The biggest name in horror, Stephen King, has inspired many beloved adaptations over his storied career and the last few years have been especially kind to his fans. From 2017’s IT reboot to this year’s well-received The Outsider adaptation on HBO, there has been a veritable onslaught of high-quality Stephen King material at audiences’ disposal.

But, despite this recent renaissance, the overall history of adapting King, particularly for television, has been spotty at best. For every Outsider, there’s a handful of swings-and-misses that fans would sooner forget. So with that in mind, here are five best and five worst Stephen King adaptations ever put to television (according to Rotten Tomatoes).

Worst: The Mist (2017) - 61%

Paramount’s The Mist is about as loose as direct Stephen King adaptations get. It jettisoned the cast and plot specifics from the novel and 2007 movie and kept only the titular mist, even changing up the horrors that it was hiding. The show received a mixed reception due to its predictable plot and cliche characters but some critics found enjoyment in its thrills and surprisingly solid special effects.

Fans, however, were even less enamored than critics and served up a 49% score of their own. Despite the violent cliffhanger ending, The Mist was canceled after one season.

Best: Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From The Stories Of Stephen King (2006) - 86%

The first of several anthology series on this list, Nightmares & Dreamscapes is a lesser known but surprisingly star-studded series that originally aired on TNT. The series adapted a different story from King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes collection for each of its eight episodes and features stars such as William Hurt, William H. Macy, Claire Forlani, Ron Livingston, and Tom Berenger.

The stories are among the most bizarre in King’s canon including the pilot episode, “Battleground” where Hurt plays an assassin who kills a toy magnate and is then besieged in his apartment by an army of toy soldiers.

Worst: The Langoliers (1995) - 52%

This two-part miniseries follows the remaining people on a flight where most of their fellow passengers have mysteriously disappeared. Critics derided the weak acting of its forgettable cast, the tepid direction from Tom Holland (no, the other one), and the overall messy pacing and lack of scares.

The episodes are not completely without their charms though as the series was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or Special category and was even nominated for Best Single Genre Television Presentation by The Saturn Awards.

Best: Castle Rock (2018 - Present) - 87%

The most unique take on Stephen King to date, Castle Rock takes little bits of a ton of different Stephen King properties to form an original story each season. The first season featured Andre Holland’s Henry Deaver as he dealt with the dark history of the town, primarily in the form of Bill Skarsgard’s The Kid, and came with the welcome return of Sissy Spacek.

The second season ramped up the connections even further as it primarily revolves around Lizzy Caplan’s riveting turn as a young Annie Wilkes, best known as the psychopathic nurse from Misery.

Worst: Salem’s Lot (2004) - 50%

Immediately after leaving West Wing, Rob Lowe attempted to expand his career by taking the lead role in a newer two-part Salem’s Lot adaptation… and it didn’t go great. The mini-series is the third worst reviewed piece of Stephen King television ever.

By most accounts, the strong cast that also stars Andre Braugher and Donald Sutherland alongside Lowe does what it can to elevate the series but aren’t able to overcome its many shortcomings. In the end, the four-hour event is simply far too light on scares to stand apart from the original 1979 adaptation and justify its own existence.

Best: Salem’s Lot (1979) - 88%

And speaking of that adaptation, the third BEST reviewed Stephen King show also happens to be Salem’s Lot. All these years later, the 1979 adaptation remains the benchmark for new shows and an iconic piece of horror in its own right. Critics praised director Tobe Hooper’s work in bringing the terrifying story a small town besieged by vampires to life and for good reason.

Despite the limitation of a television budget and 1979 effects, this Salem’s Lot remains one of the most chilling takes on King’s work to date.

Worst: The Shining (1997) - 42%

The Shining (1980) is one of the most beloved horror movies of all time. The TV adaptation? Not so much. Stephen King famously hates Kubrick’s adaptation and it turns out he was so disappointed by it he decided to write a whole new one himself. His three-part miniseries is much more faithful to the book but that ends up being far more of a curse than a blessing.

Critics slammed the shows painful pacing and slavish devotion to the text as the primary causes of the boring episodes. It is worth noting, however, that the bulk of these reviews were written in 2017 or later and the series actually ended up receiving an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Miniseries so while the series has aged poorly it wasn’t received too harshly at its outset.

Best: Mr. Mercedes (2017 - Present) - 93%

One of the biggest surprises in the history of Stephen King television, AT&T’s Mr. Mercedes blew critics away when it debited in 2017 and is without a doubt one of the best adaptations of King’s work in any medium. Brendan Gleeson and Harry Treadaway shine as the retired detective lured into a game of cat and mouse and the psychotic killer who brought him there.

The show has continued to grow in acclaim with 100% positive reviews since its 86% season one score. The series biggest problem though is visibility. Just not that many people even know AT&T makes television at all.

Worst: The Tommyknockers (1993) - 29%

The worst reviewed show on this list, there aren’t many positive things to say about The Tommyknockers. The show’s reputation for unlikeable characters, a boring plot, and a cheesy lack of scares are well earned but like many other shows in this list, it still found some acclaim through technical achievements, this time in the form an Emmy nomination for sound editing.

It’s easy to see why this particular story, one of a poet in a small town who’s the only one immune to an alien brainwashing device, in unsure hands like director John Power’s, felt too much like schlocky B-tier entertainment for most King fans.

Best: Creepshow (2019 - Present) - 96%

The best-reviewed show to ever tackle Stephen King’s material is the only one not based on a book: the Shudder original series, Creepshow. Inspired by King’s 1982 screenwriting debut of the same name, the series is an anthology with a different creepy story for each episode. It features an impressive lineup of character actors like Giancarlo Esposito, Tricia Helfer, David Arquette, DJ Qualls, and Kid Cudi and is haled as a faithful love letter to the spirit of King’s original “while forging its own spooky path.”

Next: Outlander: 5 Theories About The Ghost Outside Claire’s Room We Wish Were True (& 5 Hope Aren’t)