Top 10 Pieces Of Spooky 'Star Wars' Content
In this month of Halloween, we at CultureSlate wanted to celebrate the season with a focus on Star Wars! The galaxy far, far away has many creepy tales delivered through many different mediums to franchise fans. We therefore thought it would be perfect to count down ten of these spooky stories!
10. 'Star Wars: Vader's Castle' The Deluxe Library Collection
The Vader’s Castle series of comics from IDW was an autumn staple for several years, and now they’re all being brought together into one big collection for readers to enjoy! Full of spooky stories drawing from many genres and characters from across Star Wars canon, this collection will have something in it for everyone. The beautiful artwork is also a major plus, and if people don’t feel like buying this recent omnibus of content, seeking out the smaller volumes or individual issues is also completely reasonable! Perfect for all ages, Vader’s Castle fits right in with Halloween.
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9. 'Resistance': Season 1 Episode 7 - "Signal From Sector Six"
Star Wars Resistance had a short run but reached into a range of genres for the various stories that it told. One of its earliest episodes was Signal From Sector Six from Season 1. Featuring a team-up between Poe Dameron and Kazuda Xiono, the pair of pilots fly to the aid of a cargo ship emitting a distress signal. Once aboard, the scary vibes begin, and despite a dose of Star Wars silliness, remains through the tense encounter with a monstrous Kowakian ape-lizard! Although a brief adventure, it is still an all-ages-friendly approach to scares.
8. 'Rebels': Season 2 Episode 5 - "Always Two There Are"
While it is fairly tame as a spooky story, the Season 2 Rebels episode Always Two There Are should not be underestimated. The episode is eerie as most of The Ghost Crew searches a derelict space station for important supplies while power remains off, and the group doesn't realize something is wrong. Abruptly, the gears change when not one but two Inquisitors appear, each scary in their own right and demanding creativity from the small team to escape unharmed. While the spooks of this episode do stop at a certain point, the well-paced horror scenario the episode begins with is perfect to get you started on any spooky episode-watch session!
7. 'Rebels': Season 3 Episode 11 - "Visions And Voices"
Rebels had other horror episodes during its run following the prior entry, but one of the spookier ones was Season 3’s Visions and Voices. Ezra begins to see Maul in and around the Rebel base on Atollon, this vision becoming a real voice as Maul reveals his presence, threatening to alert the Empire of the Rebel’s location unless Ezra comes with him. Voyaging to Dathomir (the first example of a theme throughout this list), Maul seeks the aid of a Nightsister ritual to correct the broken vision he and Ezra each acquired pieces of in the prior episode. However, Maul tries to cheat the spirits of his mother’s people, causing Kanan and Sabine (who had followed Maul and Ezra in secret) to become possessed! Forced to face the spirits alone when Maul leaves, Ezra seeks a way to help his friends. This far spookier episode features many great elements and is perfect to pair with a Halloween-tinged watch night.
6. 'Ahsoka': Season 1 Episode 8 - "Part Eight: The Jedi, The Witch And The Warlord"
With a fun title like The Jedi, the Witch and the Warlord, the finale episode of Ahsoka Season 1 might initially sound like a more standard Star Wars romp. However, this episode also features the culmination of ongoing story elements regarding the Great Mothers, witches of Dathomir allied with Grand Admiral Thrawn. First using their power to give Morgan Elsbeth the “Gift of Shadow” (which looks to be the origin of the black marks some Dathomir Nightsisters possess), they later use their skills to resurrect dozens of Thrawn’s fallen Night Troopers to impede the progress of Ezra, Sabine, and Ahsoka in their assault on the Great Mothers’ Fortress. While the spooks only last a short while in this episode, the live-action debut of zombies in Star Wars is not to be missed!
5. 'LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales'
One of the few examples of outright spooky Star Wars storytelling from beginning to end, Terrifying Tales takes its structure very much from the Vader’s Castle series, even featuring the character of Vaneé, who appeared in Rogue One and serves as a framing device for many of the aforementioned comics. Set after The Rise of Skywalker, Poe Dameron is forced to land his ship on Mustafar, where he runs into Graballa the Hutt, looking to transform Vader’s castle into a spooky hotel. In the adventure that follows, Vaneé tells three spooky stories before the climax of the story and also revels in the genre of horror. This animated film is perfect for enjoyers of LEGO-brand comedy, Star Wars, and spooky tales to be told after dark.
4. 'The Clone Wars': Season 2 Episode 7 - "Legacy Of Terror"
Season 2 of The Clone Wars dove deep into the genres of fiction, with episodes heavily referencing westerns, kaiju films, and horror flicks of decades past. Legacy of Terror, in particular, strongly pulls from zombie films. In the aftermath of previous episodes showing the military defeat of the Genosians, Luminara Unduli is lured into a trap by Poggle the Lesser. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin quickly leap into action to try and save her. Descending into catacombs deep beneath the planet, they encounter brain-worm-infested Geonosian corpses and the Genosian queen, Karina the Great, plotting her revenge against the Republic. Exactly how will the heroes defeat this deadly horde, especially as they are picked off one by one? Quite the spooky tale, and with plenty of suspense, this episode deserves a rewatch just in time for the Halloween season.
3. 'The Clone Wars': Season 4 Episode 19 - "Massacre"
Massacre is the last entry on this list to draw from the Dathomir grab-bag of spooks and spirits, but it is a potent one. An episode from Season 4 of The Clone Wars, Massacre depicts Asajj Ventress’ return to the Nightsisters after failing to kill Dooku in the previous season of the show. Becoming aware of this, Dooku sends General Grievous to wipe out the witches, and so begins an epic battle between witches and droids. The witches soon call upon their power and summon their undead sisters to aid them, bringing the animation debut of the Star Wars zombie to the screen. Fast and relatively powerful against the droids that stand against them, they present a terrifying and effective force that would most certainly have routed an organic enemy army. This is also one of the rare pieces of zombie media where you’ll be rooting for the zombies! Go give it a watch and enjoy the spooky carnage.
2. 'Darth Maul: Black, White & Red' #1
This first issue of Darth Maul: Black, White & Red features an interesting story exploring a mission Maul went on for Sidious to a prison ship with some of Sidious’ enemies aboard. Dark Side cultists once allied with the Sith, they were now enemies and were supposed to be incarcerated. However, as Maul finds, the cult has broken free, and its unique alien members have caused all sorts of horrible events across the ship. Full of stunning imagery, eldritch elements, and savage fighting, this spooky comic issue is perfect reading for the season.
1. 'Edge Of Balance: Precedent'
This is one of Star Wars canon’s few direct horror stories, not an in-universe tale told to others like in the Vader’s Castle series, but an honest-to-goodness eldritch-tinged tale of fear, insanity, and conflict. Azlin Rell, once a normal, well-meaning Jedi, was part of the group that was at the Night of Sorrow on the planet Dalna. There, the Nameless affected him in a way unlike any other Jedi. He escaped their clutches, but his mind broke, and he began to manically write a journal full of notes and ramblings. This tale is a key part of The High Republic, but also a genuinely scary story. The manga is full of amazing illustrations that will send chills up the spine of any reader and a main character’s fall into derangement that is gripping to engage with.
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Source(s): Vader’s Castle: The Deluxe Library Collection, Star Wars Resistance, Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka, Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red 1, Edge of Balance: Precedent