16 Female Horror Villains Who Will Scare You Half To Death

Kathy Bates delivered an Academy Award-winning performance as Annie Wilkes, the seemingly normal but completely unhinged superfan in the masterful Stephen King adaptation, Misery. The slow and painstaking reveal of Annie as a seemingly sweet woman into a complete and utter demented soul is a fascinating watch, but it is truly Bates's performance that sells this from a stellar horror film to an otherworldly showcase of acting prowess. From quiet moments to sudden and bombastic scenes of unrelenting terror, Bates gave horror fans one of the best and scariest female horror villains with Annie Wilkes.

Audiences never see her talk, barely see her face, and have no idea what is going on behind her eyes, and yet somehow, Samara Morgan remains to this very day one of the most frightening and incredible female horror movie characters the world has ever seen. A creature from beyond the grave who will stop at nothing to purge the world of those who watch her cursed video, the idea, and design of Samara is what sells audiences at her creepiness, but it is the performance of Daveigh Chase that sells this creepy kid into an otherworldly feat of terror and dread.

Based on a short film of the same name, Lights Out shocked the world when it seemingly came out of nowhere and delivered one of the most revered and haunting female villains horror performances in years. Diana Walter is the embodiment of fear and dread, and her creepy character design and atmospheric film only help enhance a relatively good film to astronomical levels. As heartfelt as it is terrifying, what makes Diana such a compelling character is that she isn't simply pure evil, but trapped in a situation she dreads, made all the more real by a fantastic performance by Alicia Vela-Bailey.

Undoubtedly one of the best and scariest horror films ever made, The Exorcist shines as a true feat in unrelenting terror in no small part thanks to the masterful and blood-curdling performance of Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil. A little girl being possessed by a devil is scary enough in and of itself, but with Blair's dedication to giving horror fans one hundred and ten percent, the film elevates beyond the horror genre into a simple magnificent work of art. Many who have never even seen the film know the stomach-churning look Regan slowly morphs into, and with a stellar performance to boot, Regan will go down in history as one of the scariest female horror characters of all time.

The Orphan series may be a bit ridiculous and nonsensical, but for horror fans who are able to take the absurdity with a grain of salt, they will be rewarded with one of the wildest and most creepy female characters of all time with Isabelle Fuhrman's portrayal of Esther. An old woman disguised as a little girl thanks to a rare and dangerous disease, the films can very easily go off the rails in a hurry, but thanks to Fuhrman's dedication to the role and earnestness of her performance, the story feels beyond believable, and in turn, utterly haunting.

Mia Goth delivered a transcendental performance in the massive breakout hit Pearl and X playing the titualr Pearl in both movies and giving depth, heart, and pure unrelenting terror to the character. A performance that is as nuanced as it is spine-chilling, Pearl slowly becomes more and more unhinged throughout the film until nothing but a carcass of a human remains with nothing but manic daydreams and murder are left on her mind. While Pearl may not have been able to become the star she always wanted, there is no doubt that Mia Goth will be, all because of this masterful and scary female horror villain.