what worked about the show when it debuted in 1993, while being updated for the modern audience. The X-Files is back in the public consciousness thanks to the launch of the show's six-episode tenth season.

The x files