Top Ten Spookiest Sonic Moments!

I'm a pretty big horror fan. It's probably come up before. If you read my movie review blog, you know horror is easily my favorite cinematic genre. Right now, I'm on the penultimate day of a six week long marathon of horror movies and TV shows I do every September and October. I even wrote a book of horror stories. The points is: I like things that are scary, spooky, creepy, and weird.

My interest in horror and my “Sonic the Hedgehog” fandom don't cross over very often. As a franchise pitched at kids, the many incarnations of “Sonic” rarely have any reason to approach horrific topics. Occasionally though, something will emerge from the “Sonic” universe that nears creepiness. The series has never been scary, in my opinion, but every once in a while it is mildly spooky. In order to celebrate Halloween – objectively the only good holiday – I've compiled a list below of what I think are the spookiest “Sonic” moments, across as many medias as possible. Me being who I am, the bent here is towards the classic era. If there's anything you felt should've been included, let me know in the comments.

One disclaimer though: I'm sticking strictly to official, Sega-approved “Sonic” stuff. No fan fiction or fan art. And especially no “Sonic” creepypastas, all of which are stupid, un-scary bullshit.

10. Pumpkin Hill Zone

There's actually nothing scary about Pumpkin Hill Zone, one of Knuckles' levels from “Sonic Adventure 2.” However, there's no way I'm doing a Halloween-themed list of “Sonic” stuff without mentioning this level. It is, in fact, an entire Halloween themed stage. Mountains loom in the distance, their peaks carved into massive Jack O' Lanterns, that stare ominously. Tombstones litter the area, among industrial looking machinery and gothic bridges. The enemies, meanwhile, are primarily ghosts. There have been a few other haunted house themed “Sonic” stages over the years but this is the best one. It's a shame that rap soundtrack ruins the atmosphere. I'd recommend muting the stage music and putting on a spooky sounds tape instead.

9. Perfect Chaos

The final boss battle in the majority of Sonic games are a fairly intense affair. The stomping, massive robot that Robotnik pilots in “Sonic and Knuckles” is certainly a runner-up for the title of “scariest final boss.” Yet Perfect Chaos gets the nod for a  couple of reason. First off, the cut scenes of the massive monster flooding Station Square was definitely one of “Sonic Adventure's” most suspenseful affairs. The monster's giant size and mad starring eyes bring some Lovecraftian abominations to mind. The wrecked cities are certainly a grimmer sight than you might expect too. It all adds up to make a pretty spooky affair.

8. "Sonic's Scream Test"

I'm not a huge fan of “Sonic X,” especially when it comes to the ear-splitting English dub. However, I will give some props to the nineteenth episode of the first season. The plot concerns Sonic and friends exploring a haunted castle, the filming location for Chris' Mom's latest movie. Soon, ghostly spectres begin to fuck everybody's shit up.

The ghosts drag people through doors and even possess living beings. This is foreshadowed when Chris' Mom's reflection turns weird on her, starring suddenly at the audience. Later, Amy gets possessed too. In probably the only example of a jump scare on this show, Amy Rose's eyelids clamp up like a machine, revealing demonic eyes and a ghoulish grin. She then floats a few inches above the ground, pursuing her friends.

This is still “Sonic X,” so the ghosts are easily defeated and have silly faces. However, I can imagine this really freaking out the five-to-seven crowd this show was designed for. If nothing else, I'll give the writers and animators points for going there. The Archie comic that followed on this episode was also pretty good.

7. Giant Robotno

The “Giant Robotno” story, which appeared in Sonic Super Special #12, is a fairly obscure bit of “Sonic” lore. It's also the only example of straight-up body horror I can think from a “Sonic” comic. Sonic visits an alternate universe where his friends and family have been transformed into giant monsters. The sight of Sonic's friends and family being mutated into giant, hideous monstrosity is certainly off-putting. The artwork is goofy but effectively gross too. That the story concludes with Sonic tearing out the heart of the kaiju version of his dad continues the grim, unsettling tone this tale has.

6. "Sonic's Nightmare"

“Sonic's Nightmare” is a pretty good episode of SatAM. The Freedom Fighters attempt to thwart a plan by Robotnik to create acid rain. In the process, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine get captured, forcing Sonic to rescue them. That stuff is pretty cool but it's not what fans really remember about this one. As the title indicates, Sonic is haunted throughout the episode by a nightmare. In his dream, he races through a thunder storm, gets his feet stuck in mud, witnesses Sally getting shoved into a Robotocizer, and then falls to his death. All the way, Sally's mocking voice rings in his head.

That's mildly spooky, as far as Saturday morning is concerned. The second reprise of the nightmare is especially creepy. In that dream, we actually see Sally turned into machine. She watches in terror as her limbs are replaced by machinery. Lastly, her face and hair lurched in horror as she changes. Before totally becoming a robot, Kath Soucie gives us her best blood curdling scream. Chew on that, you fucking six-year-old.

5. Super Sonic in “Sonic the Comic”

Sonic fans are pathetically meek, I've found. Most of the shit listed on the franchise's TV Troupes Nightmare Fuel page is weak sauce to a hardened horror fan like myself. But I'll give the editors of that site bonus points for including one aspect. In the video games and American comics, Super Sonic is just Sonic's super-powered form, activated whenever he grabs enough rings or Chaos Emeralds.

In the U.K. published “Sonic the Comic,” Super Sonic is a psychotic alternate personality of the hero. It's Sonic without any self-control or morals. I would never call the character spooky but, for those used to Sonic's light-hearted and heroic antics, this Super Sonic is certainly a shocking sight. That he's topped off with mad, red spirals for eyes sells it for me.

4. Ghosts in Sandopolis Zone

If Pumpkin Hill Zone is the first explicitly Halloween-themed “Sonic” stage, “Sandopolis Zone” from “Sonic and Knuckles” is the first explicitly spooky Sonic stage. I'm talking about the second half of the zone. After Sonic enters a giant pyramid, the player discovers that the lights in the zone will dim if you don't periodically activate a lantern. Once the lights go out, white sheet ghosts will appear above you. If the stage grows entirely dark, the ghosts grow devil horns and attack you. This shit was pretty freaky to me as a kid. The ghosts certainly make a stage that is already maze-like and difficult to navigate even more nerve wracking.

3. Creepy Faces in Sonic CD

“Sonic CD” was a game that included a number of secrets and hidden pictures. Buried within the game was a very peculiar image. The black and blue background shows repeated images of Sonic with the distorted, grinning face of mustachioed old man. In the forefront of the image is some Japanese text, undecipherable to most of us. Some fans have translated this message as being signed with the phrase “Majin,” a Japanese word for demon. In other words: This is a personal message from the devil himself.

What really makes this Easter egg especially spooky is the music. The genuinely eerie “Sonic CD” boss theme plays over this secret screen. That music includes throbbing low synth, discordant chimes, and a reverberating evil laugh. Imagine being a kid and stumbling upon this shit! The odd image, when paired with the creepy music, easily makes this one of the spookiest Sonic moments.

2. Sally's Death in “Endgame”

Let's do some role playing. It's March of 1997. You're nine years old. You're a devoted reader of Archie's “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book, which continues the story that began on the Saturday morning cartoon show you fell in love with a few years earlier. Princess Sally has awoken strange feelings that aren't entirely understood inside readers all around the world.

Anyway, you open up issue 47 of the series and, within a few pages, you're greeted to the image of your beloved princess falling to her death. The artwork lingers on her descent, on her impact with the ground. Her body goes limp. Later in the book, the other characters weep at her apparent death. Yes, “Endgame” is a story line with considerable baggage, with Sally's seeming death being undone before it was over. But that page devoted to her fall? Pretty startling stuff for a “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic book.

1. The Drowning Music and the Advancing Wall of Doom

As the title of this blog indicates, Sonic the Hedgehog can't swim, at least not in the Sega video games. The original trilogy for the Sega Genesis made this fact especially evident by peppering the games with underwater stages. As Sonic sank towards the ground, moving slowly in the water, chimes occasionally pinged in the background. If enough passed, the most terrifying fucking music in the history of video games would began playing. A countdown flashed on screen, the soundtrack frantically pounding away at your ears. The message was clear: Get your ass to an air bubble poste hast or fucking die, shithead. You didn't always make it.

The only thing that could make Sonic drowning to death more upsetting is when underwater stages were paired with the advancing wall of doom. I'm thinking of stuff like the boss portion of Labyrinth Zone or the beginning of Hydro City: Act 2. Now you have to deal with utter death coming at you from one direction while the threat of drowning hangs over your head. I swear to God, this is the reason why I developed anxiety problems as a kid.


This is my favorite time of year, faithful Hedgehogs Can't Swim readers. Tomorrow, watch as many damn horror movies as you can, dress up, eat shit tons of candy, and embrace the spookiest day of the year. It only comes once a year so make the Devil proud! From my morbid heart to yours: Happy Halloween!