The theme comes from The X-Files, the American science fiction television series created by Chris Carter that first aired in 1993. Composer Mark Snow wrote the distinctive whistled melody, which became inseparable from FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigating unexplained cases. As the show became a cultural phenomenon through the 1990s, the tune spread far beyond television into parodies, Halloween playlists and internet videos. It remains widely used because a few notes instantly signal mystery, the paranormal and a secret waiting to be uncovered.