THE HALLOWEEN PICK 'N' MIX - OUR BLOODY SELECTION OF TV CLIPS

All Hallow’s Eve is nearly upon us, and to get in the mood for the scares and thrills of the spookiest night of the year we’ve been thinking about the most horrifying, most gruesome, and most down-right scary moments we’ve seen on television over the last yew years. We’re talking blood. And a lot of it. The ultimate in bloody Halloween viewing has to be the Twilight for grown-ups True Blood; the vampire show hailed by the Guardian as ten times better than anything on TV. Normally the reserve of big screen shockers or straight to DVD slashers, the gore, scares, thrills and horror have made their way into a number of television shows. Here are five of the best blood soaked scenes from television.

Rome – Pullo In The Arena
While not horror as such, lavishly recreated Rome is the setting for HBO’s bloody period drama of the same name, and deserves a place in our bloody list. War and betrayal are on the menu as Pullo finds out towards the end of season one. Here he is in the gladiatorial arena asking for a quick quiet death. One gladiator makes the mistake of insulting Pullo’s legion and the scene quickly transforms into one of the goriest bloody affairs we’ve seen on television. Pullo works his way through several assailants – limbs are severed, a head pops off, and a giant gets given a second spine made of sharp metal. Ouch.

The Walking Dead – Every Zombie Kill
Taking one of the classic horror genres and transplanting it slap bang in the middle of modern day Georgia, The Walking Dead is the perfect excuse for a multitude of imaginative and down right disgusting zombie kills – as well as horrific depictions of human fatalities at the hands of the undead. This video (caution: spoilers!) captures every brutal kill from the first series. Gore galore.

Dexter – Matter Splatter
The bloodstain pattern analyst Dexter moonlights as a serial killer, picking off those who evade more conventional justice. This guy’s job is to walk into a crime scene and keep a clear head – guts of steel required. Even so, there comes a point where too much is just too much, as this clip shows. I guess that’s one way to redecorate...

1000 Ways To Die – Ew, Just Ew
Straight from the United States, that land of class and taste comes this delightful little show that recreates the most ridiculous gory demises with a perfectly insensitive comedy overtone. Take this clip for example: Will it be strangulation by gold chain in motor fan? Crushed by car falling off of Jack? Maybe explosion caused by smoking next to fuel? No, it’s far more outrageous – this show keeps you guessing until the gory end!

True Blood – Scary Can Be Sexy
The ultimate in Halloween viewing, HBO’s popular adaptation of The Southern Vampire Mysteries is a grown-up romp of blood and sex, where hot guys and hot girls face life in Bon Temps - Some human, some supernatural, but all addictive viewing. This clip from episode nine of the first season sees vampirebait Sookie Stackhouse put in peril by a fanged foe. Vampire Bill comes to the rescue in a brutal and bloody fashion leaving Sookie soaked after a blood shower. Sexy gore doesn’t get any better than this.

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