The “Scully Effect” And Other Things You Never Knew About The X-Files

The Show’s Creator Loves Conspiracies

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The X-Files seems to have taken inspiration from just about everywhere and anywhere. The show’s creator was inspired by characters in The Silence of the Lambs and Twin Peaks, as well as shows like The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Chris Carter was said to have been inspired by a public survey that showed over 3 million people believed aliens had abducted them in their lifetime. Carter was shocked by the survey and viewed alien abduction as a “religious experience” that might make for engaging television. He even left a cushy job at Disney to create The X-Files.

Coming up, the show’s creators didn’t want to be labeled science fiction, so they hired some important people to get rid of the label.