David Lynch’s creepy small-town series Twin Peaks was a bust in the ratings, but it continues to exert an influence on television programming: had a similar brand of quirky humor, while oddball crimes were the rule in Rome, Wis., in the early episodes of Picket Fences. Still, no show has tried to match the menacing mood and hints of the occult that pervaded Twin Peaks—not until this season’s American Gothic, which airs 9 p.m. on CBS. It may not feature dancing midgets or goofy lines like “Damn fine coffee!,” but chilling violence and portentous lines like “Someone’s at the door” make ’s Trinity, S.C., seem like a sister village to Lynch’s creation.

Gary Cole (Midnight Caller) stars as Sheriff Lucas Buck, who rules Trinity the same way Satan rules the underworld. Keeper of the town’s deepest secrets, he’s both murderous and media-savvy, as apt to whistle the Andy Griffith Show theme as he is to destroy evidence or bump off an inconvenient witness. Cole plays him with a feral grin, like the homicidal peace officers in Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me or Pop. 1280.

In the show’s first episodes, Buck sought custody of Caleb Temple (Lucas Black), a redheaded boy who even dresses vaguely like Opie Taylor. Caleb’s life was knocked out of whack during the pilot’s opening scene, when his father murdered his sister with a shovel. A shockingly brutal murder by the standards of prime-time television, it merely set the stage for what was to come.

With its psychic episodes and spiritual visitations, is more overtly supernatural than Twin Peaks ever was. An average episode can include poltergeist activity in the morgue, messages written in blood, ominous goat sightings and grave-side saplings that grow full-size overnight, only to be felled by lightning bolts. So many visitors mysteriously disappear that one character comments, “This county is like the Bermuda Triangle of tourism.”

Former teen idol Shaun Cassidy cowrote and created American Gothic, which just goes to confirm what evil lurks in the hearts of grown-up child stars. Like the film Night of the Hunter—which is a likely influence—the show lays the religious imagery on thickly: Salvation is constantly discussed, and Lucas Buck is fond of saying things like, “To those who follow my lead, life can be a paradise.” Although there’s an occasional campy prop, such as a pillowcase emblazoned with the face of Elvis, the tone is inescapably grim.

still commands attention, however. There’s nothing else remotely like it on television, and viewers can’t help but be intrigued by the mysterious goings-on. The show has a good lead-in with Picket Fences, and CBS might be able to pick up some of The X-Files’ audience (since the show airs an hour earlier on Fox), but will frighten many viewers away. One of the darkest series ever produced, it seems destined to the same ill fate as

Especially Deadly Amusements

TV highlights Oct. 26-Nov. 1

These listings presume that you have 1. cable, 2. a VCR, and 3. a basement filled with shallow graves. In other words, don’t slay up all night unless you have to. Cable channels marked with an asterisk (*) are not yet available in all sections of Nashville; to find out whether your area receives these stations, call Viacom at 244-5990, or a goblin will eat you up.

Nashville does not need new arenas, new chain restaurants or new malls. What Nashville needs is a new local horror-movie host. When I was a kid, Channel 4 had the spooky Sir Cecil Creep, who hosted a late-night monster bash on Saturday nights; his like is sorely needed among the infomercials and lame syndicated gabfests cluttering late-night programming. While I’m a pale substitute for the late, great Russ McKeown, let me serve in his absence as your ghoulish guide to spine-snapping shock, , SHOCK! this Halloween weekend.

The Evil Dead (midnight Friday, Sci-Fi Channel) The most technically sophisticated and inventive splatter movie ever made. A group of friends read from a mysterious book and accidentally awaken the evil spirits in the forest around them; what follows is an exhilarating, flesh-rending assault on the senses. Writer-director Sam Raimi’s widely copied technique, a kinesthetic combination of supersonic ground-level POV shots and fun-house angles, was adopted by his assistant editor Joel Coen for his own movies. If you can stand spurting blood, spurting eyeballs and spurting spinal fluid, don’t miss it.

Village of the Damned (1:20 a.m. Friday, TBS) Wolf Rilla’s genuinely unsettling 1960 classic begins with an entire town falling under a mysterious spell; several months later, the women all give birth to blond-haired, blue-eyed tyrants with phenomenal telepathic powers—and a chilling secret agenda. Worth a look just for the opening scene, proof that dead silence is infinitely creepier than blaring noise.

The Fury (7 p.m. Saturday, Sci-Fi Channel) One of my favorite movies. Telekinetic boy (Andrew Stevens) gets abducted by a shadowy government organization; telekinetic girl (Amy Irving) must use her powers to help his father (Kirk Douglas) before the boy loses his soul. Not much in the way of common sense, but director Brian DePalma devises one brilliant hair-raising set piece after another: a nighttime car chase, an amusement-park ride spiraling out of control, a model train running amok on psychic energy. Don’t miss the haunting John Williams score (his best) or the memorable finale, in which evil John Cassavetes (a terrific villain) gets a taste of instant decompression.

Carrie (10 p.m. Saturday, TNT) Speaking of DePalma, his 1976 adaptation of the Stephen King novel holds up surprisingly well, thanks to a deeply sympathetic performance by Sissy Spacek as the telekinetic teenage heroine, and strong support from Betty Buckley, Piper Laurie, Nancy Allen, and a menacing John Travolta in his first featured film role.

The Innocents (11 p.m. Saturday, FXM*) Intelligent, creepy rendition of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, with Deborah Kerr as the governess who suspects her young charges (including Martin Stephens, the Aryan tyke from Village of the Damned) may be under the control of spirits. Eerily effective cinematography by Freddie Francis; Truman Capote cowrote the script.

(1 p.m. Sunday, Comedy Central) The Citizen Kane of avocado-fueled T&A cannibal movies. In the perilous, uncharted wilderness of an avocado jungle near San Diego, cultural anthropologist Shannon Tweed (in a terrific comic performance) must travel upriver to find insane Dr. Kurtz (Adrienne Barbeau, natch). The madness that follows involves a schism among cannibal feminists (to eat men with guacamole or clam dip?), a tribe of sensitive weenies known as the Donahues who defend themselves with crocheted potholders, and a Republican plot to enslave women through subscriptions, luxury condos and a Nancy Reagan lecture series. Don’t ask—just watch.

Cat People (10 p.m. Sunday, Sci-Fi Channel) One of the kinkiest movies ever green-lighted by a major studio, Paul Schrader’s remake of the 1942 classic stars Nastassia Kinski as the virginal beauty who will turn into a panther if she sleeps with anyone other than her brother (Malcolm McDowell)—which doesn’t stop zookeeper John Heard from tying her to a bed and petting the ol’ puma. A perverse, weirdly touching horror fantasy, with a decadent Giorgio Moroder score and chic cinematography by John Bailey.

The Legend of Hell House (9 p.m. Monday, FXM*) Richard Matheson wrote this acclaimed 1973 shocker about a group of psychics investigating a haunted house filled with evil secrets. James Brown from the Belcourt says don’t miss it.

The Stepfather (1 a.m. Tuesday, WZTV) Jerry (Terry O’Quinn) seemed like the perfect suburban dad—until something went wrong and he slaughtered his entire family. Guess who single mom Shelley Hack is bringing home to meet the kids. A fabulous 1987 thriller, tensely directed by Joseph Ruben from a dandy (and keenly satirical) script by mystery novelist Donald E. Westlake. Oh, and next time—call before you come over.

Three by Val Lewton (5:35 a.m. Tuesday, AMC) Val Lewton produced some of the classiest and most atmospheric horror movies ever made during the 1940s, and American Movie Classics—the coolest cable channel on TV, in our book—kicks off Halloween right with three ghastly gems: the 1946 Bedlam, with Boris Karloff running a sinister asylum; the original Cat People (7 a.m.), directed by Jacques Tourneur; and the beautiful (and mostly unrelated) sequel, Robert Wise and Gunther Fritsch’s 1944 fantasy The Curse of the Cat People (8:30 a.m.). Lewton’s films occupy a unique place in movie history; any chance to see them is as welcome as it is rare.

Cujo (11:05 p.m. Tuesday, TBS) Remember the unease you felt as you walked past a snarling dog in somebody’s front yard, and you noticed that the chain holding the beast at bay seemed suspiciously fragile? This 1983 adaptation of the Stephen King novel preserves that feeling for about two hours. A rabid St. Bernard traps mom Dee Wallace in the uncomfortably tight confines of a stalled automobile; the oppressive cinematography by Jan de Bont (who went on to direct ) slowly closes in the walls. Not the best movie made from one of King’s books—that honor belongs to David Cronenberg’s hugely underrated The Dead Zone—but certainly one of the scariest.