15. Die Hand Die Verletzt (Season 2, Episode 14)
"Mulder, toads just fell from the sky!" - Dana Scully
In "Die Hand Die Verletzt," Mulder and Scully must travel to a small town in New Hampshire to investigate a homicide that looks to be committed by a cult of some sort. The town's leaders--legitimate worshippers of Satan--however, learn that someone or something much more powerful than one of their own must be responsible for the ongoing series of murders, all of which seem to be centered around the local high school. "Die Hand Die Verletzt" is an unnerving episode, made particularly eerie by the tight-knit and tight-lipped community. The horror movie stereotype of what fate usually befalls outsiders in secluded small towns is subverted, however, as it becomes immediately clear that the Satan-worshippers are
not the prime antagonists of the story. Already good, the episode is elevated to excellency by the portrayal of the villain by Susan Blommaert, and she is not a villain that will be quickly forgotten. Also, there is a huge snake. Huge snakes are always creepy.