The Walking Dead: Walkers That Terrify

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Of all the monsters out there in the horror genre, it is no secret that the living dead absolutely scare me to my core. They are simply horrible creatures and well, they make for great television. But every year, during the season premiere of The Walking Dead, the show manages to make me feel like a twelve year old child all over again, wondering what terrors are hiding under his bed.

It never fails, there is one particular walker that leaves me squirming in my seat and wondering if I should leave a light on before going to bed.  Which walkers are the ones that make my skin crawl? Well without further ado here are the walkers that have managed to terrify me at the start of every season. 

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The Bicycle Girl - Season One "Days Gone Bye"
The first zombie to ever appear on the show, is the stuff of nightmares. Her backstory was revealed in a few The Walking Dead related webisodes but the end result is what matters most. Missing half of her torso, and well...most of everything this creature straight out of the comics took me completely off guard. She was revolutionary in special effects makeup and just looking at the picture sends shivers down my spine. 

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Smiley - Season Two "What Lies Ahead" 
If there's one thing that makes a zombie somehow worse than what it already is, it is one that exhibits human emotion and well, Smiley's name comes from that horrible grin you can see plastered on his face and it's precisely why he left me turning away from the television set if only for a moment. I mean the dead shouldn't smile, simple as that. 

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Gas Mask Walker - Season Three "Seed"
This is one of those walkers that completely takes you by surprise. He was ominous to say the least, covered in riot gear and seemingly invincible if only for a moment. But when the moment came for his gas mask to be taken off, a disgusting surprise awaited all of us since his freaking face came off with it.  It was a stunning and shocking effect and one that made me stay away from red meat for a few days. 

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Flu Walker - Season Four "30 Days Without an Accident"
This unfortunate walker was not only a harbinger of doom of what was to come on Season Four of the show, but he even managed to creep out Rick Grimes in his short appearance. Granted he is a simpler walker compared to his brethren on this list, so why does he creep me out?  Part of it is the sublime setting with Rick noticing him while gentle country music plays, but mostly it is his appearance.  Eyes are the window to the soul and to see those blood filled human-less orbs is enough to unsettle me at the core.

Either way, there's my list of the walkers that stay with my nightmares, it has me hopeful for Sunday's premiere but also full of dread, after all this show has clearly built an ugly tradition with me and as they keep upping the ante, I imagine the walkers are only going to get worse. Guess we will find out which new walker gets to haunt my dreams come Sunday...

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