With Halloween around the corner, there is no better time to binge-watch all the seasons of The Walking Dead than right now. For me, zombies are the best way to celebrate. But while some episodes of The Walking Dead are a little slow and/or character-building, others are…straight horror. Things that genuinely do sit with you for ages.
In this list, we’ll cover the four scariest episodes in The Walking Dead, some of which are truly terrifying. Others are pure psychological horror. Let’s get into it.
“No Way Out”—Season 6, Episode 9
The first one on this list is “No Way Out.” As the mid-season premiere of season 6, this episode really showed how terrifying and debilitating a huge walker herd can be. We had spent the entirety of the first half of season 6 sort of building up to it, but to watch it basically infiltrate Alexandria, where quite literally so many people either had to hide or douse themselves in guts to survive, is terrifying.
But a few moments in this episode, aside from the creepy walkers, make it horrifying. One is when Sam (Major Dodson) and his mother, Jessie (Alexandra Breckenridge), are essentially torn to shreds by walkers after Sam freaks the heck out about it. That certainly ranks among the most gruesome deaths on this show.
The second is Carl (Chandler Riggs) getting shot. It’s a big build-up, but Ron (Austin Abrams) had a gun on him and was looking to kill Rick (Andrew Lincoln) for his entire family falling apart and dying, blaming him. However, before he could kill Rick, Michonne (Dani Gurira) plunges her sword into his chest. The gun still goes off, though, and the new angle hits Carl in the eye.
It’s a bloody shot—and one Abrams still gets heat for years later—but terrifying nonetheless.
“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” - Season 7, Episode 1
“The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” is an episode that turned a lot of fans off The Walking Dead, mainly because of two deaths and the horrifying, creepy feeling it gave many fans. It was like watching our family go through some psychological torture when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) suddenly came on our screens and terrified the ever-loving Christ out of everyone.
But the big thing, obviously, is that both Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) were taken out in the same episode, featuring some disgusting body horror that rivaled a lot of big horror movies out there. Even now, I willingly skip it because it can be a lot to handle.
“The Calm Before” - Season 9, Episode 15
The ninth season of The Walking Dead was full of ups and downs, from Rick’s departure from the series to the new villain, the Whisperers, but it wasn’t until this episode that we really understood what we were dealing with. To make a statement about their territory, the Whisperers captured several members of the communities we all knew.
Several survivors walk up to what looks like a lineup but is actually sticks that are lodged in the ground with the severed heads of several familiar characters. These include Tara (Alanna Masterson), Enid (Katelyn Nacon), Henry (Matt Lintz), and several others.
It’s a daunting scene that really showcases just how terrifying these new villains are. Over the course of season 10, we see even more of the Whisperers' violence, especially Alpha (Samantha Morton). Still, nothing quite beat this intense moment, when it felt like half of who we had come to know over the last few years was gone in an instant.
“On The Inside” - Season 11, Episode 6
Arguably the best episode of season 11 and what fans would consider the most “horror” episode of the series, “On the Inside” is terrifying for all the reasons it should be. It features two characters we didn’t follow as often as we should have: Connie (Lauren Ridloff) and Virgil (Kevin Carroll).
They find themselves trapped in a home that is infested with people who have gone feral and are actively hunting them down. Like, they are trying to eat them, and they aren’t walkers. They are hiding in the walls, corners, and everywhere else, and now it’s up to them to somehow find a way to escape. What makes it even more terrifying is that Connie is legit deaf, so for her there’s another obstacle to not dying. Talk about absolutely terrifying.
Even now, years later, it’s still one of the episodes I love to watch because it feels like a departure from the slow pace of season 11. It’s no wonder it was so highly praised.
You can watch all 11 seasons of The Walking Dead on Netflix.
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