The X-Files Fans Declare This Episode Written by Stephen King Their Ultimate Favorite
It is one of the scariest episodes of The X-Files, and no wonder — it was written by the King of Horror himself.
Mulder and Scully pop up in Stephen King 's books from time to time — as a joke, a brief mention, or a gesture of respect for the cult FBI agents. Not surprisingly, the author once approached The X-Files showrunner Chris Carter with a request to write a script for an episode of the paranormal procedural.
The X-Files and King's works have a lot in common — not only an impressive imprint on pop culture, but also the principle of understanding the world by believing in the inexplicable.
Stephen King Wrote The X-Files Episode Chinga
The union was bound to happen one day. And it did, resulting in the episode titled Chinga, which, while not on a par with the truly iconic chapters of The X-Files, is still warmly remembered by fans.
“I can’t remember the first episode I watched but I certainly remember the first episode that sent me into a blind panic 🤣Chinga terrified me to my core,” Reddit user EllzHarmani wrote.
What Is Chinga About?
King did not make it to the small paranormal screens until the fifth season: the script for the episode was originally titled Molly (the same name as Kingr's corgi) and was dedicated to a diabolical doll that fell into the hands of a little girl with a difficult personality. The toy drove people to spontaneous suicide for no apparent reason.
The draft of the series, various versions of which can be found on the Internet, underwent dramatic changes: if the rumors are true, we lost a much more intense episode. The result of the changes were two names in the credits — King's and Carter's: the showrunner forced King to make changes to the script. But the basic plot remained unchanged, and the action was set in New England.
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Dana Scully plans to spend, if not a vacation, then at least a weekend without paranormal. Mulder is bored in the office and calls his partner, who has already managed to find paranormal adventures. There was a mass hysteria in a supermarket at a gas station, which resulted in the suicide of a butcher and many injuries to the townspeople. Only a woman, Melissa, whom the locals believe to be a witch, and her daughter Polly, holding the very doll, survived.
Both Chris Carter and Stephen King rarely dwell on witch hunts, even though the soil of New England is soaked with the blood of women accused of witchcraft. The episode offers a mix of horror stories about the Chucky doll (which Mulder jokes about) and King's favorite small-town squabbles.
Chinga Is One of the Best The X-Files Episodes That Is Criminally Overlooked
Like many memorable The X-Files episodes, Chinga offers a reversal: the usually skeptical Scully seeks occult explanations for what is happening, and Mulder, on the other end of the line, appeals to the voice of reason.
In addition, King did not shy away from the agents' overt flirtation, and after the episode was released, he even promised that if he ever got the chance to write The X-Files episode again, the agents would definitely end up in the same bed.
Apparently, that's why Carter was in no hurry to invite him back, and Chinga remained in the folder of rather controversial experiments. On the one hand, Scully's investigation in New England is one of the scariest and most bloodthirsty episodes of The X-Files, on the other hand, the series never became a cult classic and rarely makes it to the best-of lists.