15 Terrifying Non-Halloween ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Episodes, Ranked

- Buffy the Vampire Slayer -
15 Terrifying Non-Halloween ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Episodes, Ranked

While every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer feels like 42 minutes of pure Halloween, true Scoobies know that the evil faced outside of the night of fright were often scarier than some of Halloween's ghoulish foes.

With that in mind, I decided to revisit some of the spookiest non-Halloween episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes to determine which gave us the wiggins the most. To fairly judge them, I've based the rankings on a few chilling criteria:

  1. Scariest hair and makeup of the villains: Yes, the vamps looked dreadful every episode, but some of these demons looked extra gnarly and frightening.
  2. Most nefarious methods of destruction: How do these baddies go about attacking Buffy and her friends? And why do we fear them?
  3. How close Buffy came to defeat:Buffy knows her way around a stake. But with some of these villains, Buffy almost didn't come back the next episode — either from the clutches of death or her own internal demons.
  4. Fear factor: How we arrived at the ranking of the episode's overall fear factor.

Cue the Nerf Herder theme song, as we dive into how the scariest episodes ranked:

15. "Nightmares" (Season 1, Episode 10)

Ever dreamed you were late for work or got stood up for a date? Yeah, well, try Buffy, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Giles' nightmares on for size, as their most horrid dreams become their waking reality. All their efforts lead to helping a young boy, Billy, stop hiding from his comatose dreams.

Scariest hair & makeup: The creep Billy is running from is literally referred to as "the ugly man" in his dreams, so there's no denying his lack of visual appeal. But other villains in the episode come in the form of the gang's greatest fears, including the original vampire antagonist of the series, the Master.

Nefarious methods: In broad daylight, the ugly man of Billy's coma turns out to be his Little League coach, who beat Billy because he lost the team a game. This seems more like a call for social services than for the Slayer, but Buffy does help Billy face his demon in his dream.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Buffy's spirit and code is crushed more than her hide, as her nightmares involve her father blaming her for her parents' divorce and becoming what she has sworn to kill: a vampire herself. She's right when she tells the ugly dude, "There are a lot scarier things than you. And I'm one of them." But all that washes away once Billy wakes up from his coma.

Fear factor: The nightmares of "Nightmares" may not have all been so dire, like Willow's stage fright or Buffy's fear of not studying for an exam. But some of the dreams were pretty chilling, like the Master finally killing Buffy or Giles' devastation at the Slayer dying while on his watch.

14. "Fear, Itself" (Season 4, Episode 4)

One of the few episodes actually set on Halloween night, "Fear, Itself" sees Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Oz enter a real haunted house masquerading as a party at a fraternity. Similar to "Nightmares," this episode sees the gang fending off their fears before they consume them, even if that means braving them while wearing a *shivers* bunny costume.

Scariest hair & makeup: Gachnar the fear demon is a puny little guy, whose power is unleashed on the frat house when Oz accidentally spills blood over his symbol on the floor. To be honest, he doesn't rank super high on our super scary-looking baddies, since he could truly be crushed like a bug (and is by Buff with her shoe), but it's more so his powers that do the talking.

Nefarious methods: OK, fine, the proverb goes there is "nothing to fear but fear itself," but if those fears are manifested in real life, they are a lot more challenging to endure than just psychologically. Gachnar makes Oz turn into a werewolf before the full moon, Willow's witch powers go haywire, and Xander turn invisible.

How close Buffy came to defeat: As far as new foes are concerned, Buffy is attacked by a gaggle of zombies emerging from the floors of the frat house. Their shaggy hairstyles and tattered clothes are not necessarily super scary, and call to mind the friendly corpse Billy from Hocus Pocus, but their physical strength at pinning Buffy down certainly gives one the heebie-jeebies as does one dead dude's premonition that "she will keep fighting but always end up in the same place." Isn't that promising?

Fear factor: While Gachnar isn't the "biggest" villain in the Buffyverse, the jump scares he inflicts in his makeshift haunted house more than make up for what he lacks in size. This frat house is like the one ride you walk by and decidedly avoid at the school carnival.

13. "The Wish" (Season 3, Episode 9)

Buffy asks what if in "The Wish," as Anya makes her first appearance to fulfill Cordelia's yearning for vengeance against Xander after she cheats on him with Willow. Cordelia views Buffy as the source of all her woes, and wishes she'd never come to Sunnydale, leading to very unintended consequences in an alternate reality where the Master's Harvest from Season 1 comes to fruition and the town is run by vampires (including Xander and Willow).

Scariest hair & makeup: Anya's makeup in full demon mode is by all means grotesque. Her fairly regular '90s straight bob does not pair well with her veiny complexion.

Nefarious methods: As a vengeance demon and epitomizing "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Anya knows exactly what she's doing when preying on Cordelia's vulnerability and loneliness, unleashing the full potential of the Hellmouth based on a loophole in a wish. Rather manipulative if you ask me, as Anya pretended to be Cordy's friend at first to gain her trust and then Cordy ends up dying at the hands of vampy Xander and Willow in this second reality.

How close Buffy came to defeat: In this alternate Sunnydale-verse, the Master ends up breaking Buff's neck, so it's endsville for the Slayer if Giles hadn't crushed Anya's amulet and everything went back to normal for life on a Hellmouth.

Fear factor: The scare lies in the fact that a world without Buffy would have been so. much. worse. and most of her friends would've ended up as vampires, slaves, or dead. Not an optimistic outlook of a Sunnydale sans Slayer. Now Cordelia knows better.

12. "Once More, with Feeling" (Season 6, Episode 7)

You wouldn't necessarily think Buffy's musical ep would rank on the list of scariest episodes, right? But none of the characters could say they were "happy now, once more, with feeling" after "Sweet" compels all the denizens of Sunnydale to sing and dance out their innermost truths...until they spontaneously combust.

Scariest hair & makeup: Sweet has some suave suit action going on, rather than a billowing, mysterious cloak, but that exposed, charred red flesh on his cheekbones could really use some lotion. Also his adult-sized marionette minions? Please stay back at the puppet show rather than roaming around Sunnydale.

Nefarious methods: Most of the episode, we think it was Dawn who was yearning for attention and summoned Sweet here (when it was really Xander). And this demon answers what he thinks is her prayer by planning on taking the underage teen back to his dimension to be his new bride. But first, he has to finish straining all the townies' relationships through song, of course.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Buffy offers to take the place of her sister Dawn to go back with Sweet if she can't kill him. But her apathetic "Something to Sing About" song takes a dark turn when she reveals the truth to her friends that she was brought back from heaven and now feels dead inside. She spins to such excess that she almost sets herself aflame — before Spike grabs her and snaps her out of it by reminding her that she has to go on living.

Fear factor: Dawn wasn't kidding when she said "the hardest thing in this world is to live in it," and Buffy almost didn't by the end of the episode, nabbing the episode a spot on this list. And as Sweet brought everyone's truths to light, the Scooby Gang was forced to swallow the tough pill that they might have overstepped in bringing Buffy back.

11. "Killed by Death" (Season 2, Episode 18)

Buffy comes down with a rough case of the flu. While recuperating at the hospital, she stumbles upon the demon Der Kindestod, aka "child death," who is invisible to adults and children who are not coping with high fevers. He had sucked the life out of her cousin Celia in the past, but Buffy hadn't been able to see him back then... until now, when she became seriously ill herself.

Scariest hair & makeup: To put it bluntly, I would not want Der Kindestod to pay me a visit in the hospital. Look at his sunken eyes, skeletal face, and huge incisors. He can leave the flowers and life-sucking at home and away from my sickbed.

Nefarious methods: How dare he go after defenseless children? Der Kindestod made it look like young, sick kids died of incurable fevers, when really he just took their vitality away for himself. If immortality is what you're after, why not just become a vampire in this world? It doesn't seem like Der Kindestod has a soul anyway...

How close Buffy came to defeat: After getting well, Buffy made herself sick again in order to see the monstrosity and take him down once and for all. Inducing a fever on yourself maybe isn't the smartest choice, and mind you, this was 20+ years ago and not during a life-altering pandemic, but either way, she gets quite woozy there and almost has her own life sucked from her body before snapping his neck.

Fear factor: No kid likes going to the hospital, or dentist's office, or anything where their life is put in the hands of someone else, even if they are a medical professional. And the title of the episode alone, "Killed by Death," is self-explanatory in conveying a kid's worst fear of getting worse rather than better at a hospital.

10. "After Life" (Season 6, Episode 3)

Buffy already had to claw her way out of her own grave when Willow raises her from the dead in Season 6. But in "After Life," we learn that that's not all that came with her thanks to Willow's spell, as a formless demon possesses Buffy and her friends.

Scariest hair & makeup: The price of Willow's magic to resurrect Buffy creates a ghostly creature, whose floating white essence and sunken black eyes cast a rather morose shadow. The ghost's solid form is pretty gnarly, too, with extremely alabaster skin and stringy white hair that would even make Riff Raff scream.

Nefarious methods: At first, the demon has no physical body of its own, so it tries to find a host to haunt the Scoobies and inhabits the bodies of Buffy, Dawn, Xander, and Anya.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Because the ghost's creation was tied to Buffy's resurrection, the only way a reversal spell can work and it can disappear is if Buffy meets her maker, too. But Willow and Tara figure out a way to solidify the demon so Buffy can slice and dice her with an axe without in turn harming herself, saving the gang the pain of having to lose Buffy all over again.

Fear factor: The ghost, whose existence is in tandem with Buffy's resurrection, is a pale shadow of how Buffy is feeling about herself, as the ghost forebodes that "you're the one who's barely here." And while Buffy "slays" the ghost in the end, that doesn't come without the cost of the demon possessing her friends and making them do terrible things — like Anya emerging from the kitchen with a knife...cutting up her face with glazed over white eyes.

9. "Reptile Boy" (Season 2, Episode 5)

Frat boys are already scary enough (don't miss those beer-stained floors), but add a reptile demon into the mix and I'm out of that party pronto. Cordelia and Buffy are taken prisoner by an order of frat boys who make sacrifices to their half-snake, half-man overlord that lives in their basement. A total party pooper.

Scariest hair & makeup: Um, the "Machida" looks like a long roll of toilet paper, or rather some marble countertops spliced together into an endless rope. But still, it is not something I'd want to feast on my flesh as an unwilling human sacrifice.

Nefarious methods: For generations, this chapter of the Delta Zeta Kappa frat on Buffy has had their pledges invite teen girls to their parties all for the purpose of spiking their drinks and dragging them to Machida's underground hiding place as offerings. One frat member, Richard, almost rapes Buffy, before Cordelia's date Tom stops him, reminding him they are "saving" the girls for the master they serve. What upstanding men.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Look, Cordelia and Buffy were pretty knocked out there, cuffed in chains in DZK's cavernous lair. Buffy is able to break free and knock Tom out before Cordelia is murdered and Giles, Willow, Xander, and Angel arrive to save the day. But Buffy manages to slice Machida in half, and the frat guys are arrested for good.

Fear factor: Buffy seemed to have been able to handle the demon on her own, as she is the one who wields the murder weapon against the serpentine menace in the end. But spiked drinks and potential date rape are very real world terrors, and the idea of someone else being in control of your body when you're unconscious is a terrifying thought.

8. "Earshot" (Season 3, Episode 18)

Edward Cullen didn't have it so easy in Twilight, being able to read everyone's mind and hear what they were thinking all the time, save for Bella's, of course. Well, Buffy taps into this cursed gift of telepathy in "Earshot" after some of a mouthless demon's blood is absorbed into her hand. If you can't talk to 'em, you can at least hear 'em and their innermost thoughts? Even when that means you hear of plans to execute a mass murder...

Scariest hair & makeup: The initial demons of the episode are flesh-colored, with pores all over and horned ears, sans clothes. They look like giant worms from Mars that you wouldn't even want to rent as a onesie costume from Party City.

Nefarious methods: But the villain with true evil motives was the lunch lady, who was infecting the students' cafeteria food with rat poison. Yeah, she needed to be fired (and arrested) stat, completely failing at her job to nourish today's youth so they grow up to be contributing members of society. Instead, she views them as "vermin" who never stop eating.

How close Buffy came to defeat: If Buffy had taken even a bite of that rat poison, she might have ended up back in the hospital or worse. Luckily, we didn't see Buffy eat the lunch lady's "surprise" meal of the day, so we can say she was safe from harm in that regard. But when she was up in the clock tower talking Jonathan down, Buffy was forced to confront her own pain she's been toting around inside that no one else seems to understand, staring down the barrel of a gun. She convinces Jonathan to hand over the rifle he was planning on using on himself, not the other students, but it's a reminder of how everyone at Sunnydale High feels overwhelmed by their own pain as they roam the school halls.

Fear factor: Buffy kicks demon butt like it's no sweat, but coming face-to-face with someone carrying a rifle and stopping a school lunch lady from poisoning her and her classmates are more likely able to actually happen in our world — and are all the scarier for it.

7. "Helpless" (Season 3, Episode 12)

Boy, you've got her helpless...and not in a gooey "falling in love" kind of way like in Hamilton. As part of a test administered by the Watchers Council, Giles strips Buffy of her Slayer powers ahead of her 18th birthday.

Scariest hair & makeup: The hideously unhinged vampire Kralik almost killed Buffy's mom, Joyce, and threatened to turn Buffy into a vampire when her powers were down, making him the objective supernatural baddie of the episode. But the more malicious villains are the members of the Watchers Council, who are all a bunch of crotchety old guys who don't seem to care that they're putting a young girl in danger. So if we're looking at the blackness of their hearts as well as their receding hairlines, they give off a big old skeevefest to me.

Nefarious methods: Alright so maybe it is tradition to see if the Slayer can handle fighting on her own without her super strength and agility. But doesn't that defeat the purpose since without those skills she'd likely be squashed by her supernatural enemies? Giles is right in finding the test cruel and unfair. He is forced to inject her with a syringe in order to continue weakening her powers, but his sense of morals and fatherly protection win out against the corrupt "watchmen" in the end - even if it means he loses his job.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Buffy is not herself the entire episode, as Giles does poison her, after all. Feeling rightfully betrayed and weak, Buffy almost bites the dust at the hands of Kralik, as she was more vulnerable than ever before sans powers. But never without her wits, Buffy relies on methods her friends might use to fend off a vampire - like a cross and holy water rather than her usual athleticism - to defeat her foe on this one and save her mom (and herself).

Fear factor: Aside from the immediate physical danger putting her in serious harm's way, the real horror lies in Buffy losing her sense of self as well as her abilities. She has to go back to basics to make sure Kralik a) doesn't turn her into a vamp and b) order her to make her own mother her first meal. But an added layer of fear is someone you trust breaking that bond between you, which is how Buffy feels when Giles tells her the truth about the test from the Watchers Council. She is very justified when she tells the head Watcher, Travers, at the end of the episode to "bite me."

6. "Prophecy Girl" (Season 1, Episode 12)

Buffy can outrun and outwit most of her foes on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but in the Season 1 finale, she can't stop her fated prophecy from coming to pass — that she will meet the Master and die.

Scariest hair & makeup: The Master's mouth needs a major overhaul, but his grin is even more maniacal when he slays the Slayer, reveling in his morbid win — temporarily.

Nefarious methods: Obviously, the Master wants total domination, starting with rising from the Hellmouth into Sunnydale and using the power from Buffy's blood to bring all the creatures of the night from Hell with him. A formidable villain definitely worthy of a finale blowout.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Buffy can't escape her destiny, even if she briefly attempts to quit being the Slayer and Giles offers to fight the Master in her place. She is the Chosen One, and she accepts her fate and utterly, completely dies. But then again, she is resurrected shortly after Xander gives her CPR. And once she meets him again in the library in the midst of fending off more minor vamps and a tentacled monster, he is impaled and the world is saved. Doom avoided.

Fear factor: The sadness and fear in Buffy's voice stings the heart when she says that she's only 16 and doesn't want to die. And while our heroine does die in the episode, which you wouldn't necessarily think would be the go-to move for a titular main character, she comes back to life only minutes later and rightfully decides to party and go to the dance to blow off some steam, preventing the world from ending, and rocking a beautiful prom dress all in one day.

5. "The Gift" (Season 5, Episode 22)

Buffy's "sister" Dawn is really the Key, an energy source who can unlock dimensions and launch yet another apocalypse. To stop Hell from fully breaking loose and defeat Glory, a god, Buffy sacrifices herself in full understanding of the advice she received from the First Slayer that "Death is your gift."

Scariest hair & makeup: This episode doesn't necessarily rank high on the hair and makeup scare factor of the baddie, but more so for her determination and how close she comes to snuffing out the Scoobies. I mean, come on, Glory (Glorificus, if you want to get fancy) has rockin' hair and a spot-on glamour squad.

Nefarious methods: Glory was hoping to go back to and rule over her world, rather than be confined to the meek human body of Ben. She wanted to be free and use her powers at full force, so even if that meant humans would be overrun by demons, she could not have cared less. And, hey, she's a god, kind of makes sense she'd want to reach her full potential and spread her wings rather than be imprisoned.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Buffy may jump into the portal to save Dawn (and the world, again), but it's a "defeat" she chooses when sacrificing herself for the greater good. This is a choice she makes to fully embrace her gift...Death.

Fear factor: Buffy Anne Summers did save the world. A lot. And what's scary is not knowing what will happen next for the Scoobies without the Slayer and watching the superhero you've rooted for for five seasons die right in front of your eyes, not knowing if she will even come back! (But in retrospect, we know she does because there are two more seasons, after all).

4. "Becoming, Part 2" (Season 5, Episode 22)

Just imagine: you fall in love with someone, they completely change and break your heart, they finally come back to you as the person you fell for to begin with, only for you to have to kill them to save the world. Um, yeah, that's the horrific reality Buffy has to face with Angel in the Season 2 finale.

Scariest hair & makeup: While looking upon the face of someone you're in love with and seeing someone you don't recognize is scary in itself (Ahem, Angel, or shall we say, Angelus), Acathla is the main villain they're trying to scourge from the earth here. His hulking Shrek-like stature would make any sane person want to run far away from his swamp as fast as you can.

Nefarious methods: Angel's destiny was to stop the awakening of Acathla, which would herald in the end of the world, and that was all well and good when he was still a tried and true member of the Scoobies. But that was before he experienced a moment of true happiness with Buffy and he loses his soul, transforming him into his heinous alter ego Angelus. Because his blood is the key to awakening Acathla, Angelus/Angel fully willing to give his blood to Acathla and act as his conduit is bad news indeed, all while taunting Buffy along the way.

How close Buffy came to defeat: "Becoming, Part 2" is one of the times Buffy almost couldn't fulfill her duty as the Slayer, by having to slay the vampire she loves most. And could you blame her? Just as Angel's soul returns and she gets what she's wanted for so long, she has to brutally stab him to death to stop Acathla. So much for her happy ending.

Fear factor: Buffy doesn't need anyone to save her. Even when Angelus taunts her when she has "no weapons, no friends, [and] no hope," she's still left with herself, which is all she ever really needs. But because Angel's soul is restored just as the vortex opens, Buffy has the most terrifying task of discerning what she has to do, knowing she'll lose the person she loves. She stakes him, no matter how much it hurts. No wonder she takes the first bus out of Sunnydale to try to leave her painful past behind her.

3. "Hush" (Season 4, Episode 10)

The so-called Gentlemen are the furthest thing from chivalrous. They steal the voices of Sunnydale's residents so no one can scream as they carve out their hearts. In a nearly all-silent episode, "Hush" received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

Scariest hair & makeup: The bald, skeletal demons with eerie smiles are what make "Hush" so memorable, and menacing, all these years later, as they expertly embody the "silence is golden" mantra. Their straightjacketed henchmen are no sight for sore eyes either.

Nefarious methods: Early on in the episode, Buffy dreams of a little girl holding a box. She recites a little nursery rhyme to Buffy, revealing that you "Can't even shout, cant even cry / The Gentlemen are coming by," as they take seven hearts, and one just might be yours. The only thing they fear is a real human voice (not a recorded one), which can kill them, hence why they deviously snatch everyone's voices up at the start of the episode. At least with The Little Mermaid she agreed to give up her voice, rather than be snared out of hers without her consent.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Even though Buffy is no exception to the epidemic of "laryngitis" plaguing the town, she teams up with Riley when standing off against the Gentlemen at the clock tower. She urges him to smash the small box she recalls from her dream. Everyone's voice is returned, while the Gentlemen's heads explode into green slime.

Fear factor: If you're attacked, the first thing you'd do is scream, right? Well, what happens when you can't? The whole episode is an exercise in communication without words, and I guess, like musical guest Sweet from "Once More, with Feeling," we have the Gentlemen to thank for helping the Scooby Gang reveal what's really in their hearts. Well, without them being carved out, of course.

2. "The Body" (Season 5, Episode 16)

"The Body" is a sucker punch to the gut, as Buffy has to come to terms with her mother's death. There is purposefully no music in the entire episode, letting the horror of losing a loved one speak for itself .

Scariest hair & makeup: The Grim Reaper doesn't show his face here, and the absence of someone to fight or actually blame is what renders Buffy the most powerless. There's no hideous vamp to stake or monster to kick into oblivion when the biggest villain is the need to mourn.

Nefarious methods: The doctor informs Buffy that Joyce died from an aneurysm, but it was a painless death. There's no insidious forethought here, which makes it even more disquieting, since, again, there's no one here who intentionally sought to hurt Buffy, Joyce, or those who loved her. It's just life.

How close Buffy came to defeat: Buffy's hearth and home was with her mother, who has loved and supported her always. Buffy was overcome with sadness and denial the entire episode, her heart feeling carved out by her own devastation rather than villains like the Gentlemen attempting to cleave it from the outside. Death isn't a villain she can just stab with a stake and move on from, leaving her feeling helpless.

Fear factor: No matter how many supernatural enemies she's defeated, or the fact that she herself has been resurrected, she can't beat death and the forces of nature to save her mother. Anya, captures everyone's disbelief during her famous "fruit punch" speech, as she struggles to understand how human death and mortality work.

"I don't understand how this all happens, how we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's – there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal, and stupid. And – and Xander's crying and not talking. And I was having fruit punch, and I thought, 'Joyce will never have any more fruit punch, ever, and she'll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair. Not ever.' And no one will explain to me why."

1. "Normal Again" (Season 6, Episode 17)

What if everything you thought you knew about your life was just a psychotic break? In "Normal Again," a demon forces Buffy to hallucinate that she has been in a mental hospital for the past six years, and her friends and calling as a Slayer were just delusions.

Scariest hair & makeup: The Glarghk Guhl Kashmas'nik demon (boy, that's a mouthful and in dire need of spellcheck) that the nerdy Trio of Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew conjure against Buffy looks like a creature risen to the surface straight from the deep, with his bulging red eyes and bubbling all over its body and arms. Are his robes supposed to be a shawl, a trendy scarf amongst demons with lacquered skin? Looks more like a dirty rag that's been in a dusty storage closet for far too long.

Nefarious methods: The Trio used a spike from the demon's arms to poison Buffy into thinking she really was crazy, in order to stop her from foiling their plans to take over Sunnydale. But however maliciously or not, their debilitating attempt to rid Buffy and the Scoobs from being such "meddling kids" triggers Buffy's own self-doubt about herself, as she taps into her memories of her parents putting her in a clinic back when she initially told them about vampires.

How close Buffy came to defeat: For all of "Normal Again," Willow, Xander, and Dawn try to assure Buffy that her life in Sunnydale is normal and that's where she always was and will be. But when spliced with scenes from the hospital, this secondary reality shows Buffy's parents in distress as she's been institutionalized for her long-term schizophrenia.

In the end, Buffy "wakes up" in Sunnydale and chooses her friends after her mother tells her to fight for the "people who love her," leaving her parents behind to defeat the demon and drink an antidote so she never doubts the normalcy of her Slayer reality again.

Fear factor: The intentionally ambiguous end of the episode cuts to Buffy still in the hospital, with the doctor telling her parents that she's gone after she's chosen her "imaginary" life in Sunnydale. So we never really know if it was real or her being the Slayer was part of her imagination this whole time. But like most devoted fans, I choose to believe it was real, because where would we be without a little faith? Even if it seems scary sometimes — or oftentimes, rather.

The biggest takeaway I've gathered from reviewing the terrors of Slayer's past? The most horrifying episodes are actually when Buffy is forced to face mortality and more human fears than just her everyday Slayerfest of stopping creatures that go bump in the night. But hey, she's still going strong, even after dying twice.

Images: Screenshots via Hulu

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