May 21, 2012

These Women Can Scare You Silly

by Kristin Forte | Published October 17, 2008

(Page 2)

Top Five Scariest Women

Sissy Spacek
Carrie White in Carrie (1976)
When people hear the name “Carrie,” if they’re not thinking of everyone’s favorite columnist in Manolo Blahniks, they can’t help but picture Sissy Spacek drenched in blood at the high school prom. Tormented and timid, Carrie discovers she has telekinetic powers and uses them to murder her peers, teachers, mother and even herself. Spacek’s performance was so well done that she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, a rare honor for a horror movie.

Linda Blair
Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973)
Starring in one of the most notorious and horrifying movies of all time, Linda Blair shocked audiences with her portrayal of Regan MacNeil, a young girl who falls prey to demonic possession. Her performance in The Exorcist birthed iconic movie scenes, including her spinning head and an eerie crawl down stairs. Blair’s disturbing depiction left audiences terrified, and resulted in an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The infamously troubled actress followed The Exorcist with its sequel and continues to take roles in many frightening flicks.

Kathy Bates
Annie Wilkes in Misery (1990)
Who can forget a sledgehammer-wielding Kathy Bates smashing the ankles of her favorite novelist and captive? She was positively chilling as mentally unhinged Annie Wilkes, a would-be stalker lucky enough to have the object of her affection practically fall into her lap. After “rescuing” the author (James Caan), she holds him hostage, threatening death if he doesn’t resurrect her favorite character from his series of popular novels. Bates had the murderous fanatic role down pat; it’s no wonder she won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actress.

Anthony Perkins
Mrs. Bates in Psycho (1960)
Anthony Perkins gave a whole new meaning to the term “mama’s boy” when he portrayed Norman Bates, a disturbed man who shifts between his personality and that of his mother whom he killed years before. Dressed as the elderly woman, he brutally murders motel guest Marion with a kitchen knife, later discovering her (this time as Norman) and hiding her body and car in a swamp. Norman and Mrs. Bates have continued to petrify audiences since the movie’s release 40 years ago.

Betsy Palmer
Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980)
Before Jason terrorized audiences in a plethora of horror films, it was his mother Pamela Voorhees who slayed innocent victims in Friday the 13th. Betsy Palmer’s Pamela was a woman driven mad by grief and the lust for revenge. On a murderous rampage she killed the counselors of Camp Crystal Lake one by one, a long 23 years after her young son Jason drowned. And even though her character literally loses her head at the end of the movie, she still makes for one creepy campfire tale.