10 Scariest Ever Batman Comics Stories

10. Haunted Knight

This collection of three Halloween-themed scary stories makes for excellent portmanteau style reading in the classic horror tradition. Three years' worth of one-shots from the celebrated Legends of the Dark Knight line, each one puts Batman through the wringer in a very different manner.

Although all of the major rogues make their appearances, the Scarecrow, Mad Hatter and the Penguin are the fiends responsible. The aptly-named Fears (the best, and scariest of the three) pits Batman against the Scarecrow and his fear gas, almost dying of terror in a poisoned maze.

Meanwhile Madness sees Commissioner Gordon's daughter (Barbara, pre-Batgirl) kidnapped by the Mad Hatter, giving one of the less-seen Batman villains his moment at the tea table. Finally, the most interesting of the stories is a fun play on A Christmas Carol, swapping out Christmas for Halloween, and the spirits for, uh, Poision Ivy and the Joker.

Written by Jeph Loeb and evocatively illustrated by Tim Sale, these dark, creepy stories proved so popular that they led to The Long Halloween: Batman's epic slasher movie.