Every experienced commander has some scary Elite Dangerous stories to share, ideally to a captivated audience in a space station saloon or dive bar with the drinks flowing. In lieu of the raucous setting, we instead asked our community of Elite Dangerous veterans to regale us with their spookiest true tales from the deepest trenches of space.

We received a bunch of excellent submissions, ranging from text entries with excellent literary skills to stunning images and captivating videos that had us on the edge of our seats. We’ll start with a sci-fi horror staple, tales of first encounters, before progressing into some less conventional terrors. So without further ado, here are the spookiest encounters our Just Elite Dangerous pilots have found throughout the galaxy.

First encounter: Revenants

First up is CMDR_M, who has provided a retelling of their first encounter with Revenants, the "biomechanical drone-like sentinels which patrol Thargoid-occupied human settlements." We'll let him take it away, complete with video footage of the encounter:

"I signed up for the then new AX [anti-xeno] Restore mission type, despite having very little experience of AX except for being hyperdicted around Maia a few times before. I ventured forth, not knowing quite what to expect…

"We’d seen some surveillance footage already: the search lights glowing eerily in the distance, beams cutting through the night. The strange screeching noises sounded like something organic, yet unnervingly metallic, though no one had yet returned from an occupied settlement."

"They didn't stop coming! Whatever they were, there were endless waves of them, eerie glowing green lights drifting about in the distant dark at first. Then they'd turn red and become very aggressive if they got closer... crazy screeching, dancing lights, with kilometre-long energy beams that sliced through shields and seared even a reinforced Dominator suit. You could barely see the creatures themselves, so you still didn't know what you were even engaging with!

"Having survived a few skirmishes and destroyed several of the sentinels, I hastily retreated to my SRV to rearm and rethink my approach as the overhead ships continued to spawn more. I changed into a Maverick suit and sneaked back into the settlement, taking cover on a rooftop, out of sight from the Revenants. Or at least, I hoped.

"They were patrolling everywhere, their search beams lighting up the deserted settlement streets with that ominous green glow... any contact with it would send them into that flaming red frenzy! How in Orion's Belt would I get to the power centre to complete the Restore mission?!

"I managed to carefully avoid that ubiquitous, dreaded green glow while the sentinels' attention appeared to be trained elsewhere. I snuck into the power centre, cutting the door lock as quickly as I could, with beads of sweat running down my forehead…"

The video above, from approximately 21 minutes in, shows exactly how CMDR_M's mission plays out. Grab your popcorn, because you'll need it.

First encounter: Thargoid surface sites

CMDR Henckes has showcased the first time he encountered a Thargoid Surface Site, with ominous footage of him orbiting the site from above.

"When I found it and saw the pale lights and a greenish fog in the dark, it gave me chills. The small vessels scattered around the site indicated it wasn't safe. I wasn't able to capture footage, but I managed to enter the structure after the Thargoid Probe started to destroy my SRV. Inside was frightening, with corridors that resembled a living being more than a building.

"I was in the unknown, invading enemy territory and under the threat of being attacked at any time. Now I know more about the Thargoids though, I try to inflict this feeling back on them, destroying them one by one."

CMDR_Zeroth had a similar experience, producing a cinematic video of their first encounter with Thargoid surface sites.

"Exploring Thargoid surface sites at night is one of the spookiest activities in Elite Dangerous. From the green speck of light seen as you approach the planet, which slowly reveals itself as a gigantic Geiger-esque structure as you descend, to the cathedral-like interiors that send the imagination wild with notions of the horrors that once lurked in its chasmic halls and corridors. Intriguing puzzles keep you there just long enough for the chilling atmosphere to creep under your skin, and you'll never be as happy to get back in your cockpit again as you are when you escape the foreboding gloom of these ancient, monstrous places."

XCezor also has a tale to tell about encountering Thargoid surface sites for the first time, which he describes as "one of the scariest things to explore alone." With "ambient noises and creepy music" playing and "Scavengers patrolling", entering the structure alone feels like "venturing into a Xenomorph nest". However, he explains that the fear completely dissipates when you activate the Thargoid map within, and it becomes "one of the most beautiful places in the game". The images in the tweet below show just what he's referring to.

Finally, Beetlejude doesn't have a tale of the Thargoid surface sites to tell, but they have created some stunning art depicting them. The video below is a timelapse of four stylistic illustrations featuring extremely descriptive narration explaining exactly why Thargoid surface sites are so eerie.

First encounter: Thargoids

XCezor explained what it was like encountering the Thargoid surface sites, but what about Thargoids themselves? They explain they went into them essentially blind, as all they knew was to look in the Pleiades sector, but eventually stumbled upon an Interceptor:

"I was terrified and couldn't look away, I had to keep watching it. If I could compare it to anything, it was like encountering a Leviathan for the first time in Subnautica. Just the other being and myself, surrounded by the void."

JHenckes echoes these thoughts, describing his first encounter with them as "desperate":

"I wasn't expecting them to show up out of nowhere, as I was traveling quietly, slightly distracted doing other things on the computer when suddenly my trip stops and I'm in front of two Thargoid ships.

"I unfortunately didn't manage to record the moment (probably because I wasn't even touching my controls at the time it happened as I was not paying attention at all, but I did manage to take a picture (below). After immobilising my ship and scanning me, they left, just like that! It was curious, scary, and remarkable in equal measure!"

Randomgazz is another who thinks encountering Thargoids is the scariest thing that can happen in Elite Dangerous. Here's their tale:

"Three of us multicrewed up, thinking we were invincible, heading out to shoot some aliens. We were dragged out of witchspace, lights flashing and strange sounds. Everything shut down - we were helpless! Finally the ship rebooted, there were these things flying around everywhere. The fighter barely scratched them, the turrets couldn't move fast enough. We had to eject and get the hell out of there."

First encounter: Thargoid Spire Sites

While Thargoid surface sites and the Thargoids themselves are creepy, you don't know proper terror until you've stumbled upon a Thargoid spire site. That's exactly what happened to LiquidMorkite:

"A friend and I decided to push forward and build some ships effective at destroying Titans. We heard about how good Guardian shard cannons could be against them, but only if they were engineered with Ram Tah's anti-Guardian field resistance, and in order to obtain them, we needed to fetch some Thargoid tactical chips.

"As it turns out, these can be obtained from Thargoid Revenants. We thought the job would be easy as they're just little baby 'goids, so we headed to the site. The spire towers look terrifying on approach; you can spot them while you are still in orbit, like giant spooky skyscrapers. And when you get close, all kinds of eerie noises can be heard from within.

"As we neared the ground, hiding from the Scouts and Interceptors, other entities started to show up on my radar. I thought they were our targets, so I started deploying my landing gear. Suddenly, I heard a loud boom followed by a screech; my ship was turned off.

"It was a Banshee. I knew - or at least I thought I knew - that Banshees aren't a threat either, as they’re also smaller 'goids, and while the bobblehead models look a little scary, they're not that dangerous. Famous last words.

"My ship turned back on and I boarded the SRV. That's when I saw the Banshee up close for the first time. It was bigger than I thought, it looked way scarier than the bobblehead, and it most definitely is not harmless. It took around 20 seconds to deplete my ship's shield, and another 20 seconds to blow up my exploration ship. I was a fool to go here without a proper combat ship, but I thought that without the Interceptors, I didn't need to worry about these guys. I was wrong."

"I started blasting the Banshee with my SRV, but it took forever; it was like I was just scratching its shell. The Revenant showed up as we got closer to the towers, which once again reminded me that I underestimated the Thargoids.

"We decided to flee in our SRVs while shooting behind us, hoping to kill them for the loot at the very least, even if we lost a limb or two. Their lasers melted down my shield in seconds, and there were only two of us, one combat SRV and one exploration SRV. I, unfortunately, was on the latter, as I was too lazy to get a combat SRV. A rookie mistake.

"Somehow we escaped, as my friend was smart enough to dismiss his ship as soon as we landed. We boarded, boosted away, and engaged supercruise as soon as we heard the beep from the mass lock indicator. My friend wondered how on earth this could be an SRV activity, because we only managed to escape by the skin of our teeth.

"Since that day, we never leave our ship when there's a Thargoid near us. Even the Scouts look gigantic when you’re on your feet without multi cannons. We're lucky we didn't get destroyed, but that was a one-of-a-kind spooky experience."

First encounter: Guardian Structures

While Thargoids are definitely spooky, Hunter considers Guardian structures to be the most unsettling locations you can find in the vast expanse of the galaxy: 

"The atmosphere is deadly, you feel the age, you see the scope of the buildings, you cannot imagine the scale of the ones who made them. It feels like you're being watched at all times, and the audio goes a long way into making it so unsettling. Kudos to the sound designers at Frontier.

"One of the first times I visited a Guardian Structure was to unlock the technologies they guard, and in that moment when I approached the terminal, it felt like the ground was shaking beneath my feet in real life. I felt like I'd need to visit the hospital, it was so intense!"

Check out Hunter's capture of this moment below:

Scary… Fumaroles?

Fumaroles in Elite Dangerous are openings in the crust of a planet that emit gases and minerals into the surroundings. So while they're geographical anomalies, they can be just as terrifying as encountering an unknown species for the first time. MQC tells us about the first time he found one:

"Once, quite a long time ago, I suffered a severe case of ‘fear of the unknown’ while searching for geological signs on a desolate planet. After starting the descent to the surface of the celestial body through its darkest part, I remember trying to orient myself but I couldn't see the ground.

"The feeling of terror at not knowing where I was felt similar to wandering down the street trying to get home on a dark, foggy night. I couldn't shake the feeling that at any moment I was going to crash into the elusive surface.

"When I managed to land, I could hardly see anything, even a few metres outside of the cockpit. I considered engaging my thrusters again and taking off, because I wasn’t going to get off the ship under any circumstances.

"Then I saw those shadows, those ghostly figures. Without a doubt something was lurking outside on the surface. However, I braved my fears and turned the ship's lights on instead… and oh my god.

"Those are fumaroles?!"

This tale is a perfect example of how even the most ordinary of things can appear to be something far scarier, even if the fumaroles aren't anything to worry about.

Captain Morrigan's treasure

Next up is this excellent true crime-style video from Wotherspoon, which details the hunt for Captain Morrigan's treasure, along with his mysterious disappearance in the first place. We won't spoil too much of what's going on here because this 15-minute news bulletin is well worth a watch, and as it says, "this voyage is cursed!".

A stunning galactic anomaly

Dydo was soaring through space peacefully, but decided to check out an anomaly on their radar. We'll let him explain the rest:

"At first, I thought it was a Thargoid squadron, complete with a hidden Titan, heading directly towards me while I was piloting a defenseless exploration ship. I took the record and was about to flee in terror when I realised these insects shouldn't be where I was, in deep space. So I approached slowly and discovered it was a stunning combination between a Rubicudum Lagrange Cloud filled with organic metallic crystals."

What was your scariest encounter in Elite Dangerous? Have you encountered the Thargoids yet, or anything else that had you trembling? Let us know in the comments below!

Some text has been edited for brevity, clarity, or spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can find the original wording here. Image credit: MrT / Frontier