The Scariest Horror Movie Characters of All Time That Make Us Want to Sleep With the Light On

Sometimes, it's fun to be scared, like going on a roller coaster or watching a horror movie. You know the fear isn't real, which makes it a fun experience because after the movie, you can turn on the lights and go on about your day. Even so, there are some horror movie characters who stick with us long after the credits roll, villains we surreptitiously look for under the bed at a sleepover when we think our BFFs aren't looking.

With that in mind, we've compiled a list of some of the most terrifying horror movie creations from the past six decades, including Halloween's Michael Myers, Terrifier's Art the Clown, and plenty more of ghouls and demons. So, after you're done seeing what new horror movies are dropping this year and the best ones available to stream now on Netflix, check out our list of the scariest horror movie characters ever.

Ghostface from the Scream franchise

Yes, Ghostface falls down and gets punched a LOT in the six — hopefully soon-to-be seven — Scream movies, but he still makes our list because his kill count is super high. Like some kind of R-rated Scooby-Doo villain, Ghostface loves to pop out from behind things to scare his unsuspecting victims... and the audience.

The Lipstick-Face Demon from the Insidious franchise

Everyone who's see the first Insidious movie remembers THAT jump scare scene where we first catch a glimpse of the demon lurking behind Patrick Wilson's head. The demon has terrorized audiences onscreen since that moment, most recently in Insidious: The Red Door.

Bughuul from the Sinister movies

Bughuul, aka Mr. Boogie, is a Pagan deity that, like Pennywise, enjoys feeding on children. He's able to get kids to film the elaborate murders of their entire family — which is horrifying in and of itself — and then steals their soul. Plus, just look at him. Nightmare fuel.

The trio of home invaders from The Strangers

TBH, these are the most terrifying villains on our list simply because they are human beings who decided to stalk and murder two people just because they could. They don't know their victims and their victims don't know them. There's a real-life element to this movie, compared to the supernatural monsters from other movies on this list.

Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise

Like Art the Clown, Michael Myers never speaks. You can't even see his facial expressions, thanks to the mask he wears religiously. He just keeps on stabbing and murdering people, showing zero emotion the entire time, just as Ms. Olivia once sang, "like a damn sociopath."

Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise

Jason is another classic slasher movie villain who doesn't speak while he's stalking and killing people. He lets his machete do the talking for him.

Chucky from the Child's Play franchise

Who would've thought a killer doll would be scary? Chucky may look all sweet and innocent, just another "Good Guys" doll, but the moment you turn your back, he'll be stabbing you in it.

Pinhead from the Hellraiser franchise

A leader of the Cenobites, Pinhead has no qualms about torturing his victims, associating pain with pleasure, and thriving on people's agony.

In the 2022 reboot of the franchise, Pinhead was changed to a woman.

Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise

Nightmares aren't fun, but we'd take them any night over having a burned demonic figure with a razor hand hunt us in our dreams and kill us from the inside.

Before Freddy Krueger became what he was, he was a horrible child killer. So, he was doomed to be terrifying from the get-go.

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