Courage the Cowardly Dog is a wonderfully weird Cartoon Network classic that follows the titular mutt as he faces spooky supernatural misadventures. The comedy horror series is set at an isolated farmhouse where he lives with the loving Scottish woman Muriel and cruel grump Eustace, and showcases the many frightening foes and forces Courage must protect the duo from. Having made its debut in 1999, the show ran for four chilling seasons and was a smash hit for the network, winning both an Annie and Golden Reel Award during its tenure.
From terrifying demons to flesh-craving zombies, ancient Egyptian curses and even a foul fungus, the program has had its fair share of creepy moments that left audiences both old and young sleeping with the lights on. Fans of the paranoid pooch rejoiced when the character and show headlined a crossover film with Scooby-Doo called Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog in 2021. The series gained a reputation for its spine-tingling content, and is without-a-doubt one of the most memorable and iconic cartoons of the ‘90s and 2000s. These are some of the scariest moments that creeped out kids.
9 Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Clutching Foot
Viewers with a major disdain for feet were further repulsed by the episode “The Clutching Foot”, which depicts the mean-spirited Eustace as he discovers a hideous, bright purple fungus that has begun to take over his entire body after starting at his foot. His swollen and constantly-growing foot hilariously features five talking gangster toes, with Big Toe serving as the leader of the 1930s inspired mobster group.
It gets disturbing when the fungus completely consumes Eustace and threatens to squish Muriel unless Courage helps them rob a bank, leading to an epic showdown between the petrified pooch and the nasty mass of fungus. Making the episode even more disgusting, Courage’s only way to defeat Big Toe and his goons is by licking the foot with his cure-ridden saliva.
8 Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Demon in the Mattress
Inspired by the 1970s classic horror flick The Exorcist, “The Demon in the Mattress” follows Courage as he desperately tries to save his beloved master Muriel from a mattress-dwelling demon, who possesses her and transforms the doting woman into an evil and sinister being. The freaky episode pays homage to the ‘70s horror staple and its main character Reagan by transforming Muriel’s sweet Scottish drawl into a deep, eerie growl and even making her head spin around, topping off the terrifying tribute by having her vomit all over Eustace. Just like its inspiration material The Exorcist, the episode is downright spooky and gives viewers an ominous feeling throughout its entirety.
7 Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Mask
Perhaps not the most frightening on the list but certainly the most unsettling, the episode entitled “The Mask” centers on a mysterious woman in a haunting porcelain mask that shows up at the Bagge’s farm and silently stalks Courage, eventually attacking the character while malevolently declaring “all dogs are evil.” The fact that the strange, masked figure initially stays silent and has it out for man’s best friend is alarming, as is the threatening organ music that plays upon her arrival. While the enigmatic figure proves to ultimately be a feline named Kitty looking for a little help rescuing her friend, Courage is convinced the unnerving porcelain mask is wicked and the root of everyone’s problems, and its dead-eyed design is haunting.
6 Courage the Cowardly Dog: Everyone Wants to Direct
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Lights, camera, zombies! In “Everyone Wants to Direct,” Courage, Muriel, and Eustace are visited by the grisly filmmaker Benton Tarantella, who pretends to want the older couple to headline his new creature feature at the Bagge farmhouse but secretly wants to act out a nefarious ritual on the land. Benton is desperate to resurrect his dead partner Errol Von Volkheim, and manipulates Muriel and Eustace into acting out the rite; Courage learns that the two “directors” are actually serial killers who pretended to be in show business in order to lure their victims in. The episode showcases Benton’s body parts falling off (revealing his true zombie nature) and features the undead duo attempting to eat Muriel, with Courage ultimately saving the day in the nick of time, but not before a whole lot of disturbing innuendos.
5 Courage the Cowardly Dog: Freaky Fred
With his disturbing Cheshire grin, unsettling green eyes, and menacing furrowed brows, “Freaky Fred” is one of Courage the Cowardly Dog’s most eerie and chill-inducing characters of the series. In the ominous episode, Muriel’s odd nephew Fred arrives for a visit, unnerving audiences the second his creepy face appears on-screen. Fred’s bizarre behavior and spine-tingling voice describing his inner-monologues instantly sets you on edge, especially when he discusses the “naughty” things he has done in his life.
It is revealed that the grinning-menace escaped from an insane asylum to pursue a career as a barber, eventually trapping poor Courage at the end of the episode and shaving him. The episode is a parody of the popular musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and while ultimately pretty harmless, creates a hauntingly unforgettable character.
4 Courage the Cowardly Dog: Queen of the Black Puddle
After an intense thunderstorm, a foreboding puddle remains behind that Courage warily investigates, and he is shocked when it transforms into a stunning queen who shows off her razor sharp teeth and hisses at him. The evil woman bewitches Eustace and attempts to lure him down the drain during his bath in a horrifying sequence, later kidnapping him and dragging the old man down into the eerie puddle.
Courage rightfully hates Eustace, but realizes that in order to make Muriel happy again he must rescue her cruel husband, following the duo into the Queen’s lair. Viewers are left freaked out when the once beautiful character becomes a hideous monster determined to completely devour Eustace, with Courage spookily noticing skeletons littering the ground around them. The dramatic transformation of the Queen and pseudo graveyard of previous fallen prey is downright creepy.
3 Courage the Cowardly Dog: King Ramses' Curse
One of Courage the Cowardly Dog’s most infamous and spine-tingling episodes was none other than “King Ramses’ Curse,” which follows the Bagges as they discover an ancient Egyptian relic worth a million dollars that was stolen from a Pharaoh’s tomb. Eustace decides he wants to keep the slab and make a hefty profit, resulting in the family being plagued by three curses attached to it. The ghost of Ramses chillingly appears outside the farmhouse the following night, threatening Eustace to “return the slab” in a goosebump-worthy fashion; the terrifying villain flows ominously in the wind and unleashes violent plagues upon the Bagges, including water consuming their home, an incessant record playing on repeat, and destructive locusts. The episode is widely regarded by fans of the series as one of the scariest of all time.
2 Courage the Cowardly Dog: A Night at the Katz Motel
Courage faces many foes throughout the course of the spooky series, and the program kicks off its thrilling run with the nervous pooch facing off with an evil cat. The Bagges are forced to stay in the Katz Motel when they are stranded during a storm, and its titular proprietor uses a monstrous spider to attack Muriel in the bathtub (in a truly tense scene), who manages to flush it down the toilet. When Courage runs down to the basement in pursuit of Katz, he is alarmed when he finds himself smack dab in the middle of the den of the giant spiders. Those suffering from arachnophobia could hardly watch the creepy-crawly installment, as poor Courage is nearly smothered to death by the creatures before Muriel rescues him from the demented Katz.
1 Courage the Cowardly Dog: Heads of Beef
Meat lovers everywhere bit off more than they could chew when they tuned into the unsettling “Heads of Beef” episode, in which Courage and Eustace dine out at a mysterious burger restaurant that leaves the canine concerned that something sinister is afoot. Even though the joint is run by two seemingly innocent pigs, Courage grows paranoid that they may not actually be using cow’s meat after he witnesses a man enter the establishment but not leave.
After some sleuthing by the cowardly mutt, Courage is convinced the pigs are eating the patrons and using them as the burger’s secret ingredient, ultimately escaping from their clutches. Though it is revealed that the Pigs aren’t in fact cold-blooded killers, the grotesque imagery and concept of cannibalism in a kids' show definitely gave viewers the heebie-jeebies.