‘Downright terrifying’: readers on their scariest horror villains

Dr Freudstein – House by the Cemetery

As a film it tends to be considered the weakest of Fulci’s big four or five, but a barely human any more murderous zombie that lives in your basement and bleeds maggots is screen nightmare perfection in my book. WisestHuman

Kunio Mamiya – Cure

I think what I find so frightening about him is that he’s completely affectless, and utterly impossible to read; he isn’t even the one directly responsible for the graphic, motiveless killings that punctuate the film. He meets the people who do the killing, he interacts with them without really interacting with them and then they go off to kill.

Related: ‘Genuinely disturbing’: Guardian writers on their scariest horror villains

Other villains you can hate; other villains have at least potential [cracks] in their armour. Mamiya doesn’t and at the end of the film, even though he dies, he does so having passed the cure on to someone else (the detective who’s been tailing him). How do you fight a villain who keeps on killing, even after his death? profp

Raymond Lemorne – The Vanishing

Raymond Lemorne in The Vanishing (1988) is the ultimate representation of evil I’ve ever seen. Now that is a film I will NEVER watch again. Bauhaus66

Jack Torrance – The Shining

Although even from the very beginning, you know something isn’t quite right with Jack Torrence (he beat his son for example) but the Overlook Hotel amplifies all his worst instincts. gbrading

Asami – Audition

Demure, kawaii, beautiful and a predilection for wire saws.

“Kiri-kiri-kiri-kiriiii.” Daniboi

kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri … Asami is the most unhinged horror character of all time. The last 30 minutes of Audition is the scariest climax to any horror film I’ve ever seen. Not sure I could watch it again. Bauhaus66

Mrs Carmody – The Mist

You better believe she would vote for Trump. cairnofmediocrity

Leatherface – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the most unsettling and downright terrifying baddie I’ve ever seen. A classic villain in one of the greatest horror movies of all time. elainedonne

Ben – The Innocents

Telekinetic powers aside, he is an utterly plausible young psychopath, vindictive and completely lacking in empathy but also still a kid and in some ways merely pushing the boundaries as all kids do. If you’ve seen the film, you will know what I mean by the infamous cat scene – it’s so upsetting because we probably all knew people like this (or at least on that spectrum) at school. goldbug30

Candyman – Candyman

I am going to be a lone and esoteric voice by suggesting the Candyman. Even seeing the lead actor Tony Todd in interviews terrified me. Bushofghosts

Sadako – Ringu

Just typing her name gives me shivers. So scary. Herman12

Sadako from Ring is quite clearly the scariest ever character in the whole history of the world. dale69

Buffalo Bill – The Silence of the Lambs

Lecter is chilling, but Buffalo Bill from the same film is equally disturbing. His hovering between insecurity and psychopathy makes him a more realistic character than the elderly, statesmanlike Hannibal. Mikko

Damien – The Omen

That stare is genuinely unsettling and full marks to him and the director for producing such an unnerving performance from a six year old. dale69

The Babadook – The Babadook

Its creepy croaky “Baba dook dook dook” haunts me to this day. It was also a great second date movie: we left the cinema still holding hands and we’re still together 10 years later. MrsAnneBlythe