The Scariest Adventure Time Episodes
"Fall."
I am a serial Adventure Time watcher. If I want background noise and bright colors, it’s on. If I don’t know what to watch, it’s on.
On a post-apocalpytic Earth called Ooo, Finn the Human strives to be a hero, alongside his best friend, Jake the Dog, and their collection of friends and frenemies like Princess Bubblegum and The Ice King.
The show began in 2010 with chaotic ‘random’ humor and violent fights until the lore expanded to encompass alien encounters, demon portals, alternate realities, doppelgangers, and time paradoxes along with the monster ass-kicking and fart jokes. Finn the Human grows during the course of 289 episodes from 11-years-old to 17, and along with it, faces betrayal, heartbreak, and emotional turmoil beyond his years.
There are periods when it’s less engaging, but it never got bad during its 10-season run. And if you’re thinking of starting the series, it ends on a beautiful full-circle literal note that brings tears to my eyes from the sheer power of storytelling and animated media.
But this is a horror newsletter! So here are some of my favorite scary Adventure Time episodes.
The Scariest Adventure Time Episodes
Available on Max + Hulu
In no order.
“No One Can Hear You” S3 E15
“Have I been asleep for six months?”
After attempting to catch a deer, Finn wakes from a coma to an empty hospital. He finds all of Ooo to be empty until he runs into best friend Jake, his head bandaged, crawling with roaches, obsessed with his upcoming surprise birthday party.
Finn eventually finds that all the citizens of Ooo have been embedded in a syrupy underground lair. The deer from earlier approaches and removes its hooves before charging after Finn.
“Take Her Back” S7 E10
“Did you just yell ‘pigs’ at the lock until it opened?!"
As part of the Stakes miniseries, Finn and Jake aid Marceline and PB in staking a hoard of vampires. At night, the vampire named The Moon awakes, who gains her powers of speed, forced paralysis, and persuasion from the moon itself.
“All Your Fault” S5 E9
“For once we had commenced, how could we desist?”
Castle Lemongrab, equipped with an endless supply of food, bemoans to Princess Bubblegum that their citizens are starving. Finn and Jake are tasked to deliver the infinite food seeds, where they find a kingdom in ruin and Lemon mutants of all shapes and sizes.
The Lemongrabs have sequestered themselves to the dungeon, where they reveal they’ve stolen PB’s formula for creating life, and cannot stop themselves from using the food seeds to create infinite Frankenlemons. It is only by erasing the formula from their brains that PB can end their crusade.
“Beautopia” S3 E14
“Whoa... Ominous.”
Susan Strong enlists the help of Finn and Jake to defeat the ‘lub glubs’ terrorizing her people in the sewer. Jake spends most of the episode laughing at her fear towards what seem to be pool floaties, until a black goo emerges from them, morphing them into spindly monsters.
“Blank-Eyed Girl” S7 E19
“Starchy? She invited herself in.”
Finn and Jake come face to face with an urban legend. With help from a local radio show, they try to define what the blank-eyed girls are, if they’re harmless, and how to vanquish them.
“Return to the Nightosphere” S4 E5 / “Daddy’s Little Monster” S4 E6
"No one leaves the Nightosphere!"
Finn and Jake travel to a demonic Boschian Hell dimension to rescue Marceline from her Dad’s demon powers. The creatures are grotesque, the chaos infinite and worst of all, the bureaucracy demoralizing.
“Escape From The Citadel” S6E2
“You are strong, child, but I am beyond strength. I am The End, and I have come for you, Finn.”
Voiced by Ron Perlman (Hellboy), The Lich was once described by Adventure Time creators as without any whimsy; he is evil incarnate. He gets his bad guy monologue in this episode.
Honorable Mentions:
“Death in Bloom” S2 E17
Jake and Finn travel to the underworld to revive a plant, meeting Death and another side of Peppermint Butler.
“The Creeps” S3 E12
A murder mystery party goes wrong. Or does it? It does.
"The Only Way" S3 E23
“Red Starved” S5E38
Marceline runs out of red in a deep cave, going feral.
“Three Buckets” S9 E14
Finn faces the betrayal of his shadow.
Thanks for readin’!
xo,
once upon a time there was a princess and the princess lived in a castle far, far away, guarded by a terrible dragon. it was said that if a brave knight freed the dragon, the princess would fall in love with her savior and live happily ever after. knight after knight journeyed to her castle, but they never came back. when a bright, young knight finally came of age, he proclaimed it was his destiny to reach the castle, slay the dragon and free the princess, once and for all. sword in hand, he walked three days and three nights to finally reach the castle, cross the moat, and ascend the stone steps of the tower only to find the princess brushing her hair and singing a jolly tune. he knelt down, announced he was here to rescue her, and held out his hand for a happily ever after, for once the dragon returned, he would slay the beast and she would be safe. the princess smiled, with far, far too many teeth, her back hunching, her eyes turning yellow, as she morphed into a dragon in front of the young knight’s eyes. his sword as useful as a twig in his sweaty hand as she strode four massive scaly feet, her talons sharp as glass towards the young knight. she picked him up by the nape of his neck and tossed his golden, muscular body into the air, devouring him in one swallow with a hearty belch, before going back to brushing her human hair to start the day with her beautiful former servant/now wife, allie lembo.
This was so fun!! Love the princess and prince story!