Move over, Freddy and Jason! These characters prove that ladies have what it takes to strike fear in the hearts of audiences...
13. The Wicked Witch of the West in 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939)
When you were a little girl and had nightmares, did they often revolve around green-skinned ladies cackling and calling you "my pretty"? We thought so.
12. Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975)
For anyone with a fear of authority, there's no one more terrifying than the corrupt mental hospital nurse played by Louise Fletcher. She's prone to administering unnecessary shock treatment and lobotomies when threatened -- and worse, her calm mannerisms seem to hide a sadistic joy at the whole thing.
11. The Grand High Witch in 'The Witches' (1990)
Played by Anjelica Huston, The Grand High Witch leads a coven that kidnaps children and turns them into mice. But that's not what's scary about her. What's scary is the moment when she strips off her face and suddenly looks like this.
10. Esther in Orphan (2009)
Children are supposed to remind us of a simpler, more innocent time. There's nothing more terrifying onscreen than a scary kid -- except maybe (spoiler alert!) a middle-aged prostitute with dwarfism (played by Isabelle Fuhrman) posing as a scary kid in order to seduce your husband and kill your family. Yeah, that about takes the cake.
9. Nancy in 'The Craft' (1996)
Fairuza Balk rose to early fame playing sweet little girls in films like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Return to Oz -- but she sure does sinister well. Balk single-handedly makes The Craft memorable with her crazy-eyed performance as vengeful teen witch Nancy
8. Jennifer Check in Jennifer's Body (2009)
What could be worse than a gorgeous best friend who tries to steal your man? How about a gorgeous best friend who tries to steal your man in order to kill him and eat his flesh? Megan Fox in Jennifer's Body is every girl's worst nightmare -- in more ways than one.
7. Baby Jane Hudson in 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?' (1962)
Hell hath no fury like a former child star. "Baby Jane" (Bette Davis) is so obsessed with her lost childhood fame that she turns psychotic, crippling and torturing her more successful sister (Joan Crawford). Bette Davis' creepy adult rendition of Jane's "hit song" is enough to give you chills.
6. Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction (1987)
What makes Alex (Glenn Close) so terrifying is that she's so appealing at the beginning of the film: smart and sexy, even making adultery seem reasonable. Then the next thing you know, she's kidnapping children and boiling people's pets. Even today, Fatal Attraction scares wandering men straight.
5. Joan Crawford in 'Mommie Dearest' (1981)
Sometimes monsters exist in real life, and according to the memoir of Joan Crawford's daughter Christina, her mother was one. In a frantic performance by Faye Dunaway, Crawford is portrayed as secretly deranged, chopping off her daughter's hair as an arbitrary punishment and leaving her own children in a constant state of terror.
4. Annie Wilkes in 'Misery' (1990)
No psychotic killer has ever been as gleeful as Annie, the small-town romance fan who locks up her favourite novelist and forces him to write the ending she wants. Kathy Bates won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance
3. Carrie in 'Carrie' (1976)
Ever get so angry at the world -- or somebody in it -- that you feel like you might snap? Sissy Spacek's humiliated Carrie has the most horrifying nervous breakdown in film history, taking out an entire prom in the process.
2. Regan MacNeil in 'The Exorcist' (1973)
Actress Linda Blair was only 14 when she played Regan, the sweet little girl whose possession by the devil turns her into an unrecognizable demon. Considering the projectile vomiting, creepy sexuality and infamous spinning head, Blair's performance is just as terrifying as it was over 30 years ago.
1. Norman Bates' Mother in 'Psycho' (1960)
No actress plays Norman's mother in the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece Psycho -- but she's still the film's scariest character, whether being impersonated by her son (the titular "psycho") or showing up as a corpse in one of cinema's best "gotcha!" moments.
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