The scariest episodes of Buffy are the ones that combine those irrational, real-world fears with a healthy amount of supernatural horror. Killed By Death has both of those in spades, with the slayer's phobia of hospitals being explained by a childhood trauma...where her cousin was killed by a demon called Der Kindestod. Much like Normal Again, a lot of the fear at first comes from the flu-ridden Buffy's claims not being taken seriously. Being trapped in a desperate situation and none of your loved ones taking you seriously is bad enough. Factor in an ancient German monster with two sets of extra jaws protruding from his eyes, and you're really onto something. Cut off from the rest of the Scooby Gang, Buffy suffers through woozy visions of creepy kids at her hospital room door and gets precocious tykes warning her of Death coming at night, before she manages to get her sh*t together and take down Der Kindestod. Seeing her weak and almost failing to save the kids from the monster makes it all the worse.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
