16. Irresistible (Season 2, Episode 13)
"There's no way out, girly-girl. I know this house, girly-girl. There's nowhere to hide." - Donnie Pfaster
In an attempt to use FBI resources to expense a trip to Minnesota for a Vikings football game, Mulder tries to put a paranormal spin on a decidedly non-paranormal case. Officially pursuing the case of a death fetishist (yes, that is exactly what it sounds like), the more experienced Mulder is undisturbed by the grisly crimes. The grave desecrations and abuse of the bodies of dead women unsettles an unprepared Scully, however, and she must struggle to maintain composure as the violence escalates and the perpetrator--the exceedingly creepy Donnie Pfaster (introduced in the episode's teaser)--continues to evade the authorities. If this were a collection of the scariest episodes of
The X-Files, "Irresistible" would be pretty high on the list. Featuring one of the most frightening villains of the entire series and forever making it impossible to watch guest star Nick Chinlund in anything else without some serious skin-crawling, this episode proves that
The X-Files does not need aliens or mutants to be scary. Sometimes, the purest of evil comes from plain old humanity, and that evil is never so embodied as in Donnie Pfaster. So, if you like scary episodes (and
awesome episodes), "Irresistible" is an excellent starting point.