Ellen DeGeneres likes nothing more than to terrify her celebrity friends. Over the years, she has perfected the element of surprise, catching even her most astute guests off guard. Here are ten of the talk show queen’s all-time best scream-worthy scares.

Jimmy Fallon

The late night host thought he was filming an important promo, but Ellen had other plans.

Sam Smith

Some of Ellen’s best scares are on celebrities who insist they aren’t afraid of anything. Sam Smith bragged about being friends with ghosts, until a spooky surprise caught him off guard.

Sarah Paulson

Despite being a star on one of TV’s scariest shows American Horror Story, Sarah is still an easy scare!

Eric Stonestreet

The Modern Family star has seen his fair share of Ellen scares, but on this particular occasion, the actor was out for revenge…

Taylor Swift

Contrary to her song, this time she didn’t know when trouble was going to walk in! Ellen has managed to get Taylor more than ten times over the years, but this one takes top prize.

Nicki Minaj

In one of Ellen’s most hilarious scares yet, she had someone dress up as the rapper and pop out of a table! Despite Nicki’s tough exterior, she couldn’t hide her fear.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Poor Jake. He learned the hard way that you can never to let your guard down around the scream queen.

Jennifer Lopez

These two have some hilarious on-screen banter, but Jenny from the Block did not see this one coming.

Ariana Grande

When a simple scare just wasn’t enough, Ellen sent the singer into a haunted house.

Lea Michele

Glee star Lea is sweet as honey, but after her scare she threatened Ellen, “I am not coming back here.”