One of the taglines for the Night World series is "Love was never so scary". Considering some of the moments mentioned below, they weren't kidding. Beware of unmarked spoilers.
In General
- The Night World itself is a secret society of supernatural beings that exist right under our noses. And many of them are merely tolerant of humans at best. There aren't any actual laws against hurting and even killing humans, unless it's in an area where killings have been banned or it's done in an overly conspicuous manner. In fact, there are some Night People who outright encourage harming humans. They're seen as "vermin", barely even people at all in some cases and inferior to Night People. Night People don't look all that different from humans either much of the time and make an effort to blend in. Anyone you know could be a Night Person. Some of them are implied to hold rather prominent positions in human societies as this makes it easier to keep their existence secret. Are there possibly Night People in the police force or government, covering up mysterious disappearances and suspicious deaths?
- The Night World's laws against falling in love with humans are borderline Orwellian. Ash tells Poppy that although the Night World Council knows they can't really control how people feel, the fear of punishment for being in love with a human and the cultural stigma against it is sometimes enough that if a Night Person ever did develop feelings for a human, they would simply go into denial and refuse to acknowledge them.
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Secret Vampire
- The very first line of the novel is quite chilling: "It was on the first day of summer vacation that Poppy found out she was going to die". We then get to spend the first chapter meeting Poppy, who is a cheerful, happy-go-lucky teenager looking forward to summer vacation and won't let those weird stomach cramps she's been experiencing for some time now ruin her day...until out of nowhere she experiences a cramp so terrible she nearly collapses, horrifying her mother, brother and best friend. She is then whisked off to hospital for tests, which we know won't bring back good results, putting an abrupt end to life as she and her loved ones know it. Perhaps the scariest part is that this has nothing to do with the supernatural. Appearing completely fine and then suddenly being struck down by a serious illness you had no idea you had is a very mundane fear.
- What happened to Miss Emma, James's childhood nanny. Especially the part where he says he hoped his father killed her before burying her after she was turned into a ghoul. Not to mention James was only four when all this happened. He's surprisingly well-adjusted, all things considered.
- The way a vampire's thirst for blood is described. In Night World, vampires have to drink the blood of humans or animals partly because their own blood can't carry oxygen very well. If they go for too long without feeding, they start experiencing very unpleasant side effects. As James puts it, a vampire's bloodlust isn't just like being hungry. They suffer from the effects of oxygen deprivation, which become increasingly severe, things like wooziness, gray spots in their vision, shortness of breath etc. Blood deprived vampires are literally suffocating to death.
Daughters of Darkness
- The hitchhiking incident with Todd and Vic. Although we know that Rowan, Kestrel and Jade are vampires and more than a match for them, the situation is still nightmarish and clearly unnerves the sisters. They are stuck in a car in the middle of nowhere with two guys who make it very clear they intend to "have some fun" with them whether they want it or not. If the sisters weren't vampires, the situation would probably have ended extremely badly. Rowan in particular desperately tries to defuse the situation in a calm and casual manner, saying that her sisters are "too young for that" (Kestrel is 17 and Jade has just turned 16). She isn’t even thinking about herself; she just wants to ensure her sisters aren't harmed.
- Mrs Burdock's goat being killed. The protagonists hear something outside and go to check, finding one of Mrs Burdock's goats has been killed and dumped on the front porch to scare them. Not just killed though. The goat's body has been repeatedly impaled with dozens of wooden stakes. The fact that Rowan points out the goat's throat was slit first and so died quickly is only a small comfort. Worse, the mutilation of the goat's corpse is a clear reference to the execution of Mrs Burdock's husband, something very few people knew. The person who killed the goat is someone who knew Mrs Burdock and her family well. And they're possibly still watching them right now.
- Hodge Burdock's death. After being found guilty of telling a human about the Night World, he was executed by being repeatedly impaled with wooden stakes. And unlike the goat, he was still alive when this happened.
Spellbinder
- Randy confronting Blaise at the Homecoming Dance. Randy himself is a pretty scary figure; he's visibly unstable and turns up wearing a Halloween mask, with cuts made under his eyes giving the impression he's crying blood, and wielding a razor. He keeps eerily moaning about how he "wants to know", though what it is he wants to know is never explained. He becomes increasingly agitated until he finally snaps and slashes at Kevin with the razor when he attempts to defend Blaise and is taken away to a mental institute after being physically apprehended. Even then, Randy is presented as a tragic figure whose mental condition is likely a direct result of Blaise's 'love games'. If Thea's account is anything to go by, he was a relatively normal boy until he fell under Blaise's spell and became obsessed to the point of violence. It makes you wonder just what the hell she did to him that would make him react this way.
- Speaking of which, Blaise Harman herself is quite frightening, despite possessing some sympathetic qualities. She uses a combination of love spells and psychological tricks and manipulation, including gaslighting, to make boys become obsessively infatuated with her. If they're lucky, she'll just toy with their emotions and humiliate them before discarding them. If they're unlucky, they'll end up with Sanity Slippage like Randy and possibly end up expelled, arrested or institutionalised. Oh and remember what happened to Randy? In Thea's opinion, he got off lightly compared to some of the other boys Blaise got her hands on.
- Suzanne Blanchett's backstory, combined with Tearjerker. At just 19, she was tortured into confessing to a whole slew of crimes committed using witchcraft. Because she confessed, her younger siblings fell under suspicion and were tortured as well. They were only ten and six years old at the time. They were all then sentenced to be burnt at the stake and Suzanne had to watch her siblings be burnt alive first. It's really not that surprising her ghost is so Ax-Crazy.
Dark Angel
- Gillian is introduced walking home alone, in the cold and fading light, when she hears a child crying from within the nearby woods. That on its own is quite an unsettling situation to be in, especially given a little girl was known to have disappeared there just one year ago. The later revelation that Angel was intentionally crying like a child to lure her into the woods? That takes it to a whole new level of creepy.
- Gillian falling into the creek and nearly drowning is bad enough, but even when she manages to climb out, we're treated to a horrifying account of her slowly dying of hypothermia due to having been immersed in icy water in the middle of winter. Gillian is alone in the dark woods, desperately trying and ultimately failing to stay conscious as her body shuts down.
- The increasingly sinister relationship between Gillian and Angel. He starts out by subtly manipulating her into doing things she normally wouldn't, which gradually escalates into his requests being more blatant and obviously harmful. When Gillian expresses concern over some of this, he dismisses it and reassures her, and she trusts him because he's so charming and kind to her, playing upon her insecurities and desire to be loved. This culminates in him trying to get her to crash her car so he can possess her boyfriend. By this time, Gillian has become more wary of Angel and refuses...so he attempts to physically intervene, taking control of the steering wheel. Gillian fights back, struggling to control the wheel of the car and screaming at Angel to leave her alone; meanwhile, David is sitting in the car next to her, having no idea what's going on. From his perspective, Gillian has just gone crazy and starting swerving erratically. It's after this that Gillian finally realizes she can't trust Angel and doesn't want him anywhere near her, but she can't get rid of him. Only she can see and hear him and she'll look insane if she tries to tell anyone about having an 'evil guardian angel'. He follows her around and talks to her whenever he wants, and can potentially hurt her and her loved ones. She spent weeks trusting and confiding in this...thing and has she has no idea what he really is or what he's capable of.
The Chosen
- The opening scene in its entirety. Rashel is celebrating her fifth birthday at a carnival when she realizes her best friend Timmy has wandered off. She goes looking for him and finds him in a dark tent...being "eaten", as she puts it, by a tall man in a big coat with unnatural eyes. She tries to run from the tent, screaming for her mother, and she as she sees her mother coming round the corner, she's yanked back into the tent by the vampire. Her mother rushes in to help her and Rashel's immediate thought is that her mother will save her because, well, she's her mother. She's proved horribly wrong as the vampire uses mind control on Rashel's mother to stop her in her tracks. She just stands there, unable to do anything, as the vampire breaks her neck and drops her corpse onto the ground in front of her daughter. Rashel gets out of the tent and climbs to the top of a large playground in an attempt to escape; the whole time, the vampire is following her, banging on the sides of the tunnels and trying to coax her down by offering her ice cream, among other things. She knows exactly what he's trying to do and is scared out of her mind, incapable of defending herself and knowing her mother can't help her. The only thing she – a small child – can do against him is screaming in public that he "tried to touch her". The police find her mother's body, but Timmy's is gone. Rashel guesses that the vampire took it with him and that she doesn't really want to know why. After all that and the incident soon after where the vampire came back for her and burnt down her house to try and kill her, 'only' succeeding in killing her elderly aunt, it's not too surprising she turned out the way she did.
- Rashel hunts a vampire in Boston who has been specifically targeting children. As she finds his lair, she notices several items of clothing lying around, all of which are "very small". She guesses they're trophies from the vampire's various victims. She also notes that the area is isolated in a less populated part of town, so that the vampire can "take his time" with his victims. No bodies are found either, with Rashel stating that no one will ever really know what happened to all those kids. The only comfort is that Rashel makes short work of the vampire responsible, so he will never be able to harm another child again.
Soulmate
- The reason Hannah goes to see a therapist. Besides recurring nightmares, she explains that in recent weeks, she keeps finding notes in her handwriting, in places only she could access such as her sock drawer...which she doesn't remember writing. And the content of these notes isn't exactly cheerful stuff either; they’re full of things like "Remember the Three Rivers", "He's coming" and most chillingly "Dead before seventeen" – Hannah is turning seventeen very soon, so her fears are quite understandable. And while it does turn out she isn't going crazy, this is because she's in fact Properly Paranoid and has every reason to be afraid.
- Maya is practically walking nightmare fuel. For centuries, she has stalked both Thierry and Hannah, murdered the latter in every one of her lives and gaslighted her into believing it was the former who killed her. She does this purely because Thierry rejected her (after she made him into a vampire against his will and committed various other atrocities). And because she finds it fun. She never dies, never stops, never gives up. When Hannah asks why she doesn't just give up and end the cycle, her explanation is simply "Because that way, I won't win."
- We are given a detailed flashback to the night Thierry was turned into a vampire by Maya. It's not pleasant and has some elements that almost make it reminiscent of sexual assault. Thierry is guarding the perimeter of his tribe's village after Maya murdered four babies and disappeared, when suddenly she appears from the darkness of the woods. She immediately announces that she's here to "make [him] immortal". Thierry is armed with a spear and thinks to himself that he could take her despite his growing fear. He's wrong. After briefly being distracted by Maya's unearthly beauty, she overpowers him with her inhuman strength and drags him into woods. She forces him down and, as Thierry puts it, "tore out his throat". He tries in vain to push her off and can hear her draining his blood as he grows weaker and weaker. Thierry feels himself dying and actually thinks it a mercy as it'll be over soon, but Maya then makes a cut on her own neck, throws herself on top of him and forces him to drink her blood despite his attempts to stop. Thierry dies...only to wake up in his own grave. He claws his way out and discovers he now has a taste for blood. In his starving, disoriented state, he attacks the first living thing he encounters – his own brother. Fortunately, he comes to his senses in time that his brother is unharmed, but Thierry is then struck by the horror of what he has become and flees in terror and revulsion.
- What happened to Thierry when he was captured by the Three Rivers tribe. They decide he's a demon and despite Hannah/Hana's pleas, the lead hunter Arno stabs him with a spear. However, to everyone's shock, the wound heals quickly. The hunters stab him again and again, but his wounds keep healing, except where the wood pierces his skin (wood being a vampire's weakness). A mob forms and begins essentially torturing Thierry, inflicting horrible wounds on him with spears and fire that won't kill him. Throughout it all, Hana pleads with her people to stop but they refuse to listen, everyone becoming caught up in the mass hysteria of inflicting pain and suffering on something 'other', even though Thierry is clearly a living, thinking creature who can feel pain like them. The sheer amount of trauma Thierry has gone through in the past few weeks finally reaches breaking point and he snaps, slaughtering almost the entire tribe in a blind bloodlust (possibly including kids). And when he at last comes to his senses, he finds himself cradling the dying body of Hana, the one member of the tribe who stood up for him and showed him compassion...
- Maya's Evil Plan for Hannah. She intends to turn her into a vampire and then kill her, because, as she so kindly informs Hannah, vampires can't reincarnate. Hannah isn't exactly looking forward to the prospect of dying, but she knows she'll always come back to life eventually because she's an Old Soul. The prospect of dying permanently is frightening enough on its own to her, but Maya then brings up the theory that vampires can't reincarnate because they lack a soul altogether. Hannah is so horrified by the idea of Maya "killing her soul", she seriously considers finding a way to collapse the roof of the mine on top of herself and hoping she "die[s] quickly" while she's still human if worst comes to worst.
- Whatever dark magic Maya worked to turn herself into a vampire. We only receive a few scraps of information about it, but what we do know is chilling enough. It involves sacrificing a human or witch and drinking the sacrifice's blood, and at this time Maya was still a witch herself so she's committing cannibalism. And then there's the victims Maya chose for the ritual; she kidnapped and murdered four babies. We're not told how exactly they died (which may be a good thing), only that their bodies were later found dumped in the woods, drained of blood. The other details of the spell are left to our imagination.
Huntress
- Ghouls – people whose attempted vampires transformations went wrong - are mentioned a few times in earlier books, in particular Secret Vampire. Here, we finally get to see one in all its glory and it is not pretty. Ghouls are rather like zombies but with a vampire's strength and thirst for blood. Jez mentions they're "fond of hearts" and unlike vampires who will usually bite a person neatly on the neck or wrist, ghouls will just shred a person alive to get to their blood. They can only be killed by the usual methods used on vampires, but don't have the whole 'inhuman beauty and immortality' package deal. They're essentially just rotting corpses that keep rotting until they're killed.
- Hugh's backstory. When he was seven years old, he went camping with his parents, brother and sisters, and one night they were set upon by two werewolves, who slaughtered the entire Davis family save for Hugh. The only reason they left him alone is because he was "too small" to make a decent meal. They then fed on his family's corpses in front of him. When Hugh took the opportunity to fight back, one of the werewolves nearly tore his leg off and they were only frightened off when a park ranger shot at them with a gun. Until he found Circle Daybreak, Hugh was the only one who knew what had murdered his family and nearly killed him. Considering what we know about the Night World, what happened to the Davis family probably isn't a completely isolated incident, either.
