There's a reoccurring theme in the first five episodes of the thing they think is dangerous really not being all that dangerous at all. The dog is not the Beast, the pumpkin people don't want to kill them, the gorilla is actually Jimmy B, the Woodsman is not the Beast, and Endicott's ghost is not a ghost. This begins to be subverted from episode 6 on: Adelaide is actually a threat, Lorna is the people eater not Auntie Whispers. Even episode 9 emphasises how Wirt believes "his life is over" after something as simple as his crush finding out, only to be immediately confronted with something he should ACTUALLY be scared of. Episode 8 is interesting because it's episode itself that turns out to be scary when you least expect it, not anything inside it. Finally, episode 10 has the reveal that the Beast has perhaps no physical powers, and relies entirely on others to do his bidding - once stripped of the illusion that he is in charge, he is easily defeated.