Saving people. Hunting things. The family business, that’s what Sam and Dean Winchester are known for. If you’re a fan of Supernatural (and, probably, even if you’re not) you know that line by heart. Over the past 14 seasons, the Winchester brothers have faced all manner of menacing paranormal beings, from cryptids to mythological deities to all of those other spooky things that go bump in the night.
Every monster Sam and Dean face is scary in its own way, but some monsters are more frightening than others. Let’s take a look at these 10 Supernatural monsters, ranked from least scary to the scariest, and for the love of Pete, don’t turn the lights off! Also, it probably wouldn’t hurt to sit inside a ring of salt.
10. Ghost
Ghosts are the spirits of the deceased. Considering the plethora of Supernatural monsters that exist, restless specters don’t seem so scary. After all, for the most part, ghosts are just regular people, but after a while, since they’re no longer supposed to be a part of the mortal realm, they can become angry.
Usually, ghosts stick around because they’re attached to a certain object that they owned in life. In order to get rid of a ghost, Sam and Dean must destroy all such objects and salt and burn the body of the departed. Since dealing with most monsters often warrants a significantly more complicated protocol, ghosts are practically a walk in the park! Well… comparatively speaking, anyway.
9. Rakshasa
Clowns are so unsettling, we think they’re qualified to be monsters on Supernatural as it is, but clowns are made doubly creepy when they’re actually Rakshasas in disguise. A Rakshasa is a creature in Hindu mythology, and it’s basically an imp that likes to eat people, but it can’t enter a home unless it’s invited in. That’s why the Rakshasa that Sam and Dean encounter in season two takes the form of a clown—so that little kids would allow it in their homes.
Rakshasas are shapeshifters, and they can become invisible at will. Aside from some of Sam and Dean’s major weapons that can be used to kill anything (like Death’s Scythe or the First Blade), the only thing that can take down a Rakshasa is brass.
8. Shōjō
A Shōjō is a Japanese spirit that can only be seen by drunk people, and that’s a problem because, naturally, it means that you would have to either try to fight it off sober while it’s completely invisible to the naked eye, or fight it wasted, and that doesn’t seem like a good decision to us. We’ve seen a few drunken brawls between two people, and they never turned out well. We can’t imagine what a drunken brawl with a monster from Supernatural would be like.
Shōjōs have razor sharp claws, and they also have telekinetic powers. They can teleport, they’re super strong and they can only be killed with a Samurai blade that’s been blessed by a Shinto priest. Man, these things are so scary, they’ve got us rethinking happy hour.
7. Pishtaco
When it’s not too busy having a name that sounds like “fish taco”, and also when it’s not too busy giving us intense cravings because its name sounds like “fish taco”, the Pishtaco enjoys sucking body fat out of its victims in the world’s strangest (and definitely not medically certified) liposuction procedure.
Pishtacos are parasites native to Peru, but Sam and Dean encounter two of them at a spa that specializes in weight loss in Supernatural season nine’s episode titled “The Purge”. These creatures are basically vampires just with adipose tissue instead of blood, and most of them don’t even kill their prey, they just grab their fat snack and ditch - which is a sentence we never imagined ourselves saying. In spite of the fact that they usually don’t end their victim’s lives, this monster’s still absolutely horrifying because, well, look at it! Yikes!
6. Arachne
Imagine Spider-Man, but as a villain and a product of Ron Weasley’s worst nightmare. Picture that, and you’ll come pretty close the Arachne. Like spiders, these monsters can create webs and inject their victims with venom. Also like spiders (we guess?), they have crusty skin and light blue irises.
The thing that gives these monsters a spooky edge over other monsters is that they’re so spider-like. Let’s just face it, on the creepiness scale, spiders take things too far. They’re scary. Why else would they be such a popular Halloween decoration? Arachnes can only be defeated by decapitation, although we suspect a can of Raid would take care of the problem, too, but we hope we’re never in a position where we have to test that theory out.
5. Hellhound
The Hellhounds in Supernatural are the guard dogs of the underworld, kind of like Cerberus, but instead of having three heads, they’re invisible - at least, they are to anyone who hasn’t made a crossroads deal. These creatures act a little like reapers, and are sent to collect the souls of those who have made a 10-year pact with a demon. Just when we thought there was no such thing as a bad dog…
Described as demonic pit bulls, Hellhounds are so fearsome that even the angels are afraid of them, which doesn’t bode well. They’re alarmingly fast and incredibly strong, with heightened senses that help them easily locate their prey. Hunters can kill these suckers with a demon knife, an angel blade, iron, or the famous Colt.
4. Rougarou
Rougarous start out as humans, and many of them go years without knowing that they are Rougarous. But, when they reach a certain age, craziness happens, and their genetic condition suddenly kicks in. It’s all downhill from there.
At some point in a Rougarou’s life, their body goes through changes. No, not puberty, they actually develop an appetite for human flesh, and eventually, they give in to this overwhelming urge, which causes them to evolve into full-on Rougarou, like some kind of horrible Pokemon. The Rougarou’s transformation can be kept at bay as long as the person doesn’t indulge their inner cannibal, but if they do, then it’s goodnight, Irene. Pro tip: fire kills Rougarous, so keep your lighter handy, hunters!
3. Wendigo
Wendigos are creatures that were once human, but after resorting to cannibalism in order to survive, they turn into monsters. These things are 15-feet tall, and as if that weren’t enough, they’re also immortal, they have the power of super speed, and they can mimic peoples’ voices in order to bait their victims. Oh! And, one more thing: most weapons, like knives and such, don’t work on them. So, there’s that.
This is the kind of monster you wouldn’t want to run into on a dark night - and, sure, that could be said of all the monsters that Sam and Dean come into contact with, but still. Fortunately, Wendigos hate fire, so an open flame is usually enough to keep them at bay. Remember that the next time you go camping.
2. Leviathan
Creatures that predate humans and even angels, Leviathans were God’s very first beasts, but they proved to be too destructive, so he created Purgatory and locked them inside. Of course, Castiel opened Purgatory and absorbed all of the souls inside of it back in season seven, and in doing so, he inadvertently released the Leviathans, causing mega problems.
Leviathans are so powerful, not only can they block an angel’s powers, they can kill them. These guys can shapeshift, they can regenerate, they can fly, they’re invincible, they’re immortal - basically, Leviathans are every bad thing all rolled into one horrifying monster, and it can only be killed by the bone of a righteous mortal washed in the three bloods of the fallen.
1. Changeling
The scary thing about Changelings, besides for literally everything about them, is that you can’t tell who is a Changeling just by looking at them straight on. It’s their reflection that shows who they are inside, which gives a whole new meaning to Mulan’s iconic musical number.
Changelings have icky, discolored skin, hollow eyes and round mouths with rows of tiny, sharp teeth. Like most monsters, these creatures feed on humans, but synovial fluid is their filet mignon. Their Achilles heel is fire, but offing a mother Changeling will cause her spawn to instantly disappear, too. Could this be Supernatural’s scariest monster ever? Well… you go ahead and look at that picture and then try to tell us it’s not.
