Battlestar Galactica

From: Original 1978, TV Series
Created By: Glen A. Larson

Whether it was from the original 1978 series or the miniseries that followed, even the list of books, the Battlestar Galactica universe is very successful. Glen A. Larson created a universe that truly stood out in a time that people were eager to see content involving aliens and spacemen. It went much deeper than this as this universe has been taken over by a robotic army called the Cylons. They already destroyed the Twelve Colonies that hosted human life, bringing humans to near extinction.

A fabled thirteenth colony known as Earth is now on their radar. While these cybernetic beings are incredibly violent, they are also great at manipulation and deception. Thus, there is always a war with these beings that could potentially be among us right now. The Earth in this series must be one of the scariest science fiction worlds imaginable. Just think about the fact that you have to look out for machines that want to end your entire species, and you’ll see our point.

The Walking Dead

From: The Walking Dead, Comic Book & TV Series
Created By: Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore

The Walking Dead is a very successful television show that some people believe has lasted a bit too long for its own good. No matter what side of the fence you’re on, the series has made an impact on pop culture. The show is actually based on a comic book series of the same name that debuted in 2003. Distributing by Image Comics, many felt it might not work as a series due to the lack of stable stars that lasted for long periods of time. While deaths for regular characters were common in the comics, the series managed to drag out some roles.

Others were cut pretty quickly or after several seasons. Only one main star is currently still present from the first season, however. The series revolves around a world that is affected by a virus. Those bitten (sometimes scratched) by walking zombies or “walkers” become one themselves. Usually, if you’re killed before the virus takes hold, you won’t become one. Yet this differs depending on the storyline. Obviously, a world like this is among the scariest science fiction worlds and one we’d never want to live in.

Oz

From: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, Book
Created By: L. Frank Baum

The world of Oz has been examined and explored more in media ever since it became notable from the Wizard of Oz movie. Of course, before the movie, there was a book published in 1900 by L. Frank Baum. He called his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but ever since the movie we used the shortened title. The story revolves around Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas. She and her dog Toto end up being caught in a Tornado inside her home. When the storm ends, she leaves her house. What she finds is a colorful new world called Oz, making her believe she’s “not in Kansas anymore.”

She is met by several little people and eventually a Good Witch named Glenda. They thank her for killing a bad witch plaguing their small community, but the witch’s sister vows revenge. Dorothy wants to get back home, so she is told to go see the Wizard. Along her way, she meets a talking scarecrow, a lion, and Tinman. Each needs something from the Wizard and chooses to travel together. Along their way, they have to face off against flying monkeys, as well as magical issues. While the world seems lovely, Oz is one of the scariest science fiction worlds because there is so much present that could end our life.

Planet of the Apes

From: La Planète des singes
Created By: Pierre Boulle

Planet of the Apes is a really interesting story and world. The initial version involved a dystopian future where mankind devolves to become Apes. Of course, as you’ll know from articles we’ve published in the past… Apes and Humans are cousins from the same ancestor, the Bonobo. We never were part of the Great Ape community. Yet the story was compelling and comes from a book written by French author Pierre Boulle called La Planète des singes.

That translates simply to “Planet of the Apes,” which is where we get the name from. His book was published in 1963 and became relatively popular. This made 20th Century Fox want to create a movie based on the book, which came out in 1968. Of course, we’d later see a revamped version of the franchise which seemed to connect with more people. Both premises seem to show apekind overtaking humankind, making it a world we’d want to stay far away from.

Solaris

From: Solaris, Novel
Created By: Stanisław Lem

The initial Solaris novel was written by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The novel quickly made waves when it was published in 1961. It was a huge success in Poland, prompting an English version to be published in 1970. Yet the initial film based on the book was made in 1968, but the English copy resulted in a 1972 film too. Finally, a 2002 film was formed. All stayed pretty close to the initial story and world that Lem created too. The story revolves around research scientists who attempt to communicate with the alien world known as Solaris.

Beings from the planet somehow live on various tiny islands, as the world is around 90% water. The massive ocean makes life hard, but Earth scientists want to visit and study it. What they do not know is that the ocean itself is alive, and can read the minds of humans. It’s even able to create replicas of any person, giving them superhuman abilities. While it sounds interesting, this has to be one of the scariest science fiction worlds to find yourself on. A living ocean that has essentially ultimate power? No thank you!

Enderverse

From: Ender Series, Shadow Saga, Formic Wars, Book Series
Created By: Orson Scott Card

We should make it clear that the Enderverse is a collection of several novels, with the most well-known likely being Ender’s Game. All of the stories were written by American author, Orson Scott Card. The universe consists of 16 novels, 13 short stories, 47 comic issues, an audio play, and obviously one film. However, the film takes its cues from the Ender’s Game novelette. Different sagas involve various different characters and timelines, but the initial story is as follows.

We are put into a dystopian future where mankind is facing its potential end due to an aggressive alien society known as the Formics. The insect-like race is often called “buggers” for obvious reasons by humans, however. Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is the main character. Wiggin is one of many child soldiers trained in “Battle School” to be a future leader and protector of Earth. Of course, Ender is one of the few that can pilot specific ships that can destroy the Formics. Thus, he has to win at all costs. It is not hard to see why the stories are popular, but you can easily see why this is one of the scariest science fiction worlds.

Alice in Wonderland

From: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Book
Created By: Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland has been very successful first in a novel form, then in numerous movies, both animated and live-action. As most know, the story was written by the amazing Lewis Carroll and published back in 1865. The overall story is iconic, so much so that we use terms from it in regular life. Like “falling down the rabbit hole, going down a rabbit hole, wonderland,” and many more. The story is well known, but we’ll go over it a little bit too.

Alice is a regular girl who accidentally falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a mysterious world known simply as Wonderland. There, she meets people like the March Hare and Mad Hatter, enjoys tea and unbirthdays, sees a rabbit running late, and much more. As we know, Alice soon draws the ire of the Queen of Hearts and must find a way to make it back home. It is an interesting tale connected to very early science fiction. Which helped it land on our list, but clearly it is also one of the scariest science fiction worlds that we’d never want to be in. Wonderland is not truly the wonder that the name suggests.

The Last of Us

From: Last of Us, Video Game
Created By: Naughty Dog & Neil Druckmann

For anyone who has played the two Last of Us games, it is not hard to see how this made our list. When it comes to the scariest science fiction worlds, this franchise takes the cake. It was created by the Naughty Dog team, the same studio behind Crash Bandicoot and the Uncharted franchise. The overall story was a concept Neil Druckmann came up with and wrote out fully, with concepts made for the video game world put together later on. The initial story follows Joel and Ellie. Players of the game operate Joel, but in the second game, you get to play as Ellie and another character.

Joel has lost both his wife and daughter to a mysterious virus that makes people turn into zombie-like beings. The only way to get the virus is if you’re bitten or scratched. It seems that there needs to be some blood or saliva involved. It is found that Ellie is immune to the virus after she is attacked by one of the zombies. Joel, specializing in delicate delivery operations,  is tasked with taking her up north to develop a cure. Unknown to Joel at the time is that they have to kill Ellie to develop the cure, which helps to set up the tension for the second game.

The Monster Universe

From: Dracula, Frankenstein, Invisible Man, The Man-Wolf, & The Mummy, Novels
Created By: Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Ralph Ellison, Leitch Ritchie, Jane Webb

A lot of people might be confused by what we mean here. What is the “Monster Universe?” We are connecting it to any of the old literature monsters from well-known novels. Most of them made their way into films, which led to the name that this universe often goes by called the Universal Classic Monsters. The reason for the name is due to Universal Studios making so many of the iconic monster movies from the 1930s to the 1950s. That includes the original Dracula, Frankenstein, Werewolf/Wolf Man, Invisible Man, and The Mummy films.

Due to being part of the same studio, they are also part of the same Classic Monsters universe. In fact, there was recently an attempt to set up a “Dark Universe” involving most of these characters. Likely resulting in a movie with them all involved. But the initial film flopped and led to that ending. Regardless, it is clear that being in a world with all of these characters being real is horrible. Thus, we feel it is one of the scariest science fiction worlds imaginable. Just think if all of these old-school monsters were actually real. We’d live in constant fear for our lives.

Warhammer

From: Warhammer 40k, Tabletop Game
Created By: Games Workshop/Black Library

Warhammer or Warhammer 40k initially began as a miniature tabletop game in 1987, which has been extremely successful even to this day. Due to the fantasy environment, it was clear that novels could be published involving the world. Games Workshop, the people behind the tabletop game, decided to open Black Library in the mid-1990s. It exclusively creates literature and other media for Warhammer. That includes novels, novelettes, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and more. Of course, each seems to be made by different authors.

However, writers Steve Lyons, Dan Abnett, Gav Thorpe, John French, James Swallow, Bram Counter, and Graham McNeil are involved in most of the projects. Counter and McNeil seem to be involved in the most all-time. The overall universe is divided into three sections: the alien races, The Immaterium and Chaos Gods, and The Imperium of Man. The literature breaks down all of these sections in extreme detail. You won’t even come across most of the content or lore when playing the game. Yet it still exists and the entire world is not meant to be uplifting and joyous. Rather, it is meant as a hopeless reality we must all face.

The Handmaid’s Tale 

From: The Handmaid’s Tale, Novel
Created By: Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid’s Tale is currently one of Hulu’s most successful series and has won several awards in its time. Yet Hulu did not just come up with this story. It came from a novel published by Canadian author Margaret Atwood in 1985, which won a slew of awards itself. The story centers around a future New England totalitarian state that is claimed to be using divine law. The state is known as the Republic of Gilead, which has somehow overthrown the U.S. Government. The Republic is quite backward in its ways and goes back to a time when women had no say in anything and were considered male property.

Offred, the central character and narrator of the story, is a handmaid. She and the other handmaids are forcibly assigned to produce children for the “commanders.” This is the ruling class of men in the republic. Going off of just Offred’s experience, you can see the loss of female agency and individuality she is experiencing in this completely patriarchal society. While the subjugation of women alone makes this one of the scariest science fiction worlds, the complete totalitarian state is worthy of fear too. Plus, it is clear when a state like this claims to be using “divine law or rule,” it’s usually crap used to seize control.

I Am Legend

From: I Am Legend, Novel
Created By: Richard Matheson

This movie starring the great Will Smith has now become iconic. From the story to the world around Smith’s character, it is hard to find anything to dislike about I Am Legend. The movie was based on a very successful science fiction novel of the same name, published by American author Richard Matheson in 1954. The story revolves around Robert Neville, who appears to be the sole survivor of a pandemic that wiped out most of the human population.

Those that did not die off became vampires. These vampires are not unlike their stereotypical versions from previously published literature. Yet in spite of their similarities, they look just like regular humans. The story takes place in 1976 within the novel, 22 years after the present-day at that time. Neville manages to survive against the vampires by using traditional repellants like garlic, mirrors, crosses, etc. As well as staying inside at night. During the day, he drives around killing them off with wooden stakes. While the story is awesome, living in this world would not be at the top of our to-do list.

Game of Thrones

From: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book Series
Created By: George R.R. Martin

Game of Thrones was a massively successful show on HBO that was originally based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. Eventually, they ran out of books but the creators of the show wanted to continue the series. Martin, as of this writing, has not finished up the last of the series. Thus, GOT had to go off-book for most of the last few seasons of the show. The series revolves around an ensemble of characters, yet the one main goal has been to rule for most of them.

On one side, you have the Lannisters that take control of the Iron Throne almost immediately and keep it for most of the series overall. They are rich and always pay their debts, but they are not just happy with some control; they want it all. Yet the Starks are in the way of that, and eventually the b***ard Jon Snow. There are seven kingdoms to take, but the one that seems to have it as her destiny to combine them is the “Mother of Dragons” Daenerys Targaryen. The story overall is great, but whether it is real dragons, real magic, or the constant war and betrayal… all of this makes it a world we’d like to stay very far away from.

A Quiet Place

From: A Quiet Place/A Quiet Place 2, Films
Created By: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, & John Krasinski

A Quiet Place is one of the few science fiction worlds on this list that was created exclusively for a film and did not first start out as a novel. The original film was written by actor John Krasinski as well the two men who came up with the concept of the story, Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. Yet the second film was written solely by Krasinski. He also directed both movies too. John’s wife Emily Blunt co-stars in the movies with him as well. The story revolves around a world that contains frightening monsters that are eventually called Death Angels.

Although, they are referenced as “the creatures” quite often. These monsters happen to be blind but they have an acute sense of hearing, which means if you remained quiet, they cannot see to attack you. Of course, this is a post-apocalyptic world where humans are being picked off constantly. The family we follow allows us to see how they manage to survive and even take down some of the creatures. Clearly, this is one of the scariest science fiction worlds one could come across. Who would ever want to live in it?

Alien Universe

From: Alien, Film Series
Created By: Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, James Cameron, Joss Wheadon

A few major directors have worked on the “Alien” franchise of films. Ridley Scott was the first and kicked off the series of films with the original movie in 1979.  The infamous tagline for the movie was: “in space, no one can hear you scream.” That line is still so impressive, and actually 100% true scientifically. In the Alien series, we’re set between the 21st to 24th centuries and find that mankind is locked in a war with a hostile alien race.

The race often begins as an endoparasitoid and would then pop out of its host upon essentially hatching. The species is referred to as Xenomorphs, likely due to their impressive abilities. One of the species is potentially the biggest threat and main member of their species, known as Xenomorph XX121 or Internecivus raptus. While seeing an alien species or even just one like XX121 might seem appealing to some, not us. Think about the horrors this science fiction world must deal with!

Westworld

From: Original Westworld Film & Westworld TV series
Created By: Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Roy

Westworld is a tremendous television show created by Lisa Roy and Jonathan Nolan. Of course, Jonathan is the brother of Chris Nolan who has created some of the most notable science fiction thrillers of this generation. Many of which Jonathan worked on alongside him. Westworld was his project though, and it happens to be based on the 1973 movie of the same name. While they do take liberties that differ from the original, it still connects quite a lot. Westworld is technically its own place in the 2050s. A theme park of sorts, where people visit and can interact with the “hosts” in any way they’d like.

The hosts are essentially advanced androids, so the actual human can do as they wish to the hosts without any threat of incarceration. The androids are not able to harm humans either. “Operators” create narratives that are performed each day by the androids, and humans carry out their will within this. Yet one doctor added an “update” to make a few of the hosts fully sentient, meaning those hosts could indeed harm humans or stop them from harming other hosts. While the world sounds interesting, it is also one of the scariest science fiction worlds. As AI becoming sentient carries so many potential issues.

Lord Of The Rings

From: Lord of the Rings, Book Series
Created By: J.R.R. Tolkien

If we were to discuss the books and entire series of films connected to the Lord of the Rings franchise, we’d be writing an entire book of our own. This fantasy world was created by the brilliant J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings novel he wrote was actually a sequel to his initial children’s book known as The Hobbit. That book was published in 1937, but the LOTR novel took Tolkien several years to write out. He actually wrote it in sections from 1937 to 1949, when he finally completed it.

Today, it is one of the most successful novels ever written. Taking place in the Middle-Earth, we’re thrown into a world in the distant past where magic is real and rings of power give people control. Yet there is one ring that is capable of ruling them all, which everyone seems to be on a quest to find. However, talk about one of the scariest science fiction worlds ever! Regardless of the rings of power, there are dragons and other powerful creatures. Plus, wizards and elves with great archery skills? No thank you!

Marvel Comics World(s)

From: Marvel Comics
Created By: Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, And Many More

While Marvel Comics is a large corporation that involves characters developed by many people, the main two have to be Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Of course, Steve Ditko was one of the main Marvel writers and creators for many years too. The company actually began as Timely Comics by Martin Goodman in 1939. It later became Atlas Comics before finally changing for good to Marvel Comics in 1961.

The main three men are responsible for creating characters like the Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther, The Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Spider-Man, and a slew of other iconic characters. This world sounds amazing, but we often ignore the damage and violence created. As well as those put in harm’s way. That is why this is one of the scariest science fiction worlds. Just imagine all the horrors that could come about if it were completely real.

Anything From Stephen King

From: Stephen King novels
Created By: Stephen King

Stephen King is a notable writer of horror and thrillers. In fact, some of the most terrifying movies from the 1970s to 2000s were based on his novels. While many will state that he is a fantasy writer, one could also place him in the science fiction area just as easily. Most of his characters are based on something connected to this, like an alien species, an evil spirit, or some type of monster. Others might have to do with an insane person or those with mental illnesses going off the rails.

Novels you may have heard of include Carrie, IT, Misery, The Shining, Pet Semetary, The Mist, Bag of Bones, Cujo, End of Watch, Doctor Sleep, Salem’s Lot, If It Bleeds, Black House, and both the Dark Tower and Green Mile series of novels. As you likely noticed, many of these novels became movies or even inspired television shows. There is a reason King is the king of horror, and we do not want to live in any world he has created for all the money in the world!!

The Witcher

From: The Witcher, Book Series
Created By: Andrzej Sapkowski

The Witcher happens to be a pretty successful franchise at this point. The world was first created via the initial novels from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. There is a wide collection of six novels and fifteen short stories. Due to the success of the novels, a video game publisher called CD Projekt Red felt they could turn this into a video game. The developer is also Polish, so it made sense to see why they connected so well to the series.

After the wild success of the games, including the third installment that is considered one of the greatest video games ever, Netflix decided to do a series. Starring Henry Cavill as the main star, the series has become a huge hit for the streaming platform. The Witcher franchise revolves around a few characters, but mainly Geralt, a Witcher. These people are born and bred to become monster hunters and face off with some of the most frightening creatures imaginable. Do we really need to tell you why this world is scary?

Monster-Verse

From: Original Godzilla & King Kong, Films
Created By: Max Borenstein, Eric Pearson, Dan Gilroy, Derek Connolly, Michael Dougherty, & Jordan Vogt-Roberts

The Monster-Verse is technically a collection of monsters from different stories. It is similar to the Universal Monsters referenced earlier. The universe was put together by Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures. It began in 2014 with their Godzilla movie. Of course, Godzilla goes back several decades but this is the first we’ve seen of the character in many years. The second movie involved was Kong: Skull Island, a story about the infamous King Kong.

The universe itself did not start out as a major franchise. Rather, it was just meant to reboot Godzilla. Yet after the success of the first two movies, then the second Godzilla project. Then the Godzilla vs Kong movie was put into place. Other monsters are said to be getting the movie treatment eventually too. We feel this is one of the scariest science fiction worlds ever. Think about it, a giant sea monster and a giant gorilla that could level cities? That’s enough for anyone to want to steer clear.

Dune

From: Dune, Book Series
Created By: Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, & Keith J. Anderson

Dune is by far one of the most successful science fiction franchises in history. The story and world itself were created by Frank Herbert. He wrote the initial 5 books from 1965 to 1985. The rest of the novels were written by his son Brian Herbert along with Kevin J. Anderson. The duo heavily expanded the series with specific books revolving around the various characters or groups within Dune. The initial series is set in the distant future where interstellar societies and the planets involved are controlled by noble houses. The initial story revolves around Paul Atreides whose family accepted the control of planet Arrakis.

It is practically inhospitable and not very populated. This is due to being a wasteland desert on most of the planet. Yet the reason Arrakis is special is due to being the only place you can find melange or “spice.” It extends life and enhances mental abilities, and also happens to be needed for space navigation. Meaning to control Arrakis is to control the known universe. That results in wars, betrayal, and much more in hopes of controlling it. All wrapped up in a world of political and religious beliefs. Basically, it is like our Earth only with more supernatural stuff and advanced technology.

Star Wars Universe Of Worlds

From: Star Wars, Films & Book Series
Created By: George Lucas

A bit of trivia regarding Star Wars. Did you know Marvel Comics released the first Star Wars comic book before the original movie came out in theaters? While George Lucas was not sure about the success of the movies at first, he certainly felt the story could be huge. There are many worlds within the Star Wars Universe, but they all have to exist under the same types of conditions. There is a force that seems to give power to those who can access it. Some might access the light side while others access the dark side of it. However, the force must be balanced and never lean too far in one way or the other.

The force gives supernatural powers and abilities. From telekinetic to telekinesis abilities and much more, the most powerful force users tend to be the ones with power. Several religious sects were built around this, including the original Jedi. Some planets were taken over where dark force became commonplace, one of which involved the Sith population. Resulting in Sith people being linked to the dark side. All of this power that can be held by specific individuals is what makes Star Wars one of the scariest science fiction worlds… or universes ever. Think of the destruction that could take place if it were real.

Halo (The Rings)

From: Halo, Video Game Series
Created By: Bungie Studios: Brannon Boren, Matthew Soell, Eric Trautmann

The original Halo video games were created by Bungie but are now being developed by Xbox Game Studios. All of the stories follow the Spartan supersoldiers, but there is one main person players will operate. He is called the Master Chief, but he’s also referred to as Master Chief Sierra-117 or even “John.” The story also involves his AI companion Cortana, a name that has since been used in Windows computer software due to Microsoft owning Xbox. The initial trilogy revolves around an interstellar war between mankind and an alien race known as The Covenant.

Led by religious leaders called “Prophets,” they worship an ancient civilization referred to as “The Forerunners.” They sadly perished due to The Flood, a parasitic species that wipes out any planet they inhabit. This led to the Halo Array weapon being developed by the Forerunners in an effort to stop the Flood. It is a group of habitable ring-shaped superweapons, but The Covenant believes they are artifacts that will transport them to meet The Forerunners. Thus, the battle between the two sides often deals with one side trying to stop the rings from activation and the other trying to activate them.

Where do we find this stuff? Here are Our Sources:

Bungie Studios

Xbox Game Studios

Naughty Dog

Warner Bros.

Legendary Entertainment

Dune Novels

The Witcher Novels

Hunger Games Novels

Marvel Comics

Black Library

Lucasfilm

HBO

Lionsgate