The show: "Supernatural."

The premiere: 8 tonight on WB.

The twist: It's a road picture with ghosts.

The concept: In the producers' Hollywoodese shorthand, "Route 66" meets "The X-Files" and "Star Wars" at a truck stop. Two estranged brothers head out in their '67 Chevy Impala to search for their father, who trained them to hunt for supernatural phenomena — and the answer to their mother's haunting demise years earlier.

With "Supernatural," WB is pinning its hope on scare tactics.

Horror has been hot on the big screen, with films such as "The Ring," "The Village" and "The Grudge" all scoring more than $100 million at the box office. WB entertainment president David Janollari says that audience — more female than male — could flock to a horror series, giving it breakout potential.

The films "are scoring huge with the young moviegoing audience, particularly the young female audience. That's our audience," he says.

The series' otherworldliness is a reminder of earlier WB shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." And the twentysomething protagonists should be a familiar fit for longtime network fans: WB veterans Jared Padalecki of "Gilmore Girls" and Jensen Ackles of "Smallville" (and earlier, "Dawson's Creek") play Sam and Dean Winchester.

Janollari sees the show as "a thrill ride — just scary and suspenseful and creepy and cool."

"Supernatural" comes in a season when eerie happenings are multiplying on the fall schedule. Executive producer Eric Kripke ("Boogeyman") acknowledges the success of ABC's "Lost" in making it easier for these kinds of shows to get on the air. They reflect an uncertain post-9/11 spirit in which an enemy "is not only out to get us. He could be living among us."

Although "Supernatural" may fit with the times, Kripke, 31, has been nurturing this idea for almost a decade. He considers himself a disciple of the late Joseph Campbell and his examinations of mythology. The names of the two lead characters are an homage to the wandering Sal and Dean of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." And Kripke also cites contemporary signposts, including "Star Wars" and "The Matrix," when discussing the heroes' journey.

Structurally, "Supernatural" will be made up primarily of self-contained episodes: "They'll be driving into town to kill that evil and then they'll drive back into the sunset," Kripke says.

A longer thread including their search for their father will be established over time.

"Supernatural" apparitions will reflect a commitment to folklore. In their travels, Sam and Dean will confront a Windigo, a man-eating creature from Native American lore; the hook man, the scary subject of many a campfire tale; Bloody Mary, a demonic wraith in the mirror; and a succubus, another kind of female demon.