10 Most Messed Up Deaths In Star Trek: TOS
5. Burned To A Crisp - Devil In The Dark
It’s a well-known Trek trope that caves are always bad news.
From the risk of sudden collapsing walls to antagonistic androids and the miscellaneous bizarre space creatures that lurk within, the appearance of a cave on Star Trek normally indicates that someone, somewhere, is going to meet their maker. Especially those wearing a red shirt.
In “Devil in the Dark”, Kirk and co face off against a subterranean slayer known as the Horta, who’s not-so-silently picking off miners and engineers on Janus VI. For investigative purposes, they don’t have a lot to go on when examining what’s left of the victims, who are reduced to simmering chunks of charcoal.
We’re fortunate, however, to witness a typically ill-fated redshirt wandering the caves on his lonesome (always a bad idea), before being ambushed by the blazing blob that is the Horta and getting summarily burned to a crisp.
And if that wasn’t enough, the later revelation that the Horta is simply protecting its eggs renders it wholly sympathetic, and the barbecued remains of the redshirt are never avenged.
On a happier note, thanks to the Horta, there’s no need to go to the trouble of cremation.