Grand Theft Auto games are full of violence and intense moments, but a few characters are scary enough to keep players up at night. The series is designed to keep players on their toes with high action and plenty of criminal intrigue. Even with that in mind, some of the series' characters are creepy enough to make players want to stay far away.
With Grand Theft Auto being based around crime, it's only natural that unsavory characters will appear in the storyline. A lot of the series' antagonists are scarily powerful criminals, able to control cities through illicit means and have armies of footsoldiers at their command. These sorts of crime bosses are to be expected in the series though, and even when they're especially intimidating, they're an element that players already know will come. However, while even GTA 5's Trevor has a good side despite his terrifying antics, there are characters who have no redeeming qualities at all, leaving nothing to soften the blow of their horrid actions.
GTA 4's Eddie Low Is A Seriously Creepy Serial Killer
A lot of the random characters that Niko meets are odd in one way or another, but even among such an eclectic group, players can easily pick up a bad feeling from Eddie Low. Even before his first conversation with over, he manages to seriously creep out Niko, arguably Grand Theft Auto's most stoic protagonist. Between his suspiciously cheery demeanor and tendency to talk about disturbing things unprompted, he's clearly a bad guy. It won't be long before players decide they would be safer in GTA 4's creepy Statue of Happiness than anywhere near Eddie.
Eddie is a prolific serial killer in Liberty City, and the game details his crimes in several places. After Niko's first encounter with him, a news report reveals that Niko had unintentionally helped Eddie hide the remains of one of his latest victims. In addition, Eddie has a disturbing blog on the end-game internet with many chilling posts.
It's a surprise that Eddie wasn't caught sooner due to his inability to hide his disturbing actions. Both of his encounters are among the only times in the game where the normally unshakable Niko is clearly unnerved, and it's hard to blame him. Every moment Eddie's on-screen gets gradually more unsettling.
Eddie's short subplot ends with him meeting his match after attempting to turn his knife on Niko. Even after his death, the player will have a hard time forgetting him. Eddie's implied connection to Red Dead Redemption 2's serial killer is actually one of the least creepy things about him, as he manages to cross several lines of depravity all on his own.
Jeff Harlingford's GTA 4 Storyline Turns Horrifying Immediately
Jeff doesn't make the best first impression when Niko comes across him in Grand Theft Auto 4. Within just a few lines of dialogue, he shows himself to be quick to anger while possessing a nasty misogynistic streak. He hires Niko to follow his wife and find out if she's cheating on him, which appears to be no different from the several other random missions that the game tasks the player with at first glance. The player doesn't even need to finish the first mission before Jeff earns his place among Grand Theft Auto's worst quest-givers.
Listening to Jeff's wife's dialogue reveals that Jeff is abusive and controlling, constantly accusing her of cheating. To make matters worse, Jeff's second encounter reveals that he murdered his wife even after Niko said that he didn't have proof she was cheating. This second task sees Niko having to dump Jeff's car in the ocean, with his wife's body visible in the back seat to remind the player of the consequences of their actions. The matter only gets worse as Jeff returns for a third time, revealing that he has gotten remarried and already wants Niko to kill his new wife because he thinks she's cheating on him.
It's not difficult to believe that Jeff would have killed his new wife just like his last one, and he could have easily become a serial killer. In a game with some of Grand Theft Auto's most disturbing mysteries, Jeff's openly homicidal tendencies are one of its scariest parts. Fortunately, Niko refuses to associate with Jeff after previous events, and Jeff himself gets hit by a car after storming away from the conversation. Jeff's brief role in the game is dark even for GTA 4's standards, and the player is likely to share Niko's distaste for the man and his rage-fueled antics.
GTA 5's Peter Dreyfuss Committed A Horrific Unsolved Murder
Of all the strangers in Grand Theft Auto 5, Peter Dreyfuss is among the most difficult to find. He doesn't spawn anywhere on the map until the player collects all 50 scraps of a letter for one of Franklin's side quests. One the letter is fully intact, Peter's mission will become available at his home. However, even before the player meets him in person, the completed letter shows him to be the kind of person that would shock even GTA 5's profoundly unheroic Trevor Philips.
Peter was a famed yet controversial film director who had been absent from the industry for decades. Even with his scandals, he turned out to be a far worse person than anyone knew, committing various atrocities for what he claimed was artistic inspiration. His most horrific crime, and the subject of the letter, was the murder of a young actress named Leonora Johnson. The horrific nature of the crime combined with his taunting of Leonora's family reveals his true motive to be petty sadism, and his claims that his fame lets him do whatever he wants only confirms his status as one of GTA 5's most despicable strangers.
There are several horrific things about Peter, from the brutality of his crimes, to the obvious enjoyment he found from them. The most terrifying thing of all, though, may be how he managed to get away with it. Thankfully, one of GTA 5's most satisfying moments sees Franklin getting to deliver some long-overdue justice for Leonora's killing. News updates following the mission also imply that Franklin revealed Dreyfuss' confession, ruining his reputation by exposing him for the monster he was.
The world of Grand Theft Auto has a lot of dangers beyond the usual gangsters and crime bosses that run the cities. There's a whole category of even more detestable characters lying in wait, and sometimes the player characters are unlucky enough to come across them. When players stray from the main story, they may find themselves coming across Grand Theft Auto's creepiest and most evil characters.