Published Oct 28, 2026, 12:00 AM EDT

Giles received an unnerving backstory in one of season 2’s most memorable episodes

The scariest part of Buffy's first Halloween episode wasn't a monster — it was Giles

Image: The WB

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Halloween is the one night a year when monsters think it’s cliché to go out and torment the Hellmouth. As Buffy elegantly puts it: Halloween is “like, dead for the undead.” But 29 years ago, one evildoer decided to wreak havoc in Sunnydale on the one night no one expected. The result was an episode that explored the characters' deepest insecurities and gave the Scooby Gang an unexpected hero: Rupert Giles (Anthony Head), the fussy librarian who until then had served as Buffy’s moral compass and cheerleader. While he ended up saving the day, the episode added a wrinkle to his character, introducing his mysterious past as "Ripper."

Trick or treat

“Halloween” aired on Oct. 27, 1997, as the sixth episode of season 2.…