The 10 Most Traumatizing Moments on "The Walking Dead"

Feast on the goriest moments and most heart-wrenching deaths of the first three seasons.

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Complex Original

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As a comic book, The Walking Dead always had a cult following since its debut in 2003. It wasn’t until AMC turned it into an ongoing TV series in 2010, however, that the property became a pop culture phenomenon. The story of Rick Grimes and his group of misfits trying to survive after the zombie apocalypse is just as much a horror fantasy as it is a real world exploration of the human condition. Plus, it’s so damn entertaining to sit back and watch zombies get beheaded every Sunday night.

Although the show does try to explore deeper themes and character studies, The Walking Dead is mostly celebrated for its unadulterated gore. The producers and special effects wizards (endless respect to KNB EFX Group's Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger) seem to take a masochistic glee in pushing the envelope of what's allowed on cable television each week. Zombie guts, severed limbs, and buckets of blood have become the norm as AMC continues to give us big-screen horror right in our living room every week.

As we wait impatiently for the show's fourth season to kick off this Sunday, at 9 p.m. EST, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at The 10 Most Traumatizing Moments on The Walking Dead.

Warning: Heavy spoilers are on deck.

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10. The Bicycle Girl

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9. Dale’s Death

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8. The Horse Disembowelment

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7. The Governor’s Aquarium

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6. Hershel loses a leg.

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5. Shane's Death

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4. Lori’s Death

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3. Rick’s Grief

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2. Sophia's Death

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1. The Well Walker

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