When it comes to movies, there’s something quite unsettling about the villains that linger in our childhood dreams and give us shivers down our spines. So much so that years later these antagonists still have the potential to evoke fear in our hearts. Be it the witches or the talking inanimate characters or the ghosts and demons, these movie villains gave us sleepless nights as kids and have continued to terrorize generations of kids and adults alike.
Here are some movie villains we were absolutely spooked by as kids and are still terrifying.
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Claude Frollo From ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’
Dubbed by many as one of the darkest villains Disney ever created, Claude Frollo was the epitome of evil when we first met him. He’s a religious extremist who justifies all his evil actions by calling them “God’s will”. He kills people, tortures them, and fits every detail of a sadistic monster.
His appearance itself is sinister, giving off an eerie look and a vicious smile. The character demonstrated how power, in the wrong hands, can go horribly wrong.
The Other Mother From ‘Coraline’
Imagine if your boring mother just had a different version of herself across the walls of your house, and she’s everything you ever wanted your mother to be. She cooks for you, celebrates you grandly, and does everything you ever wanted from your mother. With just one setback: she wants to sew buttons on your eyes and wants you to worship you.
Pixar’s ‘Coraline’ was scary and eerie, with the other mother carrying the whole movie’s scariness on her back. From her very first appearance in the movie, her malicious intentions showed, with the way she smiled and manipulated the characters around, even sewing one’s lips shut. Enough to make a grown adult feel scared.
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Annabelle From ‘The Conjuring’ Series
This movie completely put us all through dolls. And it’s all because of the ghostly doll with big eyes and braids and that eerie smile. Annabelle was the scariest ‘The Conjuring‘ villain. Bonus points because she’s based on a real doll.
Playing with dolls has never been the same because what if you come back home and you see colors scrawled all over the house and ‘miss me’ written all over your walls? Creepy.
Pennywise From It
Pennywise is the reason why clowns will never, ever be scary for us ever again. The shapeshifter in the film, that kills, hunts, and eats children for fun has continued to haunt many of our nightmares. He lures children in, with exactly what they desire and lets out a huge smile before eating your head off.
Also, that clap dance he does… *Shivers in fear*.
Samora Morgan From ‘The Ring’
‘The Ring‘, which focuses on a cursed videotape that will kill anyone who watches it within seven days, was one of the scariest horror movies from the early 2000s. Samara Morgan was the main villain (read: ghost) in the movie and has continued to be one of the scariest horror movie antagonists to date. Her vision in white was enough for most of us to turn off the television and go to bed.
Honest confession? Yes, many of us are still terrified that a woman wearing white and having long wet hair is going to crawl out of our TV and hunt us.
i still live in fear of samara morgan crawling out of my tv and murdering me.
— luci (@llluci) October 2, 2011
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Billy From ‘Saw’ Series
The puppet from the ‘SAW‘ series absolutely gave me nightmares and had us refraining from going anywhere near a puppet no matter how cute they are. The early horror movies really used all forms of children’s toys to terrorize the viewers.
Billy the puppet, in the film, was in charge of driving around on a bicycle and informing everyone of the rules of the game. The sound of his bike and his appearance- it haunted most of us to death. The red eyes were a cherry on the top.
Toriho From ‘Doraemon’
This strange mysterious owl from Doraemon who shape-shifted into a man, a robot among many other things was the scariest villain from the anime series.
The most sinister part of him was the mystery surrounding the character. He came out of nowhere, ruined a few things around the plot line, and just left. The mystery of the character still continues to scare many of us. Who was Toriho?
Wicked Witch From ‘The Wizard Of Oz’
The Wicked Witch is one of the creepiest villains in classic movies. The way she confronts Dorothy for killing her sister and her terrifying stance as she does so sends a chill down our spine. Her green face, that scary hat she always has, and her desire for revenge, all make her one of the scariest villains we have encountered.
To add to her aura of creepiness, the way she can disappear into a cloud of smoke makes her even scarier.
Dementors From The ‘Harry Potter’ Franchise
None of the ‘Harry Potter’ villains were scary for us. Not Voldemort, neither Bellatrix nor Umbridge or even the Troll. The Dementors though, really managed to scare us.
With their long cloaks, and their barely visible faces, just a hood and their lips, dying to give you a kiss- it was all creepy. The way they flew around with their long fingers – we all had a reaction similar to Harry’s when we first saw them.
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