Many people all over the world are terrified of what lurks beneath their beds, thanks to Chris Carter’s American science fiction TV show. After all, it is difficult to ignore The X-Files’ legacy, especially since there are 218 episodes and two stand-alone films in the series canon.
Despite the fact that it has been 28 years since its was first broadcast, this series has managed to maintain its relevance in both the past and the present. The X-Files, which spanned 11 seasons, was capable of scaring the living daylights out of viewers. So, in today’s video, we will take a look at 12 of The X-Files’ most horrifying animals. We challenge you to sleep without turning on the lights tonight.
Wayne Weinsider
How does the idea of a demon that has the power to appear to his victims as an intimidating, sinister figure with blazing red eyes sound to you? Well, that is Wayne Weinsider in his demon form. Weinsider happens to be one of the many pseudonyms of a very supreme demon, in all probability a horned one known as Vele, with an ability to simply suck out the souls of innocent victims. But what is odd is the fact that this demon craves a regular human child and a normal family. It is this particular need of his that brought about the extermination of a lot of women’s lives and pre-natal babies.
Having appeared in the seventh episode of the sixth season, ‘Terms of Endearment’, the earliest trace of the demon is his usage of the identity of Ivan Veles, born in Czechoslovakia in the year 1956. While he was addressed as Ivan, he had married two women – Gisele and Helga Veles, both of whom were eventually killed by him while they were bearing his children. Wondering why? Well, they had started to show signs of an inevitable demonic appearance. As years passed by, the demon went under further stage names of Bud Hasselhoff and Gordy Boitano before taking the name of Wayne Weinsider.
The portrayal of Bruce Campbell as Weinsider makes him all the more terrifying and leaves a lasting impression on the whole series. Watching him as a bigamist demon impregnating his wives and the realization that his wives are bearing demonic children instead of the human offspring that he so badly desires is something that you just cannot miss out on. Mark our words when we say that Wayne Weinsider is scary enough to keep you up all night and haunt that very soul of yours.
Ghouli
The fifth episode of the eleventh season follows the narrative of a pair of high school girls who do not know each other and are drawn to a decommissioned ship to pacify the Ghouli. The creature, which looks more like a Slenderman creepypasta monster, sends both the girls into panic mode with just his appearance and they almost kill each other. What is revealed later is that Ghouli happens to be a teenage boy called Jackson Ven de Kamp, who has the power to make anyone see what he wants them to see. Now, imagine the terror. You are confronted by your worst nightmare and nightmares don’t really have a limit, do they? Trust us when we say that it is not a pleasant sight.
Coming back to the story, although Jackson’s intentions were twisted, this was all supposed to be a prank. Also, he turns out to be the son that agent Dana Scully had given up for adoption 17 years ago.
Ghouli indisputably happens to be a stellar creature feature episode that just cannot be missed out on. The titular monster is still capable of running shivers down our spines. But you will have to see it to believe this.
The Insect Monster
While it is true that The X-Files did inflict on us a fair share of the scariest monsters that have ever existed, there were some creatures who were staggeringly petrifying. The Insect Monster definitely tops that list. This gigantic bug appears in the nineteenth episode of the fifth season, ‘Folie a Deux’, and in its human disguise, it happens to be Greg Pincus, the CEO of the VinylRight Corporation.
One of the abilities of this monster is that it does not always show its true form; instead, it appears human to most witnesses. But what is genuinely creepy is that this insect monster loves biting gullible humans, which eventually turns the victims into its personal zombies. That is precisely how Pincus infected his workers one by one. Furthermore, there also happens to be only a select few who are capable of seeing the actual form of The Insect Monster and those people, special agent Mulder included, are later condemned as delusional and even deranged with severe consequences. The severeness of the consequences varies from being strapped to a hospital bed by an enslaved nurse to having Pincus in his Kafkaesque insect form ready to infect his helpless victim.
Do watch out for The Insect Monster, which irrefutably happens to be one of the most terrifying monsters of The X-Files franchise.
The Peacock Family
The Peacock Family cannot be categorized as monsters but then again you might not want to agree with us after you take a look at them. The second episode of the fourth season, ‘Home’, happens to be so graphically violent and disturbing that believe us when we tell you that it actually received a viewer discretion warning. So, one can truly imagine the amount of gore and horror that this particular entry has on display.
The Peacocks tend to be inbred deformed mutants, who have become unrestrained and vicious over the years. Residing on the same patch of land generations after generation, the Peacocks don’t even have electricity or running water. They tend to grow their own food and even slaughter their own meat. Mrs. Peacock, who otherwise lives under the bed on a sled, has several of her teeth and limbs missing following a terrible, tragic accident that took away the life of her husband. To keep the Peacock bloodline active, she has also engaged herself in numerous incestuous activities with her very own children, Edmund, George, and Sherman. This act of inbreeding has crossed every boundary; so much so that now there are mostly tumors and birth defects. After all, can anything be regarded as worse than copulating with your own mother?
It is only when agents Scully and Mulder arrive to probe deeper into a strange case about a newborn child being buried alive in a shallow grave that the duo manages to draw the attention of The Peacock Family. As far as the family is concerned, they would not even think twice before killing anyone who dares to intrude on their privacy. No wonder The Peacock Family holds its place as one of the scariest and most terrifying villains in X-Files history.
Ubermenscher
The Ubermenscher is a demon that lives underground and is mostly summoned by humans to kill people that they want to get rid of. But what is even more frightening is the fact that the Ubermenscher happens to be a ‘tulpa’, in other words, a form of thought that will somehow take life and become a physical reality. A tulpa will eventually behave like it is real; it can walk, talk, and even interact with physical things and do literally whatever it wishes to. As a result, the tulpa can be pretty violent and malicious in terms of its nature.
Having appeared in the fifteenth episode of the sixth season, ‘Arcadia’, the Ubermenscher is summoned by Gene Gogolak, the mastermind of a planned community, to kill residents who fail to obey the rules of the neighborhood. You just cannot miss out on how Gogolak faces his own death in the hands of the very own creation that he summoned in the first place.
The Flukeman
The Flukeman inarguably happens to be the most iconic X-Files monster of all time, leaving a lasting impression courtesy of its gruesome appearance. This cross between a human and a parasitic flukeworm was initially born in a developing soup of radioactive sewage. After making its way to the sewers of New Jersey, it has killed endless workers, bitten plenty of others, and transferred its larvae through its infectious bites. Let’s not even forget how it even tried reproducing with Agent Scully. This act definitely makes the creature score full points on the gross factor.
The Flukeman is so petrifying that it was the only case in which agent Scully said she would get rid of given a chance. What is truly nightmarish is the sight of the creature – everything from that flukeworm mouth to the white, slimy, blotchy skin is horrifying. You may not know this but Darin Morgan, who essays the deadly role of the Flukeman, had to wear two pairs of prescribed contact lenses, one layered over the other. While one of the pairs was used for the color, the other was put on top to create more of a milky look.
Like other flukes or flatworms, the Flukeman was capable of spontaneous regeneration, something that definitely makes this creature even ickier. Also, it was strong enough to drag its victims underwater along with it. Do watch out for the second episode of the second season, ‘The Host’, where The Flukeman not only lives up to its name but also does things that one cannot even begin to think of.
Tooms
The most frightening monsters are often those who look human on the outside. The same goes for Eugene Victor Tooms, who appears just like an average joe but in actuality is a mutant serial killer with the ability to stretch and elongate his body. The monstrous Tooms have been brutally killing people and feeding on their livers for about a century now. He also has an unbelievably low metabolic rate, something that lets him slip into hibernation. He is inactive for a period of 30 years in between his kills.
The fact that he can squeeze anywhere makes it all the more difficult to track him down. Also, he will never use the conventional points of entry when he is hunting down his targets in their very homes. Remember the particular scene where Tooms is shown climbing down a chimney to enter one of his victim’s houses? It’s bound to give you chills right away.
Let’s not forget his hibernation nest, something that he has created using newspaper scrapings and his very own gooey bile. That’s Tooms ticking all the terror boxes. No wonder this terrifying monster manages to appear in a sequel episode in the first season itself. There is no denying his popularity to date!
Leonard Betts
Meet Leonard Betts, who has the exceptional skill of regenerating literally any part of his body. When we say any part of his body, we are particularly referring to his decapitated head. Appearing in the titular 12th episode of the fourth season, the character of Leonard Betts needs to consume cancer in order to survive. The episode also marks a shocking revelation that not even Scully was initially aware of.
Addressing to all The X-Files fans out there, how can one not remember Bett’s famous dialogue with Scully? “You got something I need” is one of the major highlights of the entire episode and works in favor of the spine-chilling, grisly, horror episode. The entire concept of a monster feasting on something as uncurable as cancer takes the writing several notches higher and gives it an all-new definition. Also, one may not know this, but this particular entry was the highest-rated episode in the show’s original nine-season run.
Beggar Man
The tenth episode of the eighth season, ‘Badlaa’, puts stress on the fact that size is not everything. Our focus is on the Beggar Man, who even in a tiny form, has slaughtered his victims in the most gruesome manner imaginable.
To begin with, this tiny Indian mystic will kill somebody and then hide inside the stomach of the deceased victim. Yes, you heard that right. But that’s not all! He will go to the extent of even making it look like the person is still alive and control his victim from inside till he finds another new body to reside in. The whole idea of a serial killer small enough to actually hide inside a dead body can be freakishly frightening.
Also, there is something unsettling about the way the Beggar Man literally pulls himself along with the help of a wooden cart and those annoying squeaky wheels. One has to see it to get the feeling.
Rob Roberts
When it comes to Rob Roberts, he appears to be working as a fast-food restaurant employee. But then he has this one tiny problem – his insatiable hunger for human brains. Well, this brings us to who he really is. Adorning a human costume during the day, Roberts in his true form is some kind of a mutant humanoid creature with no hair, no ears, hardly a nose, a pair of soulless black eyes, and razor-sharp teeth.
While it is true that this predatory beast does his best to ignore his biological urges, God forbid if and when he cannot. The sight of his fatally sharp, proboscides tongue draining the brains out of the skull of his victims is not a pretty view.
Also, the third episode of the seventh season, ‘Hungry’, appears to be quite unique for the simple fact that the entire narrative has been told from the monster’s perspective, a monster who just cannot keep a check on his appetite. So, do not be appalled when you see agents Scully and Mulder appearing as enemies and trying to stop Roberts from feeding further. Trust us, they are doing the right thing!
Dream Demon – Tipet
This deranged cult leader happens to be a serial killer, one that is quite capable of manipulating people in their dreams to conduct real murders. Making a grand entrance in the seventh episode of the eighth season, ‘Via Negativa’, Anthony Tipet gives evil an all-new definition. The narrative focuses on how Scully takes a break from her hectic schedule to deal with the primary stages of her pregnancy and that leads to Doggett and Skinner working together, probing deeper into the furtive killing spree of a religious cult leader who slays his victims in their sleep. Who can forget the epic climax where Tippet successfully manages to possess Doggett and almost murders Scully with an axe?
We are very serious when we say that Tippet is someone we want absolutely nothing to do with. No wonder, this real-life demon haunts our dreams to this day even without looking like some terrestrial monster, to begin with. Watch out for this one!
Virgil Incanto
Where does one even begin to start talking about this sociopath? Meet Virgil Incanto, also known as ‘Fat-pire’ because of his unique ability to consume human flesh or in other words, human fat. Incanto was deficient of the enzymes that were needed to generate indispensable fatty acids. To continue living, he would regurgitate a phospholipase-containing slime to digest the body fat of his victims.
But Incanto had his preferences. He wouldn’t just go after anybody. He was someone who would carefully choose his victims at the online chat rooms using the name, 2Shy, because that’s where heavier women, according to him, would go in the first place. The fact that these women had more fat on their bodies made them Incanto’s ideal choice. But what’s even more terrifying is that he genuinely thought that with each murder, he was actually helping out his victims and he barely had any guilt on display for what he was doing.
Well, Virgil Incanto did meet his deserving fate when he died in prison due to the lack of oil and fat in his diet and we couldn’t be happier! If you want to dig deeper about Fat-pire, do give the sixth episode of the third season, ‘2Shy’ a definite watch!