With Halloween nearly upon us, it’s time to look at six of the scariest tales that the still-new Star Wars canon has to offer – or, at least, as relatively “scary” as the franchise can get. While most of the stories never cross the boundary into horror proper, there certainly are elements that are individually suspenseful or creepy.
Such a collection of stories is possible mostly thanks to publisher IDW, who acquired the all-ages comic book license for Star Wars back in 2017. Starting last Halloween, and continuing on for this year, the company has spearheaded the effort by releasing a weekly miniseries throughout the month of October called Vader’s Castle, an anthology collection of atmospheric adventures starring characters from all eras of the Skywalker saga. But even before this young-readers effort started, Marvel and Disney-Lucasfilm Press were already experimenting with horror, lacing in certain concepts that lend themselves to the tone and scope of the genre.
These are the five best Star Wars tales from canon to read in celebration of Halloween, with one bonus throwback from the Legends era.
The Screaming Citadel
- Format: Comic book crossover
- Release: May 10-June 28, 2017
“The Screaming Citadel” is a storyline that also functions as a crossover between two of the main comic book series set in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back: Star Wars and Doctor Aphra. Its stated purpose was to do something more along the lines of gothic horror within that galaxy far, far away, and the title accomplishes this in spades. The titular Citadel of Ktath’atn, where Luke Skywalker and Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra arrive to beseech the Queen of Ktath’atn for a special favor (which she grants just once a year), looms over the bleak countryside like something out of a classic Universal horror film, with the mysterious monarch even warning the duo that the palace holds so “many dark secrets,” they would do well not to ask any questions if they value their sanity.
In short order, the queen is revealed to hold special control over the local populace (and the guests to her special annual dinner party, if she so deems) through a combination of telepathy and alien symbiotes, in order to allow her to feed off of their lifeforce – making her part Dracula as well as part Dr. Frankenstein. In order to end the Queen of Ktath’atn’s menace, Luke needs to go to a slightly darker place than he is used to, befitting the gothic tone of the storyline, and the denouement is similarly sufficiently lifted right from the classic black-and-white movies of the era.
Lando
- Format: Five-issue comic book miniseries
- Release: July 8-October 7, 2015
On the one hand, Lando is all about – well – Lando Calrissian, helping to (further) sow the seeds of how the debonair smuggler and thief can eventually mature into a compassionate and courageous Rebel general (the comic miniseries is set before The Empire Strikes Back, and even tells the backstory of Lobot, to boot). On the other hand, however, the title is partially devoted to Emperor Sheev Palpatine, specifically, and the Dark Lords of the Sith, generally – and it is through this back door that the horror elements come into play.
Calrissian is unknowingly hired to steal the Imperalis, the Emperor’s private yacht that is filled with countless stolen or recovered treasure from countless worlds. One of these prized possessions turns out to be none other than the mask of the ancient Sith sculptor Lord Momin, who essentially learned how to imbue it with his consciousness, allowing him to possess whatever unfortunate soul was foolish enough to put it on. This, of course, is precisely what happens to some of Lando’s crew, turning the would-be con into a bloodbath.
This concept of Sith corruption, as creepy as it may be for the purposes of this one narrative, is more than just a gimmick – in the four years since, it’s proven to be something of a cornerstone of the Star Wars canon, even if a small and subtle one; not only has Momin reappeared elsewhere in the timeline, helping Darth Vader build his citadel on Mustafar, it’s also been speculated by many that Darth Sidious took a page directly out of his predecessor’s book, presenting the explanation for how he can return in The Rise of Skywalker.
The Mighty Chewbacca in the Forest of Fear!
- Format: Young readers’ novel
- Release: May 25, 2018
This young readers’ tie-in to the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story is, indeed, meant for young readers, with a length, vocabulary, and style intended to appeal to adolescent sensibilities (the narrator of the story, for example, is an actual narrator, who offers commentary and slips into asides throughout the course of the story). This, by definition, negates any large dose of suspense or creepiness that we may see seep into the other titles on this list, but that doesn’t stop the concepts in play from borrowing heavily from the staples of horror – or stop the book from being an engaging read.
After Han Solo embarrassingly gets himself captured, Chewbacca finds himself forced to take on a mission to Ushruu, an ancient forested planet that is riddled with strange and highly efficient – but also remarkably nonplussed – predators. Even worse is the blue, fear-inducing mist that clings to the forest floor and seems to emanate from a giant chasm – which is, of course, in typical scary-story fashion, home to an immense and immensely old creature called the vathyr. (In a fun little twist, the apex hunters on Ushruu are the many tongues of the vathyr, which doggedly root out food and inexorably drag them back to the being’s many mouths.)
When one throws in an ancient temple, a religious-like cult that worships the creature, and a Force-sensitive leader named the Enchantress who oversees it all, one has the classic trappings of a spooky Halloween story – and an entertaining Star Wars read.
Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle
- Format: Five-issue comic book miniseries
- Release: October 3-31, 2018
When on a fact-finding mission to the Outer Rim for the Rebel Alliance, Commander Lina Graf (a character originated in the all-ages book series Adventures in Wild Space) has her ship shot down and is forced to crash-land on Mustafar – right next to Darth Vader’s secret fortress (which was originally created for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story but which has also featured, to great effect, in the various comics). In order to overcome their fear – of the local (and hostile) wildlife, of the lava troopers that guard Lord Vader, and of the Sith Lord himself – the crew members tell themselves story after story, which focus on such characters as young Han Solo and Chewie, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Count Dooku, the cast of Rebels, the Emerald Witch of the planet Rendel, and the Ewoks (because why not?).
Being the most blatantly horror-honorific Star Wars tale yet – the comic series was, after all, released during and for Halloween – the premises are all (lightly) spooky, the atmospheres contained in the narratives are all strong, and, even, some of the visuals are pretty striking; readers will find haunted starships, a zombie-esque infection during one of the many battles of the Clone Wars, and a giant Wicker Man-esque wooden Ewok meant to hold living sacrifices.
Yes, the premise runs a bit threadbare – the Star Wars Adventures series that this title spins off from is also predicated upon (some of the same) characters telling stories to one another – but Tales from Vader’s Castle pays off the concept well in the finale, making it more than just an extended gimmick.
Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle
- Format: Five-issue comic book miniseries
- Release: October 2-October 30, 2019
With the popularity of the first Vader’s Castle last year, IDW and Lucasfilm have decided to resurrect the premise for this Halloween. Not only is the basic concept extended, unleashing five new stories featuring all sorts of dark and villainous characters from the Star Wars canon, but so is the premise itself – Thom Hudd, a member of Lina Graf’s crew, was left behind in Vader’s fortress at the conclusion of the first miniseries, and now he has to endure five more scary tales as well as the tortures and designs of Vanee, Darth Vader’s personal servant (who was similarly created originally for Rogue One).
The subjects in Return to Vader’s Castle are Darth Maul in his bizarre, unsettling spider-droid from (as originally depicted in The Clone Wars), Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Asajj Ventress (during her [short-lived] days as a bounty hunter as opposed to Darth Tyranus’s apprentice), Jabba the Hutt, and, of course, the titular Dark Lord of the Sith himself (again). Of all the issues released thus far, the most arresting, by far, is the Star Wars take on Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, with Tarkin replacing the former and the latter redeeming himself by shielding those Imperial agents who happen to get in his creator’s way – it’s a touching story and a faithful homage to the Classic Universal Monster both.
BONUS: Death Troopers
- Format: Novel
- Release: October 13, 2009
What would zombies in that galaxy far, far away look like? That’s the question author Joe Schreiber tackled in this Legends book, making zombification into an Imperial bio-weapon-gone-wrong (but of course) and an infected Star Destroyer the setting for a Resident Evil-esque tale of survival horror.
Death Troopers, without question, surpasses all the other entries on this list in terms of horror concepts, actual scares, and the fidelity to the genre, despite the fact that it is not fully part of Star Wars continuity (although this could easily change, given Lucasfilm’s current predilections of taking choice Legends items, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, and bringing them over into the canon). There is also the added – and effective – twist of the zombies being able to learn as they clamor for the flesh of their next victim, to the point that, once they see blasters being utilized against them, they pick up the guns and fire them back with ever-increasing accuracy.
Death Troopers became a fan favorite, spawning a prequel novel (appropriately called Red Harvest, a play on Blue Harvest, the fake production name of Return of the Jedi) just a year later and appearances in a few Star Wars games, including one published by Disney Interactive (which technically, partially makes the titular Death Troopers canon already).
