History NightmareFuel / SuperMarioBros

* The way secret keyholes grow so huge and then swallow up Mario is just plain freaky. The accompanying music only makes this worse.

* Koopa's TransformationRay.

** And then there's the wall of Langolier-like Boos.
** Perry devours baddies to recover the Vibe Gauge. If there are no enemies nearby, one can stand still for a few seconds, cuing an idle animation where Perry ''latches onto Peach's head'', to her vocal displeasure, regaining Vibe Gauge that way.

* Several people are terrified by Boos. It's pretty much all boils down to the fact that they only chase you when you're not looking. It only leaves the door open to FridgeHorror.

* The Elder Princess Shroob: she is a giant mutant with numerous tentacles for legs and for arms, and a hideous face, and attacks by even shooting down her own men... Also, her battle music is a strike in "SoundtrackDissonance".
* Toadwood Forest and the Vim Factory. The Shroobs are using Toad BLOOD To power their spaceships. Also, after defeating the Swiggler, you can still find Toads strapped to the trees!
* When Peach first goes on her trip, she is accompanied by two Toad attendants. You get to watch one of them die. And the second one traumatically loses his memory for most of the game, which is at least softened by how he recovers, survives, and returns as comic relief in the third game.

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'' The Final Boss: When[[spoiler:Bowser absorbs the Dream Stone]] he turns into [[spoiler:Dreamy Bowser who's form shows that even someone who is empowered to become the]] embodiment of good dreams can be as terrifying as someone empowered by Nightmares(like Antasma) can be(especially if the good dreams come from [[spoiler:a villain like Bowser)]]

** Justified slightly in that the background looks like an ancient city, so the town could have been empty since ancient times. But considering that it probably ''flooded every five minutes'', it's no surprise it went empty. Perhaps some Jerkass got his hands on the water crystals...

* The sunken city in Wet Dry World, along with the background to the level (A city of flat-roofed buildings). Completely deserted excluding a lone Bob-omb. What exactly happened there?

* The castles in the first ''Super Mario Bros.'' game for the NES are really, really terrifying. There's just something about them; the [[NothingIsScarier lifeless]] [[DarknessEqualsDeath black background,]] the pointy-looking lava that, for some reason, doesn't move, the revolving sticks of fire, the fireballs that come as you approach Bowser's lair, Bowser himself (especially later on when he learns how to throw hammers)... and that music. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEVhSNy96SU THAT MUSIC.]] Some of the castle levels are [[GuideDangIt mazes]] that will repeat endlessly until [[TimedMission TIME RUNS OUT]] [[CriticalExistenceFailure AND YOU DIE.]] (or until you find the correct path)

* In the beginning, Yoshi must fly across a bottomless pit and Kamek will swoop across to ambush him from behind.
* There is an optional chase where Tap-Tap the Golden, a large spiked undefeatable enemy, is chasing Yoshi across a rocky, lava filled area, as the screen ever so slowly moves to allow him more area to move. It doesn't help that before entering this chase, if the player wants to receive helpful information, all they get is [[SuddenlyShouting "RUN AWAY!!! HURRY!!!" in dramatically huge font.]]
** What arguably makes this even worse is that you're being chased by a boss that's nigh-invulnerable, and is large enough that you can hear the ground quaking from every step that it takes. Oh sure, your eggs manage to stun it, but that's about it. Not even it falling down a hole to its doom can stop it; it just springs forth like a proverbial bat out of Hell, and continues to chase you, its smile almost taunting you.
* The [[AutoScrollingLevel autoscrolling]] segment before the final battle where Kamek appears from out of nowhere in various places. He will zap you with his magic wand and his misses turn block into enemies or stars. All this happens while impending doom music plays.
* In the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1l5Je3eFrk final battle]], where Baby Bowser, in an eerily designed toy room, attempts to ride (and therefore injure) Yoshi. After he has been defeated, Kamek turns him into Big Bowser. Big, meaning the castle he had occupied is completely destroyed by his transformation, and he could probably crush Yoshi with a single finger/claw. The transformation and battle is accompanied by rather horrifying music, if not the entire ''series'', and the battle is pretty much Yoshi trying to hit him with large eggs to push him back, while he is slowly coming towards you. When he is hit, he is indeed pushed back, only to then run at full speed towards Yoshi, who is standing on a small ledge (which is being destroyed by the boulders that fly in the air from Bowser's roars). If Bowser comes close enough, his stomach ''obliterates'' the ledge, leaving Yoshi unable to do anything but plummet to his death. This can be extremely scary when one is desperately trying to get him further back, knowing that he will run at full speed afterwards.
** What makes this even worse? When he has one hit left, he'll continue to run towards you, and will not stop until he collides with Baby Mario and Yoshi.

* The threat of being eaten occurs quite a bit. Not only is there a boss battle that occurs in a frog's throat, but there are a few chase scenes in which a gigantic Chain Chomp is out to eat Yoshi.
* Speaking of chase scenes, in the final level, there is an optional chase where Tap-Tap the Golden, a large spiked undefeatable enemy, is chasing Yoshi across a rocky, lava filled area, as the screen ever so slowly moves to allow him more area to move. It doesn't help that before entering this chase, if the player wants to receive helpful information, all they get is "RUN AWAY!!!" in dramatically huge font.
** What arguably makes this even worse is that you're being chased by a boss that's nigh-invulnerable, and is large enough that you can hear the ground quaking from every step that it takes. Oh sure, your eggs manage to stun it, but that's about it. Not even it falling down a hole to its doom can stop it; it just springs forth like a proverbial bat out of Hell, and continues to chase you, its smile almost taunting you.

* In the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1l5Je3eFrk final battle]], where Baby Bowser, in an eerily designed toy room, attempts to ride (and therefore injure) Yoshi. After he has been defeated, Kamek turns him into Big Bowser. Big, meaning the castle he had occupied is completely destroyed by his transformation, and he could probably crush Yoshi with a single finger/claw. The transformation and battle is accompanied by rather horrifying music, if not the entire ''series'',]] and the battle is pretty much Yoshi trying to hit him with large eggs to push him back, while he is slowly coming towards you. When he is hit, he is indeed pushed back, only to then run at full speed towards Yoshi, who is standing on a small ledge (which is being destroyed by the boulders that fly in the air from Bowser's roars). If Bowser comes close enough, his stomach ''obliterates'' the ledge, leaving Yoshi unable to do anything but plummet to his death. This can be extremely scary when one is desperately trying to get him further back, knowing that he will run at full speed afterwards.

* ''[[SuperMarioBros Yoshi's Island]]'' has many frightening elements, probably helped by the fact that it had excellent music and was able to create an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifvxBt7tmA8 effective atmosphere]] in a level with it.

Also see the pages for ''NightmareFuel/LuigisMansion'' and ''NightmareFuel/PaperMario''.

* The entry to LethalLavaLand (remember, that [[http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/8/8f/Firepainting.jpg/180px-Firepainting.jpg flaming face painting]]?) was frightening enough to scare you out of the room.

* Let's start out by saying that in ''Wario Land 3'', [[NighInvulnerability nothing can kill you]]. Being hit by enemy attacks causes some kind of inconvenience, such as knockback or a status effect (being set on fire, for example, causes Wario to run uncontrollably until he touches water or until the fire envelops him, giving you a short time to walk around, invincible and able to use the fire to solve certain puzzles, at least until it reduces him to a pile of cinders. Which he walks out of completely unharmed, being indestructible). After retrieving the PlotCoupons, you return to the temple holding the being that has advised you over the course of your quest to find out that, [[spoiler:on top of simultaneously being the TreacherousAdvisor, the BigBad, and an EvilClown, he is the only thing in the game that can kill Wario.]] Seeing the Game Over screen after a whole game without it can render some kids unable to finish the game.

* This one is a long shot, but if you think about it, the main HUB itself could be creepy if you think about it. You're in a big castle/mansion.....all alone....except for the Toads.

** Before her, when you enter the Hooniversity, you encounter a dying scientist who transforms into a Laser Snifit. After you defeat it, it disappears, which could be interpreted as him being killed. [[FridgeHorror There many Laser Snifits all over Hooniversity, meaning there are many scientists suffering a FateWorseThanDeath and you can put them out of their misery.]]

* This series introduced the concept of spikes=instant death in video games. Good thing everything causes Mario to go into DeathThrows. Doesnt stop some kids from being scared by the thought of falling and getting impaled on spikes, and the resultant saturation of spikes in video games as a whole causes nightmare fuel filled scenes in video games where they DO imple you.

* And then you get past the door to confront Wart - and the music changes to this creepy, disturbing horror/techno mix that just messes with your concentration while you have to catch vegetables in midair and throw them into Wart's open mouth (as opposed to the other bosses where you just had to hit them with weapons).

** And what makes it even more never-racking that by ''swallowing you whole in one gulp'', means that no matter what power-up form you're in, being swallowed and gulped is an instant death regardlessly.

* The big green bubbles in the Vanilla Ghost House freaked many out a bit. They were large, invincible, and always got in the way, and if even two closed in on you you were screwed.

* The ''graphics'' in ''Super Mario World''. Most of the time, they were gorgeous. But many of the enemy sprites were just ''wrong''. The weird, hunched-over shell-less Koopas, the odd posing and so-smooth-it's-creepy animation of the Charging Chuck, the weird stick legs on the Koopa Kids...not to mention the fact that when you die, it looks like Mario is ''[[EyeScream bleeding from his eyes]]!'' Accompanied by a ScareChord, no less!

* Lava appears in some athletic/overworld levels. Except, due to pallete differences, it's colored brown. Functions exactly the same, except, well, what is it? Mud? Melted piece of the ground? So bacteria-filled and acidic that bubbles come out?

* Playing with Gameshark in ''Mario 64'' can get you very disturbing results. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da676W1zA4U This video]], one of the many that refers to Gamesharking in ''Mario 64'', leads the watcher to ultimate nightmare, especially as Mario enters the castle lobby.

* When you get the Power Star from atop Bowser's submarine, the sub disappears from Dire Dire Docks for stars 2-6. And that Bowser door opened underwater....becoming a big black hole that SUCKED YOU IN if you got near it.

* The Gooper Blooper battles from ''Super Mario Sunshine''. Mario is fighting a giant squid who uses his tentacles and ink that summons slimy enemies to attack. The method of defeating him is to jump on each of his tentacles and graphically pull them off one by one; after doing so, the pulled tentacle will wriggle wildy before disappearing.
* [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Phantamanta Phantamanta]] is a pretty frightening boss, and [[ThatOneBoss a pain to beat as well.]] Its a borderline EldritchAbomination that can move over ANY surface like some kind of shadow and leaves a trail electric goo, and when you spray it, it splits up, spray them and they split up, spray THEM and they split up! Then, once you got it into its SIXTY-FOUR parts, they all [[TurnsRed turn red]] and ''charge at you like mad!''

** Mario's next line, immediately after the whole debacle? "That'sa so nice!"
** Later on in the game, [[spoiler: it turns out that he's ''still alive and continues to live on as a skeleton''. Which meant he actually got to ''feel'' his flesh burn off.]] Wow, Nintendo.

** Also, when Dino Piranha dies, it's red skin turns a pale purple. Anyone who knows anything about babies ''or humans in general'' knows that ''skin turning blue is not supposed to happen.''
* In in one of the later areas you come across [[spoiler:FIERY Dino Piranha.]] The guy was freaky enough the first time around, but, [[spoiler:ON FIRE?]]

* Outside of the small planet the boss Kingfin resides in a random Toad Brigade ship. This doesn't seem scary at first but then you realize the ship is empty and the toads are nowhere to be found and a giant, jaws size skeleton fish down there has teeth that look sharp enough to rend flesh. Uh oh.

** The file names? ''"[=BeyondHellValleySky=]'' is where they reside, and ''[=HellValleySkyTree=]'' is the names, the ominousness of the trees were enough, but ''those names'' make them worse.

** Even worse it could be [[MarbleHornets Slenderman]], in a frigging Mario game. And as a bonus, it opens it's mouth before disappearing, as if trying to scream at you... brrr.
*** The connection between the spirit and the HellValleySkyTrees... there's also a UFO visible if you wait a minute at 1-3. What other freaky stuff has Nintendo put in these games? Are they... are they trying a secret subplot told through weird easter eggs?
* The cosmic clones. They mimick Mario's quotes, but in a higher pitch with added distortion. When they say "Let's-a go!", it sounds like they're saying "[[CannibalismSuperpower Time to chow!"]]. Yikes.

* The Thwomps from Bowser's Castle in ''MarioKart64'', its that disturbing EvilLaugh, the green one in the cell is scarier for some reason. Luckily, they aren't scary in the Wii versions remake.

* The end of ''VideoGame/{{Mario Is Missing}}'', when Bowser is defeated, may scare some young children. You don't fight him, he comes out of nowhere and is shot out of a canon, innocent enough. It's cartoony. Then he falls into the ice, freezes up, is covered in snow, then shatters.
* In [[VideoGame/MarioStrikers Super Mario Strikers]], we have Bowser, who is portrayed as a giant [[ImplacableMan implacable koopa]] who wreaks major havoc on the field with shells and bombs whenever the "Bowser Attack" options is on instead of comic relief. When that occurs, his entrance would be accompanied with a short, gritty rock n' roll riff or a ScareChord. Worse is that [[ParanoiaFuel you don't whether when or if he will ambush anybody in his way.]] Even when he becomes playable in Charged, it does little to dampen the terror considering not only does he often turn on his own teammates if he's on a winning streak, his gloves have ''blades longer than his own claws'' attached to them. Perhaps even worse is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_un7fv8JW04&t=29s the silhouette he gains when using his Mega Strike.]]

* When you battle Cackletta in the Hoonversity, she turns into an indescribable abomination before you battle - and spends the final chunk of the battle in that form. Meep.

* The Elder Princess Shroob: she is a giant, mutant with numerous tentacles for legs and for arms, and a hideous face, and attacks by even shooting down her own men... Also, her battle music is a strike in "SoundtrackDissonance".
* Toadwood Forest and the Vim Factory, The Shroobs are using Toad BLOOD To power their spaceships. Also, after defeating the Swiggler you can still find Toads strapped to the trees!
* When Peach first goes on her trip, she is accompanied by two Toad attendants. You get to watch one of them die. And the second one traumatically loses his memory for most of the game, which is at least softened by how he recovers, survives and returns as comic relief in the third game.

* The [[spoiler:Dark Star]] in general is creepy - it is literally an embodiment of evil that can absorb other beings to use as a source of power as it does to Fawful! Then he turns into an [[spoiler:evil version of Bowser sporting a mohawk]]! Oh yeah...'' '''IT SHRIEKS.''' ''

* The Wario World bosses. They're not creepy in the way the fourth game's bosses might be, but they fall so deeply into the UncannyValley that they just look totally wrong in all ways possible. The Mean Emcee looks bizarre, people have mentioned the Winter Windster as creepy on the series page and Clown-a-round... well, it looks so much like it's made of plastic that it seems unnerving. The fact it's face is located in the top of his next doesn't help matters either.
** As for the Brawl Doll, kill it with fire. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgoxfb5LOpI as seen here]], it even laughs and turns its head 180 degrees when Wario approaches it.

* ''Super Princess Peach''. In Bowser's Villa, there are a couple of segments that contain several faceless Peach statues and a HUMONGOUS Thwomp that takes up the entire background. Before it opens its eyes to scan the area, you have to copy the poses the statues are in. If you fail to do so, ''you'll be sucked into his gaping mouth.'' Of course, you'll only be sent to the beginning of the segment, but still...

Luigi, however, [[LuigisMansion usually]] hasn't, because [[LovableCoward he's too afraid.]]

!! ''Super Mario Bros. Lost Levels (Super Mario Bros 2 Japan version)''
* 8-4 and D-4 both have two Bowsers in one castle (One of them if fake).

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSki-BSrkR4&feature=relmfu See this video for further details (at about 10:00).]]

* The castles in the first ''Super Mario Bros.'' game for the NES are really, really terrifying. There's just something about them; the [[NothingIsScarier lifeless]] [[DarknessEqualsDeath black background,]] the pointy-looking lava that, for some reason, doesn't move, the revolving sticks of fire, the fireballs that come as you approach Bowser's lair... and that music. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEVhSNy96SU THAT MUSIC.]] Some of the castle levels are [[GuideDangIt mazes]] that will repeat endlessly until [[TimedMission TIME RUNS OUT]] [[CriticalExistenceFailure AND YOU DIE.]] (or until you find the correct path)

* The castles in the first ''Super Mario Bros.'' game for the NES are really, really terrifying. There's just something about them; the [[NothingIsScarier lifeless]] [[DarknessEqualsDeath black background,]] the pointy-looking lava that, for some reason, doesn't move... and that music. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEVhSNy96SU THAT MUSIC.]] Some of the castle levels are [[GuideDangIt mazes]] that will repeat endlessly until [[TimedMission TIME RUNS OUT]] [[CriticalExistenceFailure AND YOU DIE.]] (or until you find the correct path)