D&D General Favorite Creepy Monster To Run?

[Benjamin Olson]

It's lore and stat block doesn't really have much to support this so far as I know, but I always felt a Nightwalker that freely slipped between the shadowfell and the prime material plane, or that visited people's dreams, or that only certain people could see, or that could just appear and disappear as the scene demanded, would make for a great horror one shot. Basically if they followed supernatural horror movie monster tropes rather D&D monster tropes I think they've got a great look and vibe for it.

 

[Deset Gled]

I think rot grubs are probably the worst, because most of the others have workarounds, like fire or listening to doors using a metal cone with a screen on it.

The only way to not get rot grubs is to not loot bodies.

"Ha ha, suckers, you should have known better to, um, look for treasure!"

I think the Rust Monster is also pretty high on the list.

I just sent one at my party last week.

 

[Brendan Byrd]

That was the very good advice given in the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium volumes: Describe them, don't name them. Even the most mundane D&D monsters can be terrifying, given this treatment. (I believe TSR used an ogre in their example, and it wasn't even a creepy Pathfinder ogre, but it was still was quite effective.)

...and then ploink chess pieces down with a "Sorry, I don't have minatures for these yet, so this will have to do for today."
Also an opportunity for a skill check to identify...pass or fail, the player gets a note with a name on it...

 

[Clint_L]

I just used this lovely guy. Nothing like the screaming udead remnants of an aborted titan to make you question your life choices!

 

[JamesLFlowers]

My current DM loves monsters who seem to be one thing and then suddenly are something else, especially when the transformation is due to player actions. Sort of like feeding the Mogwai after midnight or the Flerken from MCU. Its so cute... AHHHHH!

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I came to say Meenlocks but Snarf beat me to them.

The attic whisperer from Pathfinder is another good one.

Beware the haunting sobs of the attic whisperer, for they carry the pained wrath of an abandoned child who perished due to the neglect or absence of their caretakers. Animated by loneliness, the embittered spirit binds itself to the material world in a body made of bits and oddments of a lost childhood—wooden blocks, scraps of blankets, ratty dolls, buttons, carved trinkets, and glass marbles. To give themselves the semblance of a head, they top their patchwork bodies with a small animal's skull.

Attic whisperers most frequently lurk in old infirmaries, orphanages, and other such institutions where children were forgotten, and they lay dormant for decades in hopes that they might one day find a playmate to ease their eternal loneliness. When they sense the living, attic whisperers attempt to lure them into their clutches by calling out to them using the voice of a small child. Though attic whisperers intend only to play with those they encounter, they drain the breath and voice from living creatures as their dark impulses take over.

Attic Whisperer - Monsters - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Database

Beware the haunting sobs of the attic whisperer, for they carry the pained wrath of an abandoned child who perished due to the neglect or absence of their caretakers. Animated by loneliness, the embittered spirit binds itself to the material world in a body made of bits and oddments of a lost...

2e.aonprd.com

 

[jayoungr]

This thing is horrific. There's a Young and Ancient version of it floating around somewhere but I can't seem to find it

The comments to the post you linked have suggestions on how to make a young spiderdragon. And I found an ancient spiderdragon here:

 

[Clint_L]

On this topic, I always want to use the scarecrow in a Halloween themed adventure, but the MM version is just so wimpy. I need to get off my arse and homebrew something better.

 

[wicked cool]

A hag- I like the sea hag

Dopplegangers

The shred skin makes a creepy encounter

At some point I’m running a body taker plant scenario

I like monsters mixed in a scenario of paranoia