10 Best Horror Movie Disguises Of All Time

Chromeskull deserves more love.

Laid To Rest ChromeSkull
Anchor Bay

For thousands of years, costumes and masks have been a source of entertainment. Nevertheless, there's something instinctively creepy about someone wearing a mask, which is why they've become a fundamental part of the horror genre. Not only are these garments used to obscure the wearer's identity, masks often invoke a primal fear in anyone that gazes upon them.

Some characters don't wear masks to conceal their identity and instead, have some other means to hide their true appearance. This disguise could be something as simple as a coat or something as disturbing as human skin.

Even though most movie psychopaths dress in something deliberately scary, some wear garb that connotes innocence, purity, or childhood... which makes it all the more terrifying. Occasionally, the costume or mask has a deeper meaning or it hides some sort of deformity. But more often than not, serial killers wear such paraphernalia to help them detach themselves from reality, so it's easier for them to give into their violent urges.

Even though there have been many disguises in the horror genre, we're here to look at the very best (and the most terrifying).

10. Pennywise - IT

Laid To Rest ChromeSkull
Warner Bros.

Even though the evil entity in IT is usually referred to as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, this is not his true identity. In reality, this extradimensional creature resembles an amorphous orange light. After IT travelled to our universe, he was forced to take on a solid form to function. Because this eldritch monster feeds off fear, he tends to prey on children, since they experience a level of terror far greater than adults.

As a means to lure his prey near him, IT took the appearance of an entity that children instinctively trust - a clown. Pretending to be a whimsical circus performer, Pennywise was able to entice children to him with ease, allowing him to feast on their fear as well as their flesh.

Even though Pennywise has a fantastic look, it's not ranked high on our list since... he looks absolutely terrifying! Although he has compelled many children to him, he looks way too scary to fool everybody. Despite him trying to encourage The Losers Club kids to follow him, all of them easily able see through his obvious disguise.

Contributor
Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85