10 Terrifying Fantasy/Sci-Fi TV Monster Villains

If you’re not consuming every piece of scary media this holiday season, are you even Halloween-ing? (Yes, it’s now a verb. I am an arbiter of word choices.) To me, “scary” encompasses fantasy and sci-fi, where you’ll find some of the best TV monster villains out there. Genre television loves a good hair-raising, spine-tingling baddie.

I’ve compiled a list of my 10 favorite monstrous antagonists to terrify you this Halloween. Be sure to add these shows to your annual watch rotation if you haven’t already, my spooky babies.

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The White Walkers (Game of Thrones)

Game of Thrones certainly delivers on the promise of The Song of Ice and Fire (at least in name). For starters, here, there be dragons, so the “fire” part is sorted. Secondly, the series has White Walkers hailing from beyond The Wall, so that’s the “ice” aspect of the equation. If you’ve ever wanted to see ice zombies in action, White Walkers are the cure for what ails you.

And if you’ve ever wanted to see a dragon become a White Walker, watch Game of Thrones season 7 to see one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons, Viserion, transform into a card-carrying member of the army of the dead. You might need to have tissues on hand, though, because nothing tugs on the heartstrings more than a CGI mythical creature meeting its end.

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The Gorn (Star Trek)

If you’re a fan of classic Star Trek, you probably recall the Gorn that Captain Kirk battled in the episode “Arena.” It was the 1960s, so said Gorn wasn’t particularly formidable. However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds teases their return in season 1, weaving the terrifying villains into La’an Noonien-Singh’s traumatic backstory.

In “All Those Who Wander,” the Enterprise crew fights tooth and nail to survive a deadly encounter with the Gorn, although, for the most part, we don’t see them. This storytelling choice ramps up the fear.

Then, in season 3’s “Hegemony, Part II,” we finally get a good look at one of Starfleet’s most monstrous foes, and the new character design certainly warrants a gasp or two — and a shiver down the spine for good measure.

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Shadow Weaver (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Folks, is “Shadow Weaver” an objectively more badass name than “Light Spinner?” Yes. The answer is a resounding “yes.” Regarded as a powerful sorceress and an unshakeable antagonist in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Shadow Weaver is everything you want from a villain. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She loves to be in charge. She also boasts a superiority complex, but I suppose I would struggle with that, too, if I had that much power.

While Shadow Weaver is certainly an impediment for our core crew for most of the series, she has a significant change of heart toward the end. Shadow Weaver sacrifices herself during the final battle with the Horde Prime, allowing Catra and Adora to save the day. Even villains can be heroes.

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Angelus (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer never shied away from tearing our hearts asunder by putting The Chosen One through the wringer. The titular Slayer experiences immense heartbreak when her vampire boyfriend, Angel, loses his soul, reverting to his evil persona. Angelus wreaks havoc on Sunnydale during the show’s second season, even killing Giles’ girlfriend. Season 2 ends with Buffy sending Angel to a hell dimension to save the world once again.

Now, Angel will lose his soul if he ever experiences a moment of euphoria, and you don’t want to encounter Angelus in a dark alley. He’s not going to give you directions if you’re lost; he’s going to make you dinner (and you’re the main course).

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The Borg (Star Trek)

These iconic Star Trek baddies made their debut in the episode “Q Who” of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Since they’re intrinsically linked with Captain Picard’s tenure aboard the Enterprise, the cybernetic humanoids revisited our captain in a significant way in Star Trek: Picard (although they appear in other series in the franchise, too).

The Borg are an intriguing meditation on the devastating effects of the hive mind in action. Ultimately, they believe their assimilation with other species and technologies would help them achieve perfection. But guess what? There’s no such thing as perfection, so stop forcing others to assimilate with you. Consent is important!

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Sauron (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power)

The Dark Lord takes on many forms, including those of a handsome human man and an Elf-like deity called Annatar. He can look like an ethereal being and a sentient pile of tarry goo. Sauron is pretty versatile.

In season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, he appears to Celebrimbor and his team in Eregion as Annatar. He seems innocuous enough, right? Annatar persuades Celebrimbor to craft the rings for all of Middle-earth, but really, Sauron needs said rings to craft the One Ring, giving him dominion over all.

Throughout season 2, Sauron drives Celebrimbor to madness before the latter finally realizes that this so-called “Annatar” is the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, it’s too late. The Dark Lord is on the rise, and he’s leaving nothing but destruction in his wake.

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Stormfront (The Boys)

Stormfront might be a human-looking Supe, but she’s a bona fide Nazi, and that makes her more monstrous than, well, monsters without a shred of human DNA. In The Boys season 2, Stormfront tries to implement the vision of her late husband, Frederick Vought, the founder of Vought-American. They were both prominent members of the Nazi party before defecting to the U.S. in the ’40s. Ew.

She enlists the aid of Homelander, who doesn’t care that she’s racist because of the affection she showers on him. Easily the best moment of season 2 is watching the women of The Boys beat the absolute snot out of Stormfront. The white supremacist gets her comeuppance.

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Fades and Trollocs (The Wheel of Time)

The Wheel of Time has some of the best visuals I’ve ever seen in a fantasy series. Amazon spared no expense in that department. While the inherent pull Rand al’Thor feels toward the Dark One provides plenty of roadblocks for our heroes, and the Forsaken are terrifying villains on their own, nothing beats the actual monsters. Enter the Fades and the Trollocs.

A Trolloc attack kickstarts the overarching narrative in season 1, prompting Rand, Egwene, Perrin, and Mat to join Moiraine and Lan on a journey to the White Tower to determine who is the Dragon Reborn. Trollocs are beast-like creatures that are damn near impossible to kill.
Then, you have Fades, which are literal nightmare fuel. They’re a type of Shadowspawn sans eyes and are normally seen leading armies of Trollocs. A deadly combination.

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Demogorgon (Stranger Things)

You never forget your first monster. Mega-hit Stranger Things introduced the Demogorgon in season 1, and life, especially for our heroes in Hawkins, Indiana, has never been the same. Not only does it look frightening in appearance, but it can travel between dimensions and presumably originates from the Upside Down. It also boasts healing abilities, telekinesis, super strength, and durability – it’s damn near invincible.

Thankfully, the Demogorgon was no match for Eleven, a powerful child with an obsession for Eggo waffles. And no, she doesn’t defeat it with an Eggo, although that would’ve been hilarious.

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The Beast (The Magicians)

The Beast wasn’t always, well, The Beast. He used to be a boy named Martin Chatwin. However, after Chronicles of Narnia-ing his way into Fillory and becoming its High King, power (and trauma) corrupts him, transforming him into the infamous Beast. He’s the first formidable foe that Quentin Coldwater and his friends square off against in The Magicians.

The Beast has no qualms with murder. In fact, he’s an avid fan of leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. After drinking from Fillory’s Wellspring for years, his mastery of magic surpasses most Master Magicians.

Fortunately, even Master Magicians have an Achilles heel, and The Beast’s reign of terror comes with an expiration date. At the end of the day, good will always triumph over evil.

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What are your favorite TV monster villains? Join the conversation with other horror fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!

Stir up the spirits and face the monsters within … Spooktacular has been unleashed once again!

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