Frightfully Feminine: 7 Terrifying Female Characters from Horror Cinema

In a movie filled with surreal monsters, it would be easy to pick almost anyone as the creepiest villain—the gorgeous Female Cenobite comes to mind—but let’s face it: there’s nobody more horrifying than Julia Cotton. Taking the archetype of wicked stepmother to new lengths, the whole film wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for Julia’s devotion to her lothario lover Frank. He asks her to bring him an endless supply of unsuspecting men back to the house for ritualistic sacrifice, and she does it basically without batting an eye. However, things don’t turn out the way Julia plans, but then when a hellish dimension and a skinned ex are involved, life rarely goes where you expect it to. If you want even more Julia in your world, then be sure to check out the underrated sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II. 

First up, spoiler alert: if you haven’t seen 1999’s Sleepy Hollow, then read no further.

Provided you have seen this modern Tim Burton classic, you may or may not remember that the antagonist at the forefront of the bloody chaos of the film is not, in fact, the Headless Horseman, but Lady Mary Van Tassel. Played by Miranda Richardson, she isn’t a particularly imposing character for the bulk of the film, instead waiting to assert herself at precisely the right moment. She’s one of the most unsung villains of horror, especially since she’s the one controlling the Headless Horseman, at least for most of the movie. Now granted, she and her family were wrongfully evicted when she was only a child, which gives her quest a righteous angle, but once you add in the fact that she betrayed her own sister, you’ve ultimately got a very intense female villain, one who absolutely deserves more horror accolades than she ever gets.

More than eighty years after its debut, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca remains a classic of gothic horror cinema, and it’s made all the more terrifying by the presence of Judith Anderson’s Mrs. Danvers. The still-devoted maid to the dead Rebecca, she stokes mayhem and unease everywhere she goes, ultimately culminating in one of film’s greatest conflagrations. And even though we never see her on-screen, I also want to give a shout-out to the eponymous villain herself: Rebecca de Winter. Despite already being a corpse, she lingers over the film like a malevolent ghost. A fearsome woman in horror if ever there was one. 

First off, I want to say this loud and clear: Spider Baby simply does not get enough love from horror fans. This 1967 cult classic starring Lon Chaney Jr. is a diabolical good time, with both plenty of violence and plenty of laughs to satisfy even the most jaded of genre lovers.

At the cold heart of the film, we’ve got the Merrye Sisters, played by Jill Banner and Beverly Washburn. Along with their brother (a young Sid Haig), they have what’s called the Merrye Syndrome, an affliction that causes them to be by turns sweetly childish and whimsical and also homicidally maniacal. When out-of-town relatives arrive at their strange and secluded mansion, things quickly get out of hand. This is a fantastic forgotten gem, so definitely seek it out if you haven’t seen it already.  

If there’s one part of the ultraviolent 1996 vampire film, From Dusk till Dawn, that everyone remembers, it’s Salma Hayek’s role as the sultry and sinister dancer Santanico Pandemonium. With a snake slithering around her, she instantly makes an impression, and it became clear from that moment that the actress was just getting started in what would prove to be an illustrious career. The greatest sin that From Dusk till Dawn commits is killing off Hayek’s fabulous character far too early in the running time. However, despite her unceremonious end, she remains among the most memorable vampires in cinematic history, one that most certainly earns her place in the pantheon of terrifying women in horror. 

A testament to toxic friendship, Jennifer’s Body has become a twenty-first-century classic for a reason. Jennifer is monstrous enough when she’s only human, the ultimate high school queen bee, but once she’s horrifically attacked and possessed by an ancient demon, things only get worse from there. When her best friend Needy says with terror and incredulity, “You’re killing people,” and Jennifer responds, “No, I’m killing boys,” it perfectly sums up the film, which deals with the horrors of being young as well as gender dynamics and taking back your own power, no matter what the cost. A film that’s at once empowering and utterly horrifying, it’s certainly worth revisiting, and Jennifer absolutely earns her place on this list.   

Vamp is one of those 1980s vampire films that simply doesn’t get enough credit. With gorgeous cinematography and a fun yet gruesome story, it’s a cheesy and creepy good time. And at the forefront of it all is Queen Katrina, played with aplomb by the always magnificent Grace Jones. Like Santanico Pandemonium, she doesn’t get nearly enough screen time—and in the case of Queen Katrina, she inexplicably doesn’t get any lines either—but despite her brief appearance, she more than makes her mark. If nothing else, I’m so happy to live in a world where Grace Jones starred in a horror movie, so if you haven’t seen Vamp yet, then please head over to your streaming queue and fix that ASAP.