Spooky Star Trek moments

[FaxModem1]

I was watching the episode "The Mark of Gideon". And as I watched it, I was genuinely creeped out by the viewport scene. It was unnerving and uncomfortable. Whether it was the blank stares, the green light, the zoo-like feel of the Enterprise, or the general unease of the episode, I found it spooky.

So, what moments in Star Trek have you found spooky?

[aussiemuscle308]

You mean other than seeing Pulaski for the first time?

[Skylon]

I never was too freaked out by anything in Trek, but I've seen people get rather creeped out by the ceti eels in Star Trek 2.

TNG's "Phantasms" I suppose, with Data's wacky dreams leading to him mercilessly stabbing Troi; something I'd normally applaud, but Brent Spiner does a good job looking like a emotionless killer in the scene.

[Stofsk]

In TOS, the Talosians were enigmatic and a little creepy. Same goes for the Horta. In both cases though, the 'creepiness' dissipates as you come to understand their motives. V'ger is a little like this as well. At the start and throughout TMP nobody knows what V'ger is or what it wants, but it's a big scary cloud.

In TNG, I'd say the borg. In particular, their sheer disinterest at the away team in 'QWho' always struck me as how beneath their notice Riker et al were. And also, how they can assimilate anyone into the collective.

For aliens I'd think nothing tops the Ceti Alpha V eels, and I guess the conspirator parasites from 'Conspiracy'. I can't think of anything creepy from DS9 and VOY.

[Swindle1984]

The parasites from TNG's Conspiracy. I was three when the episode aired and it freaked me the fuck out. Now I watch stuff that is far more disturbing without any issues, but rewatching that episode still makes me uncomfortable just remembering how badly it bothered me as a little kid. Particularly the scene where the dude's head fucking explodes and a monster pops out of his chest cavity.

[Big Orange]

Two of TNG's creepiest episodes are "Night Terrors" and "Schisms", with Crusher thinking the corpses in the morgue had come to life and creepy looking aliens experimenting on the crew sticking in the mind. DS9's "Distant Voices" was pretty eerie with the empty station, with a feeling of desperation when Bashir quickly becomes very infirm and elderly. VOY had "The Thaw" with that evil, sadistic AI clown and "Revulsion" that featured Leland Orser as a serial killing hologram.

[charlemagne]

TNG's "Frame of Mind" really creeped me out when I was younger. Also the scene with the corpses sitting up around Crusher, yeah, that was seriously creepy.

[StarSword]

TNG: "The Game", where the entire crew becomes hopelessly addicted to a videogame. Spooky for me personally because, well... I'm a gamer.

The porno moans coming from the addicted characters didn't help matters.

[StarSword]

I never was too freaked out by anything in Trek, but I've seen people get rather creeped out by the ceti eels in Star Trek 2.

Curious question: you think that's where Abrams or whoever got the idea for Nemo's Centaurian slugs in the '09 movie?

[Srelex]

I never was too freaked out by anything in Trek, but I've seen people get rather creeped out by the ceti eels in Star Trek 2.

Curious question: you think that's where Abrams or whoever got the idea for Nemo's Centaurian slugs in the '09 movie?

...yes? I believe the filmmakers said it outright.

[Darth Lucifer]

The one where Riker is in a play about a mental hospital or something; its been a while since I've seen it, but I remember how freaked out I felt when Riker was screaming...yeesh

VOY "One" was kind of scary because of Seven being all alone and hallucinating some alien dood. I seem to remember a similar ENT episode where T'pol and Phlox are the only ones awake and creepy shit happens also.

[charlemagne]

VOY "One" was kind of scary because of Seven being all alone and hallucinating some alien dood. I seem to remember a similar ENT episode where T'pol and Phlox are the only ones awake and creepy shit happens also.

Yeah that formula is pretty much used all over Trek since TNG once every two seasons or so... there's also the episode where Crusher is all alone on the E-D (because she was sucked into a warp bubble or something like that). Those episodes are mostly fun but they lose a lot of their appeal on repeated watchings.

[Tsyroc]

The TOS episode with the salt monster was creepy as hell.

[Srelex]

Anyway, I remember being creeped out by that tar monster when I was little.

[Ahriman238]

There was this really freaky TNG episode with a telepathic rapist who made you relive your worst memories/corrupted your memories (Troi, for instance had a memory of boning Riker turned into a memory of him raping her) the battle-hardened adult officers were dropping into comas, purely because of the mental trauma involved.
Granted, that impact was somewhat lessened when everyone was immediatly fine after waking from their trauma-induced comas with no ill consequences whatsoever, which is bad when you're telling a story about the horros of rape. But as a kid, that was fucking terrifying.

"Sub Rosa" doesn't stand up well to repeat viewings, but it was moderatly scary the first time I saw it. Maybe it was being a kid, maybe it was the atmosphere (everything's a bit scarier watchedi n the dark on halloween night) but it stuck in my mind.

"Frame of Mind" as mentioned, was hardcore.

[Patrick Degan]

When I was about five or so, the sight of the Doomsday Machine coming head on was a bit creepy to me —though I was much more creeped-out then from the climatic scene in The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man", after the cookbook revelation when a screaming Lloyd Bochner is shut up in the Kanamit spaceship by Richard Kiel, than from anything in Star Trek.

[tim31]

"Sub Rosa" doesn't stand up well to repeat viewings, but it was moderatly scary the first time I saw it. Maybe it was being a kid, maybe it was the atmosphere (everything's a bit scarier watchedi n the dark on halloween night) but it stuck in my mind.

I'm with you on this; the supernatural elements were spooky enough when I was twelve, but the Agony Booth recap sums it up best:

Nana sits up and touches both men. Now, I may not live in the Star Trek universe, but you better believe that if a corpse suddenly shot up like that and touched me, all you'd see is my afterimage and a Matrix-like trail behind me as I got the hell out of there. Certainly, I wouldn't have the vaguely bored expressions you see on both Data and Geordi's faces here.

Also:

In an extraordinary casting coup on the part of TNG, they actually got Groundskeeper Willie from The Simpsons to play this part. The guy yells, "I woul'n' be soo high 'n mightay w' me, Beverly How'rd Croosher! I spent morr time here 'n'a pass five years than ye have 'n'a past twenny!" Damn. I think even Scotty would look at this guy and go, "Dude, tone it down some."

[ComradeClaus]

For aliens I'd think nothing tops the Ceti Alpha V eels, and I guess the conspirator parasites from 'Conspiracy'. I can't think of anything creepy from DS9 and VOY.

Or fucking christ! those EAReels! My first memory of star trek as a little kid (years of nightmares followed, plus when ever I see EARwigs & centipedes, I relive that scene) was seeing that scene from ST2 followed by Kahn's sadistic leer as Chekov & that black guy were screaming. As an adult, Wrath of Kahn is my fave ST by far, followed by ST 6 & 4.

"KKKKAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNNNN!!!!"-William "Ham" Shatner

As for nothing from Voyager being scary?

One word, Videan Phage. You know? those aliens w/ Space Leprosy? They had to steal parts from others to survive. When B'lana Torres & a Red Shirt were taken & a videan seemed to get a crush on torres. Then the redshirt vanished...

next thing torres sees is the redshirt leaning over her... his face at least, on the videans body. I almost puked at that scene.

From the TNG, it's a toss up between the tar monster that killed the blond chick & that last-of-her-kind-chick that killed guys w/ her touch, Riker vaped her w/ his phaser. Both horrifying & tragic.

Of course, I've only seen a fraction of any of these series.

For DS9, likely when Q reminded that lady he saved from some illness, just how bad it was. (he's an asshole like that, though he kept the station from being pulled into the wormhole.) Or Pah-Wraith-possesed-Dukat. Or when Odo was like freaking out like a monster stretch-armstrong. Just Odo anytime, freaky meltyface.

[ComradeClaus]

Ghetto edit. (seriously, those edit windows are too FUCKING short!) It was VOY: Faces which had Blanna split into human & klingon halves. & the vidian falling for her.

Also the epsode where Blanna was kidnapped by creepy robots to make more creepy robots to fight a war.

Then the one where Tom Paris exceeded Warp 10 & turned into a lizard (his FUCKING tongue fell out!)... & kidnapped Janeway to make lizard babies with! (Every fanboys dream ) Which shall never be mentioned again.

[Metahive]

TNG Identity Crisis, "invisible aliens infect you with a biological agent and a few years later you turn into one of them", that disturbed me a great lot when I watched it as a child.