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Anime & Manga
"Better run or the bogeyman is going to get you!"
— Revy, Black Lagoon
"I am Death Itself! I'll Chase You to the Ends of Hell!"
— Kenshiro, Fist of the North Star
"There's no point in trying to commit suicide. I removed your poison molar while you were sleeping. ...I'm afraid I'm going to have to torture you now."
— Nanami, Katanagatari
"Total Slaughter, Total Slaughter, I won't leave a single man alive. Ladi-Ladi-Die, Genocide. Ladi-Ladi-dud, an Ocean of Blood. Let's begin the killing time."
— Vash singing a-terrifying-ditty-about-genocide song, Trigun
Comic Books
New Guy: We're trapped in here with them?
Robo: Oh, no. We're not trapped in here with them. They're trapped in here with Jenkins.
Robo: Oh, no. We're not trapped in here with them. They're trapped in here with Jenkins.
Fan Works
Leafa: Look, if it makes you feel better I can stay online while you log out. Get yourself a snack.
Kirito: I dunno... I'm pretty worried about Asuna...
(cut to a dropped walkie-talkie in a dark corridor beneath a flickering light)
Voice on Radio: Bravo, come in! Do you have visual on the prisoner?! I repeat, do you... Oh, lord... IT'S IN THE VENTS!!
(inhuman snarls and sounds of carnage)
Kirito: I dunno... I'm pretty worried about Asuna...
(cut to a dropped walkie-talkie in a dark corridor beneath a flickering light)
Voice on Radio: Bravo, come in! Do you have visual on the prisoner?! I repeat, do you... Oh, lord... IT'S IN THE VENTS!!
(inhuman snarls and sounds of carnage)
Film - Live-Action
HYDRA Mook: Herr Strucker, it's the Avengers!
Baron Von Strucker: Can we hold them?!
HYDRA Mook: They're the Avengers...
Baron Von Strucker: Can we hold them?!
HYDRA Mook: They're the Avengers...
Abashed the Devil stood and felt how awful goodness is...
— T-Bird, The Crow (1994)
Jesus. He just ghosted two guys and I never even saw him. What do you think Toombs, I mean maybe we just aughtta....
— Merc, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Literature
There seemed to be nothing they could do to check her. She came and went as she chose, whether in the sea or in the dense floating forests, and was traceless as a ghost. Moreover, those who had the misfortune of encountering her did not report the fact. They simply disappeared.
After the first one chopped off my arm and stabbed me, the rest of them seemed to keep out of my way. Honestly, you'd think they'd never seen a man stabbed before... I hit a few of them with [the severed arm] and they ran off screaming.
Molly Carpenter: You don't know how many things just didn't come here before, because they were afraid.
Harry Dresden: Afraid of what?
Molly: Of you, Harry. You could find anything in this town, but you never even noticed the shadow you cast. [...] Every time you defied someone, every time you came out on top against things you couldn't possibly have beaten, your name grew. And they feared that name. There were other cities to prey on -— cities that didn’t have the mad wizard Dresden defending them. They feared you.
Harry Dresden: Afraid of what?
Molly: Of you, Harry. You could find anything in this town, but you never even noticed the shadow you cast. [...] Every time you defied someone, every time you came out on top against things you couldn't possibly have beaten, your name grew. And they feared that name. There were other cities to prey on -— cities that didn’t have the mad wizard Dresden defending them. They feared you.
Aboard the lead spotter craft, the forward watch was able to see—all too clearly—the clanks through his binoculars as the swarm rose towards them. "Com," he roared, "send an urgent alert on all bands! All Wulfenbach ships! Prepare for an attack on your six! Prepare for impact! Prepare for—!" Which was when the first wave hit his ship. They smashed through the relatively thin balloon hide and began wreacking havoc amid the gas cells. The great observation window shattered as a squat clank burst through and raked the nearby insturments with its rusty steel claws. "Thank you for shopping in Mechanicsburg" it cheerfully announced.151
"Disengage," the spotter shouted. "All airships are to disengage!"
"Oh no," the clank chucked in what anyone below would have recognized as the voice of the Castle. "You had your chance." It ripped the radio free and tossed it through the window. "Now you get to see why no one should attack the Heterodyne."
"Disengage," the spotter shouted. "All airships are to disengage!"
"Oh no," the clank chucked in what anyone below would have recognized as the voice of the Castle. "You had your chance." It ripped the radio free and tossed it through the window. "Now you get to see why no one should attack the Heterodyne."
—Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg (Girl Genius: Book Four)
Live-Action TV
He's Michael Westen! There are only four of us!
— A freaking Spetsnaz operator having a brown trousers moment, Burn Notice
There was a goblin, or a... trickster. Or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or... reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.
— The Doctor is Oblivious to His Own Description, Doctor Who, "The Pandorica Opens"
He's strong... much too strong.
— Ecole looks on absolutely terrified after witnessing Kamen Rider Zein beating Banno up within an inch of his life, Kamen Rider Outsiders, "The Battle Fight Resumes and Birth of Zein"
Music
Indestructible
Determination that is incorruptible
From the other side a terror to behold
Annihilation will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible
Master of war
Determination that is incorruptible
From the other side a terror to behold
Annihilation will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible
Master of war
— Disturbed, "Indestructible"
Two combatants spar
Hindenburg against the Czar
Move in twelve battalions large
Into a Russian counter-charge
They'll be fighting for their lives
As their enemy revives
Russians won't surrender, no,
Striking fear into their foe!
Hindenburg against the Czar
Move in twelve battalions large
Into a Russian counter-charge
They'll be fighting for their lives
As their enemy revives
Russians won't surrender, no,
Striking fear into their foe!
— Sabaton, "The Attack of the Dead Men"
Tabletop Game
They came out of the Bledôw howling and crying, but despite our attackers being well-armed, the Mourners charged them. Two members bled onto the ground from their wrists, and ghostly soldiers materialized from white smoke to help them. Their leader contorted, his mouth turned into an enormous maw, and his hands became a pair of toothy mouths. Another Mourner cried out in anger, time and time again, his very rage rent the flesh of the soldiers he was fighting.
In seconds, the Russians were scattered, leaving the Mourners and us behind. Their leader, once he returned to his human form, saluted us, and gave the team a signal. Then, the Mourners turned and walked back into the desert, leaving us all alone in the night, a night that seemed a little darker than before.
God help me, for that was the first and only time in my life I felt sorry for the Commies.
In seconds, the Russians were scattered, leaving the Mourners and us behind. Their leader, once he returned to his human form, saluted us, and gave the team a signal. Then, the Mourners turned and walked back into the desert, leaving us all alone in the night, a night that seemed a little darker than before.
God help me, for that was the first and only time in my life I felt sorry for the Commies.
— A human soldier's take on Sin-Eaters, Hunter: The Vigil Mortal Remains
The guys panicked, and started to shoot. She started moving so fast we could barely see her, dodging the bullets without breaking a sweat. When a few lucky shots actually got her, she would deflect them with some sort of shiny barrier. Then she lit that friggin’ sword on fire and started slashing through us. None of us died, somehow, but it barely took her more than a few seconds to make all of us bite the dust. Twelve trained men with guns and kevlar vests, taken down by a teenage girl in a mini-dress with an oversized knife.
When we woke up, we found our leader beaten to a pulp with severe burns, and the prisoner gone. All she left behind was a message, written on the wall of our safehouse with the edge of her blade: “Stay away from my friends”. We went to check on everyone in the guy’s inner circle, his girlfriend, his sister, anyone in the neighborhood, but we couldn’t find who she was.
That was how I learnt to not underestimate Nobles. They might look all rainbows and sunshine, but that Light they keep rambling about? Yeah, it really gives them power. And when you give them reason to unleash that power on you, they are fuckin’ terrifying.
When we woke up, we found our leader beaten to a pulp with severe burns, and the prisoner gone. All she left behind was a message, written on the wall of our safehouse with the edge of her blade: “Stay away from my friends”. We went to check on everyone in the guy’s inner circle, his girlfriend, his sister, anyone in the neighborhood, but we couldn’t find who she was.
That was how I learnt to not underestimate Nobles. They might look all rainbows and sunshine, but that Light they keep rambling about? Yeah, it really gives them power. And when you give them reason to unleash that power on you, they are fuckin’ terrifying.
— A Hunter's perspective on fighting a Princess Hunter: The Vigil – Dark and Light
When in the field, Operative Kord stalks his prey with unhurried malice, letting their terror and disorientation grow to crippling heights before he strikes. Each chamber he haunts descends into howling madness. Sentries collapse with their brains boiling and blood weeping from their eyes. Screams of helpless terror echo down corridors, sowing fear amongst those who still live. Through it all, Kord advances, remorseless and cold as the fate that created him. He is the perfect hunter, and his victims do not stand a chance.
— Warhammer 40,000: Assassinorum - Execution Force
Video Games
"Look at them, Batman, as they quake in terror at the creature who strikes from the dark. This is how you like your prey, yes? [...] Do you take pride in what you have reduced them to? The mewling babes your assaults exposed?"
—Scarecrow, Batman: Arkham Knight
Once The Darkness gets ahold of you, you start to lose control. You start to wonder what the fuck you're doin'. Time slips away from you. And then, all of a sudden, it's like you're sittin' in a theater, watchin' a movie of your own life. And you're up there on the big screen. Big as life, you're a fuckin' movie star. And you're killin' all the bad guys, tearing them limb from limb. And you feel good. You look good. Fuck, you are good. And then you realize something. Everyone else in the theater: they're screamin', 'cuz they're watchin' a horror movie. And you're not the hero... you're the monster...
— Jackie Estacado, The Darkness II
We camp, lying in wait for a hero of incredible prowess. My gut churns with the suspicion that we are simply fodder. I have heard tales of this hero wading through our ranks, slaughtering us as if we were children. I will not sleep again tonight, I fear.
— A Dark Cultist about the Nephalem, "The Feared Hero", Diablo III
"Gasco's secret weapon... Such power..."
— Berman Army soldier if the player uses the Soul Cannon, Fuga: Melodies of Steel
There was a time, [the Vortigaunts] cared nothing for Ms... Vance. When their only experience of humanity was a crowbar, coming at them down a steel corridor.
— The G-Man, Half-Life 2
He's everywhere!
Holy shit! It's Shepard!
— Cerberus Trooper, Mass Effect 3
"But they've got a krogan! Why don't we have a krogan?"
"I think that turian they've got is Archangel! How the hell are we gonna kill him?"
"Shit! There's a prothean over there!"
"They're above us! Behind us, too! And they've still got the krogan! Someone kill him!"
"I think that turian they've got is Archangel! How the hell are we gonna kill him?"
"Shit! There's a prothean over there!"
"They're above us! Behind us, too! And they've still got the krogan! Someone kill him!"
— Merc chatter, Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC
Security Command issued an all-points alert after the fall of Zebes. The alert concerns bioform Samus Aran, also known as the Hunter. Subject is a female hominid, and is heavily armed and extremely dangerous. Subject uses a powered armorsuit of unknown design in battle, along with a number of potent beam and concussive weapons. All combat units are instructed to terminate Aran on sight, preferably in a fashion that will allow salvage of her powered armorsuit and weapons. A considerable bounty will go to the unit who delivers Aran to Command. Dead or alive, it matters not.
Caiman: Caiman here. No problems.
BOOM
Caiman: Do you copy?! Emergency maneuvers!
Falco Lombardi: Too late! Game over, pal!
[...]
Caiman: They've broken through the first line!
Fox McCloud: We're gonna break through that fleet!
[...]
Caiman: They're through the second line!
Commander: Fire! FIRE! Don't let them through!
[...]
Caiman: The last line has been breached!
Commander: These guys are CRAZY! Dang, deploy it now!
BOOM
Caiman: Do you copy?! Emergency maneuvers!
Falco Lombardi: Too late! Game over, pal!
[...]
Caiman: They've broken through the first line!
Fox McCloud: We're gonna break through that fleet!
[...]
Caiman: They're through the second line!
Commander: Fire! FIRE! Don't let them through!
[...]
Caiman: The last line has been breached!
Commander: These guys are CRAZY! Dang, deploy it now!
— Star Fox 64, mission to Area 6
The one planet they couldn't take.
They had everything locked away in their cells.
Beasts, artifacts of power, gods, memories.
And yet, no matter how many agents they sent, none returned victorious... if they returned at all.
The lucky ones who did survive fled, nervously whispering of a crystalline blade stained with chaos.
They had everything locked away in their cells.
Beasts, artifacts of power, gods, memories.
And yet, no matter how many agents they sent, none returned victorious... if they returned at all.
The lucky ones who did survive fled, nervously whispering of a crystalline blade stained with chaos.
—Bottled Chaos item log, Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void
Webcomics
Red Hat. Brother One. The Master Plumber.
Any crazy stories you've heard about him are probably true. He breaks bricks with his bare hands. He can leap thirty feet into the air if he chooses not to fly. Some even claim that he's not a Toad at all - that he's somethin' else, somethin' from beyond.
Any crazy stories you've heard about him are probably true. He breaks bricks with his bare hands. He can leap thirty feet into the air if he chooses not to fly. Some even claim that he's not a Toad at all - that he's somethin' else, somethin' from beyond.
— Captain Martello, Mushroom Go
Tank Pirate: (over intercom) This hallway looks like a slaughterhouse. What are we dealing with?
Shufgar: The human is armed, and heavily boosted. You are to terminate with extreme prejudice.
Tank Pirate: Understood. Geaff ouAAARGH--
Kevyn: Hello again, Commodore. I have a tank now. It's very shiny, but there's an ugly stain on the upholstery.
Shufgar: The human is armed, and heavily boosted. You are to terminate with extreme prejudice.
Tank Pirate: Understood. Geaff ouAAARGH--
Kevyn: Hello again, Commodore. I have a tank now. It's very shiny, but there's an ugly stain on the upholstery.
Pa'anuri #1: We're firing on our own ship?
Pa'anuri #2: The ship has been taken over by some kind of super-Barry. To quote Group Five's deposed commander, "kill it now, or it will devour us all".
Pa'anuri #1: So... our intel missed something pretty big.
Pa'anuri #2: Until further notice, I do not want you to use the word "missed."
— Schlock Mercenary, on Schlock hijacking one of their warships
Dronurii: The scary-barrys are here!
[Panel of the Dronurii dying]
Aardman: Do you ever wonder how other people things like this, Sarge?
Schlock: Not when my friends need me to be the monster.
Schlock: Not when my friends need me to be the monster.
Web Original
How does Doomguy not have PTSD?
Not everyone gets PTSD from traumatic events.
Because he is the traumatic event.
Not everyone gets PTSD from traumatic events.
Because he is the traumatic event.
Dark Souls: You are stuck in a room with demons
DOOM: Demons are stuck in a room with you!
DOOM: Demons are stuck in a room with you!
Picture this: You're an industrialist, trying to modernize a backward planet and raise up standards of living through the use of technology, for the common good. One day, some of your industrial robots are blown up by a sentient, supersonic blue hedgehog. That's scary as fuck. Now, said hedgehog has it in his head that you're a monster who's turning animals into robots and wants to take over the world and oppress it, in large part because of all the steroids, speed, colloidal silver, and other assorted shit he's been taking in massive quantities for the past decade. You decide to see if you can't reason with the guy, but for your troubles you get assaulted, and your ride gets trashed beyond recognition.
So you decide to deal with this like you would with any other pest problems — you put out some traps, like spike pits, modify a couple of your robots with .22 rifles, etc. The way you'd deal with any rodent, really. Soon enough, the hedgehog gets himself impaled, and you're done. Or so you think. Soon after, despite having quite clearly been drained of his precious bodily fluids, he's back and trashing your robots again. Maybe the other one was some sort of decoy? No matter, you're taking this into your own hands. You modify your ride, Mad Max-style, adding a couple of guns, some spikes, missiles, slowly swinging giant balls, that kind of stuff. Then you roll. You meet the hedgehog and after a brief struggle where he manages to make one or two lucky hits on spots you haven't really bothered armoring, you make him into thin gruel. This time, you're sure he's done for.
How wrong you are. Soon after, he's back. You can't believe it. You try to kill him yourself once more, but this time he seems to know where to strike. He seems to know when to strike. He seems to know when you'll strike. Once you realize that, you try to change your attack patterns, but it's too late, he's done enough damage to blow up your vehicle, and you barely escape with your life. For the next few days, he follows you, destroying everything you throw at him, and it's obvious he won't stop until he gets you. You can't sleep. You watch as he destroys everything you've done to help people — one after another, chemical plants, oil refineries, amusement parks, all you've built, gets blown up by this satanic, unholy, immortal demon from the deepest pits of Hell. When you do manage to take him out, he's back within hours.
Eventually, as you're trying to escape to the one place where you think you're safe — Space — he defeats one of your latest creations, and for the first time, you're face-to-face with him. There's no steel plate protecting you. There's no vertical distance. He's there, staring at you with those empty, demonic eyes.
You run like you've never run before. You just fucking run.
So you decide to deal with this like you would with any other pest problems — you put out some traps, like spike pits, modify a couple of your robots with .22 rifles, etc. The way you'd deal with any rodent, really. Soon enough, the hedgehog gets himself impaled, and you're done. Or so you think. Soon after, despite having quite clearly been drained of his precious bodily fluids, he's back and trashing your robots again. Maybe the other one was some sort of decoy? No matter, you're taking this into your own hands. You modify your ride, Mad Max-style, adding a couple of guns, some spikes, missiles, slowly swinging giant balls, that kind of stuff. Then you roll. You meet the hedgehog and after a brief struggle where he manages to make one or two lucky hits on spots you haven't really bothered armoring, you make him into thin gruel. This time, you're sure he's done for.
How wrong you are. Soon after, he's back. You can't believe it. You try to kill him yourself once more, but this time he seems to know where to strike. He seems to know when to strike. He seems to know when you'll strike. Once you realize that, you try to change your attack patterns, but it's too late, he's done enough damage to blow up your vehicle, and you barely escape with your life. For the next few days, he follows you, destroying everything you throw at him, and it's obvious he won't stop until he gets you. You can't sleep. You watch as he destroys everything you've done to help people — one after another, chemical plants, oil refineries, amusement parks, all you've built, gets blown up by this satanic, unholy, immortal demon from the deepest pits of Hell. When you do manage to take him out, he's back within hours.
Eventually, as you're trying to escape to the one place where you think you're safe — Space — he defeats one of your latest creations, and for the first time, you're face-to-face with him. There's no steel plate protecting you. There's no vertical distance. He's there, staring at you with those empty, demonic eyes.
You run like you've never run before. You just fucking run.
— YeOldeButchere's winning entry from the creative writing contest explaining how Eggman can outrun Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Western Animation
Zombozo: I am warning you to back off!
Ben Tennyson/Ghostfreak You want to see something really scary? (opens his cloak, revealing his true face; Zombozo falls to the ground, cowering in fear) Ooooh, now don't tell me you are afraid of good old Ghostfreak?
Zombozo: P-please! No more!
Ben Tennyson/Ghostfreak You want to see something really scary? (opens his cloak, revealing his true face; Zombozo falls to the ground, cowering in fear) Ooooh, now don't tell me you are afraid of good old Ghostfreak?
Zombozo: P-please! No more!
— Ben 10, The Last Laugh
Yeah, he was just this guy. A guy in a butterfly suit who got in over his head. And I could see it in his eyes that if I let him get away this one time he'd never come back. But then, I also thought, you know, kill him.
— Brock Samson, The Venture Brothers, "¡Viva los Muertos!"
Testing, testing... hello, idiots. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for accepting this suicide mission. Your target, a one Brock Samson, has been really bored lately and will enjoy the shit outta this. Each one of you fine soldiers will be sacrificed for his amusement. Your unavoidable deaths will become the stuff of legend. Every new recruit will hear the story of the time the Guild blackout team got locked in the VenTech Tower, behind seven-inch bulletproof steel doors, and were killed one by one in glorious service to this dumbass Guild you joined. Good luck out there, and thank you for your service.
— Brock Samson over the VenTech Tower intercom, The Venture Brothers, "The Saphrax Protocol"
Burglar: (after being thrown around by Spider-Man's web) D-don't hurt me!
Spider-Man: Making a request? Recalling someone else [Uncle Ben] from tonight?!
Burglar: I didn't mean to- (Spider-Man sticks him to a wall)
Spider-Man: Save your excuses! ALL I WANT TO HEAR IS YOUR SCREAMS!!
Spider-Man: Making a request? Recalling someone else [Uncle Ben] from tonight?!
Burglar: I didn't mean to- (Spider-Man sticks him to a wall)
Spider-Man: Save your excuses! ALL I WANT TO HEAR IS YOUR SCREAMS!!
