A Formula Behind The Fright

But that's not to say the show writers avoid classic icons of horror.

"There's nothing wrong with doing a vampire story if it's a really cool vampire," Singer said. "Nothing wrong with a werewolf story if it's a really cool werewolf."

BASING IT IN REALITY: In "Supernatural," Singer said, "one thing that we try to do is to ground all this in some sort of legend -- something that, if you Googled it, you could find it." Take, for example, the Bloody Mary episode that explored the lore behind that creepy character.

Crime shows take a different approach. In "The Closer," Shephard said, "there are no monsters out there. When you go to investigate a crime you don't find paw prints, you find fingerprints. Which means all of this stuff comes from within human beings. The whole thrust behind our crime stories is that these are crimes that any one of us could have committed if we were pushed."

"Oftentimes the real life case is much worse than the one we actually portray," said Jennifer Finnigan, star of "Close to Home," a legal drama on CBS. "It's very eye-opening. The kind of shows we've done thus far are really intense and really shocking. And even scarier and more real because they are set in this really safe suburban setting."

Scare Tactics

Hollywood has gone beyond the standard-issue frights in trying to find new ways to scare viewers. Here are three areas in which the networks are raising the fear factor:

Paranormal Shows : The smash hits "Lost" and "Medium" spawned an outbreak of shows ("Night Stalker," "Ghost Whisperer," "Surface") that deal with monsters, demons, and the cranky undead. "I think people come to these stories willingly . . . because there's always that element of disbelief," said Robert Singer of "Supernatural." "Probably, it's more enjoyable to watch than a show about a terrorist because terrorists really do scare you . . . these kind of shows scare you in a way you want to be scared."

Crime Shows: Perhaps the scariest shows are the ones that are the most plausible. From "CSI" to "Crossing Jordan," episodic crime dramas remain TV's most popular format. "People like to be jolted out of the mundaneness of their lives," said Greer Shephard of FX's "Nip/Tuck" and TNT's "The Closer." "Many of our days are routine and ritualistic, and there's something to be said to being yanked out it for a second or two. It's a type of adrenaline rush. It's the same type of experience you have when you go on a roller coaster."

Alien Shows: Life-forms from other planets never seem to arrive wanting to eat at our restaurants, shop at our malls or read Us Weekly. Shows such as "Invasion," "Threshold" and "The 4400" all feature aliens that want to conquer society and mutate our genetic makeup. Even on "Smallville," Clark Kent is the only nice guy from Krypton. "It's the fear of the unknown," said "Invasion's" Shaun Cassidy. "We assume the enemy is smarter than us."

-- Amy Amatangelo