* Will's kidnapping by Phobos at the beginning of Season 1. Firstly, she only got snatched because Taranee just happened to be going over to Irma's (creating its own terrifying What If of what might have happened if Taranee had been present to be kidnapped as well, since the other girls might not have found out for a couple of days) and leaves behind her backpack with the Heart inside, meaning she's powerless. Second, after her kidnapping, she's dragged before an irate Phobos and is clearly ''terrified'' as his furious demands for the location of the Heart result in angry thorns sprouting and wrapping around her legs. And third, given her surprise when the other girls show up, Will didn't expect anyone to come to her rescue.
** Same can be said about Taranee's capture and imprisonment in issues 3 and 4 of the original comic, respectively: After getting captured, Taranee yells for the other guardians [[TakingTheBullet to leave her behind and return to Earth]]. Not even Elyon having [[AndIMustScream her mouth ''disappear'']] stops her from pressing her friends to leave via {{Telepathy}}. Back in Heatherfield, the other girls create an astral drop of Taranee to replace her, only to cause more grief and tensions among the girls in Issue 4, as they know that this is ''not'' Taranee, although teachers and her family believe otherwise. This even prompts Will to imagine herself being replaced by her astral drop and her mom not seeing any differences. If that aspect isn't distressing enough, here come the time differences between Earth and Meridian: Miss Rudolph/Galgheita would reveal that a day on Earth is equal to ''weeks'' in Meridian, meaning Taranee was trapped inside a bubble alone, with Cedric and Elyon taunting her for far longer than the other girls liked to imagine. And it seemed for moments the psychological torture inflicted on her worked as Taranee would yell at the other girls for being yet another illusion.
* The astral drops exist in some kind of limbo. There's nothing within this place except for the astral drop, who is alone, can experience feelings like anyone else and... she's trapped there unless the Guardian that created her takes her out of there.
** The astral drops probably have it worse in the cartoon, even though they're not sentient. They come into existence for a while, and after they're not needed they're made to go "poof". As if they never existed in the first place. Kinda sad really...
* Similarly, think of how Elyon was trapped ''alone'' in a ''jewel'' for the majority of season 2--from the beginning of summer (i.e. June) to the middle of December, provided they're following the typical American school year. Of course, she picked up some company in "R is for Relentless", but that still means she was stuck there alone for around four months. It's amazing she didn't go stir crazy!
* "L Is For Loser", Matt's first [[PainfulTransformation transformation]] into Shagon.
** Similarly, Mr. Huggles first transformation into Kor.
* Shagon going after the guardians' family in "M is for Mercy". He attacks Yan Lin and Peter at night, nearly makes Irma's mother have a car accident and hovers outside Lilian's room while she's sleeping. While he doesn't actually hurt them, just being so close to them is enough to scare and anger the guardians. The fact he's Matt's SuperPoweredEvilSide makes this all the more horrifying as it means Matt was aware of Shagon doing all this but was helpless to stop it.
* In "Z is for Zenith", W.I.T.C.H. were close to losing their ''humanity''. They would have remained in their super powered state, if it weren't for their loved ones.
* Cedric. Imagine a ConsummateLiar so good with words and cunning that he can turn someone against their best friend with a single talk backed by a bit of carefully selected and presented ''truth'', give him the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting change his looks at will]] ''and'' [[MasterOfDisguise disguise himself through non-magical means]] (redundant? No, it allows him to bring with him an ogre that can't disguise themselves with magic), and imagine what it would be to have him as an enemy…
** Almost forgot: those above ''are not his only skills''. He can fire energy blasts and EyeBeams, cast various spells (and is competent enough that he could teach Elyon to use hers and make her more than a match for ''all'' the Guardians ''in a couple weeks''), and [[ScarilyCompetentTracker when he's after you he can track you down everywhere and anywhere]], as shown when he hunted down Elias Van Dahl in the ''seventeenth century''. He's also sadistic enough that he waited for the eve of Van Dahl's wedding to catch him and seal him inside one of his own paintings just to make him suffer more by striking at the height of his happiness.
** With the description above, you could think that [[ShapeshifterModeLock locking him in a form]], [[BroughtDownToNormal taking away all his magic]] and knowing exactly who he is and that he's an enemy is enough to stop him. The Guardians thought so, and so did Matt. Then, in the Book of Elements arc, Cedric disabused them of this notion by tricking Matt into trying to open the Book, and getting sucked into it, by [[ReversePsychology shouting at him to not come close to it]] when Matt saw the book embedded in a wall and got curious and then [[ShmuckBait leaving the room with a perfectly believable excuse]]… And he was ''improvising''. Now you see why Orube's reaction at first seeing him on Earth was ''[[OhCrap fear]]'', don't you?
* [[EvilPrince Prince Phobos]] is a sadistic, powerhungry, and vainglorious madman who only cares about acquiring magical power. He will crush anyone who stands in his way, even if they are his own family. He takes great glee in manipulating and fooling his sister Elyon with his FauxAffablyEvil demeanour until her power has reached its peak. And when the charade is up, Phobos mocks his own sister's naivety and has no problem binding her to a throne and zapping her of her magic. The only thing scarier than his ruthlessness and lack of empathy, is his short temper, and his habit of severely punishing those who fail or betray him.
** What's even scarier is that Phobos is still out there. While he is still floating powerless in an endless void, he is very resourceful. He already escaped once from prison while powerless by harnessing his hatred until he managed to find a spark of power and used it to switch minds with Endarno. Given enough time and hatred(which he has tons of) he'll definitely find a way to return. What's also scary is how his legacy will affect Elyon and future generations of Metamoorian royalty. Elyon and her subjects will most probably be somewhat paranoid that one of her future children will be evil, especially if she gives birth to a son who is the oldest and has magic like his uncle. No doubt there will be many Escanor princes in the future who will be scrutinized heavily to make sure they don't turn out to be another Phobos.
** Phobos' implied true nature as an undying ''something'' that aims to conquer the universe and was responsible for all the evil in the universe. That, and the fact this evil is actually wearing the real Phobos like a glove since he was a baby.
* [[WickedWitch Nerissa]] is even worse than Phobos. A former Guardian of the Veil and original owner of the Heart of Kandracar, Nerissa's desire for power corrupted her, leading the Oracle to strip her of the Heart. In retaliation, Nerissa murders her best friend and fellow Guardian Cassady, and is imprisoned in a tomb. Years later, she escapes (the reason different in the comics and animated series) and vows revenge on everyone. She appears as a hideous, scarred old hag, just as manipulative and amoral as Phobos, and to hell with anyone who gets in her way. She is a horrifying master of the BatmanGambit and the XanatosGambit, manipulating others for years to ensure she gets what she wants.
** Made worse in the animated series. Perhaps her most vile action was murdering the Mage and posing as her, before having sex with Julian to give birth to Caleb, wanting to have the perfect child to serve her during her plan for universal domination. That's right, Nerissa is big enough of a bitch to ''[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil commit rape]]''.
* Being a Guardian can be extremely nightmarish. The girls have faced death multiple times, and Cassidy did die. Who knows how many Guardians died before her? Not to mention they don't even get a guidebook or anything on how their powers work, they just get thrown into battle and have to figure out everything by themselves. And for someone who's supposed to protect everyone in the universe, the Oracle can be downright evil. It's a very good thing Yan Lin took over, as she's much more sympathetic and understanding.
** Even worse, a Guardian getting murderously angry. There was a glimpse early on, when an ImagineSpot showed Taranee setting Elyon's home on fire in a fit of rage (and it's strongly implied it came directly from her mind-so she ''had'' considered burning Elyon alive. Good thing she was chosen specifically because she would ''never'' abuse her power), but near the end of the Trials of the Oracle arc Will ''snaps'', and a GoryDiscretionShot later we're shown Will has calmed down-but not before doing ''something'' that left ''Phobos'' terrified of her. And she was ''mentally broken and exhausted''. No wonder that, when they met again after Will had recovered, Phobos was terrified when she demanded the others let her finish him off-and with good reasons, as she ''[[DeaderThanDead destroyed his soul]]''.
** Original troper here. To add on to what you said, a Guardian doesn't even have to be murderously angry just mildly frustrated or upset, like Irma was with Martin back in issue #1. She told him to disappear and he did for several seconds. Earlier in the issue Cornelia called Lillian a toad and she croaked. In the Ludmoore arc when the girls couldn't get onto the bus to the spa, Will said, "I'm so frustrated I could explode!" Right after that, all four of the the bus's tires popped. Things also happen when a Guardian is severely depressed, like again in the Ludmoore arc when Will was so depressed after what happened to Matt she caused a power surge, and I believe a blackout but I'm not a hundred percent sure in her school. Now the real question is why the girls never bother to explore the true potential of their powers or to ask the Oracle about their secondary powers, or why Will didn't use the Heart to get Matt out of the book.
* The Light of Meridian is so powerful she can defeat all five Guardians of Kandrakar (though maybe Guardians who got their New Power form can beat her) and that's without the Crown of Light. Imagine if another generation of Guardians had to fight an evil Light of Meridian (can someone please write a fanfic about this?) Those poor girls wouldn't stand a chance!
* The marshes of the world of Arkhanta are inhabitated by banshee, who will have to grant three wishes to anyone who manages to capture one. Doesn't seem too bad... Until you realize there's people who ''goes in the marshes to temporarily enslave them''.
** The banshee ''will'' murder anyone who enters their territory. [[JustifiedTrope They have good reasons]], but what if someone completely innocent stumble in their territory by accident?
** Ari of Arkhanta went and captured Yua, the most powerful of them all (enough to be a low-level RealityWarper once she could access her magic to grant wishes). The first wish was for the Scarlet Citadel, an immense fortress to live with his son, and the second was for immense wealth to provide for him, and she granted them with no trouble. Then he wished for her to grant all his future wishes -- [[AndIMustScream and she had to grant that too]]. No wonder Yua [[JackassGenie twisted one of his wishes in such a way to leave him powerless before people they thought would kill him]], or that she kidnapped his son the moment the Guardians freed her.
* The Sword of Exile. It doesn't just kill you, it erases your very existence, and everyone's memories of you disappear. Essentially, if it had retroactive erasure as well, it would literally wipe every trace of you out of existence, but thankfully, your deeds themselves are not erased.
* Dark Mother. She once was Meter, a good Nymph that was in some way connected to Kandrakar's foundation until she became evil and decided to take over the universe, and had to be [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a tree under Heatherfield]]. Kandrakar thought they were done with her... Except at some point she released in the void a seed that germinated on Kandrakar and grew into a tree that brainwashed everyone without even the Oracle noticing (he was feeling there was ''some'' existential threat, to the point he [[GodzillaThreshold released the New Powers for the Guardians and sealed Kandrakar from the universe]] to keep the threat away until it was dealt with, but didn't even realize it was already on the Fortress), ''before'' figuring out how to escape her seal. In fact, she never even does, she's freed ''accidentally'' by Will as she's growing into her New Power and is hallucinating.
** While still sealed away, [[NoNonsenseNemesis Dark Mother tried to kill Taranee in the crib to have one less enemy when she got free]]. She failed... But it took a ''meteor strike summoned by the Heart'', and Taranee's biological parents had to give her up for adoption because they were now homeless.
** After mastering their new powers, the Guardians travel to Kandrakar to defeat Dark Mother... And are beaten one by one: Irma tries to track her down while hiding in water only to be immobilized when Dark Mother overpowers her control and freezes the water, Cornelia tries to free the Oracle from Dark Mother's tree but is overcome, Taranee burns her to ash but she's still alive and suffucates her fire with the ashes, and while Yan Lin is calling Hay Lin out for separating the party Dark Mother drags a knocked out Will and declares herself disappointed in the pitiful opposition.
** The Guardians eventually rally and fuse into Sixtar for the first time, sealing her away... But once again, Dark Mother is still alive.
** The scariest bit: ''[[GreaterScopeVillain Phobos is implied to be responsible for it]]''. In an early issue is said that the evil entity sealed on Metamoor by the Veil caused conflict that threatened the universe and precipitated the creation of Kandrakar to end the first conflict, the Veil was removed as soon as Phobos was captured, and ''something'' is said to have corrupted Meter into Dark Mother.
* Will's father, Thomas. In the comic continuity? He's up there with Phobos, Nerissa, and Nihila as one of the most ''evil'' villains. He's arguably scarier than all of them because of [[RealismInducedHorror how real he is]]. He plays the role of a father who wants to [[TheAtoner atone]] for what he did and lovebombs Will. However, it's revealed what he actually wants to do is extort money from his ex-wife and literally would steal Will ''just to increase his leverage''. He holds ''no'' love for Will at all. And there's ''nothing'' the girls can do about it.
** Unlike the other villains in the series? [[KarmaHoudini He gets away with it]]. He's not defeated in court or in a battle of wills and ideals - it literally takes a bribe just to get him out of his daughter's life. He's not beaten through ''any'' supernatural means, but through mundane means of a bribe.