16 of the scariest (and creepiest) child villains in the history of film
Nightmare fuel
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From the days of black-and-white films to the present, there have been a handful of children cast as the not-so-friendly face—villains of the big screen, who sent audiences into a spine-tingling mess of unease and nail-biting.
Look away? Never—especially when it comes to the chilling characters who have created an eerily legendary status in what has to be considered one of film’s oddest recognitions.
So, turn on the lights—all of them—as we take a look at 16 of the scariest (and creepiest) child villains of all time…
16. Lonnie - 'Deliverance' (1972)
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“Deliverance” hits on two main ingredients for a film’s staying power in pop culture: memorable characters and memorable score. “Dueling Banjos” is as synonymous with the movie as any of the characters (including Burt Reynolds), and much of that credit goes to the kid on the porch! Lonnie often gets overlooked for all-time creepy/scary children, so let’s put an end to that.
He’s terrifying, and real—which adds to the unease. The eyes, the almost devilish look, as he duals with Henry Fonda’s character sets the unforgettable tone throughout the film.
15. Karen Cooper - 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968)
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You just hoped that Karen would pull through after the zombies attacked her parents’ car and she was bitten. Alas, things took a drastic turn down in that cellar, as made clear in the iconic image of her lunging at her mother after she had feasted on her father.
14. Adrian - 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968)
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Adrian (Rosemary’s Baby) still holds a place at the rare table of “hey, we didn’t see it but didn’t need to” characters, who somehow gave the audience chills. Not once during the film do we see the baby, but all we needed to know was a) he was the son of Satan and b) see Mia Farrow’s reaction to Adrian—a face that only a mother can…Oh no! He has his father’s eyes!
We’ve got it, Roman, thanks. And we’re terrified.
13. Toshio Saeki - 'The Grudge' (2004)
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Toshio Saeki’s appearance—and the manner in which he appears—is the stuff of nightmares. Although his contorting (also scary) mom, Kayako, does most of the dirty work, the little boy does help curate the rage and wrath theme. And when he meows like a cat at Bill Pullman’s character—let the uncomfortable shifting in the chair, theater seat, couch, commence!
12. Roger - 'Lord of the Flies' (1990)
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It’s always the quiet ones, you know. The character of Roger is depicted as shy and a little reclusive. But when the boys are shipwrecked on the island, then look out. He becomes second in command to Jack, and quickly turns into a raging terror, a classic one-eighty that leads to some truly gruesome acts—toward fellow humans and animals. It culminates when he triggers the boulder over the edge while Piggy speaks below…
11. Elias - 'Goodnight Mommy' (2014)
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Not sure many people have ever heard of this Austrian film—and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing, especially for sleeping purposes. It is full of anxious moments that reach critical “What the…” levels as the two twins, Elias and Lukas, go through a few unnerving tactics to figure out if the woman in the post-cosmetic surgery mask is really their mom. Never mind the language barrier, either, because the uncomfortable moments can be terrifying in any dialect.
10. Henry Evans - 'The Good Son' (1993)
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Macaulay Culkin took a large step away from the wholesome and lovable shenanigans of Kevin McCallister (“Home Alone”)in 1993, finding his way to Maine—where he dabbled in far more sinister shenanigans. “The Good Son” is one of those cinematic experiences that really makes the audience fidgety because the storytelling touches on reality—a boy fascinated by death. Culkin plays it perfectly, too, which was made clear when—SPOILER ALERT—most people cheered at the ending when Susan Evans chose to save her son, and not Henry, from death.
9. The Children - 'Village of the Damned' (1995)
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The children in “Village of the Damned” had moviegoers freaked out back in 1995. What “Jaws” did to beaches, these silvery-blonde menaces did to Northern California coastal towns and its barns. Mysteriously conceived during an odd blackout, it doesn’t take long for the townsfolk to realize these children were evil. Mara and Robert (pictured at the front of the pack) were the worst of the group, using psychic mind control to force people to end their lives, while slowly overtaking the town. Extra points got to director John Carpenter for adding to the nightmare fuel with the fiery cobalt eyes. (Kudos to the 1960 version as well.)
8. Isaac - 'Children of the Corn' (1984)
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When Isaac (played by John Franklin) steps into the frame before the massacre at the diner, it begins a buildup to one gruesomely intense opening scene. (I bet that eerie chorus is already gaining volume in your head, huh?) And Isaac’s reign as the divine leader to a bunch of adult-killing children only escalates from there.
7. The Grady Twins - 'The Shining' (1980)
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“Come play with us, Danny.”
(Nope.)
6. Tomás - 'The Orphanage' (2007)
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“The Orphanage” might not be as well known as some of the other films on this list, but it packs tension from start to finish—one of those movies where you almost want to ask for halftime to catch your breath and maybe place your heart back into your body. One of the main enablers of this on-edge feeling is a masked orphan, who we find out is Tomás. He uses the mask as a shield to cover his disfigured face, so the others won’t make fun of him. And, he’s dead, having drowned in the caves he used to hide in… so, maybe two halftimes?
5. Damien - 'The Omen' (1976)
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Just your typical 5-year-old antichrist. Even if you have not seen the film, you’ll recognize the often played snippet, where he slams his tricycle into the hallway table his mom is standing on while fixing a hanging basket. The fishbowl flies over the railing, crashing to the floor below…followed shortly after that by Damien’s mom.
The score only adds to Damien’s evil throughout the film, a character that is truly one of the most iconic in horror genre history.
4. Rhoda Penmark - 'The Bad Seed' (1956)
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The original child serial killer, Rhoda Penmark was a true sociopath who could outsmart the adults as well as the other children. The 8-year-old had the charm of Cindy Brady and the relentless slasher mentality of Jason Voorhees. She was crazy, and had the film not fallen under the Hays Code—where characters were not permitted to get away with their crimes by the end of the movie—who knows what could’ve happened next. Nothing good, that’s for sure.
The film has since received nods for pulling off one of the evilest characters in history.
3. Regan MacNeil - 'The Exorcist' (1973)
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It took one full revolution of possessed Regan’s head for audiences to be forever freaked out. Reports of fainting, heart attacks and vomiting were just some of the side-effects moviegoers experienced during the film’s original release, an odd standing-O to how well Linda Blair played that role of Regan—the demonically processed 12-year-old lands at No. 3 on this list. Today, it’s still one of the scariest flicks, and one that the Library of Congress selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry.
2. Samara Morgan - 'The Ring' (2002)
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She just came out of the TV!
Samara Morgan brought about a brand-new level of “AH!” back in the early 2000s, with a doozy of an uneasy movie experience—one that left audiences wide awake at night, hearing the soft-yet-evil voice saying: “Seven days.”
1. Gage Creed - 'Pet Sematary' (1989)
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Gage Creed is tops for scariest child villain in the history of film. True, the others on this list had their issues. But none of them were 2-year-olds who tossed around their weight like a seasoned fullback in the NFL, sending fans into a full knee-to-chest ball in their seats during the final scenes of the movie.
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