The Most Disturbing Episodes Of The X-Files, Ranked

Though network television may be limited in what it can show based on FCC standards, the beloved series "The X-Files" — which spent its entire run on Fox — features some of the best and most gutsy (in more ways than one) television writing out there, containing numerous episodes that still terrify viewers to this day.

There are a number of reasons why "The X-Files" is so successful at shocking audience members. The writing is brilliant, and some of the most horrifying episodes are those that deal with the psychological elements of the supernatural, stoking existential fear in even the most stoic of viewers. There are also the monsters, some of which are created using practical effects, while others are portrayed by the series' talented guest actors. And we can't forget about our outstanding lead actors — Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny — who portray Scully and Mulder's life-and-death encounters with the unknown with both charisma and pathos.

There are so many deeply creepy episodes of "The X-Files" that it can be difficult to know where to start. It's also true that everyone has different tastes, so an episode that might be terrifying to one person might be no big deal to another. In order to work out which episodes are really the scariest, we've taken a look at some of the discussions online to see what superfans have to say about the matter. Keep reading (if you dare) to discover our ranking of the all-time most disturbing episodes of "The X-Files."

There aren't a ton of truly great "X-Files" episodes after David Duchovny left the show at the end of Season 7, but the Season 8 episode "Roadrunners" is an exception to the rule. Probably the scariest entry in the Scully-Doggett (Robert Patrick) era, the episode sees Scully all alone in a small town in Utah.

One of the most alarming parts of the episode is the fact that Scully is all on her own investigating the case, leading fans to fear for her safety even more so than usual. Doggett is still new to the X-Files and Scully doesn't yet trust him, so she decides to try and solve the case on her own. On her way to investigate a murder, Scully's car breaks down and she must rely on the not-so-nice townspeople for help.

What she learns is that the residents of the town worship a slug-like creature that they believe is the second coming of Jesus Christ. The creature needs a human host to survive, meaning the townspeople must find human sacrifices to provide for their deity. When Scully discovers that the townspeople have inserted the creature into an unsuspecting stranger, they decide to stick it in Scully instead. It's one of many gross episodes in the series, and Scully's encounter with the parasitic slug is enough to give even bug-lovers the heebie-jeebies. As u/One_Engineer3366 put it on Reddit, "That's why I try to make sure gasoline is always half-full and never fuel up in one-church towns."

The "X-Files" episode "Badlaa" may not be one of the best the series has to offer, but it's still pretty terrifying. As Reddit user u/Orfez put it, it's an "interesting episode that made almost no sense." The episode begins in a Mumbai airport when an American businessman stops to use the toilet. While inside the stall, he is attacked by a paraplegic beggar who happens to be a fakir — a master of torture on a mission to achieve enlightenment. When the American businessman arrives in Washington D.C., blood streams out of his every orifice, and the beggar somehow crawls out of the man's body.

Without Mulder there to think outside of the box, Scully (along with Doggett) struggles to get a handle on the case. The fakir continues to inhabit and disembowel people, leaving a series of gruesome scenes in his wake and eventually escaping Scully's clutches and returning to Mumbai.

It's a fairly gory episode — which certainly ratchets up the disturbing factor — but it's also not a very good episode, objectively speaking. To put it simply, it's about an Indian beggar who crawls up into people's butts, which is not exactly a recipe for quality television. Nonetheless, it's still creepy enough to scare some viewers, which means it deserves a spot on this list. Several Reddit users noted that the episode gave them nightmares, and u/exphil called it "outright disgusting at times."

Eugene Victor Tooms (Doug Hutchison) is probably the scariest monster in all of Season 1, and he's likely a large part of why the show became a success during its first year. Tooms first appeared in "Squeeze," the third episode of the series, and returned once more in its 21st segment, "Tooms." As opposed to the more monstrous or extra-terrestrial creatures in other episodes, Tooms is (mostly) human, which is what makes him so terrifying. He's a flesh-and-blood serial killer with one nightmarish distinction: he has the ability to stretch his body to fit through very small gaps. He also happens to be over 100 years old.

Following the events of "Squeeze," Tooms is placed in a sanitarium in Baltimore. His doctor believes he is ready to be re-integrated into society, much to the consternation of Mulder and Scully. They continue to watch Tooms, convinced he will commit other murders, until Tooms frames Mulder for an attack. Mulder and Scully learn that Tooms kills his victims in order to consume their livers, which give him the strength to hibernate for 30 years in a cocoon.

Mulder and Scully eventually stop Tooms, but we are given the sense that changes are coming for the X-Files. We first meet Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) in this episode, and the Smoking Man (William B. Davis) makes a memorable appearance. Tooms remains one of the most terrifying monsters Mulder and Scully have ever faced, liver-eating and all. "Edward Tooms still makes my skin crawl," wrote u/mdbar27.

Sometimes all it takes to give you the chills is a pair of haunting eyes in the dark. That's exactly what makes "Detour," the fourth episode of Season 5, so freaky. The episode sees Mulder and Scully driving through the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida on their way to an FBI conference. They happen upon an unsolved missing persons case that involves mysterious creatures with glowing red eyes. Mulder and Scully learn that the creatures have become increasingly violent, seemingly intent on protecting their territory from human trespassers.

Mulder obviously jumps at the chance to assist on the case, which proves to be a pretty bizarre one. It's also a surprisingly funny episode, despite also containing plenty of thrills and chills. It even features Scully inexplicably singing "Joy To The World" to lighten the mood when they get trapped in the woods. Nonetheless, it's an undeniably spooky episode that creates a wonderfully chilling atmosphere. The fact that the episode never reveals too much — only glimpses of these terrifying creatures in the dark — makes for a creepy hour of television.

The final shot alone is enough to give you nightmare material — be sure not to click away before the credits roll. As u/stoltesawa put it on Reddit, "The end of 'Detour' gets me every g****** time. I've got chills just thinking about it."

While "The X-Files" is often associated with monsters and aliens, sometimes the most disturbing cases Mulder and Scully face are those that deal with the more psychological elements of terror. Perhaps the very best of these episodes is the Season 6 episode "Field Trip," which involves deadly hallucinogenic fungi.

Mulder and Scully travel to North Carolina to investigate the case of Wallace Schiff (David Denman) and his wife Angela (Robyn Lively), a couple whose skeletal remains were found in the middle of a field. It's suggested that Wallace and Angela began hallucinating prior to their deaths. While traveling to the site, Mulder drives over a patch of mushrooms that release spores which cause him to hallucinate. He discovers evidence of aliens in his hallucination, but when Scully believes him without question, he realizes it can't be real.

Meanwhile, Scully encounters these same spores and finds herself in a hallucination of her own. Eventually, Scully and Mulder's hallucinations merge and they find themselves in the same one. They wake up underground, being digested by a yellow substance. They escape, but Mulder questions if they have actually escaped the hallucination. He's right, of course, and they are rescued in the nick of time before they can become skeletons like the poor couple they unearthed. As u/Fluffguck succinctly put it on Reddit, "A prison for the mind is the most terrifying form of prison."

It's somewhat hard to believe that a long-running show like "The X-Files" would be so darn good right off the bat, but that's exactly what was proven with the third episode of the series, entitled "Squeeze." Though he was introduced at the very beginning of the show's first season, Eugene Tooms (Doug Hutchison) remains one of the most iconic villains in "X-Files" history.

As proven time and time again, what's so scary about a villain like Tooms is that he is human (or in this case, human-ish). Mulder and Scully first encounter Tooms in Baltimore, where he has killed a businessman and eaten his liver. We are cued into Tooms' modus operandi early on — he has the ability to stretch himself into any shape, allowing him to bypass doors or any other security measures. One of the most haunting aspects of Tooms is his striking orange eyes, which we see watching his unsuspecting victim from beneath a shower drain.

Mulder correctly deduces that Tooms is able to hibernate for 30 years once he ingests enough human livers, and the nests he builds to do so are a grotesque sight to behold. The whole episode is a perfect encapsulation of what makes "The X-Files" so great. Mulder and Scully's dynamic may still be in its gestational period in this episode, but it's still an effective example of what makes them such a compelling team, and Tooms is a terrifyingly bizarre villain who's difficult to forget.

Like many episodes of "The X-Files," "Die Hand Die Verletzt" explores a popular cultural phenomena from a new (and creepy) perspective. Mulder and Scully travel to a small town in New Hampshire where a teenager is found murdered and mutilated in the woods. The town has a rather spooky reputation, and Scully immediately suspects this might have something to do with mass hysteria surrounding the "Satanic Panic." As audience members, we already know there is actual devil worship involved — the local high school faculty are seen praying to the devil as the episode opens — and Mulder suspects as much as well.

Though the episode does involve "real" devil worship — rather than the mass panic and conspiracies often associated with Satanism — it does delve into some of the phenomena associated with the Satanic Panic. For example, the stepdaughter of one of the teachers maintains that she was repeatedly raped by the faculty at the school as part of their Satanic ritual, while he argues that she is misremembering the events due to sensationalized media coverage of Satanism.

The references to potential sexual abuse are certainly disturbing, but one of the most memorable moments of the episode involves a man being eaten alive by a giant snake. It's an episode that's creepy in both subtle and obvious ways, making it hard to watch even for some of the show's most dedicated fans. "I STILL can't watch that teacher's last scene as an adult now," said a now-deleted user on Reddit.