10 Horror Movies That Will Make You Terrified Of Children

No matter how much parents will deny it, children are downright terrifying creatures. Don't believe me? Just look at Hollywood and the horror film. There are several movies that serve to inform my opinion, in which children are portrayed as the central antagonists, and in which they are depicted as the deranged, horrifying monsters they truly are.

Some of the most iconic movie monsters have been extra-terrestrial invaders, axe-wielding psychopaths, and even escaped mental patients, but they pale in comparison to the son of the devil, Damien from The Omen, or the possessed Regan McNeil from The Exorcist, both of which manage to effective haunt our dreams without ever lifting a finger.

They’re terrifying because they appear innocent, and that’s exactly what makes them so deadly. They don’t need to hide in the bushes, or stalk their prey into the night; they can attack whenever they want, in broad daylight or in the middle of a crowded street. In most cases, they aren’t treated as serious threats, which gives them all the freedom in the world to enact their dastardly schemes, or plot one new gruesome murder after the next.

So, with that said, here are 10 horror movies that will make you terrified of children, especially your own…

Released in 1953, The Bad Seed is a little too dated to genuinely scare you away from the concept of children, hence it isn’t higher on this list. With that said, the film does manage to showcase one of the most twisted, menacing little girls in cinematic history: Rhoda Penmark, a pigtailed youth with sinister tendencies, who isn’t afraid to take what she wants.

Rhoda isn’t superhuman, and she doesn’t possessive magical abilities. In the opening of the film, she brutally murders a young boy with her tap shoes, and proceeds to slaughter half the town just to cover it up. She’s motivated, and she’s resourceful. At one point, having been found out by a local janitor, Rhoda sneaks out of the house in the middle of the night, taking extra care not to raise her mother’s suspicions, and burns him alive.

Verdict: The Bad Seed does an admirable job of depicting an innocent youth turned ruthless killer. Watching the film in 2016, it’s a little comical, but the message is clear: little girls will set you on fire if given the opportunity, so watch yourself.