History Series / ChannelZero

* OminousVisualGlitch: The brief snippets we see of Candle Cove frequently experience "channel overlap" type interference with much less benign imagery. This may have an added creep factor for older viewers who experienced the days of analogue television broadcasting, thanks to some AluminumChristmasTrees. For those who missed them: when atmospheric conditions are right, broadcasts from far away or on neighboring channels can create strange "overlay" effects on a weak signal as the two images partially combine. Annoying when a ghostly soap opera invades The Price Is Right; disturbing when a surgery scene from a medical drama intrudes on Sesame Street.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: "Sacrifice-zones," despite sounding like an invention for the show, [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114843/ are a real phenomena,]] although the term originally referred to environmental degradation rather than economic collapse.

* FelonyMisdemeanor: The reason why the Chief wanted Mike to come to dinner was because his older son is obsessed with Creator/DavidBowie.

* TooDumbToLive: In episode 5, Mike and Simon see the children under Candle Cove's influence walking through a field. Mike tells Simon to stay where he is and call for backup and warns him that the kids could be very dangerous. The moment Mike is out of sight, Simon walks over to the kids, does nothing to stop them from grabbing onto him, and gets himself stabbed to death.

* MonsterClown: Jill based Pretzel Jack off of a circus contortionist, and he certainly looks distinctly clown-ish.

* CreepyCute: [[spoiler: Pretzel Jack is adorable when he's not murdering people. The scene where he hugs Jill through an elaborate-and-painful-looking contortion move is especially endearing.]]

* KnifeNut: He carries a gun, but Dylan prefers to do the dirty work with his assisted-open knife and does so at the slightest provocation.
** By the time of the finale [[spoiler: Jules]], of all people, has become this as well, wielding a blade similar to Dylan's and with the same ruthless frequency and intent.

* KnifeNut: Seems to be a common trait in the Peach family. Both Robert and [[spoiler: Zoe]] carry a small, ornate switchblade which they do their dirty work with.

* AdultFear:
** The story takes place in a town haunted by unsolved child murders, and then another child goes missing...
** Mike's mother looks visibly worn and haggard from the realities of losing one of her children.
** The police chief's daughter Katie goes missing when the parents don't notice but are in the house. Her dad is doubly frantic.
** Eddie and Mike were terribly bullied, to the point where Eddie's finger got broken and no one did a thing about it. Mike tried to beg the bullies to stop, but he was ForcedToWatch.

* AdultFear: Even before entering a world of SurrealHorror, Alice has to deal with the mental health problems which her sister inherited from their mother. As well as the fear that she inherited them as well.

Season One stars Paul Schneider, Fiona Shaw, Luisa D'Oliveira, Natalie Brown, Shaun Benson, Luca Villacis, Abigail Pniowsky and Marina Stephenson Kerr.

* IAteWhat: Although technically averted, [[spoiler: both Alice and Louise's reaction to the remnants of the "dinner" they ate with the Peaches in the park is strongly reminiscent of this trope.]]
** [[spoiler: Zoe has a similar reaction when she finds out that the flowers outside of the Peaches' summer home are growing bunches of human hands.]]

** The Peaches live in a AnotherDimension of a bizarre "summer home" where it's always daytime, the plants grow human flesh, and the main house is always off in the distance, no matter how far you walk.

** The Peaches live in a bizarre AlternateDimension "summer home" where it's always daytime, the plants grow human flesh, and the main house is always off in the distance, no matter how far you walk.

** Brutally averted with [[spoiler: Aldous' decapitation]].

** Another possible interpretation is that Eddie is still able to influence the real world exactly as he did before, but now there's Mike with him, who may be able to use that same exact power to thwart his brother's efforts. It's probably possible because, as Eddie himself pointed out during the card game, Eddie's power is Mike's power too.

* YourCheatingHeart: Jill certainly seems to think so at the start of the season.
** [[spoiler: Subverted. Tom is not obsessed with the other woman, but with the child he had by her in a relationship before his marriage]].

* {{Hypocrite}}: Ian basically [[spoiler:and jealously]] accuses Jillian of liking Tom because of an Electra complex. This after he's [[spoiler:openly admitted to pursuing her and dedicated a lot of energy into trying to MurderTheHypotenuse]].

%%* CursedWithAwesome: Let’s be honest, Pretzel Jack exists because of a lack of imagination. The characters that can manifest these things are effectively a Summoner / Warlock RPG class. Since they can actually control their minion, once they have sufficient command of their power, they can manifest a loyal servant in practically any form. If this wasn’t intentionally played for horror, it could easily become a fantasy / super hero origin story.

* VillainousIncest: [[spoiler:The way Ian kisses Jill reveals that he is interested in far more than a brother/sister relationship with her.]]

* BlackBestFriend: Jules, to Margot.

* {{Adorkable}}: Nathan

Season Four stars Brandon Scott, Maria Stern, Barbara Crampton, Steven Robertson, and Creator/StevenWeber.

** [[spoiler: This trope is patrially subverted as Simon, the aformentioned co-worker is killed the next episode.]]

* HateSink: While Glen is a nasty piece of work, his death does invoke some sympathy due to how cruel it is. [[spoiler: even Eddie, the main antagonist does seem to genuinely love his brother to start off with and has a decent freudian excuse.]] [[spoiler: Frances Booth, on the other hand, is an evil teacher who sacrificed her own son and leads a bunch of kids to kill to appease Eddie, the main antagonist.]]

* HateSink: While Glen is a nasty piece of work, his death does invoke some sympathy due to how cruel it is. [[spoiler: even Eddie, the main antagonist does seem to genuinely love his brother to start off with and has a decent freudian excuse.]] [[spoiler: Frances Booth, on the other hand, is an evil teacher who sacrificed her own son and leads a bunch of kids to kill to appease Eddie, the main antagonist.

* Wendigo: [[spoiler: The Pestilent God seems to be a cosmic horror twist on this, complete with a penchant for turning people into ravenous cannibals, a skeletal face and deer antlers]]

* Wendigo: [[spoiler: The Pestilent God seems to be a cosmic horror twist on this, complete with a penchant for turning people into ravenous cannibals, a skeletal face and deer antlers]]