There have been plenty of frightening and memorable monsters in her foe was a big bad, built up over one or more seasons. For a network series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was never afraid to introduce some very scary monsters into the mix.

Despite her moniker, Buffy does not discriminate and will kick, punch, and kill any horror that threatens her, her friends, or anyone else in Sunnydale. Joss Whedon and the writers for Buffy took inspiration from folk tales, myths, and popular culture to develop their stable of monsters, and there are also plenty of original inventions for the series. It's not a show for young kids, and some of the scarier monsters in the show are dreadful enough that even adults will be squinting extra hard in the dark corners of their room as the sun goes down.

10 Inca Princess

Season 2, Episode 4, "Inca Mummy Girl"

The Inca Mummy Girl was created in the 15th century in eastern Peru. She was a princess, sacrificed by her people at the age of 16 to protect her kingdom. Eventually, she made her way to Sunnydale as a part of a touring museum exhibit, and the desiccated corpse was awoken when a student accidentally broke her cursed seal. The mummy is very scary, shambling along with her hollow eyes and drawn, tight features. She restores herself by sucking the life out of victims.

It's a frightening transformation where her horrified quarry collapses into themselves, much like how the mummy in the Mummy franchise kills its victims. Though she spends most of her time in the episode in her human form, the early moments of the episode are memorably haunting, and you're always fearful she will revert back.

9 She-Mantis

Season 1, Episode 4, "Teacher's Pet"

The She-Mantis is not revealed to be a She-Mantis until late in the season 1 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For most of the episode, the creature appears as a beautiful woman named Natalie French (Musetta Vander). Natalie seduces virgin men at Sunnydale High School, bringing them back to her office for one-on-one time when she proceeds to mate with them. However, she mates just like a mantis, meaning she transforms into a large bug and devours her paramore's head.

It's a disturbing transformation made even more scary by how the She-Mantis feels like a mindless insect luring humans into her trap. There's no evil behind her thoughts, she's operating on natural, cruel instinct. It's a frightening enough creature that she even scares off a vampire. She's easily dispatched, though, with bug spray, putting her at the lower end of this list.

8 Wig Lady

Season 6, Episode 12, "Doublemeat Palace"

The Wig Lady is an elderly employee at the Doublemeat Palace, a fast food restaurant in Sunnydale, and the name of the episode in which she (or it) appears. The Wig Lady is, in fact, a disguise for a demon. The lady claims to love the restaurant's cherry pies, explaining her frequent visits, but in reality, she enjoys eating the employees. When Willow (Alyson Hannigan) finally confronts the menace, the lady removes her wig to reveal a hole in the top of her head from which emerges a giant worm-like demon.

The demon can spray some sort of acid that paralyzes its prey, and it's just a disgusting sight, made even worse by the vacuous face of the old lady that is wriggling around it. It's The Thing brought to Sunnydale. If it had completely emerged out of its skin-suit, perhaps the Wig Lady would be a tad higher on this list.

7 Bezoar

Season 2, Episode 12, "Bad Eggs"

Fans of Harry Potter will a bezoar as the stone-like mass Harry shoved down Ron's throat in Half-Blood Prince to save him from being poisoned. The Bezoar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is quite a bit different. This Bezoar is a fleshy, living mass underneath the foundations of Sunnydale school itself. In the center of the grotesque pancake of flesh is a watery, reptilian eye. It's nightmare-inducing. What's worse, it releases scorpion-like baby Bezoars, which attach to humans and control them.

The word "bezoar" refers to a ball of swallowed foreign material that collects in the stomach.

The Bezoar is capable of ingesting people, too, killing a vampire and nearly killing Buffy, though she manages to chop her way out with a pickaxe. The Bezoar can't move, making it a bit less scary, but the idea that a mind-controlling fleshy creature is just underneath everyone's feet is a horrifying prospect, and that's before it opens its eye.

6 Zachary Kralik

Season 3, Episode 12, "Helpless"

While all the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are pretty scary, Zachary Kralik takes it a step further. Kralik was a serial killer before he was turned into a vampire, making him one of the few creatures who was a murderous monster even before he was given eternal life. The vampire is first seen in a straitjacket, presented as a test for Buffy, but he escapes and captures Joyce, hoping to lure Buffy and sire her so that she will then kill her own mother.

He taunts his victims, psychologically torturing them before killing them, and he enjoys the feeling of a cross burning on his chest.

It's an extremely cruel and complex plan that could only be thought up by a particularly vicious vampire. Kralik is so disturbed that he even takes pills to alleviate the pain brought on by his insanity. He taunts his victims, psychologically torturing them before killing them, and he enjoys the feeling of a cross burning on his chest. There are plenty of dangerous vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but none are as scary as this monster.

5 Ted

Season 2, Episode 11, "Ted"

One of the most terrifying Buffy monsters is scary for a different reason than her usual enemies. John Ritter guest stars as Ted in the self-titled season 2 episode. Ted was once a real human inventor. He invented a robotic version of himself to be the perfect version of the human. This robot ended up taking over Ted's life and continued a cycle of kidnapping older women even after Ted died. Ted begins dating Buffy's mother, but Buffy senses something is off when he becomes more controlling and aggressive.

Ted is the pinnacle of an abusive loved one, a very frightening reality for some people. He is such a scary monster because most of the things he does, the emotional and physical abuse, the controlling behavior, the attempts to isolate, are all things plenty of people have experienced in real relationships. The metallic exoskeleton peering out of his cheek after Ted is damaged is also pretty scary.

4 Queller Demon

Season 5, Episode 9, "Listening To Fear"

The Queller Demon is of extraterrestrial origin, but not a lot more than that is known about the terrifying monster. They have their roots in medieval Europe, where they were allegedly summoned to eliminate (or quell) those deemed insane. Ben Wilkinson (Charlie Weber) summoned the demon in season 5 to deal with the rising number of people with mental illnesses in Sunnydale, a result of the demon hell-goddess, Glory (Clare Kramer), who is trapped within his body.

It's an unnerving creature and one you can imagine crawling slowly towards you out of the corner of your eye.

The Queller is a large slug, with a humanoid face and a mouth like a lamprey eel: circular and with saw-like teeth. It's a terrifying sight to behold when it slowly crawls along the ceiling, hunting Buffy's mother, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Things get more frightening when it moves with lightning speed to attack. It's an unnerving creature and one you can imagine crawling slowly towards you out of the corner of your eye.

3 Gnarl

Season 7, Episode 4, "Same Time, Same Place"

Gnarl is a demon from Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 7. He's a thin, goblin-like creature whose rib cage shows through his tight green skin, and his large nose hangs over a large mouth filled with too many shark-like teeth. It's his eyes that are the most frightening part, sunken and yellow with tiny black pupils that stare hungrily. Gnarl lives in a cave in Wilken's Grove, and captures those who come near, paralyzing them with a poison he secretes.

He then goes about methodically skinning his victims alive and consuming their flesh, leaving a bloody corpse as the only evidence. Gnarl speaks in a creepy sing-song voice and feels like the horrific version of the fairy tales you'd hear as a child. He's dangerous, menacing, and totally unsettling to look at.

2 Gentlemen

Season 4, Episode 10, "Hush"

The Gentlemen are often considered one of the best monsters to ever come out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not only is "Hush" a fantastic and creative episode, the gentlemen are absolutely terrifying. These four demons have their origins in fairy tales. They are pale, bald men with wrinkled faces, and huge, rictus grins that never falter. They wear black suits and, instead of walking, silently hover. It's one of the creepier things that's ever been shown in the series.

The Gentlemen's modus operandi is to go to towns, steal everyone's voice so they cannot be killed, and then remove their hearts. True to their name, they are exceedingly polite, bowing and applauding, all while excavating someone's still-beating heart. The silent atmosphere they produce is oppressive, and their inhuman reactions to violence and terror make them some of the scariest monsters to appear in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

1 Der Kindestod

Season 2, Episode 18, "Killed By Death"

If you are one of the unlucky kids to have accidentally seen Der Kindestod, one of two things happened: either you decided you were done watching Buffy and horror and would enjoy all the other excellent genres in TV and movies, or you were like me and became obsessed with horror and being scared. Der Kindestod is what nightmares are made of. This creature is a bit similar to Freddy Krueger with his fedora and burned, scarred face, but he's even more terrifying.

"Der Kindestod" is German for "The Child Death", as the demon mostly hunts sick children.

This demon kills children by sucking the life out of them, but it doesn't do so with its mouth filled with huge, tusk-like teeth. Instead, Der Kindestod holds a screaming child down (remaining invisible to everyone else) and stares at them with his white eyes. His eyes then pop out of his skull and extend into horrific stalks that latch onto his prey and drain them of their lifeforce. It's a heart-poundingly scary monster, and when the eyes unfurl in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Der Kindestod is staring straight at the viewer.