Stephen King’s 1998 episode of The X-Files, “Chinga”, departed from the programme’s usual science-fiction focus by telling a self-contained supernatural horror story. Centring on Dana Scully during a holiday in Maine, it matters as a rare instance of the bestselling horror author writing directly for the series, bringing his familiar small-town unease and sinister-child imagery to the show.

The episode sees Scully investigate unexplained mass self-harm at a grocery shop, where victims bleed from their eyes and a butcher dies while confronting the apparent threat. The culprit is an evil talking doll owned by Polly Turner, the daughter of local widow Melissa Turner; although not regarded as one of the series’ greatest episodes, the article describes it as an effective, creepy “monster-of-the-week” entry.