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- Photo: Netflix. 23 votes. The Ritual. The Jötunn showcased in The Ritual is often regarded as one of the best, most accurate, and most terrifying creatures ever put to film as this massive creature of Scandinavian mythology is allegedly a race of giants who were often in conflicts with the gods.
- Photo: Krampus / Universal Pictures. 25 votes. Krampus. The titular Krampus has made quite the name for himself over the last decade in horror as he has become one of the most popular and beloved mystical creatures that directors and writers love to adapt into their holiday horror films.
- Photo: Antlers. 14 votes. Antlers. 2021's Antlers was one of the most hyped and anticipated horror films of the year, and while it didn't quite live up to expectations, it did provide fans with a brutal, horrifying, and deadly portrayal of the Wendigo.
- Photo: 20th Century Fox. 13 votes. Underwater. As popular of a creature as Cthulhu is in pop culture, it is rare that audiences ever get a chance to see him on the silver screen, but in 2020's Underwater, many finally got a chance to see this behemoth monstrosity up close, and the result was just as bone-chilling as one would dream.
- 13 The Krampus
- 12 Aisha Kandisha
- 11 Leprechaun
- 10 Daayan
- 9 The Weeping Woman
- 8 Djinn
- 7 Bathsheba
- 6 Paimon
- 5 Bagul
- 4 The Wendigo
Krampus
Christmas is a time of merry and joy — until it isn't. When children misbehave, Krampus, a horned anthropomorphic figure, appears to scare the children. The creature isn't necessarily good or bad; its folklore says he is the representation of punishment and retribution. Of course, at the same time, he has been known to lure the children to his cave and eat them, which we can all agree isn't very "nice." You can catch this mythological creature in the 2015 horror film Krampus, starring Toni Co...
Kandisha
The 2020 French language film Kandisha uses a character from the Moroccan folklore as its central evil force. Three young girls are shown to invoke the spirit of Kandisha on a whim when one of them gets attacked by her ex-boyfriend. But soon they find out that the Kandisha is out for the blood of not only one victim but multiple. In the film, it is said that the Kandisha, once invoked, claims the life of six men before its thirst is quenched. In Moroccan folklore, the Kandisha is a vengeful s...
The Leprechaun Franchise
Leprechauns are always depicted as cute, lucky, green-wearing men. In the eight-film franchise, beginning with 1993's Leprechaun, the titular creature is malicious, and murderous and will stop at nothing to get back any gold that is stolen from him. While the Irish mythological creature is often associated with good, humans tend to take things too far, which is the case in this franchise. Humans' greed can often lead to bad things like taking someone else's gold, thereby unleashing a terror t...
Ek Thi Daayan
The 2013 Hindi-language movie Ek Thi Daayan includes many different lore from across various old Indian mythology but at the center of it all is the Daayan or a witch. Daayans have been depicted across many different mythologies to be women who practice black magic and they are especially prone to harming children. In the movie, we see the Daayan sacrificing young children whom she loves to keep restoring her dark powers. One of the other interesting facts about Daayans is that their power is...
The Curse of La Llorona
In The Curse of La Llorona, another film in the Conjuring Universe, the spirit, also known as The Weeping Woman, is a ghost who roams waterfront areas, mourning the children she drowned. The spirit is from Mexican folklore origin. She preys on children who wander too close to the water. She is often shown wearing a white dress and veil. Related: 10 Best Folklore Horror Movies From the Last Decade
Under the Shadow
The Djinn/Jinn is an immensely scary mythological creature that has appeared in many movies. Even though in Arabic mythology they are said to be creatures that are not innately good or evil, in most of their recent depictions, they are portrayed as evil creatures that can possess, scare, and even kill humans if they are angered. In the movie Under the Shadows, a young mother-daughter duo is harassed and harmed by the unholy presence of a Djinn. The other movie which depicts young women being...
The Conjuring
In The Conjuring, the spirit Bathsheba serves as the main antagonist. Bathsheba is based on Bathsheba Sherman, a woman who tried to sacrifice her newborn son to Satan. Her husband caught her before the sacrifice went through, causing her to hang herself after proclaiming her love to Satan and cursing the land. She was then on known to possess the mother in the families who lived on her land and would force the mother to slaughter her children. She attempted to take over the matriarch of the P...
Hereditary
Hereditary is easily one of the most bone-chilling supernatural horror movies of the last decade. The movie depicts how a family is slowly torn apart by a vicious presence that ends up being a demon named Paimon. There have been many demons from Biblical mythologies to have graced the screen but the way Paimon's effect is shown throughout the movie easily makes him one of the scariest ones. Paimon in mythology is called King Paimon and is known to be quite obedient to the Devil himself. Being...
Sinister
Bagul, or Mr. Boogie as he is called in the Sinister franchise, is based on the Babylonian pagan deity who consumes the souls of children. He can travel to our realm via images of himself, which he does through film in the franchise. His mouth was sewn shut by his brother, making the deity even more sinister. He is bloodthirsty and forces the children he wants to brutally murder their families. These murders were filmed and left to be watched by the new inhabitants of the house in the first S...
Antlers
In the 2021 film Antlers, the mythological Wendigo creature is brought to life after the creature inhabits a father. The Indigenous-based evil spirit makes its captive human body crave the flesh and blood of others. In Antlers, the creature possesses a father and slowly drives him insane in his thirst for human flesh. His youngest son was also infected, and it's up to his other son to take care of the two, which he locked in their attic. Related: 20 Best Jump Scares in Horror History
- The Wendigo in Antlers. Scott Cooper's "Antlers" is the most recent movie on this list. The Wendigo isn't new to cinema (see: "Wendigo," "Dark Was the Night," or even video games like "Until Dawn"), though it has never been as gloriously realized as it was in Cooper's Pacific Northwest creeper.
- The Changeling in The Hole in the Ground. A24 did not do well by "The Hole in the Ground." Sure, it's no "The Witch" or "Hereditary," but it's still a "supremely scary" horror movie that, with the right backing, could have been part of the discussion alongside the company's most noteworthy horror efforts.
- Fairies in Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. As a producer, Guillermo del Toro has a clear proclivity for the kinds of projects he chooses to back. He wants childhood trauma and lush, grand, Gothic settings.
- Joulupukki in Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Santa Claus is conventionally depicted as a jolly, happy fellow. Some (read: Megyn Kelly) are almost pathologically compelled to defend his mythos and all of the traditional trappings.
Sep 1, 2024 · Also ranks #3 on 11 Scary Mythical Creature Horror Movies Based On Haunting Folklore; Also ranks #8 on The Most Haunting Horror Movie Trailers Of 2020; Also ranks #10 on The 25 Best Movies Like 'Blink Twice', Ranked By Fans
- Leah Collins
- The Thing – The Thing (1982) As one of the most well-known and revered horror movies, John Carpenter's 1982 classic "The Thing" barely requires an introduction.
- Xenomorphs and Facehuggers – Alien (1979) 1979 saw the cinematic introduction of one of the most recognizable and frightening creatures to ever grace our screens: the Xenomorph.
- Michael Myers – Halloween (1978) This entry really only needs three words: he's the Boogeyman. Michael Myers holds an esteemed place in the horror baddie pantheon by virtue of being one of the earliest and simplest slasher icons — pre-Jason Voorhees, pre-Freddy Kreuger.
- Freddy Krueger – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) There are few instances where someone can just utter a single name and a myriad of images will pop into their mind.
Jan 9, 2020 · FRANKENSTEIN (THE GOLEM) There have been many different cinematic incarnations of Frankenstein's Monster, the behemoth cobbled together from different corpses by Dr. Victor Frankenstein. The earliest starring Boris Karloff from 1931 remains to this day one of the most chilling.
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May 31, 2022 · Related: 8 Scariest Mythological Creatures in Horror Movies. 5 Krampus Legendary Pictures. Krampus is a horned creature who acts as the grim counter-figure to Saint Nick and punishes children who ...
