Nightmare Fuel / TUGS

This outdoes any accident that happens on the Island of Sodor...

• The designs of the Tugs themselves, with their flesh-tone faces sitting where the bridge should be. Grampus in particular, though sweet, is doubly-unnerving given he's a submarine sitting just at the surface of the water most of the time. Especially to someone with submechanophobia...
• The creepy atmosphere in the episode "Ghosts" is rather chilling, the eerie "moaning" when the ghost fleet appears makes it more unsettling.
  • It really says something that barring Hercules — who doesn't appear until right at the end and reveals the truth about the titular ghosts — every single Star Tug and Zorran were scared stiff by what they saw.
  • Top Hat even has a Jump Scare before he meets the so-called "Ghost Tugs". When he passes the rail bridge, the train suddenly blares its whistle before passing by. Needless to say, he wasn't the only one who jumped.
  • The crowning moment of horror however has to go to Ten Cents and Sunshine's sequence. The two switchers are out in the open sea trying to deliver oil to Lillie Lightship. All of a sudden they hear a strange noise, like cracking ice, which is then followed by the eerie arrival of the ghost tugs. A moment later, the water suddenly starts to bubble and a galleon rises up like a zombie from its grave. Then inexplicably, they see lightning strike the old vessel as the angry face of Neptune himself appears in the sky above it, watching them. Needless to say, the two terrified tugs beat a hasty retreat, as the fog smothers the old galleon like a blanket.
• The fire and explosions in the episode "Munitions" are extremely devastating, resulting in Big Mickey toppling into the water — and outright dying, depending on the cut — a petrol barge exploding and nearly killing Ten Cents, and a naval tanker being horrifically torn apart.
  • The petrol barge explosion in particular happens before Ten Cents even has a chance to get clear, and is so violent it fills up the whole screen. If you thought a children's show couldn't get away with such a huge Jump Scare, you'd be wrong.
    • Not to mention what immediately follows. Sunshine instantly realizes what's happened, but can't do anything to help him with the blaze on the dockside raging on. The line delivery of it is especially distressing.
      Sunshine: TEN CENTS! It's Ten Cents! The oil barge! I must-I must...
      O.J.: Stay put, Sunshine! You're needed here.
      Sunshine: BUT HE MIGHT NEED HELP!
  • Kraka-Toa's destruction and sinking is also pretty damn chilling, especially with the Background Music which is filled with shock chords to each explosion. Even worse since it's implied that she's a sentient vehicle like Big Mickey and the Tugs, but is still graphically blown up on-screen.
• At the end of the episode "Up River," Warrior is on the wrong side of a makeshift dam to stop an out-of-control mass of logs from destroying Uptown. When the logs appear, we're treated to two horrifying points of view; one from Warrior's perspective of the logs bearing down on him and another from the logs floating coming closer to Warrior, who can only stay there helplessly and fearfully. He thankfully manages to use his strength to divert them away, but it's still such a tense moment in the series.
• The criminal Tugboats from Pirate are really freaky, with their Mysteron-esque glowing green eyes and distorted voices that hellishly reverberate in the darkness and fog. They abduct an elderly Tugboat and force his nephew Sea Rogue to steal an infinite amount of barges to pay off the ransom, or else they'll scuttle (or rather, slowly kill) him right in front of Sea Rogue. Thankfully they're stopped by Ten Cents and company, but still.

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