Blood and guts are the bread and butter of "The Walking Dead." There's no such thing as too gory for the hit AMC zombie drama, which has given us hundreds of maimed limbs, scores of gunshots to the head, and heaps of rotted walker corpses over five seasons.

"The Walking Dead" delights in grisly and gross zombie kills (and so do we). But some of the human deaths — people with names — have ranked among the most horrendous of all. That's often because those people are highly aware of what's about to happen to them, and it's terrifying and torturous.

With Season 6 nearly upon us, we look back at the 7 most gruesome deaths in "The Walking Dead."

7. Gareth
RIP: Season 5, Episode 3

It would've been fitting if the cannibalistic Terminus leader had been eaten himself (by humans or zombies). Instead, he gets a deadly dose of justice at the hands of Rick. And not just a single dose, either — Rick hacks his head repeatedly with a machete, as blood spurts all over the place.

6. Aiden
RIP: Season 5, Episode 14

As we've seen time and time again on "The Walking Dead," as soon as someone gets too cocky about knowing it all — bam! Zombie meat. That's what happened to Aiden, who was supposed to be teaching Glenn and the Alexandria newcomers how to make a supply run. Yet, he made the fatal mistake of shooting at a walker in riot gear. A grenade exploded, and the blast impaled Aiden on a wall. Though Glenn tried to get him down, zombies arrived too quickly. Aiden was left to watch himself get eaten alive.

5. Tyreese
RIP: Season 5, Episode 9

Big, strong Tyreese seemed invincible — even after he swore off violence. While searching a Virginia compound for survivors, Tyreese was bitten in the arm by Noah's twin brother. He started to hallucinate visions of the dead, including Bob, Beth, and the Governor. He was bitten again by another zombie before Michonne arrived to hack off his arm. Bleeding heavily, Tyreese managed to get to safety — but it was too late. Michonne had to put him down.

4. Lori
RIP: Season 3, Episode 4

If you still haven't seen this scene without your fingers over your eyes, join the club. It was a heartbreaking, tragic moment, as Lori knew she had to give birth via C-section — and that it would kill her. With the prison overrun by walkers, there was no other choice but for Maggie to slice Lori's belly open with a knife. The baby was saved, but Lori began to bleed out. A devastated Carl said goodbye to his mother, and gave her one last, parting gift — a shot to the head.

3. Merle
RIP: Season 3, Episode 15

Merle made us believe, for a moment, that maybe bad guys don't get what they deserve on "The Walking Dead." He somehow managed to survive after Rick handcuffed him on the roof in season 1, and reappeared in season 3 as one of the Governor's henchmen. The sour, mean, SOB seemed destined to ruin everyone's day, especially brother Daryl's. But Merle turned against the Governor, and got shot for it in return. He reanimated as a zombie, and his little bro had to put him down by stabbing him — over and over again — in the face.

2. Dale
RIP: Season 2, Episode 11

This one was hard to stomach. Good ol' dependable Dale wasn't the strongest, toughest, or smartest guy in the group, but he knew better to let a walker live. No, that stupidity belonged to Carl, who kept a zombie alive to taunt it. That action came back to bite not Carl, but Dale, as the zombie disemboweled him — as he watched! A horrified Rick desperately begged Hershel to operate on him, but it was too late. Daryl did what Rick was unable to do — put Dale out of his misery.

1. Noah
RIP: Season 5, Episode 14
Deaths on "The Walking Dead" — human and zombie, both — have gotten more gruesome as the seasons have passed, so it's no surprise that No. 1 on this list is a recent one. Noah wasn't on the show for long, but he made a strong impression as the likable kid who befriended Beth at the hospital. He was saved not once, but twice (by Beth, then Tyreese), but third time wasn't the charm during a supply run. Noah, Glenn, and Nicholas were trapped in a revolving door, surrounded by zombies. When the cowardly Nicholas slipped out, that left room for the walkers to grab Noah's leg and drag him to a bloody, scream-filled eath. Even Glenn, hardened after seeing so many friends fall, couldn't stand to watch.