History NightmareFuel / TheLittleMermaid

** We get a first hint at his terrible temper at the beginning of film, towards the climax at of the musical. Just as her sisters are about to introduce their youngestest sister, Ariel turns up missing. Upon seeing this, Sebastian nearly [[OhCrap soils his shell]], and Triton growls out Ariel's name, while his [[RedEyesTakeWarning eyes turn a bloody shade of red]].

* The fact that Ursula's final scene is stolen from HP Lovecraft's ''The Call of Cthulhu'' doesn't help matters at all.

* The scene near the start where Flounder Ariel are exploring a shipwreck. Flounder is afraid, knowing there are sharks around. The tension is built up a bit before we actually see the shark and the voices and music are mostly quiet. It's like two characters innocently exploring while a killer lurks nearby, watching them. We get a false scare when Flounder sees a skeleton and screams. The music starts picking up after the shark swims by behind the friends a second time. When the shark finally attacks the music bursts in with Flounder screaming bloody murder the whole time. It barely seems like a shark at all, but rather a bloodthirsty monster. Though considering most of the sea life we see are very anthropomorphized it could just be some psychopath.

* While more of a neutral party than Ursula, the Sea Witch and her garden of polyps are frightening. The Witch herself is a devil ray, and the polyps capture and strangle Marina.

* The scene near the start where Flounder Ariel are exploring a shipwreck. Flounder is afraid, knowing there are sharks around. The tension is built up a bit before we actually see the shark and the voices and music are mostly quiet. It's like two characters innocently exploring while a killer lurks nearby, watching them. And when we finally see the shark attack the music bursts in with Flounder screaming bloody murder the whole time. It barely seems like a shark at all, but rather a bloodthirsty monster. Though considering most of the sea life we see are very anthropomorphized it could just be some psychopath.

* Over the course of this remarkably short story, the Little Mermaid has her tongue cut out, finds that her new legs grant her stabbing pain every step she takes, stands over her sleeping paramour with a knife, ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet, commits suicide, and then gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries.

* The shipwreck/fire scene can be pretty frightening, especially when lightning strikes one of the sails, setting it on fire. Then the ship hits a When the ship crashes into a gaggle of rocks, sending crew overboard. As the crew makes it to the lifeboats, Eric realizes that Max is still on board--the shot of the terrified dog, frantically barking while surrounded by deadly flames doesn't help. Then, Eric risks his life to save Max and gets caught in the ensuing explosion and would certainly have drowned had Ariel not rescued him.

* The shipwreck/fire scene can be pretty frightening, especially when lightning strikes one of the sails, setting it on fire. Then the ship hits a When the ship crashes into a gaggle of rocks, sending crew overboard. As the crew makes it to the lifeboats, Eric realizes that Max is still on board--he shot of the terrified dog, frantically barking while surrounded by deadly flames doesn't help. Then, Eric risks his life to save Max and gets caught in the ensuing explosion and would certainly have drowned had Ariel not rescued him.

* The shipwreck/fire scene can be pretty frightening, especially when Eric realizes that Max is still on board--the shot of the terrified dog, frantically barking, doesn't help. Then, Eric risks his life to save Max and gets caught in the ensuing explosion and would certainly have drowned had Ariel not rescued him.

* Several things about Ursula in general. She's a fairly grotesque octopus woman with pasty grayish skin. She eats live (and, as it turns out, sentient) shrimp as snacks. The entrance tunnel to her lair is carpeted with the shriveled bodies of her transformed former clients who "couldn't pay the price". She conjures a pair of wraithlike disembodied hands to forcibly thrust down Ariel's throat and extract her voice. And at the climax of the film, she [[OneWingedAngel transforms into a giant, saw-toothed version of herself with a Stygian voice]], uses the power of Triton's stolen trident to create maelstroms and raise up the rotting hulks of sunken ships, and finally is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard impaled on a spear of one of said ships, electrocuted by the lightning she causes]], and sinks, clutching the hull of the vessel with her tentacles in her death throes. Afterwards, her remains are shown slowly sinking into her lair. The directors' commentary on the Special Edition [=DVD=] noted that they probably wouldn't get away with Ursula (or Chef Louis for that matter) in a modern film.

** Just Triton being angry is terrifying by itself.

* The Mermaid has her tongue cut out, she feels stabbing pain every step she takes, she stands over her sleeping paramour with a knife ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet, she commits suicide, and then the bit when she gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries.

** It happens to Ariel too, and in a more horrific way: in order to scare and threaten Triton, Ursula begins to tranform Ariel then freezes the transformation, leaving Ariel as a mermaid-worm hybrid, which is to the right. Obviously.

** During the song, "Poor, Unfortunate Souls", when Ursula sings, "It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man", she tosses a ''tongue'' into the cauldron. Easily missed, if you assume that it's something else.

* The whole scene with Louis the chef gruesomely hacking up fish while poor Sebastian runs around in terror had to have made some people become vegetarians. It doesn't help that he's singing during most of it, making him look like a sociopath right before he goes [[AxCrazy off the deep end]] chasing a small crab.
** ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'' outright calls the song "the traumatize your children song", and changed Louis's song to reflect on that.

** Speaking of visuals, just the entire sequence after Ariel signs the contract. The lighting changes dramatically from reds and golds to greens and blues with Ursula's SlasherSmile, and she begins chanting a spell over the cauldron. And then ghostly grotesque hands rise out, which basically are used as such when one reaches down into Ariel's throat to snatch up her voice. Think she ''felt'' it being physically ripped from her?

-->"So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way... '''''so be it.'''''"

* In the stage version, we get some pretty horrifying backstory on Ursula: She's Triton's ''sister'', first of all, and they had about seven other sisters, '''''all''''' of whom Ursula arranged accidents for or outright killed through different subversive tactics. Then she moved on to Triton's wife, and was afterwards banished. All this in hopes of becoming the kingdom's ruler, and she damn well nearly succeeded.

* Over the course of this remarkably short story, the Little Mermaid has her tongue cut out, finds that her new legs grant her stabbing pain every step she takes, stands over her sleeping paramour with a knife ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet, commits suicide, and then gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries.

* Over the course of this remarkably short story, the Little Mermaid has her tongue cut out, finds that her new legs grant her stabbing pain every step she takes, stands over her sleeping paramour with a knife ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet, commits suicide, and then she gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries.

* The Mermaid has her tongue cut out, she feels stabbing pain every step she takes, she stands over her sleeping paramour with a knife ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet, she commits suicide, and then the bit when she gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries.

* The Mermaid has her tongue cut out, she feels stabbing pain every step she takes, she stands over her sleeping paramour with a knife ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet, she commits suicide, and then the bit when she gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries.

Well let's see; there's the bit where the Mermaid has her tongue cut out; the bit where she feels stabbing pain every step she takes; the bit where she's standing over her sleeping paramour with a knife ready to stab him to death so that she can drip his blood onto her feet; the bit when she commits suicide, and then the bit when she gets an extra day added to her time in Purgatory every time a child cries- like he just did after reading that frigging story.

** It gets worse. The deal with Ariel, and the subsequent attempts to sabotage her? She wants to destroy everything brother dearest loves, just as she herself had everything taken from her.
** The stage version also gives her an additional villain song, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_fgRiKfN5A I Want the Good Times Back]]. What are these good times the song speaks of? Why, gleefully mutilating, murdering, and eating her subjects of course! Its post-Broadway replacement, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6QH6OiaWcw Daddy's Little Angel]], is equally creepy, describing how she murdered her six older sisters out of jealousy.
* Eric under Vanessa/Ursula's trance is pretty disturbing, especially with his eyes glowing bright yellow and sounding completely monotone without any attitude or feeling in his voice.

* The first time Ariel meets Flotsam and Jetsam with their creepy, echoing voices. Unlike many Disney villains, they are not ineffectual at all. In fact, they are almost as creepy as Ursula herself.

** The stage version also gives her an additional villain song, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_fgRiKfN5A I Want the Good Times Back]]. What are these good times the song speaks of? Why, gleefully mutilating, murdering, and eating her subjects of course!

-->"So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way... '''''so be it.'''''

* Ursula's line to Ariel and the accompanying visuals: "If he [Eric] does kiss you [Ariel] before the sun sets on the third day, you'll remain human permanently! But...if he doesn't, you turn back into a mermaid and...[[PunctuatedForEmphasis you belong...]]'''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis to me!!!]]'''''"

-->"So help me, Ariel, I am going to get through to you. And if this is the only way...'''''so be it.'''''

* Several things about Ursula in general. She's a fairly grotesque octopus woman with pasty grayish skin. She eats live (and, as it turns out, sentient) shrimp as snacks. The entrance tunnel to her lair is carpeted with the shriveled bodies of her transformed former clients who "couldn't pay the price". She conjures a pair of wraithlike disembodied hands to forcibly thrust down Ariel's throat and extract her voice. And at the climax of the film, she [[OneWingedAngel transforms into a giant, saw-toothed version of herself with a Stygian voice]], uses the power of Triton's stolen trident to create maelstroms and raise up the rotting hulks of sunken ships, and finally is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard impaled on a spear of one of said ships, electrocuted by the lightning she causes]] and sinks, clutching the hull of the vessel with her tentacles in her death throes. Afterwards, her remains are shown slowly sinking into her lair. The directors' commentary on the Special Edition [=DVD=] noted that they probably wouldn't get away with Ursula (or Chef Louis for that matter) in a modern film.

* Several things about Ursula. She's a fairly grotesque octopus woman with pasty grayish skin. She eats live (and, as it turns out, sentient) shrimp as snacks. The entrance tunnel to her lair is carpeted with the shriveled bodies of her transformed former clients who "couldn't pay the price". She conjures a pair of wraithlike disembodied hands to forcibly thrust down Ariel's throat and extract her voice. And at the climax of the film, she [[OneWingedAngel transforms into a giant, saw-toothed version of herself with a Stygian voice]], uses the power of Triton's stolen trident to create maelstroms and raise up the rotting hulks of sunken ships, and finally is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard impaled on a spear of one of said ships]] and sinks, clutching the hull of the vessel with her tentacles in her death throes. The directors' commentary on the Special Edition [=DVD=] noted that they probably wouldn't get away with Chef Louis (or Ursula) in a modern film.