The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been out for a few years now, but many gamers are still enthralled by its dark fantasy world and the various monsters that reside within it. Many of these creatures are lifted straight out of myth and legend, but others have remained hidden in the bowels of history, where barely a word is spoken of them.
When players encounter these terrifying foes, it's a harrowing experience, to say the least. Some are monsters that act purely on instinct, while others are far more malevolent, sadistic, and purposeful. Geralt of Rivia certainly has his work cut out for him, no matter which of these monsters is on his kill list.
Rotfiends
Of all the scary monsters in the Witcher franchise, Rotfiends are perhaps the least bad of the bunch. Sure, they're terrifying, resembling bloated and rotting corpses stripped of their skin, with featureless faces save but a mouth, but that's about as bad as it gets.
Otherwise, Rotfiends remain the quintessential Walking Dead-style zombie stand-in for The Witcher universe, and they rely primarily on instinct. Still, the fact that they can chase down a horse at full speed makes them as terrifying as their physical appearance, not to mention the fact that they are walking bags of toxin.
Crones
While these three ancient sisters take the form of young women, their true appearances are a stark contrast. Crones are unsettling and frightening creatures bred of mystery, from a time long before man and dwarf walked the earth. They rely on magic powers drawn from nature itself and seem to be immortal.
Crones, while terrifying to look at, are not entirely evil. They are mostly opportunists who exact a high price for the blessings and aid they can bring to the people of Velen. Still, crossing them is considered unwise, as they are particularly powerful, and uncharacteristically strong.
Fiends
Though they tend to avoid human contact at all costs, Fiends will not hesitate to lash out if cornered or threatened, and that can spell immediate doom. They're considered one of the toughest creatures in the Witcher universe, with epic levels of health, regenerative capabilities, and a few scary tricks up their sleeves.
Physically, Fiends are like battering rams, and their massive size can kill players with only a few hits. They can also cast a hypnotizing spell that prevents players from locking on for 20 seconds, further increasing the risk of death. They are one of the major creatures that fans hope will show up in the Netflix Witcher series, and it's easy to see why.
Plague Maidens
Look no further than these awful monsters for the scares, because Plague Maidens are far more terrifying than even the ominous name suggests. They are the walking embodiments of the worst, and most nightmarish viral outbreaks imaginable, sewn up into one revolting and horrific package.
Gamers can encounter one of these walking night terrors in the quest "A Towerful of Mice," and they'll not soon shake the trauma off. They deserve a coveted spot on the list of the most terrifying monsters in all of video gaming, and they have very few peers.
The Caretaker
This particular monster looks like something out of the mind of prolific horror icon Clive Barker, and a nightmarish horror straight out of Silent Hill. The Caretaker's most notable feature is the lack of an actual face, sans a visible mouth. It appears to have a large piece of skin stitched in place, where a nose and eyes would be.
Players can bump into this hooded horror in the Hearts of Stone DLC pack, and he's a difficult foe to take down. He uses damage against the player to heal himself, and he can summon spirits to achieve a similar effect. He's an unsettling version of a dehumanized man far removed from the rest of the species.
Leshen
The Leshen tap into the primal fear of humans and use it to their advantage. They have the head of a deer skull, long and gnarled limbs and fingers, and a tree-like body with branching antlers. It's not a creature anyone would wish to stumble upon in the woods, no matter how well armed they are.
The creature wouldn't be out of place in a Blair Witch Project movie, and that's part of what makes the design so creepy. They can use magic to control the flora of their surroundings, as well as fauna in the form of birds and wolves. They're also quite cunning and stealthy, making them hard to battle.
Botchling
Leaving stillborn babies and premature fetuses without a proper burial can result in one of the most unsettling and disturbing monsters in the Witcher universe - the Botchling. After reanimation, they will seek out pregnant women and slip under their beds in order to drain their essence, and later, their blood.
This can cause a mutation to occur by which the Botchling turns into a fully grown, and very dangerous humanoid. Ironically, Botchlings can be converted into a protector spirit known as Lubberkin, if a burial ritual is followed, so they're not completely irredeemable.
The Unseen Elder
Vampires are a convenient go-to solution when searching for scary monsters to add to a story, and the Unseen Elder is one of the most disturbing. The creature is a higher-level member of the vampire race and known for being extremely hostile to anyone who drifts into its territory, both human and vampire alike.
Physically, the Unseen Elder resembles a cross between the terrifying 1979 TV depiction of the scary vampire Kurt Barlow from Salem's Lot, and the nefarious Reapers from the action/horror film Blade II. It's also an immensely powerful apex predator who can kill with barely a flick of its wrist.
Nightwraiths
Plague Maidens might be terrifying, but Nightwraiths take the cake when it comes to creep factor. It resembles the decayed corpse of a slender woman, but that's no reason to tread lightly in their presence. Nightwraiths are capable of inflicting great damage and killing the unprepared.
As horrific as the creatures are, they're also somewhat tragic in their own loneliness. They can usually be found wandering fields and empty meadows in the dead of night as if they're searching for something - or someone - that they will never find.
Hym
Fear of the dark is the most prolific and powerful of humanity's primal fears, dating back thousands upon thousands of years. It makes sense, then, that one of the most terrifying Witcher monsters takes full advantage of that fear by manifesting itself as a malevolent shadow.
Hym is essentially a demon that uses psychological terror tactics to whittle down its prey, rather than going straight for the physical jugular. Ironically, Hym does not pursue the innocent, but the guilty. Indeed, the most despicable of humans have plenty to fear from this monster, and it will take great delight in driving them mad with terror.