The killers, the final girls, and the monsters in between — the faces that haunt your dreams.
Abraham Van Helsing
Edward Van Sloan, Peter Cushing and Anthony Hopkins have all played Abraham Van Helsing, Bram Stoker's scholar and vampire hunter. His history.
Amanda Young
Amanda Young survives a Jigsaw trap in Saw and becomes John Kramer's apprentice in the sequels. Shawnee Smith's character, her arc and appearances.
Annabelle
She never walks or talks on screen: the Annabelle doll is a demon's conduit in The Conjuring Universe. Her debut, her three films and every appearance.
Annie Wilkes
A nurse who holds her favorite author captive: Annie Wilkes is the fan from hell in Misery. Kathy Bates's Oscar role, book vs. film, and trivia.
Art the Clown
Art the Clown, the silent killer clown of Terrifier: his origin in Damien Leone's short films, iconic moments, every movie, Terrifier 4 news and trivia.
Ash Williams
Ash Williams, Bruce Campbell's chainsaw-handed hero of Evil Dead: his origin, the tangled film and Ash vs Evil Dead continuity, iconic moments and trivia.
Billy the Puppet
On a red tricycle or a TV screen, Billy the Puppet delivers Jigsaw's rules. The red-eyed dummy that became the Saw franchise symbol, explained.
Buffalo Bill
Clarice Starling hunts Buffalo Bill, Jame Gumb, in The Silence of the Lambs. Ted Levine's role, the Goodbye Horses scene and the case, explained.
Candyman (Daniel Robitaille)
Daniel Robitaille, the Candyman: the murdered painter behind the hook-handed legend — his origin, Tony Todd's portrayal, the films and trivia.
Cenobites
Open the puzzle box and the Cenobites arrive from another dimension, offering sensation that blurs pleasure and pain. Pinhead, the designs and lore.
Chucky (Charles Lee Ray)
Chucky is a serial killer's soul stuffed in a Good Guy doll, and he's still slashing. Charles Lee Ray's origin, voodoo rules, actors and Child's Play lore.
Clarice Starling
Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee who seeks Hannibal Lecter's help to catch Buffalo Bill: Jodie Foster's Oscar role, later played by Julianne Moore.
Count Dracula
Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel to Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee: origin, the Vlad the Impaler debate, iconic moments, key films and trivia.
Count Orlok
From Max Schreck's shadow on the stairs in 1922 to Bill Skarsgard in Robert Eggers's 2024 remake, Count Orlok is Nosferatu's plague-bringing vampire.
Danny Torrance
The Shining's psychic boy, Danny Torrance, was played by Danny Lloyd and, as an adult in Doctor Sleep, by Ewan McGregor. His role and appearances.
Ellen Ripley
Across four Alien films from 1979 to 1997, Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley set the template for the modern horror heroine. Her story and big moments.
Father Merrin
An elderly exorcist who has faced the demon Pazuzu before, Father Merrin joins Father Karras to save Regan MacNeil. Max von Sydow's role, explained.
Frankenstein’s Monster
Frankenstein's Monster from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel to Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Jacob Elordi: origin, iconic moments, key films and trivia.
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger made sleep a death trap. His Springwood origin, the bladed glove, every actor under the burns and the dream rules that can stop him.
Ghostface
Ghostface, the masked killer of Scream: the mask's origin, who has worn it in each film, iconic moments, every movie and TV season in order, and trivia.
Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal psychiatrist of Thomas Harris's novels: origin, iconic moments, every book, film and TV series in order, actors and trivia.
Helen Lyle
A graduate student chasing a Chicago legend: Helen Lyle, played by Virginia Madsen, is drawn into the myth she studies in Bernard Rose's Candyman.
Jack Torrance
The Overlook's caretaker turns on his family: Jack Torrance, Jack Nicholson's Heeere's Johnny, and how King's Jack differs from Kubrick's version.
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees was never meant to be the killer. How the drowned boy of Crystal Lake became the hockey-masked slasher icon, plus every actor in the mask.
Jigsaw (John Kramer)
A terminally ill engineer who traps people in deadly games: Jigsaw John Kramer, Tobin Bell's Saw role. His apprentices, his rules and every film.
Kayako Saeki
A murdered wife whose ghost haunts the house with her son Toshio: Kayako Saeki spreads the Ju-On and The Grudge curse to every visitor. Explained.
Kirsty Cotton
She survives Frank, Julia and the Cenobites by bargaining with Pinhead and returns in three sequels: Kirsty Cotton, Ashley Laurence's heroine.
Leatherface
Leatherface, the chainsaw-wielding killer of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: origin, the Ed Gein link, iconic moments, all nine films, actors and trivia.
Losers Club
Bill, Ben, Beverly, Richie, Eddie, Stan and Mike: the Losers Club face Pennywise as kids and again as adults in Stephen King's It. Members and films.
Marion Crane
She steals money, stops at the Bates Motel and dies in the shower: Marion Crane, Janet Leigh's character in Psycho, later played by Anne Heche.
Michael Myers
Michael Myers never speaks, never explains and never stays dead. The Shape's origin, every actor behind the mask and the Halloween timelines, untangled.
Newt
Rebecca Jorden, called Newt, is the last surviving colonist in Aliens (1986), played by first-time actor Carrie Henn. Her bond with Ripley, explained.
Norman Bates
Norman Bates, the motel keeper of Psycho: Robert Bloch's novel, Hitchcock's film, the Ed Gein question, iconic moments, every film and series, and trivia.
Pennywise
Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Stephen King's It: what the creature really is, novel vs. film differences, iconic moments, every appearance and trivia.
Pinhead (Elliot Spencer)
Clive Barker's nail-studded lead Cenobite, played by Doug Bradley in eight films: this Pinhead Hellraiser guide covers the Hell Priest's code and films.
Predator
Cloaked and tracking by heat, the Predator, Stan Winston's alien hunter, stalks Dutch's special-forces team in Predator (1987). Its sequels and lore.
Regan MacNeil / Pazuzu
Regan MacNeil and the demon Pazuzu from The Exorcist: the novel and 1973 film, who played the possessed girl, iconic moments, every sequel and trivia.
Renfield
Dwight Frye in 1931, Tom Waits in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Nicholas Hoult in Renfield (2023) have all played Renfield, Dracula's servant.
Sadako Yamamura
Crawling from a TV seven days after her cursed tape, Sadako Yamamura is Ringu's ghost, and Samara Morgan is her US counterpart. Origins and films.
Sally Hardesty
Marilyn Burns's Sally Hardesty is the only one to escape the cannibal family in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). The final girl's role and legacy.
Sidney Prescott
Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott outlasts Ghostface from Wes Craven's Scream (1996) through Scream (2022). The final girl's role and appearances.
Valak
Introduced in The Conjuring 2, Valak is the demon in a nun's habit at the center of The Nun and The Nun II. Its origin, appearances and design.
Will Graham
The FBI profiler who captured Lecter in Red Dragon, Will Graham has been played by William Petersen, Edward Norton and Hugh Dancy. His arc, explained.
Xenomorph (Alien)
The Xenomorph from Alien: H.R. Giger's design, the creature's life cycle and disputed origins, iconic moments, every film and series in order, and trivia.
