As the familiar fall chill breezes through our windows each morning while Starbucks continues to pour pumpkin spice lattes by the dozen, we’re officially in the thick of one of the best seasons of the year. Of course, fall simply wouldn’t be the same without Halloween.
With Halloween comes an abundance of spooky TV shows, movies, and other various forms of entertainment media that sends chills up and down our spine in rapid succession. Now, while most of these movies and television episodes are typically aimed at adult audiences, the true kicker of feartastic fun is when episodes of animated shows decide to steer in a slightly different direction and provide endless spooks and scares for a younger audience.
Over the years, the landscape of animated television has depicted an array of spine-tingling episodes that terrified us back in the glory days of our childhood and still continue to leave us feeling unsettled even as adults. I, for one, can barely watch these episodes without turning a light on at some point during it. So, let’s dive directly in and explore these 5 fear-inducing episodes that are just as terrifying as ever.
Rugrats: “In the Dreamtime” (season 3, episode 18)
Although the spooky community likely wouldn’t consider this episode to be very Halloween coded, it’s hard to ignore just how unsettling it is. With the episode surrounding Chuckie being afraid of his dreams while sleeping, he and his father, Chas, both have one major nightmare near the end of the episode, where both Stu and Tommy appear deformed with large tongues and eyes — yes, something straight out of a horror movie. It’s a moment that still terrifies folks to this day.
Invader Zim: “Dark Harvest” (season 1, episode 4)
When I think about my childhood, I immediately think back to the iconic Invader Zim episode when Zim was capturing the organs of his human classmates and harvesting them for later control and purpose. As you can imagine, this mind-boggling episode quickly became controversial over the years, and it continues to terrorize us even in our adulthood. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t get any spookier than this premise, so it’s no wonder this episode deserves a spot on this list.
Hey Arnold: “Four-Eyed Jack” (season 2, episode 16)
From the “Haunted Train” episode to the actual Halloween-inspired special, Hey Arnold memorably delivered with an abundance of spooky content — although I simply cannot deny the cultural impact of the “Four-Eyed Jack” episode. After Arnold and Gerald discover strange sounds and smells coming from the basement, Arnold’s grandfather reveals a bone-chilling story about a ghost named Jack. In the end, Jack visits the boys while they’re sleeping, but only Gerald sees him, letting out a terrified scream in the process. This one is burned in our minds forever.
SpongeBob SquarePants: “Graveyard Shift” (season 2, episode 16)
Nosferatu, anybody? Look, it’s not hard to understand why this is considered by many to be one of the spookiest animated episodes in the television realm. With SpongeBob and Squidward working the night shift at the Krusty Krab, Squidward tells the story of the Hash-Slinging Slasher, a haunted fry cook who worked at the restaurant. In the end, the beloved duo never actually encounters the ominous figure, but Count Orlok makes an appearance that terrified us all.
Courage the Cowardly Dog: “King Ramses’ Curse” (season 1, episode 7)
To this day, is there even an animated episode as spooky as this? For the spooky community, Return the Slab~ is forever burned in our brains as one of the most terrifying encounters in the history of the Courage series, although the horror cartoon certainly delivered a variety of spine-tingling specials throughout its run. But this episode? Oh, it definitely takes the cake. From King Ramses hauntingly uttering threats of a curse from the fields of the farmhouse to its unsettling score, this is easily THE episode that still gives us all nightmares.