What makes a great horror movie villain? For starters, they obviously have to be scary. If the audience isn't afraid of the monster, then what good is it? Next, they have to be a threat. Is a ghost scary? Definitely, but there isn't really much that it can do to a person physically besides scare them. Finally, a great horror movie villain is defined by how memorable they are. There are plenty of amazing horror movie villains out there that we all know and love, simply because they have stood the test of time. They have been etched into our memories (and our nightmares) because of how horrifying they are.

These horror movie villains can come from anywhere: outer space, a summer camp, a toy store, even your own bad dreams. What really makes these monsters scary is how strong they are. It's hard to imagine a scenario where you could overpower someone like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, and that's what makes them even more frightening. It's also what makes them great adversaries for the heroes of the film. If the villain in a horror movie wasn't strong or looming, then there would be no tension in how to stop them. As it is, the villains in horror movies are some of the greatest screen antagonists of all time. Let's just say that if you find yourself anywhere near the 20 strongest horror movie villains listed here, you had better make a run for it, because there's no telling what they could do to you.

20 HANNIBAL LECTER (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS)

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter

Some of the greatest horror movie monsters aren't from another dimension or another planet: they're just human. However, despite their harmless appearance, there is an unspeakable evil lying just below the surface. There are few horror movie villains who embody this better than Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

Despite only having roughly 20 minutes of screen time, Hannibal Lecter made an impact on the world. Throughout the film, he shows Clarice Starling that despite being locked in a cell, his cold, calculating intelligence gives him the upper hand. Upon his escape, he also demonstrates that behind his calm but threatening demeanor is brute, animal strength.

19 ZOMBIES (DAWN OF THE DEAD)

Dawn of the Dead zombies

There is strength in numbers, and there's no monster that quite demonstrates that principle better than a horde of zombies. While most of the horror movie villains on this list work alone, zombies find their power in attacking as a group. Throughout any of the most famous zombie films, and particularly Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, the heroes can often take care of one zombie with no problems.

Unfortunately, zombies rarely come in ones. When they come at you in a pack, you're pretty much out of luck. Look at it this way: the survivors had to make their escape in a heavily armored vehicle simply because there were just too many zombies outside of the mall.

18 CHUCKY (CHILD'S PLAY)

Chucky from Childs Play

As if dolls weren't scary enough already, there also had to be Chucky. Possessed by the soul of a ruthless person, Chucky made his debut in the 1988 film, Child's Play. Since his first outing as a horror movie villain, Chucky has struck fear in audiences who probably went home and put all of their kids' toys in a locked closet.

Chucky may just be a doll, seemingly pretty easy to defeat, but he often gets the drop on his victims. This is mostly due to the fact that by all appearances, he is just a toy. Nobody who doesn't know better wouldn't give him a second look. However, his small stature also allows him to sneak around and hide in every nook and cranny.

17 LEATHERFACE (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE)

Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre

From the very moment that he swings open that heavy metal door and comes at his victims with a roaring chainsaw, Leatherface has embodied the very thing that makes so many horror movie villains great: a complete disregard for human life and no reason for the taking of lives besides insanity.

Leatherface may just be a man behind the mask and chainsaw, but his unbridled rage and choice of weapon make him more than just a man. Leatherface is an absolute force to be reckoned with. There is no reasoning with him, and no logic behind why he does what he does. He is simply a monster.

16 MICHAEL MYERS (HALLOWEEN)

Michael Myers from Halloween

Despite the fact that he shares his name with a well known comedic actor, this Michael Myers is definitely not here to make you laugh. Like Leatherface, Myers is just a man, but one who has forfeited all traces of humanity. All that is left is an unstoppable force whose silence is more jarring than any spoken threat.

Michael Myers has been thrown off rooftops, shot, and beaten. Yet he just keeps coming. From his very first appearance in the 1978 classic Halloween, Myers has come at his sprees with an almost workmanlike effort, never stopping to take a breather or even let his victims comprehend what is happening.

15 VICTOR CROWLEY (HATCHET)

He may not be one of the most recognizable names in horror, but his possibly one of the most insatiable characters on film. The Hatchet series of films might not always have the greatest stories to tell, but Victor Crowley makes for a completely stark villain. Victor Crowley is the vengeful spirit of a disfigured boy who lived in a swamp and was mortally wounded by a pair of bullies.

Now, Victor Crowley's vengeful spirit roams the swamp, taking out anyone who dares step foot on his land. Since he's technically perished already, there's no real way to end Victor Crowley, so the only way to beat him is to just stay really far away from his swamp.

14 SAMARA (THE RING)

Samara from The Ring

From the first time someone watches the video in The Ring to the attack that comes seven days later, the little girl known as Samara is haunting them, waiting for her chance to strike. The only way to stop her from coming for you? Make a copy of the aforementioned tape.

Unfortunately, Naomi Watts learns that lesson too late, thinking that Samara can be put to rest by being set free from her watery grave. However, Samara is not looking for a final resting place, and she is definitely not at peace by the end of the film. She has only been granted even more power by being released from her prison.

13 KAYAKO (THE GRUDGE)

Kayako from the Grudge

As soon as you hear the croaking sound echoing through your home, you know you are not safe from Kayako. The evil spirit introduced in The Grudge is far more dangerous than the standard ghost. Kayako was murdered in a rage by her husband, leaving her vengeful spirit behind.

Kayako's targets discover that just by being near the house where she was taken out is enough for her spirit to latch onto them. No matter how far they go, Kayako follows them. She can manifest anywhere, so there is no hiding from her. Once someone has been marked by her, there is no escaping.

12 CARRIE WHITE (CARRIE)

Sissy Spacek as Carrie White

One of Stephen King's very first monsters was no more than a tormented teenage girl named Carrie. While she at first appears harmless, the continued ridicule and cruelty of her fellow high school students, along with the psychological attacks from her own mother, eventually drives Carrie into an unstoppable rage.

Carrie's strength is in her psychokinetic abilities. She displays these fully during the climactic prom scene in Carrie. It is during this memorable event that Carrie loses all her humanity. However, the real question is whether Carrie is the true monster, or if it was the bullies who drove a quiet, shy girl to this madness.

11 THE CANDYMAN (CANDYMAN)

Movies Tony Todd as Candyman

His name might not exactly strike fear into your heart, but his haunting image definitely will. Like Victor Crowley, the Candyman is another vengeful spirit, played with perfect menace by Tony Todd. The Candyman is summoned by speaking his name five times in front of a mirror, at which point he takes out his victims with a hook.

What makes the Candyman so frightening and powerful is the strength he draws from his legendary status. The film begins as an exploration of an urban legend, and essentially makes the case that repeating the Candyman's story is what gives him power. The Candyman is also a tragic figure, having been taken out because of his relationship with a white woman in the 1890s.

10 THE FOLLOWER (IT FOLLOWS)

Movies the Tall Man from It Follows

"Don't let it touch you." That's the last piece of advice given to Jay after her date wherein a curse is passed onto her. It Follows is not only a beautifully shot film that touches on the loss of youth and innocence, but it also introduces one of the most haunting villains in modern horror.

The follower is relentless. It may not be fast, or look particularly scary (it does, after all, only assume human form), but it is unstoppable. It will follow its targets anywhere, always approaching at a casual walk that somehow makes it more menacing. Once it catches up to someone, it shows its true strength.

9 PENNYWISE (IT)

Bill Skaarsgard as Pennywise

As if clowns weren't scary enough. Pennywise from IT is possibly one of the most jarring movie monsters if only because of the form he takes to go after the children of Derry, Maine. He's creepy enough as a yellow-eyed clown, but the demonic power he has that allows him to utilize fear as a weapon makes him that much more threatening.

As the Losers Club quickly discovers, Pennywise is able to appear anywhere at any time, feeding off of the fear of kids. How exactly can you beat a monster when fear is what gives it power? Even though the Losers manage to beat him once, the story doesn't end that easily.

8 THE WOLFMAN (THE WOLFMAN)

Benicio Del Toro as the Wolfman

Is there anything more jarring than seeing a normal person turn into a monster? That's the case with the Wolfman, an average man who after being attacked is cursed to take the form of a half-man, half-wolf creature during every full moon. When the man turns to wolf, there is no part of him left. The animal takes over, and it is violent and hungry.

The Wolfman may only come around when there is a full moon, but when it happens, there is no stopping this monstrous creature. He is not only faster and more vicious, but far stronger as well. He is also capable of passing his curse onto others, meaning that he has the ability to create even more monsters.

7 THE ALIEN (THE THING)

The Creature from The Thing

The Thing is a masterclass in horror and suspense: it weaves a tale of paranoia, isolation, and fear. Central to that story is, of course, the alien creature that goes after the men of U.S. Outpost 31 in Antarctica. Not only can the creature copy any living organism perfectly, but it can also transform into giant, dangerous monsters (a great theory about the creature is that it has copied lifeforms from all over the galaxy, which is how it can take so many horrifying forms).

The most frightening aspect of the alien is that it stayed dormant in the Arctic ice for thousands of years before being able to emerge. That means that it could easily survive even longer by freezing itself and waiting to be rediscovered.

6 THE XENOMORPH (ALIEN)

Xenomorph in Alien: Covenant

In 1978, Alien  introduced the world to possibly the most horrific outer space monster ever conceived: the xenomorph. Not only do these creatures possess strength and speed, but their blood is also highly acidic. That means they can hurt you even when they are wounded.

Right from the moment they are gestated, the xenomorphs are incredibly violent. Their embryos are forcefully deposited into other living organisms, before they forcibly burst forth from their hosts. As far as outer space monsters go, the xenomorphs are the most threatening. They fall somewhere between animalistic and intelligent, and they are big trouble when there is more than one of them.

5 JASON VOORHEES (FRIDAY THE 13TH)

Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th

He's not quite gone, but also not quite alive. Jason Voorhees, the goalie masked villain from the Friday the 13th film series is a bit of an enigma. That doesn't stop him from being incredibly dangerous, though. Jason has demonstrated a level of brute strength that few other horror movie villains have been able to display.

Jason is one of the only horror movie villains that utilizes his bare hands in addition to his standard choice of weapons. He has committed crimes at Camp Crystal Lake, in Manhattan, and even in space (although no one really likes to talk about that). That's not even mentioning the fact that he's been to Hell and back again.

4 FREDDY KRUEGER (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET)

Robert Englund flashing his claws as Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger may be fond of the occasional quip when he wreaks havoc, but don't mistake this monster for being lighthearted. Freddy, once a powerless human, became as powerful as any demon in his end. He gained the ability to end people where no one can protect them: in their own dreams.

What makes Freddy so dangerous is that there's really no escape from him. Humans need to sleep, and as soon as they do, that's when Freddy comes out. Often Freddy's victims slip so seamlessly into slumber that they don't even realize they are in danger until it's too late. Freddy is so strong that he is even able to manipulate one of the other villains on this list into doing his bidding: Jason Voorhees.

3 COUNT DRACULA (BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA)

Gary Oldman as Dracula

As far as the classic horror movie villains go, Dracula has to be at the top of the list in terms of strength. How could he not be? He's basically immortal as long as he continues to feed on the blood of the living. He may have weaknesses, but they are few and far between. Finally, the older he gets, the stronger he becomes.

There's another reason that Dracula is one of the most powerful horror movie villains out there: he's able to blend in. He's charming and witty, and can actually be quite hospitable, until he's biting into your neck.

2 PINHEAD (HELLRAISER)

Doug Bradley as Pinhead

Pinhead is evil incarnate. In the Hellraiser films, he is shown to be articulate and intelligent, but underneath the veneer lies a complete contempt for humankind. Pinhead is a multidimensional being known as a cenobite, who can travel to Earth after being summoned by a puzzlebox known as the Lament configuration.

Pinhead has powers beyond the Earthly realm. He is able to teleport at will, bend reality to his whims, and summon hooks and chains from out of nowhere. He travels to Earth in order to harvest souls and increase his cenobite army. Pinhead is the closest any of these horror movie villains comes to being a true demon.

1 DEATH (FINAL DESTINATION)

Sometimes horror movie villains don't even appear on-screen. After all, you can run from Jason, ou can hide from Michael Myers, but there's no running or hiding from the end itself, the primary antagonist of the Final Destination films. It doesn't matter what the characters do, or how far they go, it always seems to find them.

The fact of life that becomes a menace in these movies isn't even just content to give the characters heart attacks or fatal illnesses. No no, this version of the end takes its time, setting up Rube Goldberg like chains of cause and effect that lead to violent and most likely painful ends for everyone.