8 Horror Movie Monsters Scarier Than The Actual Villain

8. The Crooked Man - The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring series rarely just relies on one villain per movie. The stories of Ed and Lorraine Warren are so wide-reaching that filmmakers have plenty of material to work with, and as such there's an embarrassing amount of monsters fans have been terrified by.

It's the second flick that's the subject of this entry though. In the sequel, The Crooked Man is a figure from a poem brought to life by the demon Valak: a tall, slender - well - crooked monster dressed in a garish red suit with a big teethy grin.

It's a concept and a look that could have easily been daft and funny, but in the hands of director James Wan it's anything but. His stop-motion-esque movements, his sporadic appearances and the spooky incantation that references him makes for a standout cameo to shake this second movie up.

Now, the sequel's main villain, the aforementioned Valak, is similarly s**t scary and ultimately has a more compelling story. However, in terms of pure scares, for my money The Crooked Man just edges out The Conjuring 2's headliner.