I always suspected that the guillotine and the excitement of public political executions led directly to "the terror."

The Reign of Terror has also served as a sort of blueprint (intentionally or not) for the mopping-up operations of communist revolutions:

Between the two summers of 1793 and 1794, more than 50,000 people were killed for suspected counter-revolutionary activity or so-called “crimes against liberty.” (from the website "Alpha History")