The world in which The Witcher games are set is based on Slavic mythology, folklore tales, and a variety of different pagan beliefs. As such, it is bound to be a weird, scary, and generally disturbing place. In part, this is what makes these games so unique and enjoyable in the first place.
This creepy atmosphere and a looming sense of danger are ever-present throughout all three of CD Projekt RED's critically-acclaimed trilogy. Players often led Geralt of Rivia into very disturbing situations that only got weirder as their questlines progressed.
8 Family Matters
This is a dark, disturbing quest in The Witcher 3 that has Geralt look for the Bloody Baron's wife and daughter. Pretty innocuous, right? As it turns out, it is everything but that. It turns out that the Baron's family is cursed because of his wife's miscarriage caused by the Bloody Baron's domestic abuse.
There is more to it. After these revelations, players face a choice of what to do with the Botchling (cursed, stillborn fetus). They can either kill it right away or try to lift the curse by turning it into a Lubberkin, a friendly household guardian spirit. Regardless of the decision, "Family Matters" remains a deeply disturbing quest that poses important questions about alcoholism, domestic abuse, and forgiveness.
7 Ladies Of The Wood
Early on in Wild Hunt's storyline, Geralt will stumble upon a book called "The Ladies of the Wood," which tells a fairy tale of a group of witches who take children from villagers in exchange for making their desperate pleas come true. It was believed that these crones take care of the children and treat them well.
As it usually turns out in The Witcher, this fairy tale was very much true, with one exception: the children get taken in by the Crones to an "orphanage," where they get fattened up and prepared to be eaten. The Witcher is full of unsettling monsters and concepts, and the Crones of Crookback Bog definitely belong on that list.
6 Witcher Training
Although players never really get to experience the process of turning a person into a witcher first-hand, it is described in detail in all three games through conversations and texts found in the game. The process is lengthy and cruel, especially considering that it needs to begin at a very young age. Children who get taken in to become witchers don't only undergo combat training, but also need to go through a series of chemical transformations that give them superhuman strength.
These are done with the help of potions that come with a number of painful immediate side effects, as well as some serious, long-term ones, such as sterility. Many don't survive the transformation. In short, witchers are created via a process that can essentially be described as child torture.
5 Entering Whoreson Junior's House
Upon entering Novigrad in The Witcher 3, players are tasked with finding Cyprian Wiley, better known as "Whoreson Junior," one of the major crime bosses in the city. It is understood from conversations leading up to the first encounter that Wiley is an unusually cruel individual, but that quickly gets rendered as a major understatement once Geralt enters Wiley's hideout.
Once inside Whoreson Junior's residence, players find the criminal in a room littered with the dead bodies of prostitutes, as he is getting himself cleaned up. Once Wiley tells Geralt what he knew about Ciri, players are left with the choice of letting him go or killing Junior on the spot. After just witnessing his cruelty, it's safe to say that most players probably chose the latter.
4 The Striga Curse
Contrary to other, well-documented curses and spells in The Witcher universe, there isn't much information available about turning a person into a "striga" - a monster filled with resentment towards humanity, killing and devouring everything in its path.
What is known, though, is that only women can be turned into strigas and that they can be cursed before being born. This was the case with Adda, King Foltest's illegitimate daughter, who was buried alongside her mother in a sarcophagus deep beneath Vizima. The curse can be cured by surviving a night in the striga's tomb. The most disturbing fact about strigas is that they are borne out of deep hatred and resentment, which they are then forced to feel forever (unless they are cured).
3 A Towerful Of Mice
"A Towerful of Mice" is a Wild Hunt side quest that takes players to Fyke Isle, where they are supposed to infiltrate a certain freestanding tower. It wouldn't seem so bad, if not for the fact that this tower is filled to the brim with rats and other types of rodents.
It's a truly disgusting place that only gets worse as players explore it further. Geralt uncovers the origins of the infestation, which turned out to be a failed experiment of a mad scientist, Alexander. It would seem pretty standard, if not for the fact that the story was relayed to the witcher by the ghost of Annabelle, a woman who drank a paralyzing potion inside the tower and ended up getting eaten alive by the rodents, fully aware of what was happening to her the entire time.
2 Johnny
The Witcher fanbase is quite divided when it comes to opinions about Johnny, the Godling. Some love his sharp wit and child-like nature, while others find him annoying and yearn for the option to kill him. Regardless of how they feel about him as a character, The Witcher fans are in agreement about one thing: Johnny is very creepy-looking.
His size and voice don't really match his face, not to mention his otherworldly powers, and the godling's childlike appearance doesn't change the fact that his yellow eyes haunt many players to this day. Quite frankly, Johnny is the ultimate proof of these games' great writing: not many games have terrifying characters that are also incredibly easy to sympathize with.
1 Meeting The Caretaker
The Caretaker is a freakish minor boss that players can meet by doing the "Scenes From a Marriage" quest in Witcher 3's Heart of Stone DLC. He is not the hardest enemy in the game by any means, although he can still put up quite a fight, seeing as he is able to summon creatures that he can feed on, thereby healing himself.
The most disturbing part of meeting the Caretaker is the cutscene revelation showing that this character has no eyes or nose. When he pulls his hood up, players can only see a blank skin canvas with only a small slither at the bottom serving as a mouth. It's truly a disgusting sight, one that many players probably wish they can erase from their memories entirely.