When viewers watch their favorite shows, there comes a rare occurrence when an unexpectedly frightening moment happens in the narrative. This significant tone change in the particular scene surprises viewers and briefly yet unusually shifts the show into horror territory.
These scenes are anxiety-inducing, bone-chilling, and stressful, considering they come from non-horror shows. They make the involved antagonists intimidating, and the heroes trapped in the nerve-racking situations feel worried. Whether it is the Hardhome attack in or the entirety of 's "Teddy Perkins" episode, these scary moments from non-horror shows provide plenty of shock value.
A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
Cast Karl Urban, Karen Fukuhara, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty
Main Genre Action
Seasons 4
In people worship superheroes as celebrities, but the saviors are corrupted individuals. Homelander, the leader of the Seven, is the most powerful and despicable. He showcases one of his evilest deeds in the show's first episode, "The Name of the Game."
When the Mayor of Baltimore blackmails Madelyn Stillwell, the vice president of Vought, Homelander takes him out of the picture. The episode ends with the superhero lasering down the mayor's plane, killing him and everyone else. The son seeing Homelander fly next to them should signal heroism, but flips the idea on its head and .
A hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.
Cast Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, Sarah Goldberg
Main Genre Drama
Seasons 4
HBO's starts as a dark comedy, but each passing season transformed the show into a surrealistic drama. Midway through the final season, the show takes a huge risk and flashes forward to reveal that Barry and Sally started a new life in a deserted area away from the main action.
While Barry finds comfort in his new home life, Sally severely struggles to care for him and their son, John. In "The Wizard," she has a surreal hallucination of an unknown man in black following her around the house. After realizing his presence, the house is hit by a car, causing it to tip over. The scene both confuses and horrifies fans, but Sarah Goldberg's performance and Bill Hader's directing are still remarkable.
Cast Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Ambrose, Frances Conroy
Genres Comedy, Drama
focuses on the Fisher family who run a funeral home. While death is a scary topic the show addresses, it balances its subject matter with dark situational humor. However, the show's most stressful moment does not revolve around death or a funeral but a minor hitchhiker.
In main character David gets unexpectedly put in a stressful situation after picking up a hitchhiker. The stranger does terrible things to David, including beating him, holding him at gunpoint, and forcing him to do drugs. While David makes it out alive, it's shocking how anxiety-inducing the show got during that moment.
The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.
Cast Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn, Naveen Andrews
Main Genre Drama
The perfectly sets up the characters' unimaginable situation after their plane crash-lands on a strange island. One of their biggest obstacles is a deadly and ominous monster that hides in the island's surroundings, which leaves them and viewers wondering what it is.
When Jack, Kate, and Charlie travel into the jungle to search for supplies in the pilot's cockpit, they find the pilot concussed but alive. However, he is shortly taken by the unseen monster, causing the others to flee for their lives. While the trio makes it out alive, they find the pilot's body ripped apart in a treetop, horrifyingly ending the first half of the episode.
Cast Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Rachel McAdams, Colin Farrell, Mahershala Ali, Ray Fisher
Genres Crime, Drama, Mystery
Seasons 4
The first season of provides a darkly engaging mystery and two compelling performances from Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Each episode is captivating, and the bleak narrative reveals more clues of the killer's identity. The finale, "Form and Void," is an incredible ending that features the show's scariest moment.
Detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart piece together that the serial killer is Errol Childress, and they pursue him through a labyrinth of trees and tunnels. Between the dirty and dimly lit environment, Errol's haunting voice messing with Rust, and the sudden hallucination of a spiraling vortex, the scene shortly transforms into a series worthy of the horror genre.
Earn and his cousin, Alfred, try to make their way in the world through Atlanta's rap scene. Along the way they come face-to-face with social and economic issues touching on race, relationships, poverty, status and parenthood.
Cast Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz
Main Genre Comedy
Seasons 4
is primarily a comedy-drama show about people in the titular city making a name for themselves in the world of rap music. However, creator and star Donald Glover occasionally guides the show into surreal and unimaginable storylines. 's most famous and daring venture is the Season 2 episode "Teddy Perkins."
The episode follows Darius as he picks up a valuable piano from a large house and meets its mysterious owner. It is difficult to narrow down just one terrifying scene from this episode since it is a masterclass of uneasiness and tension building. Teddy Perkins is an odd and unsettling character who elevates the episode into something horrific.
Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits with deadly high stakes: a survival game that has a whopping 45.6 billion-won prize at stake.
Cast Jung-Jae Lee, Park Hae-soo, Oh Yeong-su, Wi Ha-joon
Main Genre K-Drama
Seasons 2
While not technically a horror show, has many anxiety-inducing moments that leave people horrified by the number of violent deaths. Competing for a large jackpot of money, 456 contestants compete in a series of children's games with deadly twists. While each game is intense, the one that starts the competition is the scariest.
After all the contestants enter, they What starts as a fun game quickly turns into a bloodbath as contestants who fail to stop or try to escape instantly die. Considering this scene is in the first episode, it effectively sets 's tone. Furthermore, it is an intense viewing experience that makes viewers feel breathless.
Cast Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter
Genres Miniseries, Disaster, History
Seasons 1
categorizes itself as a historical drama first, but the real-life events the show covers suggest that it fits in the horror genre as well. The miniseries has several horror-filled moments to select, including the reactor meltdown, a group of workers venturing into radioactive water, and, especially, the 90-second rooftop cleanup in "The Happiness of All Mankind."
A liquidator team must clean the graphite off a radioactively exposed roof within only a 90-second time frame. From the first second to the last, the cleanup is a nerve-racking experience to watch. With the hand-held filming technique, the characters' muffled breathing, and the increasingly loud crackling of the dosimeters, the scene perfectly places the viewer in the high-stakes action.
A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
Cast Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Giancarlo Esposito, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, RJ Mitte
Main Genre Drama
Seasons 5
Creator Vince Gilligan
Main Characters Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Skyler White, Walter White Jr., Hank Schrader, Marie Schrader, Saul Goodman, Gus Fring, Mike Ehrmantraut
Number of Episodes 62
features the transformation of Walter White as he goes from chemistry teacher to both drug kingpin and . During Season 4, his cold-blooded boss Gus Fring fires him and threatens his family. Walter quickly rushes to the crawl space of his house, where he stashes his money. However, he finds that a large sum of it is missing.
After, his wife Skyler tells him he gave it to her former boss. Walter lets out a ferocious scream and starts crying. His sadness suddenly turns into hysterical laughter as Skyler watches in terror. The scene hauntingly ends with Walt staring aimlessly out of the opening. The masterfully filmed scene uses limited spacing, tense music, and brilliant acting to create a terror-filled moment for the popular drama series.
Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for a millennia.
Cast Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Kit Harington, Lena Headey
Genres Fantasy, Drama, Action, Adventure
Seasons 8
has plenty of evil villains, but the White Walkers are an overarching threat to all the characters. The powerful and bloodthirsty creatures will kill anyone who comes across them, and they provide some of ' most terrifying moments, especially in Season 5's "Hardhome."
The end of the episode sees Jon Snow, Tormund, and the Wildlings fending off an attack of White Walkers in Hardhome. While the scene is pretty action-heavy, the horror kicks in when Jon and the survivors make it to their boats, only to see how many have perished. Jon can only look in fear as the Night King raises the dead to add to his army. The menacing villain, stressful circumstances, and haunting atmosphere help create .
