The 8 Scariest Episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ever

This season four Halloween-themed episode makes the list for its epic creep factor. In "Fear, Itself," the Scooby gang ends up trapped inside a fraternity house. That wouldn't be so bad (there's plenty of beer there!), but due to an accidental spell cast by Oz's spilled blood, the house, which is decorated for Halloween, comes alive — literally. If that wasn't bad enough, Buffy, Oz, Willow, and Xander all are confronted with their own deepest fears, which manifest themselves in different ways while the group tries to find an escape.

Magic never, ever comes without a cost. The group learns this the hard way when they use magic to bring Buffy back to life in season six's two-part premiere, only to discover in After Life that a dark traveler has hitchhiked their way back to earth with the slayer. The evil spirit has the ability to inhabit the bodies of those it jumps between, hence the whole Anya-slicing-her-face thing. Not pretty.

Part of what makes this episode so terrifying is in the name itself. In order to test Buffy's skills, the Watcher's Council forces Giles to incapacitate her slayer abilities, leaving her utterly helpless. She must pass the test by slaying a particularly lethal vampire, but the whole thing doesn't go as planned. Completely defenseless, Buffy is stalked by a psychotic killer who kidnaps her mom. This music alone in "Helpless" — minimal, bare, eerie, and sing-song — is enough to creep anyone out, but it's the cat and mouse game Zachary Kralik, the crazy vamp, plays with Buffy that makes the whole thing particularly suspenseful.

Unsurprisingly, the season one episode "Nightmares" is pretty scary. Buffy and friends, in an effort to save a young boy in danger, must face their own worst nightmares to do so. Including knife-wielding clowns, rogue tarantulas, public speaking (the horror!), and turning into a vampire, the fears are all too real for the Scoobies and other students. The scariest part of this episode, however, is who the true "demon" turns out to be.

A sketchy hospital, a group of sick children, an extremely ill slayer, and an evil demon with crazy teeth and detachable eyes: that's pretty much season two's "Killed by Death" in a nutshell. When Buffy is hospitalized with the flu, she begins to see the deadly Der Kindestod roaming the halls of the facility — but as her fever wears off, she is no longer able to. With the help of children who are being terrorized by the demon, Buffy has to figure out how to kill him before it's too late.

Anytime there's a weird little girl in a dress singing a creepy song, you know things are about to get bad. And in the Emmy-nominated "Hush," things get really bad. The Gentlemen, demons who originated in fairy tales, come to Sunnydale to wreak havoc on the residents. They steal the voices of everyone in town so no one can scream, and then they cut out the hearts of victims in order to collect seven. If their means of getting around (floating about a foot off the ground) and skeletal features don't scare you, the insane smiles frozen on their faces will. That, or the straight-jacket-wearing lackeys who hold people down while the Gentlemen work.

In season seven's "Same Time, Same Place," there's a demon named Gnarl that peels off strips of a paralyzed Willow's skin and eats them. I don't even know what else to say to convince you that this is one of the scariest episodes in the series, not just because it's completely disgusting, but also because the plot line is dark, painful, and disturbing. Careful what you eat before this one.

"Conversations With Dead People" is like its own miniature horror movie. By far the most terrifying episode of the entire series, it combines both tangible and psychological fears while throwing in some classic horror scares that will stay with you long after watching. In the episode, each main character encounters some form of dead person with whom they speak throughout the show — but things turn dark (and dangerous) quickly. From dead lovers and demons to a petrifying appearance by Buffy and Dawn's late mother, "Conversations With Dead People" is a reminder of Buffy's horror roots and a true testament to the show's merit.