10 Scariest Horror Movie Characters, Ranked
From ghosts, ghouls, and all other manner of ghastly paranormal terrors to slashing serial killers armed with a wide range of grisly weapons, cinematic horror has given fans plenty of great and terrifying figures over the years. This has, naturally, sparked conversation as to which are the scariest of all time, capable of traumatizing viewers and sticking in their minds long after the film has finished.
The art of making a character such a frightening presence is not something left to chance. All the scariest horror villains tap into some primal, instinctual fear, wreaking havoc with the audience's nerves and, sometimes, even their stomachs. From the twisted and sadistic to the monstrous and even to the outright evil, these 15 horror legends stand tall for their relentless ability to haunt audiences.
Updated on October 24th, 2023, by Ryan Heffernan:
While intense blood and gore and mounting tension can all play a part in making a horror movie scary, nothing can match the impact a truly terrifying character can have on an audience. Be they malevolent demons, iconic slashers, or threats from another world, these horror movie characters are the scariest figures ever put to screen.
The Thing
'The Thing' (1982)
When it comes to monster horror thrills, there may be no figure as astute at evoking a sense of heightened paranoia as the titular villain in John Carpenter's classic The Thing. The sci-fi horror follows a crew of American researchers in Antarctica as they are set upon by the transforming, assimilating alien, which picks them off one by one as they struggle to determine who they can trust.
While the monster enters the film as a dog, its transforming capabilities lead to a glorious display of astounding effects and grueling body horror. The taut and relentlessly suspenseful horror has become a true classic of the genre and is ample proof that scary movie characters can come in all shapes and sizes. The Thing is among the best John Carpenter movies, largely thanks to the mysterious shape-shifting villain at its core.
The Babadook
'The Babadook' (2014)
An Australian movie that has become a glistening example of modern elevated horror, The Babadook is already an icon of the genre. The film follows a struggling widow as a monster in her young son’s picture book manifests in their house, steeping the family into a paranoid nightmare.
With a heartfelt and earnest story operating as its basis, The Babadook adds more layers to its plot with thought-provoking metaphors and no small amount of building horror. While mounting suspense and an eerie, emerging supernatural threat do most of the heavy lifting in terms of the horror, there is no doubt that when the Babadook finally appears, it immediately establishes itself as one of the most viscerally unnerving and haunting horror characters ever put to screen. Horror genre William Friedkin was even disturbed by The Babadook - what higher praise can there be?
Hannibal Lecter
'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
One of the rare horror movies to win big at the Academy Awards, The Silence of the Lambs is among the most revered films the genre has ever produced. A key reason for its brilliantly chilling magnificence is Sir Anthony Hopkins’ incredible performance as Hannibal Lecter, the incarcerated cannibalistic, serial killing ex-psychologist FBI cadet Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) must interview to apprehend an at-large murderer.
With an eerie sophistication, Lecter always seems in complete control, manipulating Clarice and the situation to his advantage. Hopkins won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Lecter, cementing the character's place in cinematic history.
Valak (The Nun)
'The Conjuring' Franchise (2013-Present)
As one of the best new horror franchises, The Conjuring films have produced no small number of great villains, from the possessed doll Annabelle to the shocking image of the Crooked Man. However, there is little doubt that the single most terrifying character in the franchise thus far is Valak, AKA The Nun (Bonnie Aarons), who notably petrified audiences as the major antagonist of The Conjuring 2.
Valak was nightmarishly frightening in The Conjuring 2, haunting a London family under the guise of Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian) while proving a powerful enemy for the Warrens as well. Her popularity has seen her become a regular feature of the saga, even netting two direct spin-offs, The Nun and The Nun II.
Xenomorph
'Alien' (1979)
The 1970s were pivotal in the evolution of cinematic horror to what audiences know today, and while the decade produced many great horror villains, there aren’t many as enduring as the xenomorph from Alien. Essentially a sci-fi slasher, Alien revolves around the crew of a spaceship as they are picked off by the violent alien after responding to a distress signal.
Much of the monster’s impact needs to be accredited to H. R. Giger’s design, which masterfully portrayed it as being primitively and predatorily savage as well as slick, evil, and imposing. While a number of sequels and spin-offs have been made, many of them flaunting their own spin on the xenomorph design, none of the new iterations have been as terrifying as the original alien.
Jigsaw
'Saw' Franchise (2004-Present)
Jigsaw, whose real name is John Kramer (Tobin Bell), is a mysterious man in Saw who kidnaps people he thinks take their lives for granted. Jigsaw puts them through a series of gruesome tests, leading to some of modern horror's most revolting scenes. His identity remains a mystery throughout most of the first film, though his backstory is explained in the sequels, where it is revealed Kramer has terminal cancer and is frustrated with having to watch people waste their lives.
With his traps inspired by what he perceives as being his victim's personal flaws, Jigsaw forces his subjects to go through deadly and terrifying scenarios where they are often forced to inflict pain on themselves or others to survive. The elaborate designs of the traps are horrific on their own, but the fact that Kramer finds a moral justification for what he does makes him all the more intimidating.
Jason Voorhees
'Friday the 13th' Franchise (1980-Present)
Jason Vorhees (Ari Lehman), the iconic killer from the Friday the 13th franchise, murders people to get revenge for how he was treated and for the murder of his Mother at the end of the first film. Jason is a large, silent killer who appears out of nowhere to haunt and torture his victims.
He wears a hockey mask to hide his face, and it’s hard to say which is more terrifying -- the all-white, soulless-looking mask he dons or the disfigured face beneath. Another terrifying factor is that Jason is essentially immortal; he has superhuman strength and pain resistance, making him nearly impossible to kill. He also eventually gets reincarnated as a zombie, which causes him to be even more terrifying than ever before. Friday the 13th has multiple movies, but Jason is front and center in most, proving his status as a pop culture icon.
The Entity
'It Follows' (2014)
A refreshing spin on the genre, It Follows focuses on a fatal curse passed between victims via sexual intercourse. After acquiring it, university student Jay (Maika Monroe) finds herself fighting to survive. Known as 'The Entity,' the malevolent force is capable of taking on different forms to pursue its prey, including close friends to its targets, in order to get closer.
Despite working on a tight budget, It Follows has become one of the most celebrated and haunting horror films in recent years. It evokes a sense of paranoia in audiences, which tends to stick with them even after the movie finishes, securing the Entity's reputation as one of the scariest horror characters ever conceived. The Entity will return in the recently announced sequel to It Follows, terrifyingly named They Follow.
Pazuzu
'The Exorcist' (1973)
The Exorcist is widely regarded to be the best horror movie of all time. The possession horror film focuses on Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) as it becomes apparent that a demon has possessed Regan. The terrified single mother turns to two catholic priests in a desperate attempt to save her child.
The terrifying demon who possesses Regan is known as Pazuzu, a figure that the original novel's author, William Peter Blatty, derived from Mesopotamian religions, where it was considered the king of wind demons. In the film, the glimpses of the demon's face and its all-consuming power make for a terrifying villain, but credit also needs to go to Blair, who, at just 14 years of age, put in a mesmerizing performance as the possessed girl, even earning an Academy Award nomination for her efforts.
Chucky
'Chucky' Franchise (1988-Present)
A tongue-in-cheek slasher with a penchant for twisted humor, the comedic punch on display in the Chucky films doesn't prevent the titular antagonist from being one of the scariest horror movie characters. Starting with the 1988 classic Child's Play, the series focuses on a children's doll possessed by the soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif).
Filled with jump scares and some brutally gory death scenes, the ever-evolving Chucky franchise has successfully played on the common phobia surrounding dolls. Chucky has a delightfully sadistic appetite for murder, which he has combined with his signature knife to make for a truly timeless icon of schlock horror cinema who is both playful and frightening.
Michael Myers
'Halloween' Franchise (1978-2022)
Michael Myers (Nick Castle), the mysterious murderer from the Halloween franchise, will always be one of the most spine-chilling villains. From the very first encounter Laurie Strode (Jamie-Lee Curtis) has with him, she realizes that escaping him for good will be the hardest thing she ever has to do. The fact that he never speaks and moves so slowly and ominously will always creep out viewers, even if it’s not their first time watching the film.
Despite being shot down in a hail of bullets and stabbed multiple times, Michael Myers is seemingly indestructible, making him even more terrifying. Some have stated that Myers may be immortal and the personification of evil itself. Whatever the truth, Michael Myers is a horror icon and the reason behind the Halloween franchise's enduring success.
Chatterer
'Hellraiser' (1987-2022)
Chatterer (Nicholas Vince) is one of the villains in Hellraiser. He is a Cenobite, a group of extra-dimensional sadomasochists led by Pinhead (Doug Bradley), who experiment in extreme hedonism. His name comes from the constant clicking of his teeth, his only means of communication. Before becoming a cenobite, he was a young man named Jim who had an incredibly tragic life.
He revels in causing others the same pain he experienced in his human life. The blood-filled mouth held open with wire and stretched over creepy, pale, twisted flesh makes Chatterer especially terrifying. Coupled with his lack of eyes and ominous chattering teeth, Chatterer is truly the most fearsome of the Cenobites.
Pennywise
'It' (2017) & 'It: Chapter Two' (2019)
Stephen King has created many creepy characters throughout his career, but the flesh-eating clown Pennywise stands as his most haunting. While Tim Curry's depiction of the killer clown in the 1990 adaptation of the novel has its own cult following, few would deny that it was Bill Skarsgård's brilliant portrayal of the character in the grittier 2017 film that truly made Pennywise a terrifying horror icon.
Preying on children as he feasts on their feat, it is quite shocking that Pennywise's horrifying clown disguise is initially intended to lull kids into liking him. The shape-shifting monster can take on completely different forms and always discovers what his victims are most afraid of, attacking them in the scariest forms imaginable.
Freddy Krueger
'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (1984)
A great horror villain can always be made even more terrifying by giving them the perfect gimmick to hone in on what audiences fear and what makes them feel vulnerable. Perhaps no character in the history of horror cinema has done this more effectively than Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, who kills his victims in their dreams.
A truly nightmarish terror, Krueger was originally a child murderer before the parents of his victims killed him, burning him alive in the boiler room where he committed his crimes. However, his vengeful spirit lived on and, with his horrifying appearance and his bladed glove, has become the genre's greatest-ever villain in the eyes of many horror fans. Freddy Krueger is the king of slashers and might even be the face of the horror genre, thanks to his striking look and Englund's deliciously evil performance.
Leatherface
'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is still regarded as one of the most unsettling films ever made. The movie is about a group of crazed, murderous psychopaths living in the middle of an isolated town. They kidnap and torture a group of friends, and there are some pretty terrifying scenes, mainly featuring the film’s main antagonist, Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).
Leatherface is perhaps the scariest villain because of his disturbing appearance. He receives his name due to the masks he makes out of his victims' skin and is also known for his gruesome murders and ability to strike true fear into those he attacks. Leatherface's extended family is equally disturbing, but they lack his instantly memorable and traumatizing look, which has cemented him among horror's greatest icons.
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