Them: 10 Scariest Moments From The First Season

In the past few years, television horror has had somewhat of a renaissance. Through stand-alone episodes such as “Teddy Perkins”—one of Atlanta‘s best episodes according to IMDb—and TV shows such as Lovecraft Country and The Haunting of Hill House, TV shows have proven that they can be just as scary as their feature film counterparts.

Released this May, Amazon Prime’s Them has definitely proven to be one of the scariest television shows of its time. Combining supernatural horrors with the horrors of real-life racism, this series has many moments that are guaranteed to leave viewers shaking.

10 Cheerleading Practice

As they watch a cheerleading practice seemingly taking place in the school basement, Doris convinces Ruby to join them and start dancing. As she does, the cheerleaders start twisting their bodies in gruesome and disturbing ways before it’s revealed that Ruby is in the basement by herself.

Building on Ruby’s lack of awareness that Doris is a ghost, this scene is effective due to the use of silence in the scene, the grotesque sound effects of the cheerleaders distorting their bodies, and the final image of Ruby dancing alone. It’s one of the most disturbing things available on any streaming platform.

9 Cat In A Bag

Possibly the most disturbing scene of the entire series, Lucky finds herself trying to evade a group of racists that have broken into her house before they capture her and sexually assault her. While the assault is occurring, she’s forced to watch as other members of the group put her newborn child in a bag and tauntingly throw the bag around until the newborn is dead.

This scene is incredibly disturbing, with the racists creepily singing “Cat In The Bag” as they commit horrifying acts. The sequence is so distressing for viewers that many have said that they won’t be able to forget it. In addition, Amazon has released an accompanying video of the show’s creator explaining why that scene is the show.

8 The Janitor Closet

After an emotional and eye-opening kiss, Doris and Ruby are found in the Janitor’s Closet and promptly kicked out. As Ruby leaves, the janitor catches a quick glimpse of a pale Doris with her eye missing, revealing that Doris is secretly a ghost.

This scare works due to its sudden appearance. There’s no buildup to this moment, with viewers just assuming this will be a nice and emotional moment for them. In addition, the show doesn’t really hint that Doris is a ghost before this reveal, making the twist all the more shocking.

7 Miss Vera’s Introduction

In the climax of the pilot, Gracie goes downstairs at night to see a figure sitting in the living room. Slowly, the figure gets up and reveals themselves to be an incredibly tall figure dressed as if they’re from the 1800s before grabbing Gracie’s face.

This is a sequence filled with expert tension from the moment that Gracie sees the figure sitting there, which is heightened when the figure stands up and walks over to Gracie. The series’ first major jump scare, this puts viewers on edge and gives them an idea about what is to come.

6 Lucky’s Lucky Escape From The Johnsons

When Lucky visits Mrs. Johnson, the matriarch of the other black family in the neighborhood, something seems off about her. After Lucky sees bloodstains on the walls that came from Mrs. Johnson murdering her children, she escapes from the house as the bloody and wheelchair-bound Mr. Johnson cries out to her.

Viewers are immediately aware that something is off at the beginning of the scene, which causes the tension to rise up to her frantic escape. The images of the bloodstained walls and Mr. Johnson crying out to Lucky are very disturbing and hard to forget.

5 Henry Watches TV

As Henry laughs at the TV while home alone by himself, he slowly starts to realize that he isn’t the only one laughing. He looks over to see Da Tap Dance Man sitting next to him on the couch, menacingly laughing and snarling at him.

This sequence works due to the tense build-up, as well as a fake-out in the middle of the scene. As Henry starts to notice the laughter, he looks to his side to see that no one is there. Viewers are led to believe that the laughter was the scene’s big scare before it’s reintroduced and Henry sees Da Tap Dance Man.

4 Lucky Meets Ms. Vera

When Lucky travels down to the basement with Gracie, Gracie introduces her to Miss Vera, who is standing in a corner. Initially unable to see her, Lucky rushes upstairs when she catches a glimpse of Miss Vera and tells Gracie not to mention this to Henry.

A hold-your-breath scene to rival some of cinema’s best, viewers slowly start to see Ms. Vera throughout the sequence as Lucky starts to notice her smell. Therefore, viewers feel a similar amount of fright as Lucky does when she sees Ms. Vera for the first time, heightening this scare.

3 Where’s Sergeant?

Just as the Emory are starting to learn how racist their neighbors are, their dog, Sergeant, goes missing. After searching throughout the house, they find his body lying in the basement with his neck grotesquely twisted around.

This is an incredibly disturbing visual, and it’s one that is all the more powerful due to the ambiguity. Viewers are led to question if the racists were the ones who did this, or if Sergeant died at the hands of something much more supernatural.

2 Da Tap Dance Man In The Diner

As Henry sits in the diner, he has a conversation with Da Tap Dance Man, where Da Tap Dance Man goes into a deep monologue about his exaggerated experiences working on a plantation. As the conversation continues, Henry starts to lose his connection with reality more and more until the scene ends with Henry laughing by himself in the diner.

A beefy monologue, this scene really works because of Da Tap Dance Man’s intense facial expressions and creepy backstory, as well as Henry’s fragile perception of reality. The scene tells a disturbing story about racism, which also adds to the overall creepiness.

1 Lucky Attacks Gracie

At the end of episode 7, Lucky suddenly finds herself under the control of The Man In The Black Hat. Wielding an ax, The Man convinces her to start attacking Gracie with it before Lucky comes to and realizes what she’s doing.

Another great use of tension, viewers find themselves standing squarely in the shoes of Gracie. Gracie doesn’t really understand much of what is going on, which is very similar to how the viewers are feeling. Therefore, her fear when Lucky attacks her with the ax feels potent and real.

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