Top 20 Creepiest Characters of All Time

Top 20 Creepiest Characters of All Time

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Leaving a lasting impression isn’t always a good thing. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 20 creepiest characters of all time. For this list, we’ll be looking at the creepiest and most unsettling characters from all media. That includes movies, television shows, video games, literature, and yes, even creepypastas. We’ll be ranking our choices based on the characters’ inherent “creep” factor as well as their impact and lasting legacy within their particular medium.

#20: Patrick Bateman

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“American Psycho” franchise (1991-) Patrick Bateman is the villainous protagonist of Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel “American Psycho,” though today, most people know him from the 2000 film adaptation. On the outside, Bateman appears to be an acquisitive Wall Street banker, but deep down, he is a bloodthirsty serial killer who has actually perpetrated multiple crimes. Much has been written regarding the thematic link between Bateman’s career and his killings and the ways in which the story uses social commentary to expound on consumerism and a certain type of masculinity. But even on a surface level, Bateman is one creepy dude. He’ll lull you in with his good looks, charm, and knowledge of pop culture one second and then bash your head in with an axe the next.

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015) “The Witcher 3” goes all out in its nasty lore. Case in point — the Botchlings. Botchlings are all sorts of terrifying, not only in terms of their appearance but also what they represent and what they do. They take the form of a disfigured fetus, and are created when stillborn infants are buried improperly. Botchlings feed on expecting mothers by hiding under their beds and sucking their blood until both the mother and unborn child are dead. It’s the stuff of literal nightmares. Luckily, Botchlings can be pacified and turned into Lubberkin via an elven naming ritual and a proper burial. Lubberkin still take the physical form of a Botchling, but they’re much friendlier and they glow with a calming white aura.

#18: BOB

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“Twin Peaks” franchise (1990-91; 2017) David Lynch has created many a terrifying monster throughout his career, and BOB is certainly one of them. BOB is the primary antagonist of “Twin Peaks,” although his role in the story isn’t really known until the second season. While he takes the appearance of a human, BOB is actually an interdimensional being from the legendary Black Lodge. He has the ability to possess humans, whereupon he commits horrific acts like rape and murder in order to satiate his endless hunger for human sorrow. He was the one behind Laura Palmer’s murder, and had sexually assaulted her repeatedly.. BOB is the very embodiment of pain and evil.

#17: Koh the Face Stealer

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“Avatar: The Last Airbender” (2005-08) Though loved and appreciated by fans of all ages, “Avatar” was a show primarily aimed at children. But what kid can watch an episode involving this ancient spirit and not get nightmares? Koh resides in the Spirit World. His physical form is that of a giant centipede-like thing, which is freaky enough as is. But Koh also has the ability to steal people’s faces if they show any hint of emotion - including fear. As such, he attempts to scare the mortals he meets and steal their faces to wear as his own. To make matters worse, his victims don’t die. They are simply forced to live in a purgatory-like state for years... without a face. Again, this is a kids’ show!

“The Handmaid’s Tale” franchise (1985-) Aunt Lydia is among Margaret Atwood’s most despicable creations, serving as one of the primary antagonists of her dystopian masterpiece, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In the novel, Lydia appears primarily in Offred’s flashbacks, where she is seen attempting to brainwash June and plant the oppressive maxims of Gilead into her mind. Her role is greatly expanded in the Hulu adaptation, and Ann Dowd received an Emmy in 2017 for her mesmerizing performance. In the world of Gilead, women are seen as the inferior sex, and Handmaids are used solely for the purpose of bearing children. To indoctrinate people into such a belief is truly despicable, and Aunt Lydia is the very embodiment of this ideology.

“Family Guy” (1999-2003; 2005-) “Family Guy” is a comedy, but man if John Herbert doesn’t get under the skin in a really disturbing way. Herbert is Quahog’s resident deviant — an old, whistle-voiced man who uses faux-friendliness to get close to children. And although any child seems up for grabs, Herbert has a particular infatuation with Chris Griffin. As is often the case with “Family Guy,” Herbert’s role was greatly expanded in later seasons, and his methods for luring children became more and more elaborate. It’s played for laughs of course, but that doesn’t make Herbert’s actions any less despicable or the scenes involving him any less disturbing. The creepy voice doesn’t help, either.

#14; Weeping Angels

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“Doctor Who” (1963-89; 2005-) Leaning into its sci-fi premise, “Doctor Who” has crafted some amazingly imaginative and creepy creatures throughout the decades. But it’s the Weeping Angels who are often regarded as the scariest. The Angels are predominantly known for the episode “Blink”, which is often regarded as one of the best of the series. A race of creatures that look like stone statues, the Weeping Angels “feed” on their victims’ “time energy” by sending them back into the past. They travel great speeds in the literal blink of an eye, forcing their potential victims to refrain from blinking. Establishing their strength to be one of humanity’s most thoughtlessly instinctual actions was a genius move, making the Weeping Angels seem like genuinely unstoppable threats.

#13; Other Mother

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“Coraline” franchise (2002-) Based on Neil Gaiman’s children’s novella, “Coraline” is a gorgeous movie that sets itself apart with its rich stop motion animation. But it also has one of the creepiest characters ever in the Other Mother. Officially known as the Beldam, the Other Mother is an entity that has the ability to shapeshift, and she uses this power to bring children into another dimension so she can acquire their souls. Other Mother initially takes the appearance of Mel Jones, albeit with terrifying button eyes. She gradually morphs into her true form throughout the movie, however, which is some sort of bent-over, skeletal, spider-like creature with sewing needle hands.

#12: Slender Man

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Various (2009-) Slender Man is by far the most successful creepypasta ever made. The character was created by Eric Knudsen, who entered a Photoshop contest on the Something Awful forum. Knudsen made two black and white photos showing The Slender Man posing with young children, and the legend of the child-snatching monster was born. It’s not just the rampant child snatching that proves creepy. It’s also his physical appearance - very tall, very thin, very white and faceless. The photos proved so popular that they quickly spread and multiplied throughout the internet, eventually appearing in popular video games, a web series, and a movie. Slender Man clearly hit on a collective nerve.

“The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” (2000) Majora is arguably the “Zelda” franchise’s most horrific villain, and that’s truly saying something. Serving as an evil entity residing within Majora’s Mask, Majora uses the Skull Kid as a puppet for its own nefarious purposes, like sealing away the Four Giants and attempting to destroy Termina using the Moon. The mask has the power to control and to induce total insanity, and its sole purpose seems to be destruction for destruction’s sake. To make it even scarier, the true form of Majora remains unknown, which helps give it an aura of the alien and the unimaginable. Theories still abound regarding Majora’s true identity, which arguably makes it even scarier. We always fear what we don’t know.

#10: Big Brother

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“Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1949) Big Brother isn’t so much a character as it is a symbolic representation, but he earns a spot amongst our list nonetheless. “1984” takes place in a dystopian future in which a totalitarian government reigns supreme while using excessive force, mass surveillance, groupthink, propaganda. It controls the citizens of Oceania and forces them to live in constant fear of freedom and rejection of governmental control. The term Big Brother has since entered the common vocabulary and is often used to symbolically represent any form of mass surveillance or government overreach. “1984” wants to remind us that “Big Brother is watching,” and it’s a concept that’s proving more relevant and terrifying by the day.

“Misery” franchise (1987-) Stephen King has created a lot of inhuman villains throughout his decades-spanning career, but few are as terrifying as simple ol’ Annie Wilkes. Annie isn’t an alien, a multidimensional creature or even a vampire — she’s simply a psychotic woman hellbent on getting what she wants, and what she wants is for author Paul Sheldon to bring her favorite character back to life. King was inspired to write “Misery” after his fans vehemently rejected his fantasy novel “The Eyes of the Dragon,” essentially making him return to horror. With Annie, he addresses the idea of the obsessive fan and takes it to a near-satirical degree. Unfortunately, shades of Annie Wilkes can still be seen in numerous fandoms today -and who can forget Kathy Bates’ Oscar-winning portrayal in the 1990 film - proving that this story’s themes may forever remain relevant.

“Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” (2017) The Baker family is an altogether freaky group, but Marguerite is the scariest of them all. Marguerite was a plantation owner before her brain was infected by Eveline’s mold, causing her to go insane. After being infected, the Bakers began kidnapping people, turning them into Molded, and using the organs of their victims as their primary food source. Marguerite, in particular, has some form of connection to insects - at least mutant ones - as she can produce centipedes from her mouth and man-eating creatures reminiscent of mosquitoes. In her final, monstrous form, Marguerite’s abdomen turns into a grotesque insect hive and she grows enlarged limbs that allow her to crawl on the walls. She is disgusting in every sense of the word.

“The Call of Cthulhu” (1928) The now iconic Cthulhu was first spotted in H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Call of Cthulhu.” Lovecraft himself didn’t care for the story, calling it “rather middling” but it has nonetheless gone on to become arguably his most famous work. Little is actually seen of Cthulhu in the story itself, although it was later incorporated into the wider Cthulhu Mythos. Cthulhu is a Great Old One, taking the physical form of a giant winged octopus/dragon… thing. It lies in the underwater city of R’lyeh, which is buried under the Pacific Ocean. There’s a collective fear we all share of a gigantic alien creature slumbering beneath our waters, and thanks to its multiple appearances in pop culture, Cthulhu’s name has become synonymous with the unknown and unexplored deep.

“Blood Meridian” (1985) Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” is widely regarded as one of the finest novels ever written, although it’s also one of the most macabre and uninviting. Serving as the primary antagonist is Judge Holden, a massive, pale, and entirely hairless man who takes immense glee in his profession as a scalp hunter. While Holden has some historical precedence, McCarthy morphs him into the very personification of evil and malice. He gleefully murders dozens of people, mistreats animals, expounds on the virtues of violence and war, and attacks children. Various literary scholars have compared him to a demon, while others claim that he personifies humanity’s penchant for revolting acts of violence and immorality. Quite simply, Judge Holden is the Devil incarnate.

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) “Buffy” aired many great episodes throughout its seven-season run, but perhaps the greatest of them all (and certainly the scariest) is season four’s “Hush”. Hush centers around The Gentlemen, a small group of ghouls who steal both voices and hearts. Because their victims are rendered silent thanks to their voices being trapped in a magical box, they cannot scream or plead for help as The Gentlemen cut out their heart with a scalpel. Their physical appearance is also nightmare-inducing, as they are pale, bald, floating humanoids with persistent grins, metallic teeth, and dark eyes. And to think, this stuff appeared on national TV. A child could have seen it!

#4: It / Pennywise

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“It” franchise (1986-) As freaky as Annie Wilkes is, she has nothing on Pennywise. Pennywise is arguably Stephen King’s greatest creation, a total abomination who feeds on fear. The true form of It is never revealed, although it consists of something called the Deadlights. One glimpse at the Deadlights, however, is enough to render someone insane. A shapeshifter, It takes on the physical appearance of whatever its victim is most afraid of, but Pennywise the Dancing Clown is It’s default disguise. What makes It so scary isn’t its numerous forms, its unknowable, ancient identity, or its malicious taunts, but rather the inherent fear that it represents. It is fright and terror personified, and really, there’s nothing much scarier than that.

“The Exorcist” franchise (1971-) Parents will do just about anything to protect their children, be it from bullies, injuries, or psychological harm. But demonic possession? How do you protect them from that? This landmark horror story centers on Regan MacNeil, a young girl possessed by the demon Pazuzu. While the portrayal of possession in William Peter Blatty’s novel is certainly terrifying, it was brought to life in excruciating fashion in the iconic 1973 film starring Linda Blair. The scenes involving Regan-Pazuzu were reportedly so horrifying that audiences fainted, vomited, suffered heart attacks, and even miscarried. Watching a small girl doing and saying the things that Regan does was unlike anything audiences had seen before. The film remains exceptionally creepy to this day thanks to some incredible acting, writing, and makeup effects.

“Hannibal Lecter” franchise (1981-) Hannibal the Cannibal has appeared in a number of adaptations over the years, but it seems hard to imagine any iteration that could top Anthony Hopkins’s legendary performance in “The Silence of the Lambs.” Hopkins is nothing short of magnetic throughout the entire movie, utterly captivating audiences and other characters alike with nothing more than his words and devilish eyes. Seriously, never has an actor accomplished more with eyes alone. Knowing that a human has killed and eaten another is highly disturbing under any circumstances, but it’s somehow made even creepier as a result of Hannibal’s intelligence and efficiency. It makes us wonder how many other seemingly put-together people out there are hiding a more horrific truth. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Alex, “A Clockwork Orange” franchise (1962-71) Alex Loves Partaking in a Little Bit of the Old Ultra-Violence Twisty the Clown, “American Horror Story: Freak Show” (2014-15) The Grotesque Twisty Gives Pennywise a Run for His Money Miss Havisham, “Great Expectations” franchise (1860-) There’s Something Really Creepy About Wearing a Wedding Dress for the Rest of Your Life

Various (1897-) Bram Stoker created what is arguably the creepiest and most famous villain of all time. It’s amazing to consider just how prevalent and far-reaching Count Dracula has become throughout time, popping up in movies, books, comics, and even children’s cereal. Many iterations of the character have been made, and it seems like each tries to one-up the last. But simplicity is key, and there’s nothing creepier than an intelligent man walking around in the dark, killing people, and sucking their blood. Dracula has become synonymous with vampires, and even to this day, Bela Lugosi’s iconic iteration remains the prototype, complete with his cape, accent, and slicked back hair. Of all the creatures in all the endless pieces of entertainment, Dracula remains the creepiest and the most iconic.