The Lost Boris Karloff Horror Series That Never Made It to TV

Lauren Novak October 15, 3:43 pm

BLACK FRIDAY, Boris Karloff, 1940 — Everett Collection

Horror icon Boris Karloff is mostly known for his legendary run at Universal in the 1930s, originating the characters of Frankenstein and The Mummy. When it comes to TV, you may know him as the Grinch, or as the host of 1960s anthology series Thriller. But few fans know that a decade earlier, in 1958, he shot another creepy TV project, The Veil — a supernatural anthology that, due to complex behind-the-scenes problems, shot 11 episodes which were never aired, and which remained largely lost until they were rediscovered in the 1990s.

The Veil was bproduced by Hal Roach Studios and created by Frank P. Bibas. Each episode was said to be inspired by real-life accounts of the paranormal, and Karloff himself starred in nearly all of them; guest stars included familiar faces like Patrick Macnee, Whit Bissell, George Hamilton and Denise Alexander. However, behind the scenes, financial troubles and a collapsed co-production deal left the show in limbo. By the time a pilot and ten additional episodes were completed, the studio could not sell the project to a network or syndicate. For years, it was considered television’s greatest ghost story that never had its chance. Critics later called it “the greatest television series never seen.”

The Veil was not completely lost. In the late 1960s, ten of its episodes were stitched together into three feature-length anthology films that found their way onto late-night TV. They were titled Jack the Ripper, Destination Nightmare and simply The Veil, and these compilations introduced a new audience to Karloff’s haunting presence, though few realized they were watching fragments of a larger project. Later, VHS tapes surfaced in the 1990s, followed by DVD releases from Something Weird Video and Shout! Factory. The most complete version, retitled Tales of the Unexplained, finally made all twelve episodes available.

Adding to the show’s mystery are the two unusual entries, “The Vestris” and “Whatever Happened to Peggy?” For years, their existence was debated by fans. “The Vestris” was actually a backdoor pilot that aired on ABC’s anthology Telephone Time in February 1958, making it the only piece of The Veil that was ever broadcast in its original run. “Whatever Happened to Peggy?” disappeared for decades before resurfacing in DVD collections. The Veil has since become a favorite at nostalgia conventions, where screenings remind audiences what might have been.