There is nothing that can frighten you more effectively than a good horror film. It’s thrilling to watch a scary movie and experience the terror of what’s happening on screen. Finally, there are the jump scares that will make you dig your nails into the couch’s armrest as the suspense builds. Horror is great in part because of the scares, but it’s also because of the characters. Horror movie characters, especially the villains, are the inspiration behind any horror movie, from the final girl to the unfortunate victims
Think about your favorite horror films; more often than not, the main element that unites them is the terrifying main villain who terrorizes the on-screen characters. In every one of the top horror films, there is a villainous figure committing heinous crimes on screen. Michael Myers from Halloween. Freddie Kruger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street. ” in It with Pennywise. Jigsaw in Saw. These characters, who are at the center of each of the films in which they appear, are what make horror movies so terrifying
Horror movies are frequently so compelling because of these monsters, serial killers, insane people, and everything in between. These terrifying horror movie characters keep us glued to the screen and squirming in our seats because they are typically more interesting than the rest of the cast. Here are 22 of the most frightful horror movie characters ever captured on camera, ranging from the endearing cannibal Hannibal Lecter to the Cenobites’ leader, Pinhead
Characters from the 22 Scariest Horror Films
1. Halloween’s Michael Myers
International Compass Pictures
It’s difficult to top Michael Myers when it comes to horror movie villains. John Carpenter’s creation, Myers, is an almost robotic assassin who will do anything to kill his prey. In his debut in the 1978 horror film Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode (Laurie Strode) is the target of Myers’ murderous rampage after he escapes Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield
This timeless film served as a springboard for numerous modern slasher franchises. There have been 12 additional Halloween movie sequels or reboots since the original, all with varying degrees of success. Myers’ ruthlessness and the supernatural forces that surround him are the only things that haven’t changed. He truly is the boogeyman
2. (The Silence of the Lambs) Hannibal Lecter Looper/YouTube
Even though Brian Cox originated the role of cannibal Hannibal Lecter in the 1986 film Manhunter, Anthony Hopkins’ interpretation solidified the figure as a cultural icon
In The Silence of the Lambs, Lecter plays a cunning yet endearing serial killer who aids young FBI trainee Clarice Starling in her search for fellow murderer Buffalo Bill. Lecter is cunning, intelligent, and just a little crazy
Hopkins, who won Best Actor at the Oscars for the role of Lecter, portrays him in a truly terrifying way. He played Lecter again in two more films, delivering countless quotable lines as he goes about killing and devouring those who oppose him. 3
Freddie Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street. ” WatchMojo
com/YouTube. One of the original wise-cracking serial killers is Freddy Krueger, who emerged in the 1980s
Wes Craven’s character Krueger kills his victims by invading their dreams, and Robert Englund portrays him to perfection. Krueger is easily recognized by his striped sweater, brown fedora, and signature metal-clawed glove he wears on his right hand. He is incredibly frightened after having been burned to death
Krueger was created by Englund and has since appeared in nine films, each of which has increased the number of deaths and featured more of the sadistic one-liners that have elevated Krueger to the status of the horror genre’s Arnold Schwarzenegger
4. From “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Leatherface
YouTube/KOTOBUKIYA TV
Leatherface is a beloved fan favorite and the star of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series. The hulking cannibal is infamous for wielding a chainsaw and mask made from his victims’ faces. Leatherface, who was modeled after real-life serial killer Ed Gein, has appeared in all nine films in the series and even has a backstory
The first film is still a terrifying examination of Leatherface and the heinous acts he committed for his family, even though his legacy has gradually diminished with each new entry in the long-running series
5. America Psycho’s Patrick Bateman
Movieclips/YouTube
Although Patrick Bateman may not be as terrifying as some of the monsters on this list, he deserves to be mentioned because of his enjoyment of murder. Bateman, brilliantly portrayed by Christian Bale, is your typical Wall Street bro from the 1980s who also happens to have a thing for Phil Collins and mutilation
American Psycho is a hilarious black comedy that takes aim at consumerism while also featuring a number of chilling murder scenes and a lead character who enjoys nothing more than chasing after his victims with a chainsaw
6. Damian Thorn from “The Omen
” ScreamFactoryTV/YouTube
Show The Omen to anyone you need to convince that you should not have children. Young Damien Thorn appears to be a typical child, but in reality, he is the progeny of Satan. The Antichrist uses his authority to kill people who irritate him, including his grandmother and the local priest. Even though everyone is disappearing like flies, it still takes a while for his parents to realize Damien is the one committing the sins, by which time it is already too late
Any worries you may have about not having children will be allayed by this film
7. Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees
Looper/YouTube
Jason Voorhees is one of the most talked-about horror movie characters, despite the fact that he only makes a brief cameo in the first Friday the 13th film. Voorhees, who can be easily recognized by the ice hockey mask he is wearing, has been stalking Camp Crystal Lake for more than forty years
Over the course of 12 films, Voorhees has sliced and diced his way through various groups of young adolescents, even venturing to space and Manhatten in his search for more bodies. He just can’t be stopped, like Michael Myers and Freddy Kruger, and is scheduled to return to our screens in series form with the prequel program Crystal Lake
8. Samara Morgan (of The Ring)
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Samara Morgan is the young girl featured on the cursed videotape that results in your demise in the American adaptation of The Ring franchise. She has a tragic past and thanks to a videotape she infiltrates, she turns into an evil murderer. There’s a lot more to it, but in the end, Morgan is a freaky killer you never want to associate with because your demise will occur within the next week
9. Candyman (Candyman)
YouTube and Chuckler Comedy The Candyman will show up and send you to your grave if you utter his name five times while gazing into a mirror
The Candyman is another character with a tragic past; for having an interracial relationship, he was hated and killed, having his arm severed and covered in honey so bees would sting him to death. The Candyman legend, which Tony Todd expertly portrayed in four movies, is more of a social critique of class and race, but that doesn’t make him any less terrifying
The terrifying nightmare known as Candyman enjoys brutally killing his victims. 10
Norma Bates from Psycho. YouTube/The Vile Eye Another human with a few loose screws in a horror movie is Norman Bates
He is bipolar and takes pleasure in talking to and murdering alluring women in addition to having a split personality
The protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock’s renowned thriller Psycho is Bates. The shower scene is worth the admission price by itself. In addition to the most recent Bates Motel television series, Bates would go on to appear in three sequels to Psycho. He is still a truly terrifying creation that you wouldn’t want in charge of the hotel you are currently in
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(The Shining) Jack Torrance via YouTube: Rod Zombie. Nearly everyone agrees that Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of author Jack Torrance gone insane in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his novel The Shining is amazing, despite the fact that Steven King dislikes it
One of Nicolson’s greatest performances is as the insane villain Torrance, who starts to perceive things as a murderous rage sparked by supernatural forces awakens inside him
“Johnny here!” More information can be found at 12 Banned Horror Films That Shocked The Censors. 12. Child’s Play character Chucky JoBlo Horror Films on YouTube As is the case with Child’s Play, audiences will always be interested in a horror movie featuring an evil doll that comes to life
In Child’s Play, the killer doll Chucky is the focus of another long-running franchise (eight films and a TV show)
When it comes to eliminating anyone who stands in his way as he searches for a human host, Chucky, who is possessed by the spirit of a murderer, spares no one. In the first few movies, Chucky is terrifying and should not be trifled with, despite the fact that the character has grown a little campier and less serious over the years
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Hellraiser character Pinhead Looper/YouTube. Pinhead (a fantastic Doug Bradley) is a horrifying creature distinguished by the large nails embedded in his head. He is the leader of the Cenobites, demonic creatures dedicated to pleasure and pain
Pinhead as portrayed by Bradley is a terrifying vision that combines sexual arousal with square-eared violence to provide people with pleasure beyond their wildest expectations
Most people find Pinhead to be unsettling just to look at, and the sadomasochism experiments he and his fellow Cenobites engage in are truly shocking. 14
Scream’s Ghostface HDCLIPS/YouTube
Ghostface is one of the most well-known characters from contemporary horror films. The main killer in the Scream franchise has been portrayed by a variety of actors and actresses, and the murderer is a different person in each film
Ghostface’s trademark mask has become well-known and is a fantastic Halloween costume
Despite not having any special abilities or a particularly interesting backstory, Ghostface is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying serial killers out there. 15
Jaws, the shark
YouTube and Binge Society. One of the scariest horror movie characters of all time is without a doubt the shark from the classic film Jaws, which is a little contentious. Each movie features the nearly unstoppable underwater beast, which kills a number of characters
Jaws demolished the situation right when you were about to jump back into the water
16. (It) Pennywise
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Even when they’re not eating children, clowns can be frightening, so it’s safe to say that most people would drop everything and flee if they encountered one. The main antagonist of Steven King’s book It is Pennywise. Two different actors have portrayed the murderous clown, Tim Curry in the 1990s miniseries and Bill Skarsgrd in the more recent film adaptations, and each has a distinctive energy to the character
Even if you’ve never had a problem with clowns before, after watching It, you’ll understand why some people are afraid of them. 17
It’s The Thing (The Thing)
Google/Universal Pictures. In The Thing, another masterpiece by John Carpenter, a team of American scientists working in Antarctica are killed off one by one by an alien monster. This “Thing” assimilates its victims in a horrifying way, as repeatedly demonstrated in the film
This is what makes it such a terrifying entity
The Thing is another terrifying monster that will stop at nothing in its quest to rule the world, and Rob Bottin’s special effects are still astounding today. 18
The Creeper, aka “Jeepers Creepers
” Movieclips/YouTube. Jonathan Breck plays the ancient creature known as The Creeper, which awakens once every 23 years and feeds on people for 23 days before hibernating
Another terrifying creature you don’t want anything to do with, the bat-like human stalks its prey out of fear in four films (including a reboot) and wreaks havoc
19. A jigsaw (saw)
Movieclips/YouTube
The primary perpetrator in the Saw movies isn’t an evil spirit or a zombie. He’s just a regular guy with a sick mind who wants to exact revenge on those who wronged him
Jigsaw manages to play a significant role in each of the subsequent sequels despite being killed off in the third film. Even though Jigsaw is a human, he has a blood lust that he satisfies by subjecting people to blood-curdling experiments that end with them being dismembered or killed
Jigsaw is just as unstable as any other serial killer on this list, despite the fact that he feels as though he is carrying out a noble deed
20. Barbarian: The Mother. Wonderful YouTube videos
You don’t want to come into contact with The Mother, the latest horror movie villain. We won’t reveal any secrets about this horrifying creature because Barbarian is a new movie and it will improve your viewing experience if you don’t know anything about it
All we can advise is that the next time you book an Airbnb, make sure to thoroughly inspect it. You never know what you’ll look for
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Terrifying character Art the Clown YouTube/Dread Central Consider watching Terrifier and Terrifier 2, if you’re still not convinced that you shouldn’t trust clowns. A sadistic supernatural being known as Art the Clown kills his victims in the most revolting ways imaginable. As many of the kills involve the severing of body parts, gouging of eyeballs, and even one character being skinned alive, these movies are only for those who love gore. Not recommended for the timid
22. Misery star Annie Wilkes
Hoang Viet/YouTube
The horrifying thing about Annie Wilkes is that she might be your neighbor or a coworker. Paul Sheldon is involved in an accident, and Wilkes, a rabid fan of the author, just so happens to run into Sheldon. Wilkes, who is aiding Sheldon in healing from his wounds, is rescuing him for other reasons and will do whatever it takes to ensure that he writes his next book according to her wishes—even if that means breaking his legs—to achieve her goals. View more information on The 10 Most Terrifying Horror Films Ever
