When it comes to the movies created by Studio Ghibli, especially some of the most popular ones, one common quality that people find is how wholesome they are. This is due mainly to the positive messages in their stories and the many adorable creatures encountered along the way. As a result, despite there being no small amount of great anime movies, their films remain fan-favorites to this day.

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Of course, not all things in these movies share these characteristics. Littered throughout the various movies are creepy monsters and characters that contrast the more uplifting parts. Sometimes there are villains whose motives are more than a little unsavory, and other times there are creature designs that simply rub the viewer the wrong way.

The Ohmu

Nausicaa speaks to the gigantic bugs in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

As with most misunderstood monsters, despite their imposing appearance, the Ohmu are herbivores and normally peaceful. This doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous though, if they are sufficiently threatened, their eyes will turn red, and they will go on a collective rampage, destroying everything in their path.

While the Ohmu are usually docile and only dangerous if provoked, their overall design from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is not altogether a pleasant one. For people with trypophobia, the eyes can be a bit unnerving, and the sight of a giant creepy crawly is naturally frightening.

The Wizard Howl

Howl protects Sophie in his bird form in Howl's Moving Castle
Image via Studio Ghibli

A wizard with great power and a problematic reputation, Howl Pendragon lives inside his giant, four-legged castle. After meeting a girl named Sophie, who has been cursed to appear as an old woman, he allows her to stay in his castle along with his two other companions. As the two grow closer, they try to help each other break their respective curses.

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Although probably not the first movie wizard you think of, Howl Pendragon is a character beloved by many. Being one of the main characters of Howl’s Moving Castle, Howl is written to be likable and is someone that audiences root for, most of the time. His vain and uncaring attitude towards women, however, comes across as scummy at times. Not to mention, both the scene where his hair is dyed orange and when his bird form is first seen are enough to make your skin crawl.

The Cat King

The Cat King lounges in his chair.

After learning that his son, Prince Lune, had been saved from traffic by a human girl named Haru, The Cat King takes Haru away to the Cat Kingdom. Unbeknownst to Prince Lune, and against the wishes of him and Haru, the King intends to marry the two at all costs.

Despite not being the scariest creature in Studio Ghibli’s films, the Cat King from The Cat Returns is still unsettling, with a scraggly appearance and sleazy smile. More than that, his acts of kidnapping a young girl to marry her off against her will, and then trying to marry her himself when it doesn't work are unnerving and despicable. Plus, because of him, Haru becomes the victim of the popular "human turning into an animal" trope.

The Blob Men

The blob men about to pick up a palanquin.

Created by the magic of the Witch of the Waste, the Blob Men serve their master and do whatever tasks are asked of them in Howl’s Moving Castle. As their name suggests, they are all vaguely human-shaped blobs, who can stretch and shrink as needed, and even pass through walls.

While there is something inherently chilling about a mindless, unfeeling creature, what makes the Blob Men so freaky are their amorphous forms. Seeing them scramble down an alley or squeeze through the crack in a wall gives the impression of a slimy, malicious shadow. Even though they don't pose too much of a threat to Howl, they are definitely creepier than most animated henchmen.

The God Warrior

A God Warrior awakens.

Created by the humans who came before, the God Warrior is a giant, biomechanical weapon capable of reducing entire countries to ash. Although most of them have been long dead and reduced to ruins, one lies only asleep and waiting to be found.

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As if the prospect of a humongous, nuclear killing machine wasn’t frightening enough, the design of the God Warrior from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind seems almost like something out of a David Cronenberg movie. When the surviving God Warrior is found, it has already been broken and ravaged by time, leaving an oozing mess of decayed, jagged parts.

The Witch Of The Waste

The Witch of the Waste taking away Howl's heart

As a powerful sorceress, the Witch of the Waste uses her magic to remain beautiful, and because of this, she and the wizard Howl Pendragon fall in love. Unfortunately, when he realizes that her beauty is an illusion, Howl leaves her. Hell-bent on making him hers, the Witch regularly tries to capture him and claim his heart.

Even beyond her devious nature, and her obsessive quest for Howl, the Witch of the Waste from Howl’s Moving Castle has a grotesque appearance in most forms she takes. In her “regular” form, she’s scary, to say the least, but as the facade of her beauty strips away, she gets progressively more gross and unsettling.

Yubaba

Yubaba standing with Chihiro and her staff.

The witch, Yubaba, is in charge of a bathhouse where spirits come to relax and wash. While she is considered greedy and often makes unfair deals with people to force them into servitude, there is a caring side seen every so often, especially when it comes to her child.

In the case of Yubaba, although her actions can be seen as villainous, her creepiness is solely rooted in her appearance both as a witch and a bird. Her extremely aged face, and unnaturally large eyes bring an eerie feel to Spirited Away that could easily cause a shiver down someone’s spine.

No-Face

No-Face walking alone on the train tracks in the water in Spirited Away.

When he visits the bathhouse, No-Face is shown kindness by Chihiro, a young girl who has been bamboozled into working there. Due to this, No-Face becomes fixated on Chihiro, wanting to make her happy to a fault. When he eventually devours another spirit at the bathhouse, he also absorbs that spirit’s qualities, causing him to go on a gluttonous rampage.

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Of all the spirits in Spirited Away, No-Face is the one that most resembles a classic spooky ghost. His obsessive view of Chihiro is already a little off, but he becomes even scarier as he becomes more ravenous, having a similar appearance to the Blob Men, but worse.

The Forest Spirit

Forest Spirit smiling in Princess Mononoke.
Image via Studio Ghibli

As the guardian of the forest, this spirit presides over all the other spirits there. Foolishly though, the nearby mining colony has declared war on the spirit in the name of industry. Of course, as with most times that people try to take on nature, it doesn't end well.

The Forest Spirit in Princess Mononoke is a benevolent one and a creature whose duty is to protect nature. As such, it should be pleasant to look at, but its slow and silent walk, and its face that’s just a little too human, are much more bizarre than beautiful.

Lord Cob

Lord Cob using magic.

In the land of Earthsea, there lives a powerful wizard named Cob. Although he intends to become the Kingdom’s arch-mage, his true ambition is to achieve immortality. In the meantime, despite his ancient age, the magic from his staff keeps him looking young.

Cob from Tales From Earthsea manages to be possibly the most frightening being in all the Studio Ghibli movies, even before anything happens to him. His snake-like face, paired with Willem Dafoe’s soft voice in the English dub is scary enough. However, when his magic fails and his true age is shown, he truly becomes the stuff of nightmares.

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