Are you looking for something a bit scarier in Star Wars? The movies are rated PG to PG-13, but that doesn’t mean the media stuck to that strict standard. But you know in a galaxy with the horrors of the Sith, that there must be far worse. Here are some of the scary stories of Star Wars, for those looking for some creepy fun.
Scary Star Wars for Kids:
Galaxy of Fear by James Whitman
Tash and Zak Arranda are orphans of Alderaan. Taken in by their shape changing Sh’ido Uncle Hoole, who they know little about, they don’t know who to trust. Between their hate of the Empire, Tash’s Force sensitivities and Hoole’s secret missions, they encounter many evil secrets of the Empire. While they encounter both famous heroes and villans, ultimately it’s up to them to save the day.
Tales of Mos Eisley edited by Kevin J. Anderson
Soup’s On: the Smoke Piper’s Tale – the first story of the spooky Anzati! These people suck the ‘soup’ or luck, as they call it, out of people. Their powers paralyze and terrorize the fully conscious victim as they are murdered. Scary stories like these harken back to the Earthly fear of things like Vampires.
Tales of Jabba’s Palace edited by Kevin J. Anderson
Out of the Closet, The Assassin’s Tale – the same character from Soup’s on is now terrorizing Jabba’s palace!
Of minor note: this character in these two stories also has a brief bit in the Galaxy of Fear Stories. These scary stories from Star Wars in the anthology are shorter and therefore work for kids or adults.
Scary Stories for Adults
The scary stories of Star Wars in these novels feature more gore, so I wouldn’t recommend for young readers. Beware, these Sith Star Wars tales are not for the faint of heart!
Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber
The Empire will do anything for an advantage, and the ancient Sith had many secrets. An Imperial prison ship is scary enough without docking with a ship where this experimental plague has gotten loose and raised the dead. If you want scary stories this one includes the zombie like undead, a plague and the brooding horror of being trapped on a ship with no guarantee of escape. A friend may become a foe merely by becoming infected.
Red Harvest by Joe Schreiber
An ancient Sith with a plan to live forever needs a special plant to pull it off…and it’s young Jedi guardian, a member of the agricorp. Once loosed, the entire Sith Academy is infected with a horror no one can contain. Can one agricorp Jedi escape?
There are few things that don’t fit in the scary stories category that come to the Sith, but this gory tale is scarier than most. It’s set at the Sith Academy where murder, backstabbing and cruel experiments on living beings are things are everyday affairs. It’s no place for a lone Jedi, especially one from the agricorp.
*The agricorp Jedi are those raised in the Temple, but either did not get accepted by a Jedi mentor as their padawan learner, or did not complete or succeed at the Jedi trails.
New Jedi Order series – various authors
While not every book constitutes horror, a species that worships pain invading the galaxy is definitely a guarantee of a scary series. The Jedi are threatened by this species that seems completely cut off from the church. These creatures terraform and destroy all in their path, and have no qualms about torture to succeed in their ends. They are the ultimate in bioform killers. And if the Jedi fail, the whole galaxy will fall to a painful enslavement.
The Dark Nest Series by Troy Denning
One of the terrifying things about scary stories is the idea of your mind no longer being your own, being possessed. In this tale, the Killik species maybe doing just what their species does. The trouble is exposure to the hive mind risks altering even the Jedi that come into contact. And this is a threat to the whole galaxy.
Fate of the Jedi series – various authors
This series doesn’t uncover along lost Sith tribe. It also reveals a creature of darkness known as Abeloth, whose powers are strong enough to mind control young Jedi. Few things are more frightening or dangerous than a mass of Jedi that have gone mad.
Scary Stories in the Comics
Dawn of the Jedi by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema
Before there was a Republic, there were the Jedaii, still on Tython. And out in the wider galaxy, those rich in the Force are preyed on by the Rakata. The young raised in evil as hounds to seek others. Forced to fight one another, with death to the loser. The older tormented, using their Force powers will fuel and drive their terrible ships. And now, they’ve found their way to Tython. This threat will change the Jedaii forever.
Star Wars Darkness by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, Kryssing
This is the series that became Star Wars Republic. But initially, it was just called Star Wars. This is an arc within an arc: for Quinlan Vos and his padawan learner have had their memory erased. Quinlan has been recovered, but Aayla is still out there, and has stumbled on a terrible threat.
An Anzati Jedi, fallen to the Dark Side long ago, has escaped. Worse, he has taken the amnesiac padawan Aayla Secura as follower. Can the Jedi save the padawan and end the reign of terror of this nightmare born of their own?
Dark Times by Mick Harrison, various artists
After Order 66 and the rise of the Empire, things turned dark immediately. Some Jedi were on the run and hunted, some turned and became the hunters. Many alien species, particularly those on the side of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, found themselves in danger of death, slavery, and being treated like animals. There are genuine horrors in the dark times. Scary stories to make when shudder and weep as well as realize why Rebellion was not only necessary but inevitable.
Dark Empire by Tom Veitch, art by Cam Kennedy
This story is the nightmare of what if the Emperor was resurrected and, worse, Luke fell to the Dark Side! An entire world under the thrall of the Dark Side. A terrifying question of how you can kill a tyrant who is already dead? Did Luke really fall? The dark arc of the story itself comes across even stronger given the darker, unusual style of the artwork. There is also a full audio drama version of this.
Vector by John Ostrander, John Jackson Miller and others
This comic series is a cross-over event from KOTOR comics all the way to Legacy. The Muur Talisman is the original creator of the rakghoul plague. In the wrong hands, it could cause devastation, for whoever controls it not only creates but controls the monsters. Celeste Morne is on a quest to find it and bring it to the Covenant. But this is a mission that will span millennia.
The series includes arcs in
- Knights of the Old Republic – issues 25-28
- Dark Times issues 11-12
- Rebellion issues 15-16
- Legacy issues 28-31
These were also combined in various omnibus.
Scary Stories in the Games
The games aren’t all spooky, scary and creepy. But they do have aspects in some of the content that are. The online games particularly include regular yearly, or cyclical events.
Knights of the Old Republic Stand alone RPG
This game introduced the rakghoul plague. You’ll only find it on the first planet, Taris. You can witness humans turn into rakghouls, if they survive the initial assault by them. One quest involves helping a doctor find a cure. There is also a visit to the planet Korriban, which is full of Sith ghosts that are trapped in their tombs, as well as monsters. Dantooine has creepy spiders guarding it’s lightsaber crystals.
Knights of the Old Republic 2 RPG
The scare here seems lower level but more spread out. Evil beings consumed by the Dark Side are in direct pursuit. And a robot bent on hunting our hero causes death everywhere it goes. Terentatek and other monsters in particular wander Korriban.
Mysteries of the Sith, Expansion to Jedi Knight, Dark Forces 2.
Kyle Katarn goes through a couple of missions, but then disappears. At this point, you take over as Mara Jade, who has joined up with him for some mutual Jedi training. When Kyle doesn’t check in, the mission to find him leads to Dromund Kaas, an ancient Sith world. Swamps, Sith traps and monsters are everywhere. A dark version of Mara is there as a trap. Escaping the swamp into the Sith temple leads to the living dead, more monsters and a fallen to the Dark Side Kyle Katarn!
Jedi Academy
Trained by Jedi Kyle Katarn, your character, Jaden Korr, is caught in the quest of what the enemy seeks on Force rich worlds. Ultimately, it leads to Korriban and an evil Sith Spirit that the Empire and an old enemy seek to resurrect! This story is a sequel and last of the Dark Forces series.
Star Wars Galaxies MMO
I haven’t been far enough to know how much spooky is here, or how much is original to the game and how much is new per the fan run servers since the original game went offline. But the SWG Legends server has a Galactic Moon Festival sponsored by Jabba the Hutt, where you can put on scary costumes and go around Trick or Treating. There is also a known witch to visit and run missions for.
Star Wars the Old Republic MMO
The planet Taris was destroyed by the Empire ages ago. As the Republic and Empire battle over it’s fate, they have to deal with the rakghouls. These creatures of old were always a plague in the lower levels and now are everywhere. They are deadly and infectious.
Event: The Rakghoul plague is a regular cyclical breakout that alternates on three planets: Tatooine, Corellia, and Alderaan. Battle in the caves to study the Rakghouls but beware getting infected! If you do, you’ll become contagious yourself and find your abilities drastically compromised!
There are dark things also to encounter, particularly on the Imperial side, IE the Sith Worlds of Korriban where the tombs are and on Dromund Kaas, in the ancient Sith temple where possessed Imperials and slaves roam.
Bonus:
While the stories don’t come under the spooky scary variety, Shadows of the Empire and Dark Forces both feature the dianoga. We only get a brief scary look in the movie of an eyestalk of the thing that grabbed Luke Skywalker. But the digitized versions, be it pixelated or remastered, is pretty scary. Particularly when It’s trying to eat you or extra large and swinging you by tentacles.
