Ten Scariest Film and TV characters!

I'm easily spooked. I mean, I had nightmares about a story about a potential witch that I saw on that TV show 'The Extraordinary' (hosted by Warwick Moss) for Pete's sake! There's a reason I don't watch American Horror Story. I know I would be closing all the curtains and sleeping with the lights on at night if I did. And after watching late night horror movies like Paranormal Activity, I need to watch Disney movies to make sure it's not the last thing I'm thinking about before I try and sleep! I fast forward scary bits. I really am a dork when it comes to horror. 

Here are the top 10 scariest characters that creeped me out and still do!

10. Jack Torrance from "The Shining"

"Here's Johnny!" Jack Torrance has to make this list. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. But there is nothing dull about Jack Nicholson in this movie. He is purely terrifying in his portrayal of the writer who slowly goes crazy as a result of the influence of paranormal forces in a deserted hotel. The movie is scarily atmospheric (as many Kubrick creations are) and more psychological than violent and the scene in the snowy maze at the end will stay with me forever (as well as the iconic axe through the door scene). Jack Nicholson is genius in his characterisation of the slowly maddening Torrance. But my fear of Jack Torrance's character has greatly diminished recently with the recut romantic comedy trailer portraying Torrance as a lost soul looking for love. Hahaha! 

9. Hannibal Lecter "Silence Of The Lambs"

How can you go past Hannibal Lecter? Such an amazing creation, Thomas Harris. Calm, calculating psychopath but well developed. Anthony Hopkins is the most famous to portray Harris' character and won a well deserved Oscar for it (although he wasn't the first). He is truly terrifying in his calm, collected, gentleman-like manner that he still scares me after watching that movie many many times. Whilst others have taken on the role (Mads Mikkelsen is the latest in the TV show Hannibal - who I do love - and Gaspard Ulliel in Hannibal Rising who I also love and was fantastic as the young Lecter but the movie itself, I fear, was terrible), Anthony Hopkins will always remain for me the definitive portrayal of this incredible literary creation. 

8. The Gentleman from "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"

I don't remember many Buffy episodes from about the 3rd season onwards but the silent creepy baldheaded Gentlemen from that episode later on "Hush", floating sideways with their plastered on smiles.... argh! They stole people's voices so they couldn't scream when they killed them. Usually, Buffy was quite schlock with its characters but these ones did scare me! Who thinks these creatures up and what is wrong with them?!

7. Eugene Victor Tooms from "The X Files"

Hands down, one of the best X Files characters ever written in 9 seasons. The X Files had some corkers but Eugene Victor Tooms wins out for me. The scene where he is stretching himself down the chimney is creepy as hell! The yellow glowing eyes when Tooms is about to attack scared me as a teenager. I used to have a poster of River Phoenix on my wall at home which, in the evening, just happened to shine in the wrong place from a light through the window. It made the eyes glow yellow and after this episode, I ended up taking it down! Doug Hutchison (who I believe was a vegetarian! Hahaha) portrays the pyschopathic mutant Tooms with such calm gentleness that it makes the character all the more scary. 

6. The inbred hillbillies from "Deliverance"

The inbred hillbillies. Amazing movie but disturbing and really a once-off for me. The scene with the duelling banjos is a classic, amazing playing & very memorable but after knowing the outcome of the story, I can't even watch that scene anymore. Great acting too... "Squeal like a pig!" Ugh! 

5. Mick Taylor from "Wolf Creek"

Mick Taylor: officially the most realistic serial killer characterisation ever! John Jarrett is an amazing actor but this movie was so disturbing because it hit so close to the mark in terms of pure brutality. I heard an interview with Jarrett in which he talked about going to the premiere of the movie and he sat behind a girl in the cinema who was not handling the movie very well. During the bit in the car when Mick Taylor appears in the rear view vision of the car, this poor girl turned to look behind her to avert her eyes and there's John Jarrett sitting behind her. Bahahaha! I would have DIED. 

4. The girl from "The Grudge"

My memories of that movie extend to one thing and one thing alone. The girl who does the croaky growly noise on the phone. Scared the LIVING DAYLIGHTS out of me. A friend rang me shortly after I watched this movie in the cinema (and this is just the American version, I hear the Japanese one is worse) and made that noise down the phone. I think I may have evacuated my bowels. The movie was very gory and violent and I didn't like it but will always remember that creepy girl. 

3. Samara from "The Ring"

Horrible scary little girl. That movie freaked me out. Turns out I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to horror movies. Even watching it subsequent times, I find myself fast forwarding the scary bits like when Samara crawls out of the well and through the TV. Ugh! I wonder if the actress has been typecast because of it. She'd be in her twenties now. 

2. Pennywise the Clown from "It"

Want a balloon? Ohh yes...they float Georgie...they float and when you're down here with us, you'll float too!!!!!!  *runs and hides* Man, Pennywise scared the shit out of me. Clowns = bad! I remember watching this with my friend Isobel when I was a teenager as we both liked Jonathan Brandis and being scared shitless of the stupid clown! "It" was one of the scariest books I've ever read and the movie was actually pretty terrible but Tim Curry did an amazing job. He still freaks me out to this day! I blame my fear of clowns on him! 

1. Killer Bob from "Twin Peaks"

Never have I been so freaked out by a fictional character in my life. I had a racing heart, I couldn't sleep and I thought about it for days. He was the scariest fucking character ever. The scene where he creeps into shot and climbs over the couch towards the camera nearly gave me a heart attack. Even now, I can't watch Twin Peaks because if I see Killer Bob, I'll freak out. Ugh! I don't even like looking at this picture! That poor guy Frank Silva (RIP), I wonder what it must have been like for him post-Twin Peaks. People must have freaked out at seeing him in the streets. A worthy recipient of the title, I think.

Honorable mentions go to: Tony Todd in Candyman (that movie scared me when I was a teenager - ugh!), the Peacocks in The X Files (one of the scariest and strangely non-paranormal episodes of the show), Katie in Paranormal Activity, the zombie like creature at the end of Rec, and Annie Wilkes from Misery (Kathy Bates was amazing)!