Marmadesam was first aired in Sun TV between 1995 and 1998. It was then taken over by Raj TV and Vasant TV. This series defined the childhood of many youngsters who still get spooked by the spine-chilling neighing of the horse in the title song.
The second season was titled Vidaathu Karuppu. Vidathu Karuppu was the most successful of the Marmadesam series. The story examines the psychological underpinnings of the concept of split personalities even while exploring in detail the rural cult of Karuppu Sami prevalent in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. Starring C. T. Rajakantham, Chetan, Devadarshini, Meenakumari, Vijaya Sarathy, Master Lokesh, Mohan V. Ram, Poovilangu Mohan, Ponvannan, Sureshwar, Kausalya, Muthusubramanian and Sivakavitha, the series was a huge commercial success and triggered imitations and supernatural thrillers by other television directors.[citation needed]