History NightmareFuel / TheXFiles

** It was made worse in season 8, with one startling change. The falling silhouette is replaced with Mulder, and he falls into a human eye! It's very unsettling, since it's literally reminding us of the hell he is going through from alien experimentation.

* Mulder's resurrection in "[=DeadAlive=]". He has been dead and buried for months, but he gets better. How? It's super creepy when you imagine that his body has been embalmed and decomposing or that he might have been cremated. In addition, people are only slightly disbelieving and by the end, apparently nobody is freaked out by this. When did people like doctors and skeptics like Doggett start to take the paranormal this easily? Why is nobody freaking out?
* "Essence" has Billy Miles carrying the nightmare fuel in this episode. As an alien Super Soldier, he is indestructible. No bullet or car can stop him, and how does he kill, you ask? Swinging his hand to ''[[OffWithHisHead chop people's heads off]]''!

When one considers how ''The X-Files''' theme song made whistling scary, you can bet that this show will have so many horrors to witness.

* Scully looking out her living room window during a rain storm, and seeing Duane staring ''right at her''. Right before he smashes through the window and abducts her. The tension leading up to it is palpable, and it's a ''very'' real fear for women who live alone.

-->-- The police briefing of escaped prisoner '''[[CompellingVoice Robert Patrick Modell]]''', "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E08Kitsunegari Kitsunegari]]"

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* Even with its crossoverness, all of "X-Cops" has to be mentioned. It's YourMindMakesItReal cranked UpToEleven. [[NothingIsScarier And the camera never catches the monster]], only the aftermath.

* Mulder's abduction: Mulder is ''bolted'' to a stone chair through his ''wrists and ankles,'' has his cheeks stretched wide with what looks like fish hooks and wire, and we watch as a drill is sent through his soft palate. Yikes. And then there's the little circular saw that starts vivisecting him. Yikes is right.

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** The titular character needs to feed on the cancerous cells of others in order to regenerate his body. He's also a very gentle person who [[ApologeticAttacker apologies to his victims]] before killing them. It's already sad and creepy enough -- and then he comes face to face with Scully...

** His reappearance in "Tooms" is no slouch either: whenever he looks for his next prey, his POV slows down and all colour apart from his next target bleeds out. This shows us just how much of a stalker Tooms really is.

--->'''FBI Rescue Man:''' The government has initiated eradication procedures. They're quite certain that by using a combination of controlled burns and pesticides, they will be successful.\\

'''FBI Rescue Man:''' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt That, Mr. Mulder]], [[{{Film/Apollo13}} is not an option]].

* "One Son" ends with the death of most of the Syndicate by the Faceless Rebels. You could be cheering for the sinister organisation's demise and the rebels' victory... if not for the fact that the Syndicate had their ''family with them. This really emphasises [[TheUnfettered just how determined the rebels are at stopping alien colonisation from happening at all]]. It doesn't help that there is a ScreamDiscretionShot after the group are surrounded in a circle by the rebels.

* "One Son" ends with the death of most of the Syndicate by the Faceless Rebels. You could be cheering for the sinister organisation's demise and the rebels' victory... if not for the fact that the Syndicate had their ''family with them. This really emphasises TheUnfettered the rebels are at stopping alien colonisation from happening at all. It doesn't help that there is a ScreamDiscretionShot after the group are surrounded in a circle by the rebels.

** In the end, Mulder, Scully and the last police officer are stuck in a jeep that just ran over caltrops, meaning that they are stuck. And it's nighttime, so those insects swarm the car and attack the three. By the time decontamination services arrive, the occupants in the jeep are already covered in webs. They were rescued and treated in the end, but let us get this straight: it was said that Scully would have died if she still stayed trapped in her web cocoon for 2-3 more hours. ''This means that simple bugs that survived years of volcanic activity came this close to killing our beloved X-Files duo, moreso than the Syndicate''!

* The [[http://www.yourprops.com/movieprops/default/470a93503fe8c/The-X-Files-TV-1993-movie-props.jpg pictures]] [[http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm69/IntelligentInfection/Unruhe_4x02.jpg from]] "Unruhe". Very creepy in themselves, but consider that one crazy guy takes them as a proof that you need a lobotomy. With an ice-pick [[EyeScream through your eye]].

** The titular character needs to feed on the cancerous cells of others in order to regenerate his body. He's also a very gentle person who [[ApologeticAttacker apologizes to his victims]] before killing them. It's already sad and creepy enough -- and then he comes face to face with Scully...
--->"[[WhamLine I'm sorry, but you've got something I need."]]

** His reappearance in "Tooms" is no slouch either: whenever he looks for his next prey, his POV slows down, and every bit of colour from everything except his target has its colour fade out. This shows us just how much of a stalker Tooms really is.

* Eugene Victor Tooms (pictured above), possibly the most [[EnsembleDarkhorse popular]] (and most terrifying) monster to appear on the series. Once you see him in action, you'll never go near another air vent again. His introduction in "Squeeze": after an establishing shot of a busy city street at rush hour, the camera settles on a sewer grating and slowly, slowly zooms in on it. Pretty soon, we begin to see a pair of cold, yellow eyes staring predatorily out. Skip all the way to the end of the episode: Tooms has been put in prison, but notices that there's a hole in his cell door through which he can escape. He begins to smile in a way that's indescribably innocent yet perverted at the exact same time, and this HIDEOUS sound effect plays over and over again as the screen fades to black. It was only the third episode of the series (and the first standalone), but it set the tone for the entire show. One of the scariest episodes ever.

--->'''FBI Rescue Man''': The government has initiated eradication procedures. They're quite certain that by using a combination of controlled burns and pesticides, they will be successful.\\
'''Mulder''': And if they're not?\\
'''FBI Rescue Man''': [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt That, Mr. Mulder]], [[{{Film/Apollo13}} is not an option]].

** The ending, where we learn that sometimes, even with the help of quarantine services and their tools, there is always a slim chance that contamination will always spread in many forms.

** In the end, Mulder, Scully and the last police officer are stuck in a jeep that just ran over caltrops, meaning that they are stuck. And it's nighttime, so those insects swarm the car and attack the three. By the time decontamination services arrive, the occupants in the jeep are already covered in webs. They were rescued and treated in the end, but let us get this straight: since it was said that Scully would have died if she still stayed trapped in her web cocoon for 2-3 more hours, ''simple bugs that survived years of volcanic activity came this close to killing our beloved X-Files duo, moreso than the Syndicate''!

-->'''FBI Rescue Man''': The government has initiated eradication procedures. They're quite certain that by using a combination of controlled burns and pesticides, they will be successful.\\

* "Darkness Falls" has a swarm of strange, glowing insects (theorized to be extraterrestrial in origin) awakened from thousands of years of dormancy when an illegal logging project accidentally cuts down the old-growth tree they had been trapped in. The insects only appear in the dark, but when they do, quickly swarm and kill anything they find. Mulder and Scully are trapped in a cabin in the middle of the wilderness with little time to escape.

* "Irresiszible"

* Scully looking out her living room window during a rain storm -- and seeing Duane staring right at her. Before he smashes through the window and abducts her. The tension leading up to it is palpable, and it's a ''very'' real fear for women who live alone.

* The scene where the plastic surgeon in "Sanguinarium" is removing his own face, but really '''The whole episode''' is ''filled'' {{Squick}} and NauseaFuel. Vomiting needles. [[BloodBath Bathtub full of blood]]. A guy getting his organs ripped out by a liposuction device. Gruesome plastic surgery accidents. Don't EVER watch that episode with a full stomach.

* "Fire": People being set on fire and ''burning alive'' is very chilling (ironically). And there's even AdultFear thrown into the mix when the children are trapped in a burning building '''''twice!'''''

* Two simple red, glowing lights become a symbol of fear after "Detour". To make it worse, the beginning scene that shows the glowing red eyes coming from the ground is used as the main menu on the DVD for the episode. The last shot of the episode -- the eyes opening up under Scully's hotel bed -- was incredibly creepy.
* "Detour": The pit with the bodies.

* "Bad Blood", despite being a LighterAndSofter comedy episode, has a very creepy scene where Mulder is drugged and cornered by a vampire. Even without the supernatural element, it's still scary for having Mulder [[AdultFear slowly losing consciousness and unable to move while someone with horrible intentions walks toward him.]]

** It's also implied that Mulder was unable to sleep after Bruckman told him about the dream. Think about that, just hearing about it was disturbing enough to keep Mulder of all people awake.

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** On some episodes, the iconic whistling is nearly nonexistent and is more like it's echoing in the background, giving it a more eerie, atmospheric feel. The theme in season 1's "Fire" is one such example.

* The subliminal messages people start seeing all over the place in "Blood", such as "KILL 'EM ALL." Oh God…
** What's even worse is that neither the FBI or the audience find out [[UnknownCharacter who sent these messages]]. They simply stop, [[NothingIsScarier with no explanation for why they were sent in the first place.]] The final message sent to Mulder doesn't help much either: [[FalseReassurance ALL DONE BYE BYE]].

** This is taken UpToEleven in Season 8 with Mulder's abduction: Mulder is ''bolted'' to a stone chair through his ''wrists and ankles,'' has his cheeks stretched wide with what looks like fish hooks and wire, and we watch as a drill is sent through his soft palate. Yikes.
*** And then there's the little circular saw that starts vivisecting him. Yikes is right.
** Scully looking out her living room window during a rain storm -- and seeing Duane staring right at her. Before he smashes through the window and abducts her. The tension leading up to it is palpable, and it's a ''very'' fear for women who live alone.
* Keeping Donnie Pfaster's demon form in quick, darkened glimpses in "Irresistible" was how you do it right. Or very very wrong.
** Donnie Pfaster himself. TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse indeed. As if the first time wasn't bad enough -- they brought the bastard back for a ''sequel episode!''
-->"Why are you crying?"\\

** Again, ''Webcomic/MonsterOfTheWeek'' makes it ''worse'':
-->''[[TheStoic Scully]]'': ''*[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness freaked out]]*'' "I've got to go do research. ''[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere In another state]]''."\\
''Mulder'': "[[ComicallyMissingThePoint But you've barely looked through this bag of fingernails]]!"

*** There's the teacher's snake eyes. Hell, everything about [[HumanoidAbomination that teacher]] was terrifying. Even the font she chalked her final goodbye message in seemed really creepy. She was ''heavily'' implied to be a high-level demon who decided to stop by just to punish the cultists for not paying proper tribute to her and essentially tricked Mulder and Scully into helping make her job easier.

* "Home": '''ALL OF IT'''. The episode has the distinction of being the only one in the show's history to be ''banned from network TV''. Honestly, it's surprising it ever made it to air in the first place, but it was something like five years before it was shown again (as part of a Halloween scare-fest, of course). It was also rated '''TV-MA'''. A network TV show getting a rating like that (even today) is unheard of.

** And later, the dead baby in the fridge next to snacks and drinks is disgusting. Somewhat of a visual example of BreadEggsMilkSquick. And then the shot of the extremely deformed baby itself…
** The scene with the sheriff and his wife getting beaten to death and the accompanying music… *shudder* The cheery song "Wonderful, Wonderful" has become linked with creepiness in the minds of fans. Though Johnny Mathis is kinda creepy anyway.
** ''Webcomic/MonsterOfTheWeek'', when it got to this episode, ''did not even '''try''' to make fun of it'', instead just displaying how the writer and her husband reacted.
** Not to mention that its one of a few episodes that has nothing supernatural or paranormal in it, just massive human depravity. The Peacocks aren't aliens or ghosts or mutants, just human monsters created through centuries of seclusion and madness.

* "Leonard Betts", and the storage locker sequence. Giving birth to your another duplicate body through your mouth? That is just sick and wrong! Needless to say, this was an episode with some in-universe squick, and Mulder and Scully have very strong stomachs and are tough as can be.

** The beginning of the episode has Scully's parents over at her place for a dinner. After they've left, she wakes up on the couch later at night and sees her father sitting on the armchair. She says she thought they had gone home already, but he doesn't even react. The phone rings, she turns away, looks back and her father has disappeared. She answers the phone and her mother tells her ''his father died of a heart attack an hour ago''. Just the way he's sitting there, with a glassy stare, lips moving but no words coming out.

* "Home": '''ALL OF IT'''. The episode has the distinction of being the only one in the show's history to be ''banned from network TV''. Honestly, it's surprising it ever made it to air in the first place, but it was something like five years before it was shown again (as part of a Halloween scare-fest, of course). It was also rated '''TV-MA'''. A network TV show getting a rating like that is simply unheard of.

** The opening birth sequence, with the scream and shot of the umbilical cord being cut, is unforgettable. What happens next is simply terrifying. The Peacock brothers then take the baby outside during a massive storm and proceed to '''bury it alive'''. To add on to that the entire scene is accompanied by a truly horrifying score.

* "Small Potatoes": The MonsterOfTheWeek (a man who is a shapeshifter) impersonates Mulder for the few days, while the real Mulder is trapped in a hospital cellar. Mulder manages to get out, but the fact that everyone around actually took the fake Mulder for real can induce heavy amounts of ParanoiaFuel.