Over the years, The X-Files has become known for its uncanny ability to get under the skin of its audience. Long after it went off air, first in 2002 and then again in 2018, the series thrived by telling stories packed with slow-building dread, uncanny imagery, and shocking twists that tend to stick with the viewer long after the episode ended. The Chris Carter-created series is most well known for its ongoing story of world governments covering up the existence of alien life, and while that remained at the heart of the show throughout, the truth is: it was often absolutely terrifying. Here are 10 moments when The X-Files crossed the line from creepy to genuinely horrifying.
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10) Tooms Reaches Through the Air Vent – “Squeeze” (Season 1, Episode 3)
One of the earliest monster of the week episodes in The X Files focused on a man by the name of Eugene Tooms, a centuries old mutant who hibernates between intense killing sprees. When he unearths from the shadows, Tooms would squeeze his elongated arm through a narrow air vent to grab his next prey. The slow, deliberate approach Tooms took is a masterclass in how to best capture true dread. No alien abduction needed is needed here – instead, the terror comes right into your own home.
9) Donnie Pfaster Stares Into the Camera – “Irresistible” (Season 2, Episode 13)
A middle episode in Season 2 of The X-Files features Donnie Pfaster, a predator who directs his attention towards young women (including Dana Scully herself). In one moment during the episode, Pfaster turns directly towards the camera and fixes his dead-eyed gaze directly at the audience, making the audience feel as if the dangerous killer is now focused on them. What makes this even more terrifying is the fact that there’s no supernatural angle to Pfaster in this episode. Rather, he’s just a human being, but with an evil desire to collect the hair, nails, and corpses of his victims. Also upping the scare level is the fact that Pfaster is a normal looking man – no twisted complexion, and he’s certainly not a some shadowy monster lurking in the woods. He’s someone who could be right behind you at the grocery story or the movie theater, and it’s that that makes this moment so frightening.
8) The Mother Under the Bed – “Home” (Season 4, Episode 2)
Arguably the most controversial episode of The X-Files, Home aired only once on Fox initially due to phone complaints from viewers who said it was too disturbing and graphic. As one could imagine, there are several moments from this episode alone that would fit right in on this list, but nothing tops the scene in which Mulder and Scully discover the truce leader of the family. They find the matriarch of the household strapped to a wooden board under a bed, limbless and heavily disfigured. Given the atrocities her sons had already committed at that point in the episode, her presence was like the cherry on top of this nightmare fuel. It’s no wonder this episode was banned from re-airing for years.
7) The Devil in the School – “Die Hand Die Verletzt” (Season 2, Episode 14)
Another episode from Season 2, this outing was a play on the Satanic panic era. It’s so dark and disturbing that, much like “Home,” one wonders how the episode ended up on public television in the first place (and especially during the ’90s). One moment in particular tops it all off: at the climax of the story, the substitute teacher is revealed to be a servant to the devil. The camera hones in on the character, who is shown to have jet black eyes and dripping in sweat. This, combined with Mulder and Scully’s panic as they attempt to prevent more lives being lost, makes Die Hand Die Verletzt one of the many true horror television classics in this series.
6) The First Boil Bursts – “F. Emasculata” (Season 2, Episode 22)
As a show that aired over so many years, The X-Files explored so many unique stories and genres, so much so that the creators even began to lean into comedy more as the original run went on. This applies to horror, too, as the series tackled almost every subgenre, including body horror. The X-Files had a lot of stomach quenching moments over the years, but few are more grotesque than the burst of a boil in F. Emasculata. A prisoner with an infection has a boil that suddenly ruptures, quickly spilling out pus and blood across the walls of his cell and onto the surrounding inmates. Not only is this a disgusting sight, but it’s also completely out of nowhere, making it a jump scare where the audience is likely to want to crawl out of their own skin. To make matters even worse, this pus is revealed to be contagious, thus tapping into primal fears of infection and contamination, all without the presence of an alien, ghost, or monster of any kind in sight.
5) The Bug Crawls Out of the Victim’s Throat – “Darkness Falls” (Season 1, Episode 20)
Arguably a lesser known episode of the show, Season 1’s Darkness Falls shows Mulder and Scully as they are trapped inside a dangerous forest. They’re surrounded by a swarm of ancient green insects that attack humans in darkness. The most terrifying moment of the story is a quick one, but is thoroughly unforgettable. A man (and soon to be victim of the creatures) is shown grasping for air while in a dimly lit room, and viewers can see tiny bugs crawling out of his mouth. Again, it’s a quick moment, but the imagery is hard to shake, so much so that something as simple as turning off the lights feels like a death sentence.
4) The Stretching Shadow in the Hallway – “Soft Light” (Season 2, Episode 23)
The episode Soft Light depicts a man whose shadow is as dangerous as any monster. The shadow kills anyone it touches, making him an incredibly dangerous person for those around him. In one instance, as the man is walking towards his hotel room, the lights behind him begin flicker and stretch. Then, his shadow peels away from his body, consuming him in the process. What makes this scene so scary is its simplicity and the fact that it plays on a classic fear of shadows. A growing black shape creeping across the wall like smoke is a perfect example of how horror can succeed on television, even with a relatively modest budget.
3) Scully’s Autopsy Is Interrupted – “Beyond the Sea” (Season 1, Episode 13)
In “Beyond the Sea,” Scully learns about the passing of her father, a tragic event that coincides with a case involving death-row inmate who may (or may not) be psychic. This episode features several haunting moments, but one in particular comes when Scully is performing an autopsy. This is something that Gillian Anderson’s character does countless times throughout the show, but in this instance, this was no ordinary autopsy. Scully believes that she’s the only one in the room until she suddenly sees herself standing in the corner. There’s no music, no explanation – nothing more than a haunting shot of Scully’s potential lapse in sanity. Given that this is The X-Files, it’s also possible that Scully wasn’t breaking from reality in that moment, but was instead the result of a supernatural force of some kind. This uncertainty regarding the realness of the vision adds to the scare, which is understated but truly unforgettable.
2) The Parasite in the Toilet – “The Host” (Season 2, Episode 2)
One of the most famous horror episodes of the series, The Host features a giant humanoid fluke worm that lives within the sewer system of New Jersey. That’s already scary, but one moment takes the cake – a man sits down on the toilet, and it’s at this moment that audiences catch a glimpse of the disfigured, disgusting looking head of the Flukeman rising slowly from the water. Like most of this list, this scare works because it’s inherently relatable, with the writers making the most mundane of daily tasks feel simply terrifying.
1) Scully’s Paralysis While the Monster Creeps In – “Roadrunners” (Season 8, Episode 4)
The later seasons of The X-Files are often overlooked, especially with the absence of David Duchovny. However, sprinkled in Seasons 8 and 9 are some genuinely good stories, one of which is “Roadrunners.” This episode follows Scully’s investigation of a religious cult, and the group eventually kidnap and inject her with a parasitic creature. The organism is seen wriggling underneath her skin, and Scully tries to move to break free, but she can’t. She’s fully conscious and aware of her surroundings (and the danger she’s in), but is frozen and helpless. The silence, stillness, and inherent horror that comes from being invaded from the inside out is suffocating and the stuff of nightmares. Scully has been put through the wringer throughout the show (and the two feature films), but this is one moment that stands out among the rest.
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