10 Most Terrifying Female Horror Movie Villains

Long running horror franchise Friday The 13th gave birth to a cherished movie villain, Jason Voorhees, the original summer camp slasher. A mindless, machete wielding maniac in a hockey mask, Jason continued the new trend for teenage scares that began with Halloween and its own masked killer, Michael Myers, in 1978.

In the original movie, released in 1980, Jason had not earned his fame yet, and someone else entirely was wielding the machete. As Norman Bates would attest to, all boys need a mother and Pamela Voorhees was a one hell of a role model.

After Jason drowns in Crystal Lake, Pamela decides to take her revenge on the cruel teenagers she held responsible for her son’s death. Over the course of two decades, she murders multiple unsuspecting teens, armed with a bowie knife and a bow and arrow set. She also attempts to poison the lake water and if that wasn’t enough, she uses an axe to effectively dispatch another hapless victim with a blow to the face.

Played by Betsy Palmer, a Broadway actor and television regular in the United States, Pamela Voorhees is often overlooked by the fans of the franchise, instead giving Jason all the credit. Mrs. Voorhees will always be the original summer camp slasher though, even if she never got her own hockey mask.