10 Best Horror Movie Scream Queens

The original and one of the greats, it'll take a short trip into the earlier history of horror to ground the importance of Barbara Steele's contributions, but it's worth the blast from the past.

This British actor’s storied career may have spanned many genres, but her contribution to scream queen history is undeniable thanks to her roles in many iconic exploitation films of the sixties such as (deep breath) Black Sunday, The Pit and Pendulum, The Horrible Dr Hitchcock, The Long Hair of Death, Castle of Blood, Nightmare Castle, Terror-Creatures from the Grave…

And that’s just one decade of her CV, too.

Steele's work in Black Sunday saw her play the tragic villainess of the gory gothic horror from giallo icon Mario Bava, opening up the possibilities available to leading ladies who until now had been largely confined to the role of victim number one in the countless films aping Hitchcock's dark thriller stylings. With Steele's unforgettable witch came new agency for scream queens, not to mention a terrifying face for onscreen horror history.