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The show’s overarching storyline centered on Sam’s destiny as Lucifer’s vessel, and eventually shifted toward grand apocalyptic battles between angels, demons, and ultimately God Himself (sometimes to the disappointment of fans). However, it was often the stand-alone episodes featuring more elusive and sometimes downright disturbing urban legends that tended to linger in the imagination of fans. When it was at its scariest, Supernatural could rival any horror movie, and the following 10 episodes were the scariest of them all.
10) “The Kids Are Alright” (Season 3, Episode 2)
Children are supposed to be sweet and innocent, which is what makes this story about murderous changelings so deeply unsettling. “The Kids Are Alright,” is an episode that’s both funny and terrifying in equal measure. When Dean reunites with an old flame Lisa Braeden, (fresh from making a demon deal to save Sam and hyperaware of his own mortality), he suspects, or maybe just hopes, her son Ben might be his, leading to some hilarious scenes! The episode is beloved for introducing these fan favourite characters, who many fans began to think of as Dean’s chosen family and a representation of the life he could have had if he wasn’t on the road. Dean’s relationship with Ben is instantly heartwarming, and the glimpse of the fatherhood Dean would tragically never fully get to experience is heartbreaking.
But the episode soon turns to terror-territory, when the brothers investigate a string of mysterious deaths in Lisa’s neighbourhood, all tied to some undeniably creepy children that the brothers begin to suspect are really supernatural doppelgängers. From the sight of a dripping-wet, not-quite-human girl seemingly returning from the dead after her terrified mother tries to drown her in desperation, to the horrifying reveal of the changelings’ true demonic faces seen fleetingly in reflections, this episode taps into every parent’s worst nightmare!
9) “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
Few shows can boast a pilot episode with an opening scene as haunting yet effective. Though it might not be the first episode that comes to mind, the Supernatural pilot introduced fans to their beloved Winchester brothers in true spine-tingling. Lulled into an almost false sense of security, the episode opens with a snapshot into the seemingly picture-perfect lives of John and Mary Winchester of Lawrence, Kansas, and their two young sons. The shock factor of Mary Winchester’s sudden fiery death at the hands of an (at the time) unknown entity created an atmosphere of tension and dread, and the sense that the boys were being watched or even stalked, which would define the show for years.
It’s not just the shocking death of the boy’s mother just a few minutes in that makes the episode worthy of our list. Years later, the now grown-up Sam and Dean investigate an equally terrifying “Woman in White,” a flickering spectre who lures men off the road before killing them. The introduction of this vengeance-seeking ghost was also suitably unsettling and certainly helped set the tone for the show. The episode is rounded off with the equally shocking death of Sam’s girlfriend Jessica on the anniversary of his mother’s death in an identical unnatural blaze. Even in its very first hour, Supernatural proved it could terrify.
8) “Family Remains” (Season 4, Episode 11)
For all its ghosts and ghouls, Supernatural was arguably at its most spine-tingling when it reminded us that sometimes the most terrifying monsters aren’t supernatural at all. For most of the Season 4 episode “Family Remains,” the Winchesters and the desperate family they come to the rescue of, think they’re facing a spirit haunting the old farmhouse the family has recently moved into. So far, so Supernatural. But the truth, when it’s finally revealed, is much darker: the ‘monster’ is not in fact a spirit, but regular flesh-and-blood children, products of incest and neglect, who have been living in the walls of the house and killing anyone who moves in.
Another episode of Supernatural “The Benders,” also deals with the idea of regular human beings being the scariest monsters of all, featuring a family who kidnap and deliberately ‘hunt’ people for their own sport (It’s Supernatural’s answer to Torchwood’s horrific “Countrycide” episode). However, “Family Remains” is arguably more terrifying because it shows the physical and psychological harm people are capable of inflicting, even on their own, as it turns out, a father abused and impregnated his own daughter. The chilling moment when the girl casually walks through a protective salt line — revealing she’s not in fact a ghost at all but a much more tangible, traumatised and human threat — is one of the series’ most shocking and sad twists. Actor Mandy Playdon’s expression is nothing short of unhinged and will haunt your nightmares if nothing else will!
7) “Asylum” (Season 1, Episode 10)
Set in a decaying, abandoned mental hospital, Season 1 episode “Asylum” takes full advantage of this classic nightmarish location. It’s a perfect spot for a good haunting, and you get the sense even the brave Winchester brothers are a little unsettled as the ghosts of tortured patients wander the halls! But it soon becomes apparent that the real threat is the spirit of Dr. Ellicott, the sadistic physician who experimented on these helpless victims in the belief that he could cure them by unleashing their darkest impulses, think the rage virus in 28 Days Later!
But the truly terrifying part comes when Dr. Ellicott’s ability to drive people into murderous rages leads to Sam nearly shooting Dean. Not only was seeing Sam so uninhibited and obviously not himself deeply unsettling (giving the talented Jared Padalecki a chance to stretch his acting chops) after becoming used to his calm and steady personality, but this was also the fans’ first real glimpse of the darker side to Sam, hidden beneath the bookish and kind exterior. With its claustrophobic setting creating tension you could cut with a knife, this remains one of Supernatural’s most intense ghost stories.
6) “Advanced Thanatology” (Season 13, Episode 5)
While earlier seasons of Supernatural are often considered the scariest, the show proved, even in later seasons, that it could still very much deliver a stand-out horror story when required. In the Season 13 episode “Advanced Thanatology, Sam and Dean investigate an abandoned house haunted by Dr. Meadows, a deranged doctor whose victims are trapped as restless spirits. The use of found-footage-style conventions — with the episodes opening showing terrified teens recording their exploration before being slaughtered — immediately sets the tone.
The ghost of Dr Meadows is perhaps one of the scariest and most effective one-off monsters of the week seen in later seasons of the show. Meadows’ knowledge of the house lets him stalk the brothers from the shadows, keeping viewers constantly on edge. The episode really feels like a throwback to earlier seasons, simple yet effective, and proves that Supernatural is usually at its best when it plays to its strengths and returns to its roots.
