Courage The Cowardly Dog is an early 2000s Cartoon Network show that isnt for the faint of heart. The show never shied away from pushing the boundaries, and many felt that the cartoon was too frightening for children due to the intense plots and creepy villains who try to ruin Courage, Eustace, and Muriels lives.
Courage was the cute, brave, and unrelentingly loyal dog who did anything to protect his owners. There was always some mischief happening in Nowhere, Kansas, and the three residents were frequently the victims of plots from evil-doers and paranormal beings. Throughout Courage The Cowardly Dog, plenty of creepy villains appeared.
- 5 “Demon In The Mattress” (Season 1, Episode 4) …
- 4 “The House Of Discontent” (Season 2, Episode 12) …
- 3 Queen of the Black Puddle (Season 1, Episode 9) …
- 2 “Heads Of Beef” (Season 1, Episode 11) …
- 1 “Freaky Fred” (Season 1, Episode 4)
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
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.
“Freaky Fred” (Season 1, Episode 4)
This particular episode calls back to all those family reunions, where there was always one cousin who everyone avoided. The one cousin who had this aura of mystery and danger because they would only show up to that once-a-year reunion. Except, this is much worse.
Fred is Muriel’s barber cousin. Fred also spends almost the entire episode narrating in lyrical poetry, almost like Dr. Seuss, and ending every phrase with “naughty.” If that isn’t enough, he also has the most bone-chilling smile, more expansive than the rest of his face, that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
If that weren’t enough to prickle an adult’s skin, Fred’s entire recounting of shaving the fur off his childhood hamster would do it. In tandem with his rhyming voice, the camera cuts to still s of the little pink hamster and back to Courage, trapped in the bathroom with Fred. As the lyrical voice of Fred gets more profound, the still turns into a bald hamster. With Courage thrust onto the toilet seat, the shower curtain turned into a barber’s cape, and Fred holding the buzzing hair clippers, Courage’s fate is sealed just like that of the hamster’s.
What is so disturbing about this scene is the mixture of being left in a room with a strange relative and being coerced into an uncomfortable situation. Finally, it’s the act itself committed against Courage’s will that sets the tone. It’s a scenario all too familiar with children who’ve been abused by someone close to them. In hindsight, it’s an episode that dared to go where no other children’s show ever did at the time. Horror can often give viewers the distance needed to reconcile with traumatic events.
FAQ
Who was the scariest character in Courage the Cowardly Dog?
- #8: “Heads of Beef” (2000) …
- #7: “The Mask” (2002) …
- #6: “A Night at the Katz Motel” (1999) …
- #5: “The House of Discontent” (2001) …
- #4: “The Demon in the Mattress” (1999) …
- #3: “Perfect” (2002) …
- #2: “Freaky Fred” (1999) …
- #1: “King Ramses’ Curse” (2000)
Why was Courage the Cowardly Dog canceled?
- 8 Cruel Veterinarian.
- 7 The Stitch Sisters.
- 6 Black Puddle Queen.
- 5 The Ulcer.
- 4 Katz.
- 3 Eustace’s Bugle.
- 2 Spirit Of The Harvest Moon.
- 1 Ramses.