10 Most Terrifying Female Horror Movie Villains

Women have been holding their own against an unstoppable army of vampires, zombies, devils and psychopaths since the birth of horror movies around a century ago. More often than not though, women were portrayed as helpless victims and both audiences and filmmakers knew that change was required.

The term ‘scream queen’ became part of the horror vernacular when Fay Wray first shattered King Kong’s ear drums all the way back in 1933, but the slasher flicks of the 1970s and 80s saw a new type of scream queen - the fighter, the survivor, the heroine.

The playing field was levelling and by then, women were not only leading ladies in spine chillers but were also creating cherished villains to terrify horror movie fans across the world. Norman Bates’s mother was killing by proxy in the shower, Pamela Voorhees was showing the kids exactly how to behave in summer camp, while Annie Wilkes was cheerfully hobbling stranded writers.

From the wronged and vengeful, the willing satanic recruits, to the girls who just like playing with knives, here are the most terrifying female horror movie villains around. Don’t be too scared though, these girls just wanna have fun…

Misery is a classic Stephen King set up; a writer is involved in a near fatal car crash and is rescued by an eccentric nurse who, as his ‘number one fan,’ is going to care for him until help arrives.

Kathy Bates’ character, Annie Wilkes, is obsessed with Paul Sheldon (James Caan) and his fictional character of ‘Misery,’ and is horrified when Misery herself is killed off in his latest manuscript, so much so that she demands he rewrite the entire novel. When Sheldon realises that she has an entire tool box of loose screws and attempts to escape, she ‘hobbles’ him by breaking both his ankles, thus preventing his escape to freedom and return to New York, now very much aware that no one is coming for him.

Bates is terrific. Playing the role as ‘kooky’ and that of a woman suffering from the effects of isolation and obsession, her idiosyncrasies soon turn horrifically violent and Sheldon’s ankles take all the pain. Bates snagged the Best Actress Oscar and left us with one of the most enduring female horror movie villains of all time.

Misery soon entered the realm of cult movie status, with the hobbling sequence becoming part of the shared cinematic language of the world. “I’m your number one fan” is a line that will forever be attached to Bates and this iconic horror performance.