I'm posting the above question in his memory, and to help us start to reflect on the enormity of his influence to the world of on-screen horror.

Mine has to be the Winkie's Diner scene from Mulholland Drive

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If you'd like, add a blurb about what made that scene so unsettling for you, or a related Lynch reflection(s).

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^{My blurb is probably too excessive, so even for those of you who have gone the extra mile by getting this far: please feel free to bypass the rest and dive into the discussion}

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^\Also: I could've worded this whole post as 'favorite) ^{horror scene,' but I thought this would better capture all the horror scenes in Lynch's oeuvre, regardless of their context. So much of Lynch's work defied restrictive classification, and the massive tentacles of his legacy as an artist extend far beyond the scope of this sub. This question merely scrapes the surface of what he brought to the horror world, but hopefully it does so in a relatively broad way...\})

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My blurb (modest spoiler and moderate ramble alerts....continue at your own peril):

^{I was fortunate enough to see Mulholland Drive during its initial theatric release. It was my introduction to Lynch. I was in high school at the time. Frankly, I left the theater afterwards with as much understanding of the plot as I had going in. Maybe less. But I sure as hell didn't sleep through the film. That was part of why it made an impression on me. Lynch's penchant for abstract chaos was part of a signature recipe for generating horror. Indeed, being confused by his wacky plots contributed to the helplessness we felt along with his terrified characters on screen. However, I think there are two even more critical ingredients from Lynch's horror recipe: his versatile artistic instincts as a surrealist and his utterly total mastery of the art of the single scene. The Winkie's scene is a perfect microcosm of both....and for me, also has that 'scarecrow' quality of being my first Lynch.}

^{A dream within a bigger dream which is structured in a dream-like manner and contains a bunch of dream-related dialogue...AND a journey to a different environment within the same set...AND a jump scare....and all in under 5 minutes. Is that surrealist enough for you? And, true to form, it functions like a miniature unrelated film within the main feature. It's sort of an 'abstract pocket horror film' capable of delivering on its jump even after repeated viewings. But even that doesn't do it justice, because it delivers on its emotionally-complex 'mood horror' so thouroughly that the jump itself is really only a small fraction of its greatness...almost like a song that sounds great without ever hearing its chorus or a rollercoaster that works well without a huge drop.}

^{So thanks, RIP, and cheers to one of the greats, Mr. David Lynch. I'll assuredly miss you, but more than that I feel humbled to have been graced by your art and grateful that it will live on. Its immortality is richly deserved.}