The Veil

The Veil (1958): Boris Karloff’s Forgotten Foray into Supernatural Television

The Veil was a short-lived but intriguing anthology television series hosted by horror icon Boris Karloff, originally produced in 1958 but never officially aired in its time. Designed as a showcase of supernatural tales allegedly based on real events, the show featured Karloff as both narrator and occasional actor. Each episode embraced the eerie and inexplicable—ghosts, psychic visions, and mysterious coincidences—leaning into the quietly unsettling rather than outright terror. Though only ten episodes and a pilot were produced before the series was shelved due to financial issues at Hal Roach Studios, it later found life in syndication in the 1990s and on home video, earning a cult following for its moody charm and Karloff’s inimitable presence.

While The Veil never achieved the fame of The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents, its significance lies in its place as an early example of television exploring the supernatural in an understated, quasi-journalistic format. It arguably helped lay the groundwork for the "true story" horror framing that would become a staple decades later. Karloff’s calm, gentlemanly delivery contrasted beautifully with the uncanny events he introduced, giving the show a dignified, almost folkloric tone. Though mostly forgotten for years, The Veil now stands as a kind of lost relic—an atmospheric, under-the-radar gem that speaks to TV's growing fascination with the unknown in the atomic age.

The Veil consists of 10 completed episodes plus a pilot, totaling 11 episodes. The episodes are: "Vision of Crime," "Girl on the Road," "Food on the Table," "The Doctors," "The Crystal Ball," "Genesis," "The Return of Madame Vernoy," "Destination Nightmare," "Summer Heat," "Jack the Ripper," and the pilot episode, "The Vestris."

Each episode runs approximately 25 minutes, bringing the total runtime to about 275 minutes, or 4 hours and 35 minutes.