These "Criminal Minds" cases are not easily forgotten. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the extremely disturbing, upsetting, or difficult to watch cases on “Criminal Minds”.
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00:00You are just surrounded by darkness.
00:03Why do you do it?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the extremely disturbing, upsetting, or difficult to watch cases on Criminal Minds.
00:14We will not be considering any spin-offs, and there will be spoilers, so here's your warning.
00:20Did it need to end that way?
00:22Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy in the first place?
00:27Number 20. Innocent Execution
00:30The BAU team is sent to question a serial killer couple, Jacob and Sarah Jean, before their execution to see if there are any more victims.
00:38Are there more bodies?
00:40If I told you that, what would I have left for myself?
00:45While Jacob had killed many women, Sarah Jean only confessed to killing their son Riley.
00:50Elle and Morgan are sent to the couple's home where they come across a letter from Sarah Jean stating her innocence.
00:55Gideon comes to believe that she didn't kill her son, but she resists any attempt to prove he is alive.
01:01I only have a few hours left.
01:05I'm respectfully asking you to leave.
01:08She wants Riley to be free of Jacob's evil legacy, even if it means being executed for a crime she didn't commit.
01:15Number 19. The Devil
01:17Several women are found dead in ritualistic killings linked to satanic worship.
01:21The unsub is James Heathridge, who not only drowns his victims in a horrifying manner, but does so believing it's his mission to kill the wives of the devil.
01:30Sorry, but we have to find the last of the devil's wives.
01:36There's never gonna be a last one, is there?
01:40This will go on forever and ever.
01:42He gets visions from his mother, whose legacy he's carrying on.
01:45James is led to believe by his mother that his sister Laura might be a bride of the devil.
01:50So he's about to sacrifice her, but the BAU team arrives just in time to stop him.
01:55The episode ends with Satan showing up and demanding that Laura leaves with him.
02:00I've waited so long for you, Laura.
02:04It's time to come with me now.
02:06Is it real or just in her head? It's unsettling either way.
02:10Number 18. The Stalker
02:12It's a day off from dealing with crimes, investigations, and unsubs, or so you might think.
02:17Garcia holds a hacking workshop, but one of the participants, Elizabeth, comes to her seeking help in dealing with a stalker.
02:24Who are you hiding from?
02:25I have a, you know, stalker, but it's all online so it's probably fine, right?
02:32Maybe, probably.
02:34She's received tons of increasingly threatening messages and spy photos of herself.
02:39Garcia and Alves go to Elizabeth's apartment to investigate further and discover that not only has the stalker been in her home,
02:46but he fashioned a small alcove under her bed.
02:49Of course, it's extremely unsettling to have your personal space invaded in such a manner.
02:54Now, we check under our beds every night.
02:57This unsub would have to have a key or four to get into Elizabeth's apartment and plant this.
03:02And then take pictures.
03:03Number 17. Feigned Innocence
03:06A serial killer is attacking women in rural Oklahoma, and he's taking away their senses with the use of sulfuric acid.
03:13Please, don't hurt me.
03:15Shh.
03:18Why would I hurt you?
03:20He's able to lure unsuspecting women in thanks to a developmental disability that gives him the appearance of being harmless.
03:27But he holds a deep-seated grudge from being rejected in his youth and takes that rejection out on his victims.
03:33His actions are completely unhinged as he sadistically torments the people he captures.
03:38It's especially disturbing because he constantly brags about how much pleasure he gets from the pain he causes.
03:50Number 16. Evil Legacy
03:52The BAU comes across women being targeted in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
03:56They quickly make a connection to a similar series of attacks in the 80s.
04:00Wait, we think this could be the same killer? That's a hell of a cooling off period.
04:04Thinking it's the same unsub coming back from a long break,
04:07but soon find that the perpetrator Charlie is the son of Robert, who was responsible for the old murders.
04:13Charlie grew up fatherless as Robert apparently died in a farming accident,
04:17but Charlie felt it was his duty to live up to his father's legacy.
04:21We are starting a family.
04:23I never wanted that.
04:24You are a liar and a sick son of a bitch, just like your daddy was.
04:30It's understandable to want to know where you come from,
04:32but it's twisted to continue to carry out such heinous acts.
04:36Number 15. Living Out Your Fears
04:38Normally when seeking out mental health services,
04:41those who work in that field are supposed to help you work through issues.
04:45Spend seven minutes.
04:48I'm done with this, okay?
04:51Is it worse than you thought?
04:53I can't breathe.
04:56What are you doing? Just let me out.
04:58Obviously, a lot of personal information is revealed and trust is huge when seeking out therapy.
05:04However, in this case, Dr. Howard runs an illegal practice under the guise of helping people deal with phobias,
05:10but really he's using their fears as part of his own sick curiosity.
05:14It's chilling how he calmly stands by his victims,
05:17jotting down notes and inquiring how they're feeling when he's put them in dire situations.
05:23Is it worse than you thought?
05:25Yes, babe. You don't have to do this. I'm gonna be okay.
05:29Number 14. The Most Dangerous Game
05:32While investigating a series of murders in rural Idaho,
05:35the BAU makes the grisly discovery that the victims were being hunted like wild animals.
05:40You gotta challenge yourself, Johnny. That's the only way you're ever gonna get better.
05:44The perpetrators, Johnny and Paul, delight in tracking down prey as it's part of the thrill.
05:49They use bows and arrows as part of their hunt and let their victims die in agony.
05:54They also really enjoy the psychological torment they bring to their victims.
05:58Run.
06:14It's scary that they could lack any humanity or compassion as they seem to be motivated purely for sport.
06:20Number 13. Deadly Skin Care
06:22Emma Kerrigan begins abducting men because she's deluded into thinking that their bodies can cure her of a skin disease.
06:29Mommy, what's the matter?
06:31She keeps the men in a barn, literally as livestock, as they're chained and force-fed.
06:36Not only are the conditions in which these men are kept completely deplorable,
06:40we also find out that she doesn't actually suffer from any skin condition.
06:44When she looks at herself, she sees blistering and redness that's not actually there.
06:49Perhaps the worst part is that she performs a C-section on a woman to get her placenta
06:54because she believes it will cure her and her daughter.
06:57This is not punishment. I'm trying to keep you healthy.
07:00Number 12. Alternate Dimensions
07:02The loss of a son is a traumatic experience,
07:05and unsub George Kyle Peters has taken to killing fathers in order to cross over into another universe as a way to cope.
07:12You have to mark him, Kyle.
07:17He further believes that he'll be able to reunite with his son in another dimension.
07:21His guilt is manifested in the form of a demon, Rusty, that George sees.
07:25It's Rusty who encourages him to commit the murders and berates him when he hesitates.
07:30Don't you want to see your son again?
07:36This child for yours.
07:38It really speaks to how powerful a force guilt can be on the human psyche.
07:43Number 11. Rabies Experimentation
07:45If not treated right away, rabies is fatal.
07:48Unsub David Cunningham witnessed his young brother die from the virus, and the trauma has stayed with him since.
07:54Eat. You'll need your strength.
07:59He would capture victims and purposefully infect them with rabies and coldly watch the symptoms develop until the fatal end.
08:06He kept those he abducted in cages and would use a cattle prod to keep them compliant.
08:11No matter how much a person pleaded and begged to be let go, Cunningham would just videotape them.
08:17You're cold.
08:20Yes.
08:22That's from the fever.
08:26Please just let me go.
08:28The thought of having someone infect you with a deadly virus just to watch you suffer from its effects is truly haunting.
08:34Number 10. The Reaper Storyline
08:36Though this is an overarching narrative rather than a case contained to one episode,
08:41The Reaper is simply too terrifying to ignore.
08:44Are you scared?
08:47You should be.
08:49George Foyette has a knack for three things.
08:52Killing, manipulating others, and escaping justice.
08:55Having first tangled with Hotch and company in season four, he returns the next year to leave a permanent mark on the series.
09:01The Reaper goes to Hotch's house and cruelly forces Hotch to listen to his ex-wife be shot.
09:06Though the BAU agent makes it to the house before the Reaper can kill his son too, it's too late for Hayley.
09:12Between Foyette's sadistic need for power and seeing Hotch break, this is a tough storyline to get through.
09:18Number 9. The Lake Murders
09:20This is yet another instance of an unsub who suffered at the hands of a parent.
09:25And the flashbacks of this killer's father's savage treatment are as difficult to watch as the crimes his son goes on to commit.
09:32Wake up! Wake up!
09:36Making for a sight that's as uncomfortable as it is brutal, the killer stalks innocent victims that he can drown and then violently revive.
09:44Why? As a child, he had a horrifying near-death experience.
09:48Now he's dying of cancer and is desperate to know what, if anything, happens after death.
09:54From start to finish, this case stood out as significantly darker than the average.
09:59Hello, Dad?
10:00Number 8. Decisions, Decisions
10:02You can go free whenever you'd like. You just have to kill someone first.
10:06Two of you will leave this room alive.
10:11One of you will die.
10:12When three young girls are abducted and forced into a dungeon-like basement, it's certainly distressing enough to see the parents of the girls panic.
10:19But when the killer lets his victims know that only two of the three will be walking out alive, it cranks the tension to an entirely new level.
10:27Switching between shots of the BAU trying desperately to track the girls before it's too late, and the girls struggling with a decision that will change their lives forever,
10:35this case keeps audiences on the edge of their seats until the bitter end.
10:40What's happening?
10:42Nothing, Fred. Nothing, go back to sleep.
10:45Number 7. The Prince of Darkness
10:47Few actors can bring the creep factor like Tim Curry.
10:51On your knees.
10:52Don't do it! I said don't do it!
10:56That's it, good boy.
10:58Known as the Prince of Darkness, Curry's character uses rolling blackouts throughout his target cities as windows to attack his victims under the cover of darkness.
11:07Relishing the position of power his crimes put him in, his lack of remorse and desire to inflict psychological trauma on his surviving victims surely makes even the most resilient of viewers feel queasy.
11:17What's more, one of the cops on the case has a personal connection to this killer that puts him and his loved ones at risk.
11:24Between that and leftover viewer trauma from Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise the Clown in IT, this episode is pure horror.
11:32Number 6. Young Brides
11:34Brainwashing, kidnapping, and young brides. Oh my.
11:38What if she doesn't like me?
11:40Any one of these would have made for an intense case, but presented all at once,
11:44these factors ensure that this season 4 episode is truly and deeply disturbing.
11:49A traveling Romani family is abducting little girls as potential brides for their young son,
11:54and watching how calm and collected they are about the situation is chilling.
11:58What's worse, we learn that the mother of the family was similarly abducted,
12:02and now simply accepts that this process is as normal as buying bread.
12:06Everything's okay. You're a part of something now.
12:10Unsurprisingly, her attempts to comfort the girls don't do much good,
12:14but they sure make us viewers uncomfortable.
12:17Number 5. Living Dolls
12:19We're not sure what the most disturbing aspect of this case is.
12:22The troubling childhood suffered by the unsub, or how she changed.
12:27So death isn't this unsub's goal, it's an unfortunate side effect.
12:30Exactly.
12:31Referencing the dolls her father gave her as a half-hearted apology,
12:35the now-grown-up killer decides she wants to keep playing with dolls.
12:38Odd, but acceptable in principle.
12:41In practice, however, she satisfies this need with human dolls.
12:45You're so pretty.
12:47Capturing attractive young women and keeping them drugged and painted like toys,
12:51this killer soon finds out that humans don't need dolls.
12:54This killer soon finds out that humans don't survive long trussed up.
12:58When one is finished, she simply disposes of the girl and finds a new one,
13:02perpetuating the chilling cycle.
13:04Number 4. Cannibalistic Satanist
13:06How many disturbing habits can you cram into one unsub?
13:10Apparently, quite a few.
13:12An inverted pentagram.
13:14Not only marking his victims by carving satanic symbols into their chests,
13:18this killer also forces his victims to eat the fingers of his other victims.
13:22His taste for human flesh and desire to share it with his victims is bad enough.
13:26Does he really need to trick additional innocent bystanders into consuming human meat as well?
13:31Apparently, yes.
13:33In fact, this case goes so far that the unsub ends up serving human chili to search and rescue volunteers.
13:39You know what?
13:40A vegetarian diet is starting to sound like a good option after watching this episode.
13:46Number 3. The Puppet Master
13:48Some are born monsters.
13:50Others become monsters.
13:52Please just let me go.
13:54How can I let you go? We haven't even started.
13:57After suffering serious brain damage,
13:59the killer in this case reverts back to a childlike mind with the goal of recreating his father's murder.
14:05But this time, puppets save the day.
14:07Obsessed with finding the perfect puppets for his show,
14:10he abducts and murders multiple actors before settling on the right pair.
14:14With dislocation scenes horrific enough to make viewers cover their eyes,
14:18the unsub's delusion and determination to see his performance through is as disturbing as his methods.
14:24So he's a psychopath who thinks he's a kid again and wants to avenge his father's death.
14:28Number 2. Scientific Experimentation
14:31A case too twisted to be solved in only one episode,
14:34this two-part story was inspired by the real-life serial killer Robert Pickton.
14:38I really believe he's about to abduct someone again.
14:41It's coming soon. Tonight, tomorrow. We know he sticks to a tight cycle.
14:44The killer here is actually a team of two brothers,
14:47with Mason, who has paralysis acting as the brains of the operation,
14:51and Lucas, who has mental disabilities as the brawn.
14:54Together, they capture unhoused people, people with substance use disorder,
14:58and sex workers from the streets,
15:00so Mason can conduct his sadistic scientific experiments on them.
15:04Though he's attempting to cure his paralysis,
15:06the pleasure Mason takes watching his victims suffer and be fed to his pigs is obvious.
15:12Why just the shoes? Where are the bodies?
15:14I don't think there's gonna be any bodies, guys.
15:16And the final reveal about just where all those bodies went is sure to make your stomach turn.
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15:37Number 1. The Crematorium
15:39Watching frantic parents search for their abducted children is difficult enough.
15:43Watching what happens to them, though, is almost too much.
15:51For nearly a decade, this morbid couple has been abducting kids from crowded public spaces
15:56and disposing of their victims via the crematorium at their funeral home.
16:00Between the visceral shots of heartbroken and worried parents
16:03and the disturbed individuals committing the crimes,
16:05audiences are hard-pressed to keep their eyes on the screen.
16:10But she's always been the one that I'm worried about.
16:13You can't blame yourself.
16:15The heartbreaking finale of this episode taps into the viewer's sense of empathy
16:19and undoubtedly leaves everyone feeling a little emptier after the TV is turned off.
16:24Which criminal minds cases do you find most disturbing?
16:27Let us know in the comments below.
16:29It's bad, right?
16:35Yeah. Yeah, it's bad.
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