20+ Scary Episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog

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Horror content creator Sydney Bermudez breaks down the most terrifying episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Freaky Fred

2 King Ramses’ Curse

3 The House of Discontent

4 The Demon in the Mattress

5 Perfect

6 A Night at the Katz Motel

7 Courage in the Big Stinkin’ City

8 Heads of Beef

9 The Mask

10 The Great Fusilli

11 Queen of the Black Puddle

12 Car Broke, Phone Yes

13 Everyone Wants to Direct

14 Windmill Vandals

15 The Shadow of Courage

16 Evil Weevil

17 Night of the Weremole

18 Feast of the Bullfrogs

19 The Quilt Club

20 The Clutching Foot

21 The Magic Tree of Nowhere

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Co-authored by Sydney Bermudez and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: January 21, 2026 Fact Checked

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If you loved creepy things as a kid, you probably watched a lot of Courage the Cowardly Dog. While the entire show is filled with eerie villains and visuals, some are a lot more haunting than others. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of some of the scariest Courage the Cowardly Dog episodes so you can relive your childhood nightmares. We also spoke with horror content creator Sydney Bermudez for insights on what makes specific episodes so scary and memorable.

The Top 5 Terrifying Courage Episodes

Horror content creator Sydney Bermudez says the scariest episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog are:

• “King Ramses’ Curse” (Season 1, Episode 7)
• “Freaky Fred” (Season 1, Episode 4)
• “The Mask” (Season 4, Episode 7)
• “Courage in the Big Stinkin’ City” (Season 2, Episode 2)
• “Perfect” (Season 4, Episode 13)

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1

Freaky Fred

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 4 “Freaky Fred” is probably “one of the most disturbing episodes psychologically,” says Bermudez. “Courage’s calm, polite demeanor mixed with something clearly wrong is deeply creepy.” The episode is told through a grotesque, sing-song narration, as Muriel’s nephew comes to the farmhouse for a visit. Fred is a skinny man with a creepy grin and sharp scissors, and viewers are constantly reminded that he’s “naughty.”

   • Where can I watch Courage the Cowardly Dog? As of January 2026, the show isn’t currently available for streaming. You can, however, buy episodes or full seasons on Prime Video or Apple TV.

   Meet the wikiHow Expert

   Sydney Bermudez is a horror content creator and Mexican folklore and urban legends expert. She explores paranormal cases, internet mysteries, and psychological horror, with over 400k followers on Instagram and TikTok.
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2

King Ramses’ Curse

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 7 In “King Ramses’ Curse,” a mystical Egyptian tablet has been stolen… and ends up in Eustace’s hands. As it turns out, the tablet is cursed, and the spirit of King Ramses sets 3 plagues upon Courage’s home. While the plot is simple, fans are often disturbed by Ramses’ CGI design and spooky, droning voice that proclaims, “Return the slab or suffer my curse.”

   • This episode is legendary, according to Bermudez. “The ‘Return the slab’ scene, the eerie CGI, and the slow, quiet tension make it genuinely unsettling.”

3

The House of Discontent

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1. 
   Season 2, Episode 12 “The House of Discontent” is known for its creepy visuals. After Eustace fails to grow any crops during the harvest season, he proclaims he’s done trying to grow anything, which angers the Spirit of the Harvest Moon. The spirit, with its giant, glowing white face, proceeds to cause chaos reminiscent of the movie Poltergeist. Did we mention the spirit’s head is live-action? Talk about creepy!
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4

The Demon in the Mattress

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 3 “The Demon in the Mattress” is themed around The Exorcist, so it’s no surprise this is one of the most frightening episodes! Muriel gets possessed by the demon in her new mattress, causing her to levitate, vomit, and spin her head around. Courage even performs an exorcism.

5

Perfect

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1. 
   Season 4, Episode 13 “Perfect” is the final episode of the series, in which Eustace forces Courage to take classes with an elderly schoolteacher who insists upon perfection. She constantly berates him, which causes him to have nightmares about his imperfections. Many fans clearly remember the strange 3D figure that appears in one of these nightmares, but all the nightmares are uniquely horrifying.

   • “It’s not traditional horror, but the anxiety and pressure in this episode feel painfully intense and unsettling,” says Bermudez.
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6

A Night at the Katz Motel

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 1 “A Night at the Katz Motel” introduces viewers to Katz, a recurring villain in the series. The episode is an homage to Psycho, in which Muriel, Eustace, and Courage are forced to find shelter when driving home during a storm. They then meet Katz, the motel’s owner, who secretly plans to feed them to his collection of giant man-eating spiders. His presence is accompanied by sinister theme music, and fans are rightfully creeped out by his sadistic personality.

7

Courage in the Big Stinkin’ City

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   Season 2, Episode 2 The majority of “Courage in the Big Stinkin’ City” might not be that scary, but many fans are scarred by its most infamous scene. While visiting New York City, Courage is sent on a quest to fetch a mysterious package from an apartment full of terrors. He finds monsters behind each door, most notably a jump scare of a girl who turns around to reveal a screaming claymation face. We won’t forget that any time soon!

   • The grim atmosphere and bizarre villains make this episode feel surreal and oppressive, according to Bermudez.
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8

Heads of Beef

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 1 If you want a kid to avoid eating burgers, watching “Heads of Beef” is certainly the way to do it! In this episode, Muriel is too sick to cook, so Eustace and Courage are trying to find a cheap meal. They happen upon a diner, but Courage grows suspicious when he finds a face in his burger and thinks he sees the owner’s wife eating a customer’s head. This ends up being a misunderstanding, but the implications of cannibalism are still creepy.

9

The Mask

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1. 
   Season 4, Episode 7 Not only is “The Mask” creepy, but it’s also thematically dark. A strange woman wearing a porcelain mask arrives at the farmhouse and keeps trying to kill Courage because she hates dogs. Her name is revealed to be Kitty, and she’s drifting after losing her best friend, Bunny, to the abusive gangster Mad Dog. Fans are creeped out by Kitty’s mask but praise the episode for its honest depiction of domestic violence.

   • “This episode is dark, emotional, and surprisingly mature. The themes and the disturbing bunny mask really stick with you,” says Bermudez.
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10

The Great Fusilli

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 13 This episode stars the Great Fusilli, an alligator conman who offers the Bagges parts in his traveling stage show. This is no ordinary show, however, as he transforms Muriel and Eustace into marionettes. Even after Courage defeats Fusilli, Muriel and Eustace are still puppets. The show ends with Courage trying to reenact daily life with theri inanimate forms. That’s pretty dark for a cartoon!

   • This episode was also planned as the series finale, so some fans theorize that everything that happens in the following 3 seasons is made up. The events are Courage’s delusions as he continues puppeteering his former owners.

11

Queen of the Black Puddle

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 9 In “Queen of the Black Puddle,” Eustace is seduced by the Queen of the Black Puddle, a siren water demon, who is a siren-like creature who lives in the reflection of water. She takes Eustace to her realm, where she plans to eat him. While she appears beautiful at first, she later transforms into a hideous fish monster. Luckily, Courage is able to save the day and reunite Eustace and Muriel.
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12

Car Broke, Phone Yes

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1. 
   Season 2, Episode 10 “Car Broke, Phone Yes” is set up like a classic sci-fi horror. Courage sees an asteroid land near the farmhouse, and soon after a mysterious stranger knocks at the door. He’s wearing a large trench coat and hat, with nothing but his bulging eyes visible, and when he speaks, he only says, “Car broke, phone yes?” Courage soon discovers the man is actually an alien with just a brain, two eyes, and two tentacles. Yikes!

13

Everyone Wants to Direct

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 9 In “Everyone Wants to Direct,” Muriel and Eustace are starstruck when the famed director Benton Tarantella knocks on their door. In fact, they’re so starstruck that they don’t realize the man is clearly a zombie. Courage soon discovers Tarantella and his partner were serial killers who disguised themselves as directors to lure their victims. While Tarantella died in prison, his partner was buried beneath the farmhouse! This episode is a good reminder not to trust strangers.
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14

Windmill Vandals

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   Season 4, Episode 3 This episode tells the story of the Windmill Vandals who plagued the town of Nowhere 250 years ago and were defeated by the farmer who built the Bagge home, Jiles Galette. Galette possessed a magical windmill that would keep the Vandals at bay as long as it kept spinning. In present day, the Vandals return as skeleton warriors with realistic weapons. They have a more realistic appearance than other Courage villains, making them more intimidating and scary.

15

The Shadow of Courage

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   Season 1, Episode 2 In “The Shadow of Courage,” an old scientist dies, and his shadow roams around Nowhere scaring the locals until it gets scared itself and flees to the Bagge farmhouse. The shadow torments the family throughout the night by impersonating different people and scenarios. The impersonations are scary and violent, like when it depicts Muriel getting decapitated, cut in half with a circular saw, and burned on a pyre.
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16

Evil Weevil

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1. 
   Season 2, Episode 11 The “Evil Weevil” episode makes viewers wary of helping those in need. When Eustace accidentally hits a humanoid fly with his truck, Muriel insists on bringing it home and treating it to dessert. However, the situation quickly turns sinister when Courage notices the fly sucking Eustace and Muriel’s blood. No, thank you!

17

Night of the Weremole

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 5 “Night of the Weremole” is a nod to classic werewolf stories. While working in her garden, Muriel is bitten by a weremole and turns into a monstrous beast herself. Courage seeks Dr. Vindaloo for help, but Muriel attacks him and turns him into a weremole, too. Muriel’s appearance is totally freaky, and this episode leaves viewers stressed, as it ends on a cliffhanger featuring Eustace being attacked by Dr. Vindaloo.
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18

Feast of the Bullfrogs

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   Season 3, Episode 7 In “Feast of the Bullfrogs,” a group of giant bullfrogs led by King Bufo invade the Bagge household to make it their new pond. They threaten violence and force Muriel and Eustace to behave like frogs. Bufo then wants to eat them in a celebratory feast. What makes this episode so scary is the way Bufo strong-arms the Bagges into being frogs, to the point they can only speak in croaks.

19

The Quilt Club

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1. 
   Season 3, Episode 12 “The Quilt Club” is a visually dark episode with a dingy, monotone background and haunting organ music. After meeting Elisa and Eliza Stitch, the conjoined twins who run the local craft shop, Muriel becomes obsessed with making samples that will earn her a spot in their exclusive club. When she finally gets in, Courage discovers it’s a trap. The club is actually the sisters’ quilt itself, which is a vessel that traps the souls of its members to feed Elisa and Eliza’s immortality.
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20

The Clutching Foot

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1. 
   Season 1, Episode 7 “The Clutching Foot” is a great example of body horror. Eustace gets a foot fungus that rapidly expands until it covers his entire body. It then transforms into a giant, sentient purple foot that threatens to squish Muriel and forces Courage to commit crime in their stead. Pretty disturbing, if you ask us!

21

The Magic Tree of Nowhere

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1. 
   Season 2, Episode 1 In this episode, a magic, talking tree grows near the farmhouse. Eustace gets jealous of the attention it’s getting and wants to chop it down, so Courage must protect it. What makes this episode so creepy is the tree’s appearance. The tree itself is animated, but it has a live-action mouth. Courage also lets out a disturbing cry of anguish when Eustace succeeds in his plan. Though it’s hinted that the tree will return someday, it’s a pretty sad ending to the episode.
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