History Main / TheDreaded

* William Afton being a bully, terrorizes the animatronics by playing practical jokes on children, wow! not even the animatronics had been so afraid of him.

* Night Furies from ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. Some vikings do not believe they exist, but those that do dread the idea of encountering one. They [[PowerLevels outrank nearly every other dragon in speed, strength, intelligence, etc.]] [[FunSize despite its size]] and they blend in with the dark. [[UndeadAuthor No one has ever encountered one and lived to tell the tale]]. Even the dragon manual says that should one ever encounter a Night Fury, they should [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted "hide and pray that it does not find [them]"]], and this is a book that tells you that dragons that spit [[HollywoodAcid acid]], turns you inside out and roar so loud that your ears explode should be "[[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption killed on sight]]."

A [[Villains villain]] or AntiHero whose primary characteristic is the fear the other side has of them.

A villain or AntiHero whose primary characteristic is the fear the other side has of them.

** The reason why the attempted assassination of UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson didn't work is because even the bullets of scared of him.

** As he used to do in his Glory Days, a big strategy that Batman employs for his return is to terrify criminals and Mutants who have so far been enjoying a free reign of mayhem in Gotham.

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': [[RedBaron Known as the "Radio Demon"]], Alastor is feared by most as an all-powerful tyrant who destroys anyone who stands in the way of his cryptic goals. On his first day in Hell alone he slaughtered so many demons (not just rank and file, but high-ranking Lords of Hell that had been in power for centuries) that he was instantly catapulted into a ranking position among Hell's nobility, and most would rather give him a wide berth than catch his attention in any way.

** Hades was this to the Greeks themselves; he's the yardstick by which terrifying creatures in myth (like Typhon) are compared to. Typhon is so bad that he was not only scarier than Hades, he [[HorrifyingTheHorror frightened him]]. This is in spite of Hades being one of the most agreeable gods in the pantheon; the combination of being the guardian of Tartarus (meaning he was in charge of keeping creation's worst monstrosities locked up) and being a ConsummateProfessional immune to flattery, sweet-talk and general silver-tongue antics (very much ''un''like most of the pantheon) were more than enough reason to be wary.

** Hades was this to the Greeks themselves; he's the yardstick by which terrifying creatures in myth (like Typhon) are compared to. Typhon is so bad that he was not only scarier than Hades, he [[HorrifyingTheHorror frightened him]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Ego's taste buds are so hard to please that even Gusteau, Rémy's indirect mentor, couldn't do so. Ego is so infamously picky in Paris that if he announces his intentions to visit a restaurant, it's treated like the death knell of said restaurant's rating since absolutely no-one has been able to satisfy him.

* Night Furies from ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. Some vikings do not believe they exist, but those that do dread the idea of encountering one. They [[PowerLevels outrank nearly every other dragon in speed, strength, intelligence, etc.]] [[FunSize despite its size]] and they blend in with the dark. [[UndeadAuthor No one has ever encountered one and lived to tell the tale]]. Even the dragon manual says that should one ever encounter a Night Fury, they should [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted "hide and pray that it does not find [them]"]], and this is a book that tells you that dragons that spit [[HollywoodAcid acid]], turns you inside out and [[MakeMeWannaShout roar so loud that your ears explode]] should be "[[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption killed on sight]]."
--> '''Hiccup''': This thing never steals food, never shows itself and... [[AlwaysAccurateAttack never misses]].

* Shere Khan from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book|1967}}''. Nearly everyone is scared of him, and the rest are TooDumbToLive. He's stripped of this status in the sequel, what with his humiliation at the hands of Mowgli, and goes full-blown KnightOfCerebus trying to get it back.
* Tai Lung in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', a rogue kung fu master so scary that an entire prison was built specifically to hold him. When he escapes from said prison, ''everyone'' in the Valley is afraid of him, including his former master and TheChosenOne.

* Don Bluth's ''WesternAnimation/ThePebbleAndThePenguin''. It is one of the rare works that portray Orcas as extremely dangerous predators, and they have some very effective buildup. Prior to their appearance, we see Drake, the monsterous Leopard Seal, and even the narrator mentioning that humans are worse than leopard seals. And Rocko, being the tough penguin that he is, isn't too afraid of them either, teaching Hubie how to fight them back. Until he brings up the killer whales, who mentions that they are much worse than the seal, being twice as big, twice as mean, and they always hunt in groups. He goes into despair the moment the Orcas show up, and they very quickly prove to be [[KnightOfCerebus the most terrifying and dangerous presence in the entire movie]], almost comparable to ''Sharptooth''. Hubie even abandons the titular pebble that he risked his life to protect just to ''survive'' against the killer whales.

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* ''UsefulNotes/ThreeKingdomsShuWeiWu'':
** By the end of his life, Sima Yi had developed this reputation amongst the enemies of the Wei Empire. Even the rumours that Wei was ''considering'' to send him to the front was enough to keep the rival states of Shu and Wu at bay, and word that he was on the way was sometimes enough to cause full-on retreats. There was good reason for this: Sima Yi had won several difficult campaigns in the past, and inflicted CurbStompBattle after battle against most who'd ever stood against him. A big part of this was thanks to his mastery of the BatmanGambit, being able to predict an opponent's most likely course of action and taking appropriate steps (e.g. when rumours came about that Wei general Meng Da was planning to defect, Meng knew that since there was no proof of his treachery Sima would have to consult the Wei court first, giving him time to prepare. Sima knew that Meng knew this, and so march directly on his fortress city, forcing him to either [[SadisticChoice surrender to prove his loyalty and thus removing his power, or launching his rebellion early]]) Meng rebelled and was crushed.
** Wei general Guo Huai likewise earned a reputation as one of these, especially among the barbarian tribes. Rebelling tribesmen would surrender or flee on his approach, and his presence alone was enough to keep them in line. Even the Wei court was hesitant to be too strict on him: on one occasion he ignored an imperial summons because his wife had been kidnapped by bandits, and when he arrived at court late after successfully rescuing his wife he was left off with a warning (despite ignoring an imperial summons normally being a major offense that could result in execution).
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* Myth/MesopotamianMythology has Inanna due her great pride, her immense power, and the fact that whenever she threatens to break the gates of the underworld and cause a ZombieApocalypse [[NotHyperbole she means it]].

* Sharptooth from ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' series, especially in the very first movie. The very word frightens any other dinosaur who hears it.
* One example would be in one of Don Bluth's Lighter and Softer works, ''WesternAnimation/ThePebbleAndThePenguin''. It is one of the rare works that portray Orcas as extremely dangerous predators, and they have some very effective buildup. Prior to their appearance, we see Drake, the monsterous Leopard Seal, and even the narrator mentioning that humans are worse than leopard seals. And Rocko, being the tough penguin that he is, isn't too afraid of them either, teaching Hubie how to fight them back. Until he brings up the killer whales, who mentions that they are much worse than the seal, being twice as big, twice as mean, and they always hunt in groups. He goes into despair the moment the Orcas show up, and they very quickly prove to be [[KnightOfCerebus the most terrifying and dangerous presence in the entire movie]], almost comparable to ''Sharptooth''. Hubie even abandons the titular pebble that he risked his life to protect just to ''survive'' against the killer whales.

** Odin was feared by all mortal beings on account of the fact that he was the Valfodr, the Father of the Slain, and constantly on the look-out for more warriors to pad out his ranks with for the upcoming battle come Ragnarok. Nothing guaranteed a shorter life than gaining Odin's favour.

* For centuries, many religions believed [[{{Satan}} The Devil]] was especially this if not the original. Although mostly a story, one cannot help but wonder if there really is a creature of pure evil in this world. If so, then {{God}} help us all.
* The [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight Bogeyman]] is this trope ''personified''. Every child that has heard of him fears him, he can appear as the thing you fear most, and if you've been naughty, ''God have mercy on your soul''.