Monsters, demons, and ghouls are scary and all, but few things in film are as outright terrifying as supernaturally-inclined children. The latest horror film to hit screens is Abigail, about a group of kidnappers who don’t realize that their 12-year-old hostage is, in fact, a bloodthirsty vampire. What makes kids scary and why we love being scared at the cinema would be an article on its own, so we’re going to skip ahead with our 8List of horror’s scariest kids!

Read on to see if your favorite takes the top spot!

8. Esther (from Orphan, 2009)

Under the best circumstances, adopting a child can be a rewarding, life-altering experience. Of course, this assumes one hasn’t inadvertently adopted an adult Russian psychopath pretending to be a child. This is the shock promise of Orphan (2009) and its prequel Orphan: First Kill (2022), where prospective parents are quickly divested of any desire to procreate through the homicidal machinations of a “child” named Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman, The Hunger Games). While the second film was shot in a way to convince the audience that Fuhrman still looks the way she did in the 2009 original, it never gets in the way of the story’s tension or suspense, making for a surprisingly well-made double feature.

7. Damien Thorn (from The Omen, 1976 and 2006)

When your lead character is literally the Antichrist (and/or born of a jackal, depending on the version), there’s no doubt he’s up to no good. Adopted as a replacement for American diplomat Robert Thorn’s stillborn son, Damien grows up into an avatar of demonic acts. As the body count rises and animals begin acting in unexplained ways, the Thorns soon discover that they’re raising the son of Satan. Whether you’re watching the 1976 version by Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon) or John Moore’s (A Good Day to Die Hard) 2006 attempt, Damien is the quintessential demon child, and the one that all others are measured against. The latest attempt at reviving Damien’s onscreen antics came in the recently-released prequel, The First Omen.

6.  Toshio Saeki (from Ju-On: The Grudge, 2002)

As far as spiritual manifestations of death brought about by extreme negative emotions go, Toshio Saeki’s colorless visage from Ju-On: The Grudge is right up there with the best of them. Forget about the umpteen sequels, remakes, prequel TV series, and the positively insane crossover with The Ring’s Sadako, the original Grudge is still the best and most horrifying entry in the franchise. If ever you hear the guttural sounds of this dark-eyed herald of death, just know: you’re probably already dead.

5.  Eli (from Let the Right One In, 2008)

While Let the Right One In’s Eli (Lina Leandersson, Broken Hill Blues) is a vampire like Abigail, that’s about where the similarities end, as this bloodsucker has no interest in winning her father’s love. Eli is a cold-blooded killer, whose attempts to minimize her homicidal tendencies run counter to her burgeoning friendship with Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant, Amors Baller), a young boy being bullied in school. This Swedish flick is a horror classic, and well worth checking out. The film received a well-received Hollywood remake in 2010’s Let Me In, with Chloe Grace Moretz (Doctor Sleep) as the child vampire, renamed, “Abby”.

#4  BRANDON BREYER (BRIGHTBURN, 2019)

Superman is the archetypal superhero, beloved all over the world, but we all know the reason he’s a good guy is from being raised by a kindly midwestern couple. But what if the baby alien that crashed into the couple’s life didn’t absorb their morals and values? This is the question that Brightburn seeks to answer, doing so in the bloodiest, most violent ways possible. Sporting the same powers as Superman, Brandon uses his speed, strength, and flight to further his own interests, hiding his identity behind a grotesque mask. Where the comic book hero would inspire hope, Brandon instills fear, characterized by the red glow of heat vision that he mercilessly wields with deadly effect.

3.  Abigail (from Abigail, 2024)

Abigail is Hollywood’s latest stab at recontextualizing classic monsters for modern audiences and, as directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (the guys behind 2019’s Ready or Not), the film is slick, funny, and unabashedly gory. The directors tiptoe around established vampire mythos (garlic and holy water don’t bother her), solidifying their genre cred, while deftly adding Abigail to a long list of terrifying children.

Alisha Weir (of the Matilda musical), as Abigail, goes from ingenue to manipulative force of nature at the drop of a hat. She plays well off her captors, played by a solid group of familiar faces, including Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Melissa Barrera (Scream VI) Kathryn Newton (Freaky, Quantumania), and the late Angus Cloud (Euphoria).

#2  CHARLIE GRAHAM (HEREDITARY, 2018)

Unceasingly eerie and altogether unsettling, and possessed of a deadpan stare that would make anyone squirm, Charlie (Milly Shapiro) is the catalyst for much of what happens in 2018’s Hereditary. Whether it’s her incessant mouth clicking, her off-putting behavior, or, you know, the fact that she gets decapitated as a result of her brother’s negligence. That wpould be bad enough, but when her mother finds her body in the car the next day, that’s when things get really weird. Hereditary isn’t for everyone, but if you can make it through this Ari Aster (Midsommar) masterpiece, you’ll have borne witness to one of the most hauntingly effective horror films of the last two decades.

#1  REGAN MACNEIL (THE EXORCIST, 1973)

There was never any doubt on who would be taking the top spot – from projectile vomit and head spinning, to doing unspeakable things with a Crucifix, few horror characters are as instantly recognizable as Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil from The Exorcist (1973). Played with disturbing verve by Blair, there’s never any doubt that Regan is under the control of a malevolent force. Despite the series being run into the ground with 1990’s The Exorcist III, and 2004’s Exorcist: The Beginning, Blair as Regan was so iconic, she reprised the role in a cameo alongside her onscreen mother (Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream) in 2023’s The Exorcist: Believer!

Special Mention:

The Creed Kids (from Pet Sematary, 1989 and 2019)

This one is a bit of a cheat, as the two adaptations of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary use a different sibling to deliver one of the story’s biggest shocks. While the films differ in some of the finer details, they’re aligned on one important safety tip: if ever the chance arises to resurrect a loved one by way of a cursed burial ground, just don’t do it. As their wizened old neighbor ominously intones in both versions, “Sometimes, dead is better.”

Do you agree with our list? Sound off with your favorite horror movie kids in the comments!