Top 20 Darkest Nickelodeon Episodes

No matter how many times Drake and Josh argue, they always make up in the end. But after Drake causes Josh to miss an exam, Josh has had enough. He basically cuts Drake out of his life and moves on without him. Drake is sure that Josh is nothing without him, but boy is he proven wrong. Josh’s life improves while Drake’s falls apart without his stepbrother. After an intense apology scene, Josh forgives Drake, and the dynamic duo is reunited. Usually, we get a laugh out of the brothers’ fights, but seeing the dramatic tone shift was unnerving. We can’t help but wonder if Josh really should’ve forgiven Drake.

In a grim flashback episode, we see Josh and Parker’s first day at Mr. Meaty. It’s revealed that their boss, Wink, was once a cheerful manager. But everything changes when the two teens find the frozen body of the company’s founder, Edward R. Carney, and wake him up. The deranged fast-food tycoon wastes no time taking back his company and reveals a contract stating that Wink is now HIS property. He can shock and torture his employee at will using a chip in his head, transforming Wink into the bitter, broken man he is in the present day show. While fans might remember the infamous tapeworm episode more, seeing Wink's tragic origin left us chilled to the bone.

The 2012 “Ninja Turtles” series balanced its comedic tone with some sinister moments, from spine-tingling horror movie tribute episodes to facing gruesome enemies. But nothing made us shiver in fright more than the penultimate episode of season four, “Requiem.” Splinter and Super Shredder face off in a dramatic duel. But just when it feels like the Turtles have won, Shredder impales their adoptive father with his claws. While Splinter has cheated death before, this time, there is no coming back — the great Hamato Yoshi is no more. Our hearts instantly shatter seeing the Turtles mourn for their master, and knowing they’ll have to carry on in his honor.

The popular story of “It’s a Wonderful Life” is pretty dark, even if it all wraps up with sentimental holiday cheer. But what if a kids’ show took the concept and gave it a bleak twist? Timmy angrily wishes he was never born when nobody appreciates his attempts at good deeds. He's certain that everyone will be miserable without him, but Jorgen shows him how much better life is without him. It turns out that this was all a test to teach Timmy a lesson about not doing good deeds just to be recognized for them. The episode paints a pretty harsh picture of Timmy’s character, even if he learns an okay lesson at the end.

Are you afraid of going in the water? This episode is almost guaranteed to make it worse. A local pool is haunted by an angry creature that pulls unsuspecting victims to their watery deaths. Outside of a horrific smell, the ghoul is hard to spot, but its true form is that of a blood-red corpse — we liked it better when we couldn’t see it. The horror anthology series was never afraid to terrify its audience, but the idea of this mangled ghoul drowning innocents is a new level of horrifying. Thankfully, the episode has a happy ending, which is more than we can say for episodes like “The Tale of the Dark Music.”

When a cool teen spot kicks her out for being a robot, Jenny is desperate to try and fit in. She starts wearing an exo-suit to look like a human girl — but that’s not all it does. The suit is alive and starts brainwashing Jenny, slowly erasing everything that makes her special. She doesn’t even try to fight crime when the club is under attack. Fortunately, the real Jenny breaks through and manages to free herself from the parasite. Personally, we’ll take the butt-kicking, “abnormal” Jenny any day, especially if the alternative has her being possessed by a symbiotic menace.

The scariest part about this episode? It made us feel sorry for the bratty Angelica. When her parents announce they’re having another baby, Angelica worries they won’t love her anymore. This fear culminates into a disturbing nightmare. The new baby has arrived, and her parents quickly cast her aside and dump her in the laundry room. Worst of all, the new baby is absolutely terrifying and keen to finish Angelica off for good. The sequence ends with Angelica being eaten by the monstrous infant. While Angelica has nothing to worry about in the end, the audience may never recover from watching a villainous baby terrorize her.

When Plankton makes no attempt to steal the Krabby Patty secret recipe, Mr. Krabs becomes increasingly suspicious of everyone around him and slowly descends into madness. He even goes so far as to ban paying customers from the restaurant and filling patties with dangerous objects. The episode ends in good fun, with a party to celebrate the one year anniversary of when Plankton first attempted to steal the secret recipe. However, watching Mr. Krabs’ mental state erode to the point where his every thought is of Plankton is pretty concerning, and it reminds viewers of the mentally consuming nature of perpetual competition.

Based on the classic Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” this episode delves into Chuckie’s mind as a guardian angel shows him what the world would be like had he not been born. Chuckie, who initially believes that he’s unwelcome at home, soon realizes how disastrous his family would be without him and how much his family really treasures him. This episode has wholesome undertones, but Chuckie’s initial feelings of worthlessness and dejection indicate a sad truth that many do not know they are loved and appreciated by those around them. Thankfully, Chuckie is ultimately reunited with his family.

Nothing good can come from wandering around a cemetery late at night, but things get exceptionally spooky when Gerald tells his friends the tale of the murderous ghost bride. The gang uses this story to prank each other, first with Helga pretending to be the ghost bride and then with Curly pretending to be her. However, the darkest part of this episode occurs near the end, when everyone decides to cruelly get back at Curly by locking him in a tomb and leaving him in the cemetery. The thought of being trapped alone in a cemetery at night is enough to make anyone scared, but imagine being trapped there by your own friends.

For the most part, “iCarly” focused on the fun and shenanigans associated with running a web show with your best friends, but “iPsycho” was a rare foray into the dangers of putting yourself out there on the internet. When Carly, Sam, and Freddie, meet a lonely fan named Nora Dershlit during her 16th birthday party, all seems to be normal until she locks them in a basement. While they eventually manage to escape with Gibby’s help, the episode touches on the dangers of parasocial relationships and the difficulties associated with online popularity. With the rise of influencer culture and YouTube fandom, this issue is more relevant than ever.

The Red Lotus was defeated in a season three finale that could probably make this list as well. But in the episode “Korra Alone,” we see how she recovers physically from the events of that episode, but still suffers mentally. Haunted by flashbacks and hallucinations of that fateful battle, she distances herself from her friends and loved ones. Korra’s fighting a losing battle against herself. Seeing the young, passionate Avatar at her lowest point is terrifying, but the episode is a grim but realistic portrayal of those who have gone through traumatic experiences. It's not something that can be magically cured overnight.

Jealousy and resentment are never a good combination which is why, when Stimpy shoots to stardom and Ren gets left in the dust, their relationship becomes increasingly strained. What’s worse is that Ren gets appointed the president of Stimpy’s fan club and is forced to read and reply to Stimpy’s fan letters. This is psychological torture for Ren as he develops insomnia and goes so far as to consider murdering Stimpy. He only refrains from doing so when he imagines burning in hell for his actions. This episode is bound to make viewers shudder, from hellish imagery to destroyed friendships to envy-induced madness.

Difficult themes don’t always constitute a dark episode, but this episode certainly made viewers do some serious thinking. When Heffer chokes on a chicken bone, he falls down to heck where he’s greeted by a reaper-like figure named Peaches. While this episode is infused with humor, it depicts the importance of reflecting on one’s behavior. Heffer only realizes how gluttonous he is once he’s forced to confront the repercussions of his habits in heck, where it feels as though it’s too late for him to change his behavior. Thankfully, Heffer realizes that heck was just a dream and that he still has time to rectify his gluttony.

For most of the series, Chocolate Boy was a minor character known for an obsession with a certain treat. It's usually played for laughs, but once he gets his very own episode, we see the horrifying side of his sweet tooth. He's willing to degrade and humiliate himself to get his chocolate fix. Worst of all, his obsession stems from a broken heart after losing his beloved nanny. Thankfully, Chocolate Boy has a friend like Arnold to help him overcome his dependence. The whole episode speaks to the realities of other substance use disorders, but handles the subject matter delicately enough to still be safe for the network.

Ginger writes a poem for a school contest, but unfortunately, it doesn’t get the attention she expected. The rest of the school becomes convinced that Ginger is depressed, and this poem is a cry for help. Ginger’s poem tells of a sad girl who feels trapped in the world and longs to disappear from it all. It’s a brilliant poem that highlights her writing talent, but it’s easy to see why it raised so many red flags for everyone else. Mental health is a tricky subject to tackle in a kids’ cartoon, but the more mature tone of “As Told By Ginger” and the artistic imagery ensured that it was handled with dignity and sincerity.

When you think of your worst enemy, who do you think of? In this episode, Danny discovers that he may be both his own and society’s greatest enemy when he sees a glimpse into his future. Danny learns that his future self is a menace who not only wreaks havoc on strangers, but also on his loved ones. This episode taps into a fear that many of us have, in which we worry about what we may become and whether or not succumbing to the worst version of ourselves is inevitable.

It’s surreal to think of how many dark episodes “SpongeBob” has surprised us with. Episodes like “Nasty Patty” and “Are You Happy Now?” go to some unexpected places. But one of the most infamous episodes was “One Coarse Meal.” In this bleak tale, Mr. Krabs uses Plankton’s fear of whales to torment the villainous pipsqueak. Things get uncomfortable fast as Plankton’s fear overwhelms him. He eventually reaches a low point and wants to be put out of his misery. Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs revels in his rival’s self-destruction, and SpongeBob only barely tries to help. Many fans found the episode tasteless in how it handled sensitive topics. We’re floored that the show would tackle the subject at all.

How far would you go to fit in? In this harrowing episode, Zim proves that he’s willing to go to extreme lengths to hide his alien nature. He does so by harvesting his classmates’ organs and replacing them with various objects in order to appear more human. The act of harvesting children’s organs is horrifying enough, but the casual manner in which Zim steals his classmates' organs makes the whole ordeal even more upsetting. This show was definitely meant for older kids but, even so, people of any age would find this episode disturbing.

If thinking about blood makes you squeamish, you might find it difficult to get through this episode of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Katara meets Hama, an old innkeeper who has mastered the art of water bending. However, Katara soon learns that water is everywhere, including the human body, and that Hama is performing blood-bending on civilians. Katara is eventually forced to use blood-bending herself, as it’s the only way to defeat Hama and save her friends. While the blood-bending aspect is horrifying in and of itself, Katara’s psychological distress as a result of the dark side of her powers makes this episode truly gut-wrenching.

What Nickelodeon episode gave you the willies? Let us know in the comments.