Summary

• Courage the Cowardly Dog has some of the scariest moments in any cartoon made for kids, with terrifying situations and dark humor.
• The show received critical acclaim and even got an Academy Award nomination for one of its episodes.
• The scariest episodes include unsettling characters, body horror, and creepy visuals that will leave viewers uncomfortable.

One of the most frightening cartoons in Cartoon Network history, at least for its main protagonist, is Courage the Cowardly Dog. The scariest Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes take the always frightened dog and put him in situations that even his clueless owners, Muriel and Eustace, never see coming until it is typically too late. Courage the Cowardly Dog aired from 1999 to 2002 with a total of four seasons and 52 episodes. Living in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas, Courage often finds himself in disturbing and supernatural situations, often with the darkest humor and abstract scenes guaranteed to scare the younger viewers.

There are a lot of things throughout all four seasons of Courage the Cowardly Dog that unsettle adult viewers just as much as younger ones, from the floating head in "The House of Discontent" or the terrifying Freaky Fred, who actually had an episode named after him. The show was also a huge critical success for Comedy Central, even picking up an Academy Award nomination for the episode, "The Chicken from Outer Space," in the Best Animated Short category. From the terrifying situations that scare Courage the Cowardly Dog to the moments that even put fear into Muriel and Eustace, the cartoon has some of the scariest moments in any cartoon made for kids.

Courage the Cowardly Dog is available to stream on Max.

15 "The Quilt Club"

Season 3, Episode 12

Many animated children's shows play on the idea of evil and twisted people who use crafts as an evil ploy. Courage the Cowardly Dog is no different in the episode "The Quilt Club." Elisa and Eliza Stitch (Fram Brill) are coned twins who dress like Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family. In reality, they use their quilting club as a ruse to deceive women into ing, so they can physically stitch their bodies to their quilt. By doing so, they trap their souls forever with no way out. It's every child's worst nightmare about their least favorite aunt. As they chant, "Weave, believe, belong," it makes them even creepier as they patch up Muriel.

14 "The Clutching Foot"

Season 1, Episode 7

This episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog has a premise that's much more disturbing when viewed in full — Eustace turns into a foot. Eustace wakes up one night with an odd sensation in his left foot. His foot turns out to be swollen and purple, and it has bright green bumps all over it. To make matters worse, it's growing. Eventually, the foot fungus consumes Eustace whole and is now its own living entity with a voice and all. The episode gave fans the creeps because of how gross Big Toe was, along with the disgusting fungus gangsters saying things like, "Or the fat lady gets it," referring to Muriel.

13 The Great Fusilli

Season 1, Episode 13

Some of the scariest Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes rely on body horror. The second half of the final episode of the first season of Courage, "The Great Fusilli," sees an eponymous traveling performer arrive in Nowhere who has the mysterious power to turn those who act in his shows into puppets. Fusilli conscripts Eustace and Muriel into his performance, successfully transforming them. In the end, Fusilli himself is turned into a puppet, and Courage rescues Eustace and Muriel. However, things end on a grim note, as, unable to return them to their natural states, Courage must puppeteer his adoptive family in order to feign a normal life.

12 "The Mask"

Season 4, Episode 7

"The Mask" remains haunting thanks to its titular character. In the episode, Courage is awoken from a nap by a mysterious and bizarre figure dressed in a flowing white gown. What makes this one of the scariest episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog is the ominous mask the figure wears. The eyes on the mask stare blankly ahead, the unwavering expression becoming evermore haunting with each appearance.

The figure constantly hits Courage with a washbasin while she repeats the mantra "dogs are evil," over and over again. This also led to scary organ music, making it not only terrifying for Courage as a dog, but also resulting in a chilling episode. When Courage has to team with The Mask, things get even scarier for everyone.

11 "Windmill Vandals"

Season 4, Episode 3

Season 4's "Windmill Vandals" delves into the rarely-discussed history of the Bagge family and farm. Centuries ago, the owner of the farm angered a band of Viking-like warriors by erecting a windmill. They sought to destroy it, but the farmer warded them off by carving mysterious symbols into the windmill's blades. However, during the episode, the windmill stops, and the undead vandals return to exact vengeance. It's up to Courage to repair the windmill before the Bagge farm is totally destroyed. These are possibly some of the freakiest characters on Courage the Cowardly Dog, with a fondness for decapitating their victims.

10 "Courage In The Big Stinkin' City"

Season 2, Episode 2

This episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog effectively creeps out viewers for many reasons, and one is due to the main villain, Schwick (Paul Schoeffler), a sleazy and evil cockroach who offers Courage and the family a place to stay. The word "help" that's written out on their dust-covered window makes matters worse. Courage has no choice but to do his bidding and opens the door to the most terrifying moment of the episode. There is a young girl playing the violin, but she then turns around and morphs into a screaming and scary claymation creature. It is moments like this that make Courage the Cowardly Dog absolutely terrifying.

9 "Car Broke, Phone Yes"

Season 2, Episode 10

In "Car Broke, Phone Yes," the Bagge family is visited by a secretive and mysterious entity apparently only capable of saying the phrase "car broke, phone yes?" All of a sudden, the alien entity uses a long purple tentacle to go inside Eustace's nostrils to his brain. He does the same to Muriel and is later revealed to be an alien brain with tentacles for a body. He then shockingly sucks the kindness out of Muriel, making Courage's home life a living hell. This is one of the scariest Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes because the eerie alien beings prey on Muriel because she showed them kindness, subjecting her to suffering she didn't deserve.

8 "Perfect"

Season 4, Episode 13

Released in 2002, season 4's "Perfect" was the final episode of the Courage the Cowardly Dog series. In it, Courage is berated by an elderly school teacher for his supposed failures, which leads to the poor pup enduring a series of vivid and particularly terrifying nightmares. During these nightmare sequences, Courage envisions a warped, blue being fans dubbed the "Bugle Monster" who whispers the phrase "You're not perfect." The unsettling voice and uncanny CG, along with the creature's abrupt appearance, make for one of the most uncomfortable and unsettling sequences in any animated series. The fact it represents Courage's self-doubt makes it even scarier.

7 "Everyone Wants To Direct"

Season 1, Episode 9

"Everyone Wants To Direct" sees zombified film director Benton Terentella arrive at the Bagge residence, pretending to have an interest in using the farm as a set in his new movie. Tarantella casts Eustace and Muriel in the film, who are actually made to act out a ritual that resurrects the filmmaker's partner who was buried under the farmhouse. Courage saves the day by amending the film's script, re-writing it in such a way that the two zombies must free the Bagge family and then re-bury themselves. The episode's undead filmmakers were easily two of the most terrifying characters featured in Courage the Cowardly Dog .

6 "King Ramses' Curse"

Season 1, Episode 7

One of the Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes that remains memorable for its creepy visuals and storyline is "King Ramses' Curse." The episode's titular character was easily one of the creepiest villains in any episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog. He manifests from his resting place when Eustace refuses to return his sacred tablet. The CGI image of a flowing and mystifying figure in the middle of nowhere, with the added effect of an echoed voice, gives the scene an eerie vibe. He also brings three plagues and his focused gaze and demands to "Return the slab" make him one of the most unnerving characters in Courage the Cowardly Dog.