While Star Wars has a focus on heroes, rebellions, and hope, it also has its fair share of scary stories, characters, and creatures that call the galaxy home. From the Nightsisters, who can be found on Dathomir, to giant spiders that make your skin crawl, the various Star Wars animated series have a host of downright frightening episodes to dive into.
In honor of Halloween and International Animation Day 2022, StarWars.com has assembled nine of the scariest Star Wars animated episodes out there. If you’re looking for some ghoulactic frights this Halloween, these’ll do the trick.
1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- “Massacre” (Season 4, Episode 19)
This episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars delivers an entire zombie army of Nightsisters! Asajj Ventress returns to Dathomir to join the coven of witches once more following a failed assassination attempt on Count Dooku. General Grievous is sent to take her out in retaliation, only to be met with a literal undead army. Mix in a voodoo doll of Dooku, and you have a frightfully memorable showdown between Grievous and the Nightsisters that may just feature in your nightmares this Halloween.
2. Star Wars Rebels -- “Visions and Voices” (Season 3, Episode 11)
Nightsister scares continue when the Star Wars Rebels crew find themselves dealing with Maul once more. The former Sith Lord works to lure Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine to Dathomir for magical shenanigans that go awry. Two fallen Nightsister spirits appear and take possession of Kanan and Sabine, which leads to a nail-biting fight between Ezra and his friends. There’s nothing quite as scary as fighting people you care about who are possessed by some very angry spirits. With illusions, possession, and magic, this episode offers plenty of thrills and chills.
3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- “Lair of Grievous” (Season 1, Episode 10)
What could really be so scary about the lair of the intimidating General Grievous? Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Nahdar Vebb soon find out as they track a recently escaped prisoner to a remote world. They quickly find themselves inside of Grievous’ castle, which is filled to the brim with frightening odds and ends -- booby traps, captured lightsabers that serve as trophies, and Grievous’ pet roggwart. And let’s not forget the terrifying room filled with robotic parts that make up Grievous’ body.
4. Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- “Padawan Lost” (Season 3, Episodes 21)
Ahsoka Tano is having a very bad time in “Padawan Lost.” Trapped on the moon Wasskha, Ahsoka and a group of kidnapped younglings face the terrifying reality of being hunted by several Trandoshan hunters. The Trandoshans hunt the group down for sport, killing off several prisoners and searching for the rest by ship. While the younglings have lost all hope, Ahsoka does her best to rally them in fighting back to survive. Will they make it out alive or will they be left to hide on Wasskha forever?
5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- “Brain Invaders” (Season 2, Episode 8)
If you’re squeamish around all things slippery and slimy, this episode of The Clone Wars may not be for you. This tale features Geonosian brain worms that enter into any living body and take control of the person’s brain. Barriss Offee and a group of clone troopers find themselves infected, and Ahsoka Tano is left to figure out how to help the group -- all while having to fight off her friend without hurting them. Mind-controlling brain worms definitely up the horror movie vibes in this one, making for a frightening watch.
6. Star Wars: The Clone Wars -- The Mortis Arc (Season 3, Episodes 15, 16, and 17)
The Mortis arc is a three-episode tale that delivers its fair share of frights. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka set off investigating the realm of Mortis after being drawn in by a mysterious force. The three living beings they encounter -- the Father, the Daughter, and the Son -- on Mortis have been stuck in a struggle to keep the balance between themselves and the Force for ages, with Ahsoka ultimately infected by the dark side. With an eerie black showing through her skin, Ahsoka faces off against Obi-Wan and Anakin in a bloodthirsty fight that ends in dire circumstances.
7. Star Wars: Rebels -- “The Mystery of Chopper Base” (Season 2, Episode 20)
When the Ghost crew finally makes it to a newly established base on the planet of Atollon, the group certainly isn’t expecting the creepy, large creatures that already call it home. While Sabine and Rex are investigating the disappearance of a pilot, they're attacked by spider-like creatures called krykna. Think your typical household spider...but several times your height. With a love of pulling their food back to their dark caves, the krykna make for creepy adversaries that you wouldn’t want to meet in the light or dark.
8. Star Wars: The Bad Batch -- “Battle Scars” (Season 1, Episode 7)
Wrecker’s been having increasingly worse headaches, and little does he -- or the Bad Batch -- know that he’s a ticking time bomb. The reason? The cause of his pain comes from his inhibitor chip, a secret implant in clones that ensured they would follow Order 66. While the Bad Batch’s unique mutations saved them from partaking in the Jedi massacre, time runs out in “Battle Scars” as Wrecker’s chip finally activates. The hulking clone becomes fully unhinged, turning on his brothers in an aggressive and brutal manner; he even stalks the young Omega in the shadows. It's a frightening sequence and shows just how scary Wrecker or any Bad Batcher could be were they not on the side of good.
9. Star Wars Resistance -- “Bibo” (Season 1, Episode 12)
Space monsters are all well and good, but we can’t leave sea creatures out of the scary mix. Kazuda Xiono and Neeku Vozo are looking for ship parts when they come across a small sea creature called a rokkna amidst an old Z-95 craft. Neeku names the animal “Bibo,” choosing to keep it as a pet -- though that excitement doesn’t last long. Bibo is a small glimpse of the large, dangerous mama rokkna that Kaz and Synara San later encounter, which eventually attacks the group en masse. This episode will have you not wanting to step foot into the Castilon oceans anytime soon.
