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- "Die Schatten werden länger" can be quite unsettling, especially if you or any of your loved ones have experienced suicidal feelings.
- Rudolf calls Death "my friend" in "Die Schatten werden länger". Death is trying to convince him to commit suicide, and not only does Rudolf not realise it, he trusts Death. The only person that you feel like you could trust turning out to merely be using you as a tool and not giving a damn about you at all... note Brr.
- At the end of "Yami ga hirogaru" in the Toho production, Death (Inoue Yoshio) ruins the heartwarming moment of Rudolf hugging him by turning to the audience and giving a wicked, triumphant, nightmarish smirk that just screams, "He's mine." This Death definitely doesn't care about Rudolf, or at least delights in Corrupt the Cutie. Some Takarazuka Deaths also smile like this after Mayerling, regardless of whether their Death cares about Rudolf.
- Also from the Toho production, especially with Shirota Yu as Death and Furukawa Yuta as Rudolf.
The Mind Control subtext is played to the hilt. Rudolf reacts to Death with confusion and active fear, scrambling and backing away from him, as Death bats him around like a cat toy, telekinetically controlling the prince's body. Whenever Death's hand goes near Rudolf's face, Rudolf's reaction changes immediately (sometimes with a flicker of unfocused Mind-Control Eyes) towards being friendly to Death. This carries a strong implication that Rudolf instinctively recognizes that Death is inhuman and/or doesn't mean well, but his free will is being actively overridden by Death.
- Depending on the production, the ending can be this. The Hungarian version is especially dark, since it ends with Death implicitly consuming Elisabeth's soul.
- "Am Deck der sinkenden Welt", depending on the production, can be either creepy or terrifying. The list of Elisabeth's relatives and their unhappy fates is bad enough (her brother in law is executed by revolutionaries, her sister goes insane, her cousin drowns himself and another sister burns to death), but when it segues into a reprise of "Alle Fragen sind gesellt" while the actors stagger around the stage like puppets...
- Rudolf can be seen crawling among the dead. Tear Jerker material aside, at least one fanfic has run with the idea of Franz's nightmare involving the deceased Crown Prince and the aversion of Pretty Little Headshots.
- In many productions, Elisabeth is seen reaching for Death as the stage lowers. Keep in mind that this is Franz Josef's nightmare and he's lost two children (one of them to suicide) and now he's watching his beloved wife look at Death as if begging him to take her and end her suffering...and there's nothing Franz Josef can do about it.
- The end of the wedding music and the start of "Der letzte Tanz" is very creepy, with the wedding guests collapsing and Franz Joseph freezing in place as Death walks onstage.
- "Der letzte Tanz" is Nightmare Fuel in general. If you ignore the catchy tune and listen to the lyrics, it's basically about Death telling Elisabeth that she'll be his in the end. The worst part? He's right!
- For extra creepiness; just before the final chorus, the wedding guests stand up and sing/chant. Loosely translated into English: "Vienna is approaching an ending. The eras are turning. All the questions have been asked...". To those who even have a passing knowledge of the consequences, it's especially chilling.
- The Sisi/Death ship can get disturbing if viewed as her being so broken by the tragedies in her life note that she runs into the arms of her abuser. note
- "Mama, wo bist du?" starts out a Tear Jerker, with little Rudolf wondering why his mother is never there, but the moment Death speaks to him it goes straight into parental fear territory. Death himself is in a child's bedroom and convinces that child that he's his friend? Sweet dreams!
- Rudolf proudly saying that he killed a cat, and Death's reaction to it is either an impressed look or a warm, affectionate smile. Granted, he could have done it to defend something the cat was chasing, but it's still a jarring moment for such an innocent-looking child.
- Máté Kamarás' expression when he first spots young Rudolph is absolutely terrifying.◊
- The Toho productions have Rudolf holding a gun during "Mama, wo bist du?". Death takes it from him, and points it at him as if he's about to shoot him. Furukawa Yuta's Death holds the gun by the barrel instead, offering it to the young prince.
- While not outright threatening, Tamaki Ryou's Death's interaction with young Rudolf is made of horror because of how affectionately he behaves towards the prince... until Rudolf isn't looking. Death's face immediately drops into disgust and annoyance. The way he cradles Rudolf's head in his hand, stroking the prince's hair, all while looking directly at the camera radiates I Have You Now, My Pretty. It's a clear sign he has no good intentions towards the boy.
- In the 2019 concert, Mark Seibert's Death (hovering above Rudolf, unseen) holds out his hand close to the child's head and flexes it. The gesture looks like it can indicate Mind Control.
- "Mayerling-Walzer" is as nightmarish as it is tragic. In the space of minutes, Rudolf goes from begging Elisabeth to help him and being rejected, to being dragged into a terrifying dance with the Todesengel. And then Death appears.
- A lot of productions like the 1992 Vienna or the Essen production have Death dressed as Rudolf's lover Mary along with the Todesengel, making it a confusing dance where Rudolf is being pushed and pulled around by all the "women" until one of them suddenly drags him to the center and kisses him, revealing herself as Death. While the variations with the "normal" Death and Todesengel imply that Rudolf was under Mind Control, the Mary-version strongly suggests that Death took the shape of one of the last people Rudolf thought loved him and used it against him.
- The 2016 Toho production gives the audience the absolutely gleeful look on Shirota Yu (Death)'s face as he lights up and asks Rudolf, "Do you want to die?" after Sisi has turned her son away. It's just another sign of his Blue-and-Orange Morality.
- Some Takarazuka actresses chose to have Rudolf look eager to shoot himself. Serika Toa's (2014 Rudolf) face lights up with joy. Ayaoto Sena (2018 shinjin kouen Rudolf) smirks in a way disturbingly similar to Death. Nanami Hiroki (30th anniversary concert) switches back and forth between tender looks (even caressing the gun) and ecstatic smiles. It's nightmarish regardless of the reason - whether he's been merely tricked/manipulated, having a Psychic-Assisted Suicide via Mind Control, or just so broken that he actively wants to die, looks forward to it, and feels that he would be happier dead.
- "Hass" is one of the most disturbing scenes in the musical. Antisemitism, an angry mob, an early form of what will eventually become Nazism... there's a reason that song's usually cut.
- The Takarazuka productions, despite their Lighter and Softer take on the story, provide some creepy moments. Especially Death kicking Rudolf across the stage just before his suicide.
- Rudolf's coronation in a dream sequence quickly turns to Nightmare Fuel as the Todesengel snatch his crown away, and keep it out of his reach as he tries to get it back.
- Death's Evil Laugh at the end of "Alle Fragen sind gestellt" is made even scarier because it seems to come from different parts of the stage.
- "Prolog" and "Am Deck der sinkenden Welt" include white-robed, white-masked figures among the ensemble. Nothing like them appears in any other version, and no explanation is ever given for what they are.
- Tamaki Ryou's Death changes expressions at an unnervingly rapid pace during Mayerling (most prominently during his pas de deux with Rudolf), randomly flicking between callous, smug, kindly, triumphant, and sad looks. The camera angle as Death watches Rudolf dance with the Angels makes it look like each half of his face bears a different emotion.
- Ayaki Nao's Death during "Mama, wo bist du?" with young Rudolf is extremely creepy, with how possessively and inappropriately he reaches out for the kid. To make the matters worse, the two actresses are sisters in real life.
- The unexpected high note that Shirota Yu ends "Die Schatten werden länger" with sounds like a scream. (He also does this in the cover with Ramin Karimloo, even though he's singing Rudolf's part.) Lampshaded in an earlier line that both Death and Rudolf sings: "Someone is crying out/And I wander addicted to their voice."
- After he's claimed Elisabeth's soul, Furukawa Yuta's Death turns to the audience, holds out a hand in a beckoning "come hither" gesture, and gives a Slasher Smile. Everybody dances with Death, after all - it seems he's saying "you're next".
- In the First Act, Elisabeth convinces Franz Josef to let them bring their daughters to Hungary on a state visit. All seems well. That's until you notice Death stalking the couple in the background like a lion stalking a wounded gazelle just as two Hungarian noblemen talk about how little Sophie has a fever...
