Tales from Earthsea, strangely for a Ghibli movie, exists for its majority out of pure nightmare fuel.
- To begin; in the opening of the film, Arren's father, the king, has reached the top of the stairway in a dark hallway. When he is heading for his chambers, a knife pokes out from behind a statue, cut to a POV shot of someone running down the hall towards the king and stabbing him in the gut. The pool of blood that leaks on the floor doesn't help, either. Being murdered by your demented offspring can give you nightmares.
- Later on, in an incredibly disturbing dream sequence, Arren is haunted by some sort of distorted figure that engulfs him and stares at him with dead eyes.
- A short while later, Arren is chased down by his own shadow who follows him into a swamp, giving the impression he plans to drown Arren. Extra points for having Arren slip and fall underwater.
- The wizard Cob is nightmare fuel in living form.
- Everything from his creepy voice, appearance and demeanor is already threatening, but watch his Villainous Breakdown and it will seriously give you shudders. He transforms into a hollow-eyed, dead-looking, grotesque version of himself and strangles Therru by pumping up his arm.
Cob: I don't want to die!- The incredibly subdued and detached way he responds to said strangling is plenty creepy as well. He whispers "She's dead, she's dead, poor her..." while just staring.
- Narm aside, the moment at which Arren slices off Cob's arm is nightmare-worthy. Especially when it transforms into black goo and Cob reattaches it.
