It’s the end of an era for one of the most popular television shows of all time, and Supernatural deserves all the praise it’s received for such a long run. The exploits of Sam and Dean Winchester as they battled various demonic entities made for compelling viewing, and horror aficionados were in for a treat.
We watched with bated breath as the heroic couple confronted a monster-of-the-week in the first few episodes. Over time, the show began to focus more on extended tales and mythology, which added to the intrigue.
However, one thing has been constant during all of these seasons. It’s the horde of evil beings, from demons to monsters, that surrounds you. There were enough of these entities for Dean and Sam to hunt down throughout the show’s fifteen seasons! In this video, we’ll take a look at some of the series’ most terrifying and nasty monsters, which terrified us to death!
Leviathans
The most ancient of all monsters ought to be something freakish, and the Leviathans did not disappoint. These primordial monsters were one of the earliest creations of God before he defeated the Darkness and sealed it away for good. These beasts could prey upon the angels and humans, and God realized that these monsters would be too strong and destructive for the world. For this reason, he locked them up in Purgatory, and God even devised a way to kill these monsters in case they ever escaped. The most powerful among them became their leader, and the others were somewhat dependent on him.
In Season 7 of the show, Castiel, an angel of the Lord, opened the Purgatory and imbibed the souls he found there. However, this also caused him to absorb the Leviathans. They soon started manifesting in him, and he found it too overwhelming to control as they ordered him to let them out. He came to Dean and Sam for help, and Bobby, a father figure for the duo, helped him out along with Dean. They managed to put the souls back inside the Purgatory, but Castiel soon realized that the Leviathans were still inside him.
His body is unable to handle them much longer, and these dark forces soon use the water in a reservoir to spread to the population. Their aim was to establish themselves as the dominant species on the planet, and ghost-hunters, angels, and even demons attempted to subjugate them. Eventually, Dean and Castiel managed to defeat their leader, Dick Roman. Without him, the others were clueless and disbanded themselves.
We saw the horrors of the Leviathans throughout Season 7, some of Season 8, and in brief references in Season 10 among others. These monsters are known for their ravenous hunger, intelligence, and incredible power. They despise the other species and love to flaunt their strength and superiority over them. Humans are no more than food for them, and even demons are no match for them.
They have a clear hierarchy, and their leader Dick Roman calls the shots for them. These shape-shifting monsters can take the form of any human, but underwater they take a serpent-like shape. One of the most gruesome features they have is their ability to change the biological structure of their hosts.
They can also dislocate the jaw of the host and a mouth full of deadly teeth and a forked tongue is revealed. They are almost invulnerable and immortal because all the angelic and demonic weaknesses mean nothing to them. The only one who can kill them is the one devised by God to do so. Leviathans easily gave Sam and Dean the worst of times in their career of fighting evil!
Hellhounds
Does a maniacal, infuriated Pitbull scare you? Well, then imagine a demonic, super-powerful, and more vicious version of that and there you have with you the mental image of Hellhounds! These deadly beasts belonged in Hell and served demons. Initially, God created them to be used as the Creator’s best friends, but things clearly did not really go as planned.
They turned out to be far too ferocious to control, and God had to destroy them all. All, except the one Lucifer, managed to save after it fell from Heaven. This Hellhound called Ramsey was pregnant at the time, and thus, the population of the Hellhounds grew once again. Eventually, they were used to collect the souls of humans who had struck a deal with the dark forces, and whose deals come due. These vicious, tenacious creatures are also quite intelligent, and they are very skilled when it comes to hunting down their targets. They don’t give up, until the target is dead unless, of course, their master calls off the attack.
Their attacks are quite graphic because they almost rip apart the target to take their soul. However, even their presence alone can be scary enough for people to die of fear. Sometimes, they are also driven to commit suicide. Hellhounds are usually visible only to the victim that they come for, and they look like furious canines with red eyes. There is somewhat of a dark aura around these monsters, and wherever they go, they appear in shadows.
Crowley, a powerful demon, knew a lot about these beasts, but even he could not sway them from their purpose once their commanding demons ordered them. While demons can command the Hellhounds, not all can overpower them if necessary. In fact, even angels could not take them down without some special weapons. These demonic dogs have super senses that are extremely heightened, and their super strength makes it impossible for their targets to survive the fury of the demonic canines.
They are almost immortal, and the first Hellhound, Ramsey, lived thousands of years before being killed. However, they do have a few weaknesses as well. They could be harmed with salt, Devil’s shoestring, a special type of herb, and Goofer Dust. Some weapons like the Angel blades and Demon-killing knives could kill them as well. They had a recurring appearance throughout the series, and were seen in as many as 12 episodes!
Wendigo
The word Wendigo literally translates to the evil that devours! Scary right? True to their name these deadly monsters are embodiments of greed, gluttony, and excess. These creatures once used to be humans, but in a survival situation, they were forced to turn cannibalistic. After consuming human flesh, they started to transform and their craving for more was never satiated.
They are never satisfied after consuming one person because their thirst increases continuously. Soon enough they started hunting for new victims, and at times, they even captured humans simply as a method of hoarding their food for the future.
Essentially, the Wendigos are creatures that have been living for hundreds of years. They have hibernating tendencies during the cold months, and they need to store food for such times of scarcity. Wendigos are excellent hunters and are particularly experts when it comes to nocturnal hunting. They are smart and strategize on how to bring down their prey. Their super-speed and superhuman strength help them hunt, and normal knives and guns cannot do them any damage.
These are easily one of the creepiest things on Supernatural courtesy of their weird humanoid appearances. They are over six feet tall, and their bones are visible under their skin. This is a sign that they are always hungry, and their eyes are pushed back deep into the sockets to highlight their desperation. Besides their sharp, crooked teeth, they also have razor-like claws to rip apart their prey.
It is best to try and fight them in daylight. Fire, Iron, Silver, and Steel, make them vulnerable and if used wisely can be used to kill them. In Season 1, when Sam and Dean try to find their missing father, along the way they decide to help another family, where the brother has gone missing after going on a camping trip. Luckily, they find him in an abandoned mine, where a Wendigo had stored him for future consumption. Dan shoots the creature to death with a flare gun, and it wasn’t much trouble for the heroes to deal with. After the first season there have been a few references to the Wendigo, but never a proper story featuring them.
Ghouls
Usually, Ghouls are deemed to be undead creatures that eat corpses that have been freshly buried. However, in this show, they are referred to as a type of monster that feeds on the flesh of the dead. If the opportunity arises they will even feed on the living, and they are not restricted to nocturnal hunting. These monsters can feed on the flesh of humans and then assume the form of the victim.
These scavengers live in graveyards, but they are opportunistic and can mask themselves amidst the crowd to hunt down living prey. You would think they are almost untraceable, but they do have identifiable fingerprints when they use a single form.
Ghouls may have several forms to choose from, and they can resume one of their previous forms if they have a piece of that person to consume. These grotesque and shape-shifting creatures also take over the memories of their victims, and this makes identifying them even more difficult. In one of the episodes, we are witness to their supernatural speed, and they are way faster than humans. They are also much stronger and very agile beasts. Their enhanced senses make sure that they are aware of any traps laid out for them.
However, they are not as strong as demons, and the latter can get the better of Ghouls. An easy way to deal with a Ghoul is to hit them on the head and damage their brain. Any form of decapitation or extreme brain damage should do the trick and can kill a Ghoul. Sam and Dean have several encounters with these monsters in the course of the series, but there is not really a dedicated storyline for these entities. From season 4 onwards there have been recurring appearances of Ghouls, and several references have been drawn from time to time.
Djinn
We have heard stories of Djinns or Genies, where they are portrayed as wish-granting entities, but the ones in Supernatural are far from that. These Djinns are a malevolent race of cave dwellers who have developed the power to produce extreme hallucinations in humans. These humanoid entities choose to live in places that offer a lot of hiding options.
Their diet comprises human blood, and to get to their prey they are even capable of poisoning them with a mere touch. This poison can work as they want it to, either killing the victim straightaway or leaving them in a comatose state. There are numerous versions of the Djinn in folklores and mythologies.
The Quran, for instance, states them as mysterious invisible creatures. Other versions show them as extremely capable of reading a human mind and learning about their greatest desires. However, unlike common belief, they don’t really grant wishes, but simply cause a powerful hallucination that leads the victim to think that he or she is living the desired life.
In this fantasy world created by the Djinn, there is no escape. None, except committing suicide, which will bring the person back to the real world. However, dying in the fantasy world can mean death in the real world as well. Dean explores another type of Djinn in the show, and these creatures feed off human fear instead of human blood.
Their other strengths and weaknesses remain the same as normal Djinns, but the world that they create for their victims is one of a nightmare. The victims die from fear, and the only way to escape is to get rid of the fear! In Season 2, Sam and Dean are seen hunting down a Djinn, but it overpowers Dean and leaves him trapped in a fantasy universe.
He manages to kill himself in the fantasy world just in time, and eventually, they kill the Djinn by stabbing it with a silver knife dipped in lamb’s blood. They can also be killed by extreme brain damage, and in Season 6, we saw Sam kill one using a gold club to smash its head. In Season 6, we got to see the other kind of Djinn that feeds off fear in the victims, and in Season 8, we get another extensive storyline featuring these creatures. They also find mentioned in Seasons 13, 14, and 15, and have been a constant presence in the show.
Changelings
These are notorious humanoid creatures that feed on the humans, or on their synovial fluid to be specific. Changelings have often been known as replacements for human children who have been stolen away by monsters. These stolen children are taken underground, and the mother Changeling feeds on them. A Changeling replaces the child, and it looks exactly the same as the original.
However, it is more like an evil twin, and their behaviors will vary. Their target is the mother of the child that they have taken the form of, and their source of food is extremely precious to them. The mothers can last a few months at most, and then the Changeling will move to the next target. It is not very easy to spot a Changeling, but some of the mothers can still notice something different.
There is no emotion in the behavior of the Changeling, and they desperately try to replicate the behavior of the child. At times, they will simply stare at people the way we stare at Pizza, and that might be a giveaway as well.
Their original form is grotesque, to say the least, and they have discolored slimy skin. They have hollow eyes, and their round mouth has numerous sharp teeth inside. Their true form can be seen from their reflection on a mirror or some other reflective surface. They might be somewhat weak compared to some of the other monsters, but for a human, they are too powerful.
They can only be killed by fire, and when struck with a blunt force, they can be stunned for some time. In Season 3, Dean and Sam face some Changelings that are stealing children in the neighborhood and replacing them. They feed off the mothers, and anyone who comes between them and their prey is killed. The heroic duo uses a flamethrower to kill the mother Changeling, and the children are destroyed as well. It seems like killing the mother Changeling can destroy all the others. This evil entity from European folklore has been used quite effectively in Supernatural TV series.
Rakshasa
These monsters are from Hindu mythology, and they are infamously known for their habits of eating human flesh. Rakshasas are shape-shifting creatures and can they can disguise themselves as humans, making it impossible for them to be traced. The only good thing about these monsters is that they don’t need to feed very frequently. In fact, they have terrific metabolism and have to eat once every few decades.
They are also restricted about how they can enter someone’s house. They must be invited for the same, and these creatures must make sure that they do not draw any unwanted attention. For this reason, they take up a life of a vagabond and live in poverty.
In Supernatural, we saw a Rakshasa who posed as a clown at a fair. He followed the children home and made sure that the child invited them inside to eat a meal with the parents. Soon, it killed the parents, and the evil is revealed. It is not clear why Rakshasa did not kill the kids previously, but it could be because the kids would not have enough meat to satisfy their hunger.
The Rakshasas are almost invulnerable, and their invisibility makes it very hard to spot them. They also have enhanced senses and super-human speed that add to their superior powers. They are known for their longevity, and there is no easy way to get rid of them. The only thing that can kill them is brass, but any other form of attack will see the monster recover in no time! In Season 2, Sam uses brass to kill the Rakshasa, which then decomposes into a pile of dust. There is another mention of the Rakshasa in Season 5, and this mischievous, homicidal creature was a treat to watch!
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is pretty harmless you might think! It is, as long as it is not possessed by the Vanir! A Vanir is a Norse God of wisdom and fertility, and it can grant favors in return for a sacrifice offered to it. According to ancient lore, the villagers used to build some kind of an effigy in their fields and the Vanir could possess the same. This thing resembled a scarecrow, and the Vanir used it to collect the sacrifices offered to it.
Many centuries ago, one such Vanir was brought to America by the colonists, and the residents of Burkitsville misled traveling tourist couples to make the sacrifices for the Vanir. They suggested that their car needed repairing, and in the meantime, they offered the tourists to be fed to the Vanir just like a Turkey is offered to be fed to a family for Thanksgiving dinner. If a male and a female sacrifice were offered, it would ensure the protection and prosperity of the region, crops would grow faster, and diseases would end for good.
The Vanir could possess the scarecrow at will, and this pagan deity is immortal unless the attached tree is destroyed. In the form of the scarecrow, it used the one-handed sickle to hook its prey and claim the sacrifice. Once in the clutches of the possessed scarecrow, there was no escape for the victims. In Season 1, Sam and Dean were contacted by their missing father and informed about the trail of one such Vanir.
They arrived in Burkitsville just in time to save a couple, and they fended off the Vanir by using rock salt. Eventually, they incinerated the sacred tree attached to the Vanir, and thus, ended up killing it. There was a tiny speck of weakness in this Norse God. Each one of them was attached to a sacred tree, and this tree became the source of all its powers. If the tree was destroyed, the Vanir would die as well. Besides Season 1, there have been some mentions of the Vanir in Seasons 4, 5, and 10.
Khan worm
This is not some God-created evil, but something created by the Mother of All, Eve. There have been two types of these creatures discussed in the series, and the Khan worm was a tricky foe to handle. It could enter the human body through the ears or mouth, and after entering it would take control over their actions. The only sign of possession would be a green sludge in the ears of the victim. Khan worms could also spill the same from the victim’s nose when injured.
Once inside the host’s body, these creatures could increase their strength several times over, and the hosts had no memory of the time they were being controlled. Eve created the first known Khan worm, and it went inside a trucker. He killed his family as a result, and the Khan worm was passed on to one of his co-workers who killed twelve people.
Dean and Sam were investigating the murders when Dean got infected as well and killed his cousin Gwen. It was Eve’s plan to take over the world using supernatural creatures, and it took Dean and Sam some serious planning to get rid of the Khan worm. They electrocuted one of the possessed people, and while the Khan worm was electrocuted to death, the victim managed to survive.
Later, we are witness to another variant of this creature on the show, as a soldier was possessed by it in Iraq. These creatures were predominantly found in the middle-east, and in this instance, the worm did not take complete control over the victim’s body. He was forced to drink excessive amounts of fluids, and eventually, he was driven to drink blood and even gasoline. The initial Khan worm was a browning creature with two black, curved fangs.
The later version was smaller and had black pincers at its back end, and white pincers at the front. Ultimately, these worms were killed by causing extreme dehydration! As far as their appearance in Season 6 and 10, we saw them being susceptible to electricity and dehydration. There was initially no name for the monster because it was relatively new, and Dean Winchester named it himself.
Siren
These are shape-shifting monsters that can haunt you in their original form, as grotesque as they can be! They are ugly, hairless, humanoid monsters with disgusting facial features. The Siren can take the form of humans, and use this ability to deceive them. For instance, they would transform into a person that is exactly what the victim desires! It could be a lover or a friend, and eventually, they would use their emotional vulnerability to prey upon them.
These creatures would compel the humans to perform tasks that they wouldn’t normally dream of doing! These acts are supposed to prove their love and devotion, and they are often violent in nature. Sometimes, these acts also end in deaths and the Siren takes pleasure from their sinister activities. The good thing is that these monsters are restricted to Greece, and very rarely are they seen outside the region.
Back in the day, these creatures used to trick sailors into driving their ships into the rocks, and they were capable of infecting people with a high dose of oxytocin. This caused them to experience an intense sense of love and euphoria for the creature, and they loved these monsters under the influence. During this time, the Siren makes them perform some heinous tasks, and once the tasks are complete, the Siren is bored and disappears.
The victims are then emotionally ruined after they realize the damage of what they have done! These are very different from the other monsters that feed on humans because they simply derive a sadistic pleasure from watching things get ruined.
They do have a few weaknesses and a bronze dagger dipped in the blood of their victim can be used to kill them. Their true nature is revealed in a mirror, and we have seen Dean take down a Siren simply by beating it with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. These creatures from Greek mythology were seen in Season 4, and there were some mentions later on as well.
Crocotta
It is lore common to several cultures, where a mysterious entity calls out the names of people in their sleep and draws them out in a trance. They are led deep into the forest and then devoured by these creatures. In Supernatural, Crocottas do the same, and they have the ability to mimic someone’s voice to use it against their victims.
The main goal is simply to feed upon the victim, and in modern times, it is not very easy for a Crocotta to do so. They are lucky to get as many as two souls in a year, and this has caused them to evolve as well to hunt their prey down. For instance, they can now mimic the voice of someone loved by the victim and then convince him or her to kill herself or come to the Crocotta. This way, it gets to consume the victim’s soul, as it is essential for them to survive.
When they are in their human form, they cannot really be recognized easily. You have to watch out for signs like the obsessive use of the phrase, ‘come to me. When it feeds upon the victim, it uses its jaws and sharp teeth even in the human form. However, the original form of this monster is unknown. In Season 3, Dean and Sam encounter the Crocotta while investigating some strange deaths connected to phone calls.
It turns out that a Crocotta is behind the calls and the killings, and Sam manages to kill the monster by pushing him into a piece of metal protruding from a wall. It turns out that the Crocotta is vulnerable to any kind of spinal cord injuries, and a stab through the back could do them in. In the show, these monsters have been described to operate in Ethiopia and India, but their shape-shifting nature hardly has any limitations.
Arachne
Yes, the name does sound like something to do with spiders, and Arachne does share similarities. These supernatural entities are spider-like in many ways and can even create strong webs like them. This helps them in trapping their victims, who have no way of escaping the confines of their webs. These creatures are capable of changing into humans as well, simply by biting them.
Their bites can be poisonous, and even kill a human if they desire to do so. Just like spiders, the Arachne has multiple eyes, and this expands their field of vision greatly. These monsters even look like spiders and have white eyes, and crusty skin. Their appearance as humans do not restrict their powers, and their heightened speed, senses, and strength makes them deadly opponent.
Although these creatures were seen several thousand years ago, one appears in Bristol Rhode Island. Sam managed to kill the creature after much planning, but the poisoned victims had to be shot dead to put them out of their misery. They appeared in Season 6, and Unforgiven proved to be a breathtaking storyline. In Season 13, there was a brief cameo of these creatures. It is not easy to get the better of these creatures, but it is not impossible either. A simple decapitation could do the trick, but, of course, that is easier said than done!
Kitsune
You have all heard of werewolves, but what about a werefox! Well, Kitsune is exactly a werewolf that looks like a fox, and their actions are not too far apart either. A Kitsune would be hard to identify in its human form. However, they are capable of changing into fox-like beasts, and their sharp claws become their main weapons. These can even be extended to inflict serious damage, and while they attack, their eyeballs turn yellow.
These shape-shifting beasts have super-strength and speed just like a werewolf, and except for their appearance, there is hardly much of a difference. These monsters are extremely rare, and they survive by feeding on the pituitary gland, which is a part of the brain. They must have a regular helping of the same and would die without it.
The show Supernatural has been quite obsessed with these beasts, and they have been featured on several occasions. We first see them in Season 7, and after an intriguing tale, they kept occurring as references and mentions. This creature owes its origin to Japanese folklore, where foxes are considered to be mischievous and evil.
They are seen as evil spirits that are capable of taking the human form, and that is how the idea of Kitsune came up. They can be killed if someone manages to stab them in the heart with a dagger. Starvation can also be a potent tool for their demise because, without the necessary nutrition from the pituitary glands, they would die in no time. The supernatural revolver, called the Colt, could also kill these creatures easily!
Wraith
Most of the supernatural creatures that we saw in this TV series could appear as humans, and the Wraith is no exception. However, a mirror could show their real horrifying faces, and this true form was unspeakably disgusting – a humanoid creature with rotting skin.
These monsters feed on the brain fluids of humans, and while doing so they use high dopamine doses to infect them. Eve was impressed by the traits of these creatures and even incorporated them into her own hybrid monsters. These monsters use a weak spot behind the ears to get to the brain of the victim, and then onwards it is a cakewalk as the Wraith consumes the brain fluids completely.
They thrive in psychiatric asylums because it offers a perfect safe-house for them to feed on the brains of the patients without igniting suspicion. After all, nobody would believe the mentally ill if they say that a monster is feeding off them. Besides, a mere touch from the Wraith can make a person mentally unstable.
However, these creatures are not without their fair share of weaknesses. Silver could burn their bodies, and a perfect fit in the heart using silver could kill them. Psychics can sense the aura of the Wraith, and once the cover is blown, they can be taken down using silver weapons. They appeared in Season 9, Season 14, and even the last season of the show.
Rawhead
These hairy, ragged-looking humanoid monsters have strange leathery skin, and their clawed hands and feet are their main weapons. Rawheads lurk in hiding, and their prey includes children who are left unsupervised. Their disgusting, decaying skin shows signs of their evil nature, and they have provided us with some exciting plotlines in Supernatural. For instance, in Season 1, Dean and Sam are after a Rawhead.
They go looking into a basement, which is one of the favorite hiding places for the monster. They rescue two kids, but while taking them out to safety, the Rawhead ambushes them. Dean fights the creature, and cleverly uses his taser to electrocute the beast after they fall into a puddle of water. However, even Dean is injured in the process, and it requires some special healing to fix him afterward.
There is a brief mention of this monster in Season 14, but no storyline dedicated to it as such. In whatever little we have seen of this creature, it seemed quite powerful. It could throw Dean to the ground with a single punch and was probably more powerful than him in every way. Luckily, he used his brains to get rid of the monster by electrocuting it! These creatures have great speed, and they can disappear in the blink of an eye. Only high-voltage electrocution can kill them, and this is the only chink in their armor! It might not be the most spectacular monster in the series, but it is certainly among the unforgettable ones!