Spyro the Dragon/Nightmare Fuel

File:Killerplant350 3367.jpg

"Hm, so reptiles are tasty. That guy was right after all..."

In true nineties’ fashion, Spyro the Dragon proves to have most of the Mascot with Attitude traits; among them, there’s the obligatory amount of spooky stuff thrown in for good measure.

In order for Nightmare Fuel tabs to survive, a new writing style is going to be used, nicknamed Example Lobotomy. Basic rules: just list facts as they are, don't just say "character X" or "the X scene" (such zero context examples will be Zapped), spoiler policy to be determined on a case-by-case basis, italics to be applied to works' names only and not to give emphasis on what tropers say. "X scared me" is already implied by the mere addition of that example by the troper.

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Spyro The Dragon

• Misty Bog in the first game is populated by the above-pictured killer plants that sit idly by in groups before Spyro approaches them. Should he come within several feet of them, their already visible eyes fixate on Spyro and their leaves rustle. When Spyro edges any closer, the plants charge at him with gaping maws and yellow fangs.
  • In Misty Bog, there are these enemies called Attack Frogs. To put it more clearly, they're light blue frogs that will lash at you with their extremely long tongues if you get within ten feet of 'em! They hop around carefree, but there is always malice in their eyes.
• Whenever you can hear something, but can't see it, like, for example, when chuckling thieves are hidden out of view and when the trembling of the petrified dragon on a floor above in Haunted Towers can be heard (and the dragon is really tough to find).
• Dark Passage, the place where nightmares are literally made, as it's the scariest world in the Dream Weavers' set, and it is called "Nightmare Road" in the Japanese version of the game. It is populated by critters that, though tiny, adorable, and mostly harmless in the light, transform into hideous beasts in the dark. The armored turtles become invincible and get some fangs, and the puppies transform into giant red hellhounds with evil red eyes and gigantic mouths lined with razor sharp teeth. If Spyro walks near one of the devil dogs in the dark, he better be ready to breathe some fire, because if he doesn't the demon will pounce on him with incredible speed, devour him, chew him up, and spit him back out. As for the turtles, their heads grow as they spit fireballs. Not as bad as the dogs, thankfully.
• In the High Caves in Spyro the Dragon lurk giant metal beetles ready to chase Spyro down should he be daft enough to set foot on their ground. They are fast, invincible to standard attacks, and they have a tendency to hide just out of view. At one point, Spyro must dash past a couple to reach a Power-Up that allows him to kill them, and it is one of the most tense parts in the game.
• The Doctor Shemp boss level of the first game comes with strange little tribal beings in huge faceless masks, who run at you screaming on sight, sent by their Brawn Hilda-esque "wives" (whether you'd noticed them first or not) via bitch-slap.

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!/Ripto's Rampage!/Gateway To Glimmer

• The plants from Misty Bog in the first game get their Expy in the ravenous bushes in Fracture Hills, in Spyro 2. They act mostly the same, but without the fangs. On the other hand, they look just like all the other bushes, which aren't alive, until Spyro approaches them. This way, their attacks are more startling, but not quite as scary.

Spyro [3]: Year Of The Dragon

• Spyro Year of the Dragon upped the ante with the Nightmare Fuel: for starters, the Sorceress turns minions into bosses to fight Spyro (akin to Kamek in Yoshis Island). At least one was forced into it, despite struggling and pleading for mercy.
• The first Final Boss battle against the Sorceress ends with an excessively vague brief cutscene with her hand emerging from the lava.
  • The second one isn't pleasant either: she meets her end in a pool of acid.
• The Dino Mines level in Year of the Dragon is teeming with gunslinging, dynamite-flinging dinosaurs with loud roars and attacks that are quite difficult to avoid. Even at a distance, the blue ones roar at you with dynamite in their mouths, prepared to spit it out.
• In Evening Lake Home, there is an egg hidden inside a small whale. The whale itself is not unsettling, but the way he gobbles Spyro up can be startling the first time.
• In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the Evening Lake world Frozen Altars has a lot of giant snowmen that Spyro must defeat with lasers; getting too close to one results in them grabbing Spyro, shaking him and throwing him away. All while sporting a demonic Slasher Smile.

Other instances outside the first trilogy itself

• The full-bodied sheep Muppet with burns all over his body as well as a sinister looking scowl can give people, especially little children, nightmares, even though he was intended to be funny. The three commercials he appeared in: the first, the second and the third, all of which described in this documentary.
• Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly has a rather spooky glitch in which everyone goes all slow motion-like.