The Veil

"The Veil" is a 1958 TV series which consists of only 10 episodes, and which is hosted by none other than the ultimate Horror icon, the incomparable Boris Karloff himself. As a huge fan of Classic Horror in general and Karloff in particular, I was looking forward to seeing the episodes quite a bit. Overall, I must say that I was neither disappointed nor exceptionally stunned. The series sure was a neat idea, and it is superb entertainment and great fun that I highly recommend for all my classic Horror buffs. And yet, expectations should not be too high. The episodes are entirely entertaining. They differ in quality, however, and while this is referred to as a 'Horror' series, it could be labeled 'Fantasy' and 'Mystery' just as well.

The episodes always behind in a highly likable manner, with a short introduction from Karloff, who is sitting next to a fireplace in what is presumably a castle hall. The stories narrated are supposedly based on true events, which Karloff always manifests in his introductions. As stated above, the particular episodes differ in quality. While episodes such as "Jack The Ripper", "Summer Heat" or "Girl on the Road" are eerie and intelligent little stories that deliver everything possibly desirable in only 25 minutes, some other episodes, such as "Genesis" or "The Return Of Madame Vernoy" are only enjoyable for sentimental reasons, as the entertaining, camp fun they are. Two of the episodes, "Jack The Ripper" and "Destination: Nightmare", were also released as TV-films in the same year. Additional to being the show's host, Boris Karloff can be seen in (sometimes small, sometimes bigger) roles in all episodes but one (the final episode, "Jack The Ripper" which nonetheless remains the best episode in my opinion). Karloff is, of course, superb as always, the performances from the other actors differ, but they were entirely decent. Out of more recent shows, "The Veil" could probably most adequately be compared with "Beyond Belief: Fact Or Fiction", with the difference that this show got a higher cult- and entertainment value, and the great Boris Karloff as a host. So, don't expect to be scared out of your pants by the mysterious little stories presented here, but prepare for several episodes of vintage fun with the greatest host imaginable. Recommended to lovers of enjoyable classic spooks, and particularly to my fellow Karloff-fans.

Available complete on dvd, with magnificent picture and sound quality. This quite old anthology tv series of nine episodes plus an extra borrowed from British tv, is quite watchable. The acting styles are a little wooden, but there are some interesting early appearances- Robert Hardy, Patrick MacNee, Harry Bartell and so on.

Supposedly based upon real reports of paranormal reports this certainly predates the X Files. The approach is pure drama with no explanations.

A good addition to any classic tv collection - although it never was shown on tv.

"The Veil", a 1950's pilot series introduced by and starring Boris Karloff, concerned itself with ghostly tales and psychic phenomena. Although it was never taken up as a full series by a major network it still was quite entertaining. It is worth watching because of Karloff's own unique acting style and also because of the topics covered. One gets the impression that if it had been given a run then "The Veil" would have developed into a long running series investigating topics so well covered by future shows such as "The Twilight Zone" and "The X Files". It is a short series that a public television company would find useful in running in order to capture for a time a loyal viewing audience interested in ghostly tales or psychic phenomena. One of its best shows was the one about Jack the Ripper which will certainly get its viewers once again reading up books on this topic. A series well worth watching.

This seems to be the original 'weird stories based on factual happenings' series, coming a year previous to the mighty 'One Step Beyond' which used a similar format but did it better. The stories are good but some of the acting is a little wooden, but overall it is quite entertaining. Amazing it has been almost unseen since it was made.

Back in 1958, some folks decided to make a series about the supernatural that was both narrated by Boris Karloff and acted by him (he appeared in all but one episodes). Now here's the odd part--instead of just a pilot episode, they made 10--only to find that they didn't have a buyer. Because of that, the series fizzled and only a short time later, Karloff made another and more successful foray into television--the show "Thriller".

Fortunately for us, these ten episodes are available for download or viewing at archive.org--and they are well worth your time. The show are well-acted and made extremely well--too good not to have been given the go-ahead. See them for yourself and see what you think. Was the series prematurely and unfairly buried?