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Follow TV Tropes

This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

Following

Creepy Awesome

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alucard_hellhound.png
We're gonna play fetch. You're the frisbee.

A character who, despite (or precisely because of) being Nightmare Fuel, is also greatly loved by a series' fandom. This can have a variety of reasons. Maybe the character is simply the biggest badass in the show, or maybe they have a cute, funny or tragic side in addition to their creepy side that endears the character to the fans. The character in question need not be a villain, though a majority of characters this trope applies to are villains or at least antagonists of some sort.

This sometimes results in Misaimed Fandom and Draco in Leather Pants. Note that while these characters are often Nightmare Fuel incarnate, their appeal to non-Nightmare Fetishists is often due to being more appealing (e.g., Magnificent Bastard, The Woobie, etc.) than creepy. May or may not overlap with Creepy Good. Love to Hate runs on a similar principle, and given that many examples of creepy characters tend to also be evil, the two tropes can easily overlap.

Also, characters that remain stoic throughout the entirety of a show's story automatically qualify here due to lack of emotions, interest or involvement naturally these characters sprout up mystery and uncertainty. At worst these characters are downright terrifying once they finally decided to get involved with the cast, due to lack of understanding the cast would assume these characters are either dangerous, untrustworthy or non-human. It is common for the less intelligent characters, to foolishly meddle with these characters, something they often regret eventually once the latter reveals how emotionlessly twisted they really are.

Examples:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • Attack on Titan:
    • Annie Leonhardt is notably among the many who qualify for this trope. At first she remains calm, level-headed and completely sane. But when she finally cracks you'll be in shock at how twisted she really is deep down.
    • Mikasa Ackerman is a heroic example, for someone who can put up with a character like Eren. Mikasa strives to protect all those she cares about, bullies would be wise not to mess with her and Titans aren't safe either.
    • The Titans themselves also qualify, especially the almighty Colossal Titan.
  • Azumanga Daioh: Possibly Mr. Kimura, definitely Chiyo-chichi. And Osaka, if only for the infamous Knife Incident.
  • The Rail Tracer of Baccano!.
  • In Battle Royale, Kiriyama being an emotionless killer doesn't stop fans from liking him.
  • Griffith/Femto from Berserk. Even as a normal human, Griffith is a narcissist willing to go to any means to achieve his dream. His stoicism and ruthlessness make him a force to be reckoned with. He successfully manages to wipe out countless foes, achieve nigh-impossible military victories, somehow managing to combine his child-like demenour with a bone-chilling, eery aura whenever he sets his eyes on a target. He gets outright nightmarish when he reincarnates.
  • Black Butler has Grell, Undertaker, and, in the second season of the anime, Alois.
  • Zenon Zogratis from Black Clover is cold, merciless, and his magic has him sprout sharp bones from his body to impale enemies. He's liked by many fans for being a no-nonsense, threatening villain.
    • Zagred, a.k.a. the Word Devil. There's his unsettling, creepy design and uttering of Black Speech to summon eldritch monsters from the underworld, making him a powerful foe fitting for the climactic villain of the elf saga and the introduction of devils as antagonists to the story.
  • Black Lagoon:
    • Hansel and Gretel, despite being deranged killers, are also loved by a good portion of this series' fandom who sympathize with them because of their seriously messed-up childhood. They can also be quite cute at times.
    • Sawyer the cleaner. A young woman who needs a electrovoice after having her voice box cut out and works as one-woman Cleanup Crew, using her trusty chainsaw to make unwanted bodies easier to hide by cutting them into pieces ...bodies who aren't necessarily dead when they are brought to her. She also has worked as a hired gun a few times, proving quite adept at using her chainsaw in close combat.
    • Even the cruellest, arrogant and most violent of criminals would be wise to fear, Roberta. Behind those lovely glasses and hair, hides a perpetual death glare that's only the first of many horrors she's capable of.
  • Bleach:
    • Mayuri, to a portion of fans.
    • For all his high talk, Ulquiorra wants to be appreciated as such (and maybe even as a Magnificent Bastard, with his Nietzsche Wannabe Breaking Lecture attempts), transforming specifically to creep Ichigo out in a hopefully awesome way. He's surprised Ichigo doesn't buy it (while not buying a lot of other shit he spills).
    • Hollow Ichigo V2 "Ressurection". Devil horns? Devil look? Still awesome, even in previous versions.
    • And at least during the Rescue Rukia/Soul Society arc, Kenpachi. He kinda moved out of this category after becoming one of the good guys and instead was simply classified as having Success Through Insanity instead.
    • Unohana of all people has become this after the release of Chapter 523.
  • Deepa from Boruto. Deepa, despite being just an anime creation, he was well received for how creepy he was, from looks to abilities, sociopathic personality, and twisted sense of humor. Some fans even cheered up for him when he Curb Stomp Battled Sarada, Mitsuki and Boruto.
  • Cowboy Bebop has Vincent Volaju and Tongpu (AKA Mad Pierrot).
  • The Millennium Earl and his Noah Famliy in D.Gray-Man. Variously sexy, cool, and Affably Evil? Yes. Scary? Hell yes.
  • Death Note:
    • Let's just say this series has a Cast Full Of Creepy awesome.
    • Mikami has some great moments. Killing Demegawa and his cohorts in the anime is accompanied by writing even more epic than Light's. The eagle sound effects and flashing multicolored lights aren't the things that make the scene; that smile of his, however, is.
  • Many characters from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba could easily qualify here. The series itself is an action-filled horror, but many would agree that Muzan Kibutsuji is a much greater level of terrifying. When the monstrous, bloodthirsty Demons themselves say they fear this guy? That alone is enough to make, even Hashira-level swordsmen reconsider their actions.
  • Kazutaka Muraki from Descendants of Darkness.
  • The D-Reaper from Digimon Tamers. The creepy part is self-explanatory, the awesome part is that it came the closest to its goals and it's likely the most powerful ...thing in the Digimon franchise.
  • Freeza, Cell and Majin Buu of Dragon Ball Z.
  • Three from DragonBall Super:
    • Goku Black, who can seemingly turn into a dragon-like shadow creature with red eyes who patrols the skies looking for people to kill. From the ground, he looks like bolt of yellow lightning that can strike at anytime and when he does descends, it's like a tornado making landfall. Goku Black is closer to an Eldritch Abomination than an actual person. Him laughing gleefully when Future Trunks punched him in the gut only reinforced the creepy factor.
    • Trunks' transformation in Episode 61, caused by a supreme Rage-Breaking Point, involves him gaining pure white eyes, a blue aura under his yellow aura, and his mere footsteps causing the earth to shake. It's as pants-shittingly terrifying as it is awesome, not unlike Broly's Legendary Super Saiyan (which it superficially resembles).
    • Fusion Zamasu after he he fused with the multiverse. In this form, he become an Eldritch Abomination of millions of floating laughing heads that spreads across the multiverse like a virus and became "justice itself". He even began to break the barrier between space and time since Beerus and Whis felt Fusion Zamasu's aura from their home world. He then proceeded to wipe out all life across the multiverse leaving only Goku, Vegeta, Future Trunks, Future Mai, Bulma, and the Supreme Kais alive. The only way to stop him was to summoned Future Zen'o who nuked the entire timeline, solidifying Fusion Zamasu as the most powerful villain in the franchise to date.
  • Izaya of Durarara!!.
  • In Elfen Lied Lucy and Mariko are utterly vicious, but that's why they're so effective.
    • The series itself is a messed up Crapsack World, that shows the potentially terrifying dangers of modern science, psychological horror and inhuman levels of ambition.
  • Excel♡Saga: Possibly Little Miss Badass Cosette Sara, who initially appears to be an Enfant Terrible, but is something of a Jerkass Woobie who is older than she looks, and must hide her giant chest.
  • Fairy Tail: Flare Corona is bluntly the most twisted and eerie female of the series. Though her range of creepy goes from stalking to sadistic cruelty and all done perfectly with creepy shadowed undereyes. However she isn't completely insane, deep down she's actually very shy and even apologizes for her acts (like she did to Lucy) not to mention she physically is very attractive and even cute (if you can endure her stare however).
    • Many fans would agree that their is always something off about, Minerva Orlando. Love her? or hate her? Minerva always has the looks of a scheming murderer despite the Oriental glamour. Sadly it gets worse, not only does she appear untrustworthy but her actions prove just the same if not worse.
  • Ryuunosuke Uryu and his servant Caster in Fate/Zero. They see themselves and each other this way.
  • The title character of Franken Fran. She does terrifying things, and is absolutely certain of being in the right. She's also cute, when her eyeballs aren't falling off...
  • Envy, Kimblee, and Pride/Selim of Fullmetal Alchemist.
  • The Count of Montecristo in Gankutsuou.
  • Ryougi Shiki of The Garden of Sinners is a frighteningly efficient college-aged serial killer. She's also cute as hell.
  • Puppet Master from Ghost in the Shell (1995) is an eerie disembodied torso of what appears to be a female android. Its voice though is male and discomfortingly cold (even for a machine). Puppet Master's logic is incredibly evolved, capable of free will and breaking down the very fabric of human existence into a comprehendible theory of data. But above all else, Puppet Master succeeds in being a villain that will truly make you think. Perhaps even debate if technology could really gain sentient life someday?
  • Inugami "Wanko" Isuzu from Hayate × Blade first appears looking like a terrifying Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl with creepy supernatural powers who is stalking her future partner, Momo. Even after teaming up with Momo and getting a hairstyle change that reveals she was Beautiful All Along, she still remains a major Nightmare Fetishist who takes it as praise whenever Momo mentions how creepy her personality and supernatural abilities are.
  • Hellsing's Alucard, due to being a serious badass, among other things, as the page image shows. Also, Jan Valentine.
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers:
    • Russia terrifies the other cast members and is beloved by the audience.
    • Russia's sister Belarus even more so. Russia is terrified of her.
    • England is this to a saner degree. It's mostly the reason why he hasn't got many friends.
  • Ragyo Kiryuin of Kill la Kill has a strong streak of this trope in her personality. Pale as a cloud and hair like a rainbow, this sick and incestuous mother is the product of pride and lust for power. Her expressions are often...interesting to say the least when she has her way, eccentric in clothing complete with a Model's touch of glamour. Ragyo is definitely a despicable character but also amusing to watch, a sign of a good villainess for many.
  • Kubera give us Yuta. Horror Hunger? Check. Scary-yet-sexy Shapeshift? Check. Super Strength? Check. Cute as a button? Double-check. But, still... really, really has a dark side you do not want to cross, however much he keeps it in check — normally.
  • Robo-Emperor and Mega-Emperor/Giganko from Medabots. Both are terrifying, super powerful and two of the most popular Medabots in the series.
  • Paptimus Scirocco of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is a social predator and mind rapist with a penchant for seducing young girls and playing head games. Yet despite this — or perhaps because of it — he remains one of the most popular and well-liked villains in the franchise.
  • Johan Liebert of Monster, best encapsulated in his first appearance as an adult.
  • My Hero Academia:
    • The League of Villains in general are well-received if nightmarish villains. The particular standouts are Toga, a psychotic yandere who can go from cute to horrific in a second, Dabi, a highly intelligent pyrokinetic who frequently uses his power to awesome effect, and of course their leader Shigaraki, who evolves from a Psychopathic Manchild to a calculating Person of Mass Destruction, wielding a power that can turn people to ash with a touch.
      • Let's not forget All For One as well. He's dangerously forward-thinking, always having a plan up his sleeve to counter the Hero Society. All For One knows even he won't last forever, and how he plans to rectify this truth, is both amazing and downright diabolical. There is no limit, All For One would go to belittle his rival, All Might which is only one reason why he's so scary.
    • Overhaul is a Yakuza boss with the power to disassemble and reassemble things molecule by molecule, all with a cold and cruel demeanor.
    • Rikiya "Re-Destro" Yotsubashi of the Meta Liberation Army has this in spades. He has proven to be an unsettling, yet formidable opponent for the League, right down to his unsettling personality. From killing his own assistant to cutting off Giran's fingers, he's got it all. And we're not even talking about the way he and his MLA allies know of the League's whereabouts.
  • Naruto:
    • Zetsu, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kabuto, Kisame, Shino, Orochimaru, Itachi (at times)...
    • Pain and Konan share a spot here. Pain himself demonstrated "that many hands make light work", in possibly the most cruellest and overpowering ways, his logic was twisted but actually made sense. Konan kept a straight face through every bit of evil the Akatsuki created, when it finally came to her time to fight alone, even Tobi feared he'd lose against her hidden talents and intimidation.
    • Madara Uchiha has this down to a tee. With all the power he is capable of, it's mostly his personality that freaks out the cast. One minute he's extremely calm and collected the next he's a pure killing machine with an impressive slasher smile.
    • The tailed beasts, especially the nine-tailed demon fox, Kurama. More apparent by making him and the others monstrous Jerkass Woobies.
    • The Ten-Tails. This thing is a monster that even Kurama is terrified of, and all he had to go by on it was what the Sage of Six Paths told him, but what his fears are completely justified.
    • Kaguya Otsutsuki makes a very truthful example here. It is no lie that mankind fear the unknown, and things they don't understand especially the past and theories of Aliens. With such an abnormally pale appearance (one that could give Albinos a run for their money) the goddess herself deliberately became this trope to bring about peace. However she herself became the villain, all because she wanted something soo badly, yet had to achieve the impossible for a chance to happen.
  • Tsukuyomi of Negima! Magister Negi Magi. Creepy as all hell, badass, strangely endearing and also a fan favorite.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion:
    • Rei, and to a lesser extent Kaworu, were intended to be creepy and unsettling. They are the most widely loved characters in the series.
    • The Evangelions, particularly the iconic EVA-01 on both counts. They're an extremely dark, twisted and disturbing spin on the Super Robot concept, yet they look cool and have very impressive weaponry and fight scenes.
    • The Angels were always this, but Rebuild of Evangelion takes this even further. Ramiel is living geometry that performs mind-boggling transformations and screams when it attacks. "Clockiel" is a collossal pendulum on 100-storey-tall stilts with a clock for a face. Sahaquiel has multiple bizarre forms before it settles on a technicolour Giant Eye of Doom, and explodes into a titanic ocean of blood when it's killed. And then there's Zeruel...
  • Nico Robin of One Piece. Her powers enable her to sprout out limbs and mutilate her opponents spines. This would just be Nightmare Fuel, if the opponents weren't such assholes. Then you have Brook, a tall and lanky re-animated skeleton who happens to be wicked fast with a Sword Cane, then after two years he adds Ghostly Chill to his arsenal, making him even more this trope than Robin.
  • Ichijo of Pani Poni Dash!, who also has Success Through Insanity.
  • Sakurako from Psyren. More to the point, the creepy part starts to show itself when her Superpowered Evil Side is revealed and she's pretty much always awesome in battle.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
  • Rosario + Vampire gradually starts throwing this trope around. Even Tsukune ends up becoming an example, gaining a monstrous Superpowered Evil Side that he can barely hold in check that cutting lose with it is a Godzilla Threshold.
  • Many a character from Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, though Kafuka, Matoi, and Chiri seem to be the most popular in this regard.
  • Lain of Serial Experiments Lain.
  • Soul Eater:
    • Stein, the Creepy Good Mad Scientist whose initial Swivel-Chair Antics are a stark contrast to his Sociopathic Hero personality.
    • Crona, The Woobie who has a bully living in their spine. The adorable woobie who has a bully living in their spine.
    • Asura. He's the literal personification of fear and his mere presence causes terrifying hallucinations, and that's without even seeing him fight.
    • Medusa Gorgon and the Gorgon Sisters are definitely this for the ladies. Interestingly all three display a certain theme to their creepiness (besides the obvious animal themes) for example, Medusa is a fan of the traditional evil, vile and cruel creepy style, Arachne plays the not-so-innocent and sly creepy style. Finally Shaula leans towards the playful, childish and egocentric creepy style suitable for she is the youngest.
  • Several villains from Sword Art Online
    • Kayaba's debut in the pilot using the hooded "Game Master" avatar. It's immensely creepy where the sky turns red from being filled with "System Announcement" messages, before what appears to be blood drips out from the edges of the popups and pools together into the giant red-hooded avatar Kayaba is using.
    • Most members of Laughing Coffin give off this vibe, being a whole guild of Serial Killers, but PoH/Vassago Cassals stands out the most, being garbed in a creepy hood and wielding a meat cleaver as his weapon of choice.
    • Death Gun has a gun that can One-Hit Kill players and give them heart attacks in the real world. He's also an Implacable Man who never stops hunting his targets, and then it's revealed he's an SAO survivor like Kirito and a member of the Laughing Coffin. Sure, the reveal of who he is and how he pulled off the murders diminishes his creep factor, but his presence itself is still pretty unnerving..
  • Tiir Rumibul from The Legend of the Legendary Heroes is an Ax-Crazy cannibal with glowing red eyes, and a penchant for making Slasher Smiles and dishing out Cruel and Unusual Deaths. He's also a major badass with quite a large amount of Hidden Depths.
  • Tokyo Ghoul overflows with this trope, thanks to the very nature of Ghouls. About half of the cast have a Horror Hunger that forces them to live on human (or Ghoul) flesh to survive, with a Game Face that involves Black Eyes of Evil and glowing, tentacle or wing-like extra limbs. There is copious amounts of Body Horror and even the kindest characters can be pure Nightmare Fuel, but certain characters stand out for being fan-favorites while terrifying.
    • Ken Kaneki, after his transformation into a brutal Anti-Hero. His fighting skills, Evil Costume Switch, and morally questionable behavior tend to be preferred by fans over his more humane earlier incarnation. In particular, his Superpowered Evil Side is considered awesome because of how twisted and horrifying it is.
    • Tsukiyama is a consummate predator that is introduced ripping a woman's eyes out and having them sauteed, before becoming a Stalker with a Crush utterly obsessed with eating Kaneki. His flamboyant behavior, amoral nature, and willingness to do anything for Kaneki make him very popular in the fandom.
    • Eto is a beloved villain, partially because of her child-like and sinister actions. Her One-Eyed Owl form is considered awesome partially because of how monstrous it is and how twisted her actions are while in that form.
    • In the sequel, Seidou Takizawa has quickly become a fan-favorite thanks to his creepy appearance and meme-spawning commentary while brutally murdering people.
  • Headon from Tower of God looks like a bipedal rabbit crossed with a snake and is one of the more potent and crucial powers in the Tower without whom the plot wouldn't exist. And, you wouldn't believe that smile.
  • Legato Bluesummers from Trigun who is a fan favourite because of his disturbing mein, creepy voice, and love of tormenting Vash.
  • Yami Bakura and Yami Marik from Yu-Gi-Oh!.
    • Also, Yami Yugi before the card game took over. He played many sadistic games with various people, all of whom were an Asshole Victim unto themselves. He even got a man to basically burn himself alive. Though after shattering Seto Kaiba's mind he became more benevolent.
  • The Toguro Brothers, Karasu, and Shinobu Sensui of YuYu Hakusho.

    Comic Books 
  • The Shadow is arguably the Trope Codifier
  • Almost every single one of Batman's more dangerous and psychopathic rogues is this or has aspects of this, The Joker and Scarecrow in particular judging by just how many fans they have. The Dark Knight himself can be considered a rare heroic example.
  • Anathos from Les Légendaires is a Knight of Cerebus, a Hero Killer and walking terror who left the heroes broken both physically and mentally after their first fight with him. Yet, most fans love him, mainly because he is also a Magnificent Bastard.
  • Dream in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989). His actions are at times very morally questionable, along with being nightmarish, but god damn if he doesn't look awesome doing them, especially when he shows that even GODS fear him.
  • The Transformers: Windblade: Many fans, and even fellow writer John Barber, have praised the author's reinvention of Starscream into this trope. The book borrows from the Transformers: Prime series, which the author was a writer on. Starscream has a more delicately creepy, and aloofly smug attitude about him, which the artist manages to capture in his lithe and expressive redesign. What follows is a more unsettling and gently threatening Starscream who has the city in his clutches.
  • The Spectre is a top notch example. Not only is he virtually omnipotent, but he's made a name for himself by turning criminals into inanimate objects and destroying them.

    Fan Works 
  • The sudden shift in Chapter 11 of the first novel in the Uplifted series. The only ones who understand the full extent of the horror are the readers, and even then it isn't figured out until the very last lines of the chapter.
  • A recurring theme in Infinity Train: Blossomverse and its spin-offs are the terrifying and awesome characters that come from the woodwork.
    • Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail
      • UnChloe is essentially Chloe in a pretty black dress and a wielder of black magic, but she's absolutely terrifying with how she unleashes her punishments on bullies and for ramping up the darkness factor for Vermillion City.
      • Henry and Walter are using three different Pokémon trainers in a ritual to stop the Apex, they're absolutely charismatic and they have a true abomination-like form that's so terrifying that Chloe and Amelia are shrinking in horror. They're also very popular with the readers as they are excited (and dreading) what the two have in store when Chloe reaches The Fog Car.
      • Zeno's ghost form is essentially Specter meets Peter Maximoff and he makes for one hell of a nightmare therapist as he shows no qualms in getting it into Goh's thick skull on how he's not the kind "Friend" he believes himselve to be. He also doesn't give Parker any chance to defend himself when he gives his "Creator" a taste of his own medicine.
      • Hop as Delirium is a black-eyed, Perpetual Smiler with black Combat Tentacles and a child-like personality. He's both terrifying and awesome that even Walter is afraid of making him angry and is the strongest component in the Cage of Flauros, second to Destruction. Even when Hop keeps most of his sanity intact in ripping apart the Lysandre nightmare, it still is absolutely chilling to find him happily tearing someone apart.
    • Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily
      • The White Rabbit of the 400 Rabbits Car, the king of some adorable bunnies. He arrives on a chair that walks on spider legs, and his attire consists of a straitjacket and a bunny mask with a pocket watch and a ruby for an eye. He exudes an aura of creepiness with the way he talks and the fact that underneath that mask is a brainwashed Tokio Chisou.
      • Easter, Specter's Split Personality, continues the tradition of non-humanoids that share a resemblance to Specter by actually being a lightning bolt having fused with their host, immune to electrical torture and doing all he can to help Specter out along with glowing blue Tron Lines and a childish personality that leans onto Ambiguous Innocence.
    • Infinity Train: Voyage of Wisteria
      • Ogani, a pretty butterfly boy with a wide smile who is also a Serial Killer extraordinare — one of the kills being Leo Akaba — and is essentially a JRPG boss in denizen form with his use of magic spells and his Soft-Spoken Sadist personality
    • Infinity Train: Seeker of Crocus
      • Shadow Sycamore is essentially...Sycamore's Shadow who has the appearance of the good professor wearing Lysandre's wardrobe with mind control capabilities, even using it on Sycamore himself in an attempt to murder the Windchasers. His berserk form is a burnt corpse on an inverted pyramid, making him even more sinister.
      • Chloe Cerise and Lexi of this iteration have become this in the Ninjala Car, relishing the brawls with a grin on their faces, the fact that Chloe can summon fire and Lexi (forced to take a child form per the car's rules) uses a Creepy Child form to spin yarns of horrifying tales before going in for the kill. Amusingly both of them are more terrifying than Shadow Sycamore, the former using fire that terrifies him, the latter freaking Vaillant out that he compares Lexi to said shadow.
  • Kyril Sutherland from The Night Unfurls has this down to a tee, from how he never messes around or raises his voice while inflicting brutality on whoever's on the receiving end of his Saw Cleaver like a serious badass. Especially during the moment where he gives Shamuhaza a literal Death Glare.

    Films — Animation 
  • The Other Mother from Coraline. To a less creepy extent, the menacing-but-benevolent Cat, voiced by Keith David.
  • Chernabog from Fantasia is one of the most visually-impressive villains in the entire Disney canon, a gigantic winged Satanic Archetype that commands a host of demons to dance and suffer for his pleasure.
  • Hexxus from FernGully: The Last Rainforest, this vengeful, ghastly spirit suitably voiced by Tim Curry is the embodiment of pollution and how disgusting it can be. The song "Toxic Love" purposely flaunts the effects of what human greed does to the environment, which in return pleases Hexxus's fetishes for power.
  • Judge Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, this was one of the times when Disney stepped its sweet, loving toes towards the morbidly dark and excessive. Frollo epitomizes obsession, lust and the yearning for religious superiority. His Villain Song, suitably titled "Hellfire", is by far one the creepiest (and suggestive) musicals ever animated.
  • Zira from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a perfect example of a psychopathic widow out for revenge. Her defining moment is her obvious Villain Song "My Lullaby" that explains every last twisted plan she makes and yet, this is a Disney movie people.
    • Scar is also this but in a more subtle and conniving way.
  • The Leviathan from Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It's a giant steampunk lobster robot of which Lovecraft would be proud that appears to be several miles in length (its mandible claws are bigger than the entire Ulysses). Despite its massive size, it's smart enough to sneak up on its prey, and it packs a Wave-Motion Gun that can wipe out entire submarines in one shot. Oh, and for a character in a Disney movie, it kills a staggering number of people.
  • Rattlesnake Jake from Rango seems to have this going for him, mainly due to Bill Nighy's deliciously menacing voice.
    "This is my town now..."
  • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: The Wolf is slowly starting to become one of DreamWorks Animation’s most iconic villains because of his awesome but intimidating character design and Wagner Moura's chilling voice performance. The Wolf's presence is one of the first things that actually makes Puss feel fear, and the Wolf's glowing red eyes always follow Puss throughout his adventure. The Wolf is eventually revealed to be Death himself, adding even more creepiness and awesomeness to his overall demeanor.

    Films — Live-Action 

    Literature 
  • Dracula, whose self-titled novel is largely responsible for launching a vampire fandom that has lasted over a century.
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray has Lord Henry and Dorian Gray himself.
  • The title character of The Phantom of the Opera.
  • Irial from Wicked Lovely.
  • Mr Teatime from Hogfather.
  • Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort from Harry Potter. Fans have tried to turn the Malfoy family into this, too, but in the actual source material, they're depicted as fairly pathetic and cowardly.
    • Barty Crouch Jr., a convicted Death Eater and a cunning actor; when he pretended to be Alastor Moody to get closer to Harry, even before his disguise was revealed many (including his own father) despised him.
  • Joe Bob Fenestre from Animorphs.
  • Goosebumps: The series is full of monsters and villains, but the Masked Mutant, Dr. Brewer, Della, the Lord High Executioner, the Beasts From The East, and Keith really stand out.
  • The gods of the Cthulhu Mythos, especially Cthulhu himself, have this kind of reputation among their fans.
  • Kiriyama of Battle Royale is this in all three versions. He mercilessly kills his classmates with no hesitation yet has a relatively large fanbase, to the point that even his Axe-Crazy film version has his own website that worships him.
  • Warrior Cats:
    • Mapleshade is so crazy that even Tigerstar, the Big Bad, is scared of her, goes on murdering sprees at the slightest provocation, looks like a demon in her official artwork, could be sneaking up on the characters to murder them at any time you read the books because she's invisible to normal characters and nearly-invisible even if you have the power to see her, and is implied to be a cannibal. The fans think she's awesome.
    • Sol can Mind Rape you by walking nearby, is always completely calm except for one nightmarish moment where he lost his temper, has an insatiable desire for vengeance, and is just creepy in general. These things have made him one of the most unique and well-respected antagonists in the series.
  • From Redwall, Shadow and Zwilt the Shade.
  • The Twilight Saga has James, Victoria, and especially The Volturi.
  • The First Law has Logen Ninefingers, a barbarian who's famous for being an absolutely insane Blood Knight; even his own men are put off. Glokta has shades of this as well, being quite creepy but also one of the most sympathetic and entertaining characters in the series.
  • Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven, a mourning man traumatized by a Raven who repeats throughout the entire poem "Nevermore". Just that one word stained in your mind, is enough to become sympathetic with the man. It gets worse as the man describes his fears, anger and ultimately believing the "Ominous bird of yore" is connected to something completely Hellish.

    Live-Action TV 
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:
    • Adar as the father figure of the orcs is all the more creepy because he is, in fact, fighting for freedom and for a homeland for the creatures he sees as his children.
    • When Halbrand realizes that Galadriel is on to him, he gives her a soft Evil Smile and proceeds to transform from a charming rouge to a powerful sorcerer with just body language, no CGI or costume change needed. His response when asked his name: "I have been awake since the breaking of the first silence. In that time, I have had many names.''
  • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has Cameron. Cold, logical, and frighteningly efficient at what she does, and is scary as hell, but she is without a doubt the most huggable emotionless killer deathbot ever.
  • Of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Borg. Lore probably counts too.
  • Scorpius is a huge fan favorite from Farscape despite looking like this largely because he's a badass Magnificent Bastard.
  • Doctor Who:
    • The Daleks are Absolute Xenophobe Omnicidal Maniacs who enslave, torture and kill billions with glee, and have been adored for fifty years and counting.
    • The Weeping Angels and the Silence are both intense psychological horrors built on Paranoia Fuel and Fridge Horror, and loved for it.
    • The Doctor themself frequently displays unsettling behaviour to remind the audience that they're literally inhuman, but is not less heroic for it. The Fourth Doctor especially, helped along by Tom Baker's terrifying grin, but he's still one of the most iconic incarnations of the Doctor.
  • Snafu from The Pacific. He throws pebbles into a Japanese soldier's blown-open head, pries out their gold teeth and has major personal space issues with the other Marines, but fandom adores him because he's fascinating to watch and develops a very sweetly protective friendship with Eugene. Full-out acknowledged by actor Rami Malek in a radio interview:
    Interviewer: You were creepy in that show, dude!
    Rami: (good-naturedly) I think I'm creepy in everything.
  • Captain Ronald Speirs from Band of Brothers, due to him having gunned down several German POWs and shot one of his own men for disobedience. The example works in-universe as well, since men of Easy Company think him awesome yet terrifying.
  • Mordred from Merlin.
  • Lord Varys, "The Spider", from Game of Thrones. Partly helped by the fact that he's actually one of the more principled characters around, in contrast to a few villains; his principles just aren't altruistic.
    • Pyat Pree.
    • The White Walkers.
    • Jaqen's idiosyncratic speech patterns, including his use of third person, contribute a lot to his memorable character.
    • The supposed Night's King of the White Walkers for his Darth Maul get up.
  • Jade West from Victorious. An edgy Goth, most of her school is afraid of her. She's also willing to go to extreme lengths to get back at people who have angered her. One episode even implies she wants to drive protagonist Tori in the middle of the desert to murder her.
  • Supernatural:
    • Death. This is the guy who considers Satan to be a bratty child with daddy issues.
    • Azazel, Alastair, and Abaddon have all been big hits with fans, despite (or because of) their unsettlingness on screen.
    • Lucifer himself, especially in his pre Badass Decay Season 5 days, regardless of whether he's played by Mark Pellegrino or Jared Padalecki.
  • Twin Peaks:
    • All of the Lodge Spirits edge into this, to various extents. The best example of this is probably The Man From Another Place, since BOB is too creepy to be awesome, while The Man is one of the show's most recognizable characters.
    • Supporting villain Windom Earle edges into this, being a somewhat campy criminal genius with occasional moments of outright horror.
    • The Return continues this fine tradition with The Woodsman, some kind of Humanoid Abomination resembles a lumberjack covered in soot. He's a pretty good example of the show's Surreal Horror tone.
  • Myrtle Snow in American Horror Story: Coven, who gouges out the eyes of her fellow council members as revenge for having her burnt at the stake and to repair the eyesight of blinded Cordelia, then disposes of the bodies in acid, ensuring they won't come Back from the Dead.
  • Father Jack from Father Ted is this to a comical level. Jack spends his time being grouchy, alcohol obsessed or just plain hateful. He's a creepy old man with hilarious one-liners and freaky habits with a very disgruntled appearance suitable towards his role.
  • Grant Ward from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is pretty damn creepy due to his sociopathic tendencies and excellent ability to completely mask his personality, but he's also a skilled combatant on par with Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Brock Rumlow in terms of skill.
  • Dark Emma from Once Upona Time season 5.
  • Quite a few main villains from Power Rangers. Lord Zedd, Astronema, Trakeena, Ransik, Master Org, Mesogog, Emperor Grumm, Venjix, Decker & Serrator and Heckyl/Snide are just a few.
  • Helena from Orphan Black. An adorable yet psychopathic religious serial killer of other clones. Yet, she undergoes a Heel–Face Turn and becomes an Unscrupulous Hero and Creepy Good little sister.
  • Mads Mikkelsen's portrayal of Hannibal is no less this than Hopkins'. He is consistently terrifying, feeling less like a human psychopath and more like a demon come to earth and made flesh, along with being an all-out Magnificent Bastard, and he is a joy to watch because of it.

    Music 
  • Heavy Metal as a whole is this to an art form. Sometimes it's the lyrics, and sometimes it's the music itself.
  • Radiohead's "Climbing Up The Walls". A song written from the perspective of something living in the mind of a Serial Killer, sung in a slurred, eerily distorted voice over heavy guitars, dissonant strings and creepy, abrasive electronics. It's also a fan favorite.
    • Radiohead in general, really. Kid A in particular is basically a whole album of this. There is something very unsettling and simply off about the whole album, but it's one of the most acclaimed albums of the last twenty years for a very good reason.
  • Most of the Industrial genre, in particular the abrasive early acts like Throbbing Gristle and SPK.
  • Dark Ambient music, especially the subgenre known as Isolationism.
  • Bret Autrey of Blue Stahli.
  • Lordi. When in character, they wear very disturbing monster costumes 24/7.
  • Evillious Chronicles: Somehow, Conchita has become a favorite of the fans, despite that she's a psychopathic cannibal. Hell, mothy himself has released a huge amount of remixes for her song, and she possesses a character in Story of Evil.
  • Buckethead. He is a somewhat spooky looking guitarist, with a white mask and some creepy interests and gimmicks. A lot of his music also falls into this category, since he often draws inspiration from the horror genre.
  • Alice Cooper, a pioneer of the shock rock genre, is probably the first rock musician to do this.
  • Tom Waits' music consists of growling, menacing sounding singing, and heavy topics ranging from seedy towns to the end of the freaking world, yet they are so great to jam out to.
  • Muse's song "Micro Cuts." Eerie, high-pitched singing and ominous lyrics that stemmed from a particularly disturbing series of nightmares make it extremely creepy. However the singing is a Moment of Awesome in itself and the shredding riffs that form the outro is definitely epic as well.
  • Daron Malakian has this reputation. You could also apply this trope to a number of SOAD's songs.
  • Merzbow. Who else could combine Hell Is That Noise and Awesome Music so effectively?
  • Hüsker Dü’s “The Tooth Fairy and the Princess.” A psychedelic, Mind Screw-inducing mix of backwards and forwards guitars playing fairly dissonant riffs with Bob Mould whispering “wake up” and chanting slogans like “Don’t give up, don’t let go, don’t give in, don’t let up” – it is the stuff of nightmares, and in fact, it is actually designed to indicate that the main character of the Concept Album it appears on is having a nightmare. At the same time, it’s also really fucking beautiful. And it is awesome.
  • King Crimson, specifically 21st Century Schizoid Man or Red.
  • Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as Fever Ray or the singing half of The Knife. Her music is famous for being mind-blowingly creepy, complemented by even more terrifying◊ imagery.◊ She once made an acceptance speech that consisted of just guttural moaning. Did we mention that she did this while wearing prosthetic makeup that made it look like her face was melting?

    Myths & Religion 
  • Many memorable monsters qualify here, but some are more scarier than others most notably; Vampires, Zombies, Ghosts, Wraiths, Skeletons, Demons, Liches and finally Grudges.
  • The many depictions of Death would obviously be seen this way. The most common depiction of Death is The Grim Reaper. Early artwork of the Middle Ages shows our skeletal friend at his most sinister.
  • Hell, full of bad souls, demons, fire and brimstone. Only the Devil and his minions could possibly enjoy such a place of torture. Except, to look at the sheer level of detail in Mediaeval depictions, not to mention the creativity and variety of human torment, you'd be forgiven for thinking the artists were kinda into it.
  • In Classical Mythology, the Greeks believed that the Underworld was especially morbid, oddly enough Hades himself is not. The River Styx is the main entrance to the Underworld, riding a boat rowed by a cloaked Skeleton while having sad and tortured souls wailing at you, is something Hercules himself wouldn't recommend doing casually.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • WWE:
    • "The Boogeyman" was originally supposed to be a heel, but he became so popular with the fans that WWE had no choice but to turn him face. Didn't stop him from chewing on earthworms and spitting them in his opponents' faces.
    • The Undertaker practically runs on creepy awesome, and, even if one says that that is no longer the case, it definitely was in the early to late 90's.
    • Kane perpetually sits here, whether he's a face or a heel, masked or unmasked. He's worked every creepy aspect imaginable with his character, and nearly every one of them he's worked to perfection.
  • Jake "The Snake" Roberts plops firmly into this in his heel role, what with the leering, lecherous stare, the fascination with serpents, the happy admittance that he's a lying snake, and his semi-disheveled appearance would put him just as equally in an alleyway wearing nothing but a trenchcoat and sneakers. When he's a face though, he's a different kind of awesome.
  • The Brood, consisting of a wrestling vampire and a gothic E and C. Their entrance combines red lighting, a rocking theme and a Ring of Fire to make an unforgettable experience.
  • The Wyatt Family are a trio of Ax-Crazy cultists led by a Dark Messiah who systematically destroy everything in their path. The fans adore them, not only because they're quite good at wrestling, but also because Bray Wyatt is an amazing actor.
  • Mankind, before he became family-friendly.
  • Heel Doink. His entrance theme helped emphasize this.

    Tabletop Games 

    Theatre 
  • Death from Elisabeth. Stalks our heroine all her life, trying to get her to die? Check. Convinces her son to commit suicide? Check. One of the most popular characters in the show? Check.

    Video Games 
  • BioShock as a whole. Sander Cohen, Dr. Steinman, The Splicers, Big Daddies...
  • BioShock Infinite has Songbird, the Luteces, Handymen, Daisy Fitzroy, Comstock, The Boys of Silence, etc, etc.
  • System Shock: SHODAN wo-wo-would likekeke to be m-m-mentioned, insect.
  • Fallout: New Vegas:
    • Vulpes Inculta and Legate Lanius. Both with excellent dialogue and fitting voices.
    • Ulysses is incredibly unsettling, but there's no denying his coolness.
    • Joshua Graham's gravelly grating growl and flame-grilled skin are also rather unsettling. Not as creepy as the others are, but definitely unsettling.
  • Silent Hill: Pyramid Head.
  • Roirr from DragonFable certainly counts. Every time he's on screen, he's either Mind Raping someone, taking over people's bodies to prolong his life, killing off hundreds of people at once and absorbing them for sustenance, or just generally being unsettling to see in action. He's absolutely obsessed with living forever, and if he has to kill millions of people and anyone unlucky enough to cross his path, well...
  • Final Fantasy:
  • Jester from Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening.
  • Giygas of EarthBound (1994).
  • Generally, if a Kirby villain fits this trope, it has a good chance of rising above the others in popularity. Zero/Zero Two and Marx Soul are the most prominent examples.
    • Kirby himself can fall into this category. He devours sentient living creatures to absorb their powers, which range from setting foes on fire to slicing them into bits to outright Body Horror.
  • First Encounter Assault Recon: Alma, the oddly, creepily adorable little girl who boils peoples' flesh off, destroys buildings, and rapes the protagonist.
  • Sovereign from Mass Effect. One conversation with him is one of the most memorable parts of the game. To a lesser extent, Saren and the Collectors.
  • Portal is made what it is by GLaDOS's somewhat off personality, turning a puzzle game with a fun gimmick into a storm of memorable quotes. Portal 2 even more so, GLaDOS going all out on the endearingly creepy threats.
  • .hack:
  • Ridley of Metroid. Even the one person who seems a legitimate threat to him, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, who takes on entire planets full of parasitic horrors, is terrified of him. And he's a dragon, which automatically makes him cool. This even carries over to his first playable appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as he's not only given a creepier, visceral character design and a brutal fighting style, his intro trailer plays him up like a horror movie monster and gives him a bit of a sadistic personality that was only previously shown in the Metroid manga.
  • Albedo, the crazy, regenerating, albino from Xenosaga. If you didn't get into the series because of KOS-MOS, chances are you got into it because of him.
  • Creepers, the horrible kamikaze shrubs from Minecraft, are quite popular with the fanbase precisely because they're paranoia-inducing abominations.
  • The Legend of Zelda:
  • Irisu/"Alice", the heroine of Irisu Syndrome!. Certainly doesn't come across as such at first glance. She appears to be a meek, quiet girl with a thing for bunnies and who likes cosplaying as a witch/maid. In reality, when she was very young someone killed her pet rabbit, leaving its decapitated head for her to find topping the pile of gore, which broke something inside her, mentally and spiritually. She's now a drug addicted serial killer who thinks nothing of murdering a group of people so the boy she's stalking will have time to pursue his own psychosis. And, oh, how the fandom loves her for it.
  • World of Warcraft has The Forsaken.
  • StarCraft has the Zerg, especially Sarah Kerrigan.
  • Shin Megami Tensei:
    • Alice is a small, innocent girl in a blue dress who will happily scamper around highly dangerous locales in search for a friend. She's an undead Humanoid Abomination gifted with enough raw magical power to murder everything, and an astounding lack of understanding on exactly why it's not commonly appreciated to torture, kill and eat your friends.
    • Most of the demons and angels.
  • Relius Clover and Ragna the Bloodedge of BlazBlue.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Crapsack World of Dark Souls has many of these. Even the player character looks like a starved corpse after you die a few times.
    • Other characters in Dark Souls who fit the bill include Gravelord Nito, Artorias the Abysswalker, and Yhorm the Giant.
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
    • Boethiah sounds like a combination of a crotchety old lady and the general of the army of Hell itself, and has a perpetually-dark shrine high on the side of a mountain which is filled with anarcho-nihilist cultists, huge bonfires, burned corpses, ancient architecture, random blood splatters, and one badass statue.
    • Mora appears (as a swirling void of purple and black, or a green void of eyes and tentacles if you have the Dragonborn DLC installed) to you in a hollowed-out iceberg where a lunatic's made his home, and names you his champion in an Affably Evil voice before explaining that he is the lord of all knowledge and discovery. And the artifact he gives you is widely considered to be one of the best in the game.
      • Also within the Dragonborn DLC you'll come across, Miraak your Dragonborn predecessor. Miraak's role is to be Skyrim's version of Darth Vader, forget Alduin this arrogant character is way more threatening and impressive than another Dragon to slay.
    • Cicero is obsessed with his "Mother" (actually the Night Mother, the dead/undead? leader of the Dark Brotherhood), is not above casual murder as per his membership in the Dark Brotherhood, dresses, talks, and dances like an unhinged jester, and is a fan favorite specifically because of that.
    • The Dragonborn can become this if he/she chose to become either a Conjuration Mage, an Assassin (Dark Brotherhood), and especially if you chose to be a Vampire from the Dawnguard DLC.
  • In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Mephiles. Not only does his appearance creep up the atmosphere, but Dan Green's highly over-the-top performance manages to be cheesy, creepy, and awesome all at once.
    • From the same series is Metal Sonic. While Sonic himself always appears welcoming and hip, Metal Sonic...is not. Perhaps Sonic's most threatening villain, Metal Sonic is the video game version of the Terminator, his appearance always looks blood-thirsty, and with the same abilities as Sonic himself this cold-hearted, robotic monstrosity really puts his creator to shame.
  • Uboa (and maybe Madotsuki, too) from Yume Nikki
  • Alex Mercer of [PROTOTYPE] is a shapeshifting, superhuman monstrosity, who is trying to piece together his damaged memories... by killing dozens upon dozens of people and consuming their intelligence. He's still the closest thing the game has to a hero.
  • Colonel Jade Curtiss from Tales of the Abyss. He's the Mad Doctor who invented fomicry, and, using this science, created the game's Optional Boss Humanoid Abomination. He mutated his own body multiple times - including fusing a spear with his arm and altering his eyes so they increased his skill with fonic artes and turned red. He's a sociopath who killed small animals as a child. His own sister calls him a monster. But he's also, without question, the game's king of comedy, absolutely badass, rather pretty and elegant, extremely well voice-acted in both languages, and overall an Ensemble Dark Horse to be reckoned with.
  • The Hydra from Warriors Orochi 3. Not only does it look really intimidating and impressive, but even before the game starts, it slaughters every one of the Dynasty, Samurai, and Original characters aside from a small handful. It's practically invincible until the end game, and all attempts to take it down beforehand will be met with miserable failure.
  • Kerghan the Terrible, First of the Necromancers from Arcanum. His magic has transformed hin into a Humanoid Abomination, he once commanded undead legions and plans to do so again to end all life in Arcanum. Then there's his voice as he tells the Living One of his plans.
  • The entire cast of The Black Heart. All creepy, all awesome - all playable!
  • The Servant Grunt is pretty much the face of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
  • While the protagonists of the Resident Evil series are rather well-liked in general, perhaps the most distinct character in the series is the Nemesis T-Type from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. He's tall, imposing, tough-as-nails, extremely persistent and so loved by the fans that he became a bonus character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
    • Speaking of Resident Evil. Albert Wesker also qualifies, he's malevolent, cruel, smug and even more dangerous than the mindless Zombies he creates. Indeed any fan of the series, would tell you that Wesker belongs here especially when he goes overboard in his plans.
    • Resident Evil 2 (Remake): Mr. X in Resident Evil 2, sure he wasn't popular at that time but then the remake makes him into a terrifying unstoppable force going after Leon and Clair that puts players on edge, all while looking snappy in a trench coat and black fedora.
  • Touhou Project:
  • Team Magma Admin Courtney in Pokémon Omega Ruby behaves and talks in a robotic way and is a clear Yandere. She's also one of the biggest Ensemble Darkhorses in the game.
  • The Legend of Spyro: Malefor doesn't appear on screen outside of few murals until the third game, but when he does, he proves every bit the terror he was built up as. Not only does he nearly cause the apocalypse, he does a Break Them by Talking routine that almost breaks Spyro's will to fight.
  • Juri Han from Street Fighter IV is one woman almost every character fears (or should fear). Based on a spider, she's sadistic, erotic and almost charming. Besides the disturbing qualities, playing as Juri is often both rewarding and amusing (yes even in... those categories).
  • From Dragon Age: Inquisition, Cole is basically Mind Rape-incarnate, with his ability to reach into people's minds and find their most painful memories. He has a bad tendency of blurting out what he senses and bringing up memories best left forgotten, which seriously creeps out many of his companions. Despite this, fans like him because of his earnest desire to help people and general kindness.
  • Every single one of the murderous animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy's. The fanbase tends to separate into those who think of them as this and those who prefer a Draco in Leather Pants interpretation of their bloodthirstiness.
  • Trevor Philips of Grand Theft Auto V is this. This sociopathic, maniacal and psychopathic... Canadian is ironically the most vicious of the three main characters. Often he gets ominous rumours about how unstable he is and half the time the rumours are TRUE!
  • Metal Gear Solid: Psycho Mantis literally introduced this to the series, his legacy of mind raping spans from predicting how you play, to even what games you saved plus making your controller vibrate is ominous enough. Screaming Mantis from the fourth sequel served as a female tribute to him but lived up to the originals level of weirdness.
    • The Beauty and the Beast Group demonstrates how all four temperaments can share a spot in this trope.
    • In the third game, Naked Snake faces the Cobra Unit. Although all the members can qualify it is The Sorrow and The End who takes this trope to its full potential. The End is nothing but an old man with an incredible aim using his sniper his fight is suppose to induce paranoia. While The Sorrow's role was to make you feel guilty, and taking peoples lives is never a good thing.
    • Finally from the fifth game, comes the Parasite Unit aka The Skulls. You'd think a game like Metal Gear wouldn't introduce an overused concept like Zombies and Horror? Well...think again.
  • The Dead Space Series is solely created to be this if not a little over the top. The Zombie Aliens known as Necromorphs, attack and kill in such disgusting ways just the image of recreating these deaths could make even a fully grown man wet themselves. A game packed with jump scares, mystery and intense fear that will keep you awake at night.
  • The Mortal Kombat Series has many freaky characters that can qualify here, but Mileena is this to a monstrous level. Don't be deceived by her curvaceous figure, because deep down, she's a genetic abomination.
    • Reptile gets a special mention too. A humanoid lizard ninja with abilities like invisibility and producing acid as a form of fluid is disgusting yet useful, capable of turning people into fizzing corpses...ouch! There's also a fatality of his that involves removing his mask, spitting out his long tongue, and eating his opponent's head.
  • Agent 47 from Hitman. Revered as one of the videogame world's most dangerous assassins, 47 kills with less emotion than a shark. Comedy is dead to him, and many unfortunate contracts are as well.
  • Scarecrow in the Batman: Arkham Series, and especially in Batman: Arkham Knight, manages to top every single appearance he's ever made before and is probably the single most terrifying iteration of the character yet. His "Nightmare Sequences" in Batman: Arkham Asylum were considered highlights of the game. He then curiously missed the next two games, before returning as the Big Bad of Arkham Knight, where he's become a full-fledged Magnificent Bastard, unleashing destruction on Gotham that not even the Joker was able to do before and managing to claim the honor of being the first villain in any piece of media ever to reveal Batman's true identity to the world. Not to mention the voice.
  • Racter in Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong. One of your party members, he has creepy portrait with a reedy cigarette and a custom drone with animal-level intelligence and way too many sharp claws. He is also constantly civil, if a bit unsettling due to being, canonically, a diagnosed sociopath, though a sophisticated and high-functioning one, and has some very interesting and unconventional views on transhumanism and the future of humanity.
  • Dr Nefarious from the Ratchet & Clank series, a maniacally cranky villain with a terribly short-fused temper all built into one twisted robotic genius. As Captain Quark's arch-nemesis (and eventually Ratchet and Clank's) Nefarious has serious racist issues against "Squishies" for he considers all robotic kind superior to biological life forms. However every now and then his system malfunctions, which is among his more comical scenes during the series.
  • Undertale
    • Flowey, a Foul Flower with a penchant for Slasher Smiles, has a large number of fans for his scheming personality, messing with the game itself, and his badass design as a Final Boss.
    • The Amalgamates, combining the features of several undead monsters into highly disturbing somethings that may or may not be suffering through worse than hell. They are only encountered during True Pacifist in one of the bleakest areas of the entire game, are mostly not quite easy and definitely creepy to fight, and in at least one case really cuddly.
  • Fallout 4: Various enemies such as Deathclaws, Super Mutant Suiciders and the many varieties of Assaultrons have all proven to be paranoia-inducing foes due to their over-powering one-shot killing features.
    • The Glowing Sea would also qualify, an ominous and unwelcoming land smoked by gassy green radiation and thunderstorms. Of course the player gets warned not to venture there unless it's absolutely necessary.
    • The Disciples from the Nuka World DLC, make a living from this trope. They enjoy killing freely as if it wasn't a crime, in fact they are soo callous about it, remains of their previous victims are scattered around their hideout.
  • Doki Doki Literature Club!:
  • In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Demon Lord Ghirahim uses his creepy, campy demeanour to disorient Link before and during fights with him.
    Ghirahim: This turn of events has left me with a strong appetite for bloodshed. (appears behind Link and rests his head on Link's shoulder) Still...it hardly seems fair, being of my position, to take all of my anger out on you. Which is why I promise up front not to murder you... No, I'll just beat you within an inch of your life! (lashes out his Overly-Long Tongue right next to Link's ear)
    (Link turns toward him and cringes)
  • In the Monster Hunter series, Khezu is a wyvern-type monster known for its Eyeless Face, complete lack of a battle theme (unlike other monsters, in which case either a monster-specific theme, the Warm-Up Boss theme, or the map theme plays, there is no music when actively in combat with Khezu and no other monsters), its roar that sounds like howling winds, and its tendency to reside in caves, making for one of the creepiest monsters in the series. Perhaps because of all of this, it is also one of the most popular monsters, often coming in first or close to it in monster popularity polls in Japan.

    Web Animation 
  • Homestar Runner has a few in-universe examples:
    • Strong Bad considers Cardgage this, but no one else does. He’s definitely creepy, being an insane Reality Warper who seems to lust after every male character he meets, and who recently cursed the main characters for life but Strong Bad is convinced that Cardgage is the coolest person he knows, to the point where he wants to be adopted by Cardgage.
    • Large Bean is Strong Bad’s attempt to create a new iconic slasher-movie character, and definitely tries to invoke this, but fails, due to being a dude with a bean for a head.
  • The Meta from Red vs. Blue. Take a vicious psychopath, give it one of the most menacing Leitmotifs in history, a host of creepy AI that whisper amongst themselves, a sinister "voice" that's really a creepy set of animalistic hisses and growls and make it a ruthless, inhuman assassin. Got that? Good, Now, make this guy a brilliant Genius Bruiser, a virtually unkillable Determinator, and one of the biggest badasses in the series. Congratulations, you've just created one of the most memorable and menacing villains in internet history. His controlling Artificial Intelligence, Sigma, manages to be even creepier once we meet him in person, mostly to the performance of Elijah Wood.
  • RWBY:
    • Cinder Fall, thanks to a surprisingly chilling performance by Jessica Nigri, a well-known cosplayer. Being formally introduced in Season 1's finale with fiery Glowing Eyes of Doom really helps, too.
    • Neopolitan acts cutesy and elegantly, even when curbstomping Yang into unconsciousness, whimsically dancing and somersaulting around the fist-fighter while silently egging her on with mocking smiles. Once Yang is on the ground and unconscious, however, Neo casually strolls over to her, drawing out a hidden blade from her parasol. She raises the blade with the intention of stabbing Yang with a wide, creepy grin that shows all her teeth. She appears to be a mute, so her body language is often exaggerated and focussed on mocking her opponents as if to accuse them of being incompetent for not being able to hit such a tiny, vulnerable-looking girl. Given the chance to do violence, however, she seems to take a visibly vicious delight in drawing her blade.

    Web Comics 

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 
  • This trope owes Batman: The Animated Series some serious money. It's easier to list the villains who don't qualify for this trope - but we're going to list the ones who do regardless.
    • Clayface, whose shapeshifting transformation powers are unnerving, gross, and beautifully animated.
    • Two-Face's design in this show was the first to use the half black/half white business suit look, and it's safe to say that the character has never looked better.
    • The Joker. Full stop. Credit to the creators for taking into account an executive mandate (that the Joker couldn't kill anyone on the show) and using it to come up with the horrifying "Joker smile" gas, which is actually much worse. Not to mention Mark Hamill's legendary voice acting, which has become so iconic that pretty much every other actor to portray the character since has fallen into one of two categories: "trying to do Mark Hamill" or "not even bothering to try and compete with Mark Hamill."
    • Scarface and the Ventriloquist, sweet Jesus. Even in the long and storied history of terrifying ventriloquist dummies, Scarface easily rises to the top of the pack. Not to mention that the character's status as a bloodless wooden dummy allowed the creators to inflict all sorts of hideous violence on him that they could never get away with on a human being.
    • The show's first incarnation of the Scarecrow was more of an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain, but the Retool version, EGADS. He sprays people with literal weaponized Nightmare Fuel. He looks like a rotting corpse in black preacher robes that the creators explicitly compared to Leatherface. And he has the utterly bone-chilling voice of Jeffrey Combs. Is it any wonder why this version of the character is so popular?
  • Invader Zim:
    • Gaz is the creepiest and most terrifyingly competent character in the whole series.
    • Zim himself, when he isn't being a Jerkass Woobie.
  • The Scooby-Doo Show: Many villains combine both awesomeness and terror. Notable examples are Old Iron Face (who wears an imposing iron mask and seemingly uses sharks like water skis while brazenly whipping them), the Ghostly Gondolier (who has a glowing skull face and is introduced swinging into an opera pit like Tarzan to steal a necklace), the snarling, cape-wearing Cat Creature, the KISS-styled Diabolical Disc Demon, and Dr. Coffin (who hypnotizes dogs by playing an organ and gets some good scenes standing on a cliff and laughing in the middle of a thunderstorm).
  • Raven of Teen Titans overlaps this with Creepy Good. Slade is also this.
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
    • Tarkin was in three episodes. We knew who he was and what he was going to become. We saw him bonding with Anakin, making sure we saw A New Hope in a new light. And we watched as he served under Evan Piell, one of the most badass Jedi in existence. It was definitely creepy and very awesome.
    • The Walking Spoiler that is Darth Maul, who managed to redeem himself from his lacklustre portrayal in the movies by going straight into this trope.
    • Darth Sidious, when he decided to stop playing Orcus on His Throne and remind everyone why he's the Lord of the Sith and just how beneath his league the show's main cast is. He pulls off the Force Choke with just a light gesture on couple of Mooks and pins them against a wall. Then he takes on Darth Maul and Savage Opress on his own in an outright Curb-Stomp Battle, reducing two villains that proven to an outright menace against the show's usual protagonist and reduces the fight to Mook Horror Show. It's even made clear before the fight started up he could have just killed them without resorting to using his lightsabers given that he easily pinned and immobilized them (something we had never seen another Force user pull off, let alone against characters that had brought down caves or hurled starfighters), he just fought them hand to hand for fun so he could torture them.
    • Let's not forget the Nightsisters of Dathomir, from ghosts to zombies, the Nightsisters have a society knee-deep in occult-based beliefs. Unfortunately, most of them paid the price for unleashing their wrath against Dooku.
  • Its own Sequel Series Star Wars Rebels gives us at least one per season:
  • The earlier Star Wars: Clone Wars series introduced General Grievous as the Jedi equivalent of a Slasher Movie monster, whose Establishing Character Moment was to curb stomp five Jedi, fighting three of them simultaneously.

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