When it comes to monsters and things that go bump in the night, there is nobody better than Stephen King. The legendary writer has created some of the scariest characters in the history of storytelling, and when they are brought to life on-screen it often creates cinematic gold.
Whether it is a psychological villain who mentally torments its victims or just an all-out monster, King has created all types of characters. There is a reason so many movies have been made from his work, due to the detail he puts into his villains.
They work perfectly for a cinematic experience due to how layered the characters often are, with King knowing exactly how to make audiences hate them. Within this list, we will take a look at King's 10 most terrifying villains, ranking them based on how scary they truly are.
Percy Wetmore (Green Mile)
Audiences often look straight to Wild Bill as The Green Mile's main villain and he is an obvious bad guy throughout.
When it comes to The Green Mile, audiences often look straight to Wild Bill as the main villain of the movie, as he is the obvious bad guy throughout. However, it is actually Percy Wetmore who is the most terrifying character in this heartbreaking movie.
The main reason that Wetmore is more terrifying is that he seems to get a real kick out of being cruel throughout. He is sadistic and twisted, being cruel simply because he enjoys how it makes others feel. That is a truly scary trait to possess.
On top of that, Percy knows exactly how to work his influence as well. Given the fact he is the state's first lady's nephew, he constantly uses power plays to get what he wants. Whether it is homophobic remarks or his strange enjoyment at killing Mr. Jingles, Percy is a truly sick individual.
Henry Bowers (IT)
When people think of IT, Pennywise instantly springs to mind (don't worry, we will get to him), but Henry Bowers deserves to be talked about. While he might just be a normal kid, that's what makes Bowers scary.
While Pennywise brings supernatural elements to IT, Bowers keeps the movie somewhat grounded in reality. Henry is just a classic school bully, a character that everyone has met at some point in their lives. Bowers' backstory of parental abuse also makes audiences slightly sympathetic towards him, which only makes him an even more compelling character.
Blaine The Mono (The Dark Tower)
Only the Master Of Horror himself, Stephen King could make a train truly terrifying, and that is exactly what he did in The Dark Tower. Blaine The Mono is an incredibly smart train that wants to commit suicide.
While that might seem totally ridiculous, King makes it work. The train goes crazy and only allows passengers to leave if they provide a riddle that he cannot answer, adding a real element of brains to the mix.
The split personality that Blaine has with "Little Blaine" being slightly saner, only makes the character more complex and scary.
Kurt Barlow (Salem's Lot)
Sometimes in the world of horror, all you need is a horrifying visual to find a home in your audience's nightmares. Kurt Barlow is the perfect example, a vampire with a truly unforgettable look. While he is visually disgusting, it is Barlow's characteristics that make him even scarier.
King never allows his characters to be one-dimensional, and having Barlow be just about the looks wouldn't be like him. However, the vampire's obsession with feeding on residents via charm provides a totally different outlook to the classic vampire.
Mrs. Carmody (The Mist)
Next up on the list is the terrifying, Mrs. Carmody, from The Mist, who is one of the scariest characters to come from Stephen King's twisted mind. Her delusions and mental instability are incredibly strange and make her unpredictable.
As you watch it is impossible to predict what she is going to next. Mrs. Carmody is a mad preacher, trying to convince everyone trapped inside a grocery that the Mist is simply divine punishment.
She is one of King's most psychological characters and she proves you don't always need to be a huge monster to be incredibly scary.
Cage Creed (Pet Sematary)
There is just something about children as the villains that is incredibly creepy isn't there? Because children are typically sweet and innocent, seeing them all of a sudden act like pure demons is incredibly scary.
That is why Gage Creed from Pet Sematary is so terrifying. He starts out as an average child, when he is killed by a truck and buried in the magical Pet Sematary, things change quickly. Gage returns to life and becomes pure evil. There is seemingly nothing that can get in his way as Creed goes on a mammoth killing spree, taking out anyone and everyone in his path.
The Overlook Hotel (The Shining)
When people think of The Shining, they think of Jack Torrance as the main villain. However, that simply isn't the case. Torrance is merely a vessel of the Overlook Hotel itself, which infects his mind during his stay.
While it might seem crazy that a building could be an iconic villain, that just highlights Stephen King's talents. Jack does some despicable things during the film, but it's largely because of the hotel's influence.
As he becomes haunted by all the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel's past, he draws closer to madness and attempts to murder his own family.
Annie Wilkes (Misery)
There is something incredibly scary about a 'normal' human becoming an obsessed kidnapper. While Annie Wilkes might not have supernatural powers, there is something about her unnatural preoccupation that makes her very creepy.
Capturing Paul Sheldon so that she can force him to write his next novel might not seem like the scariest plot of all time. However, it's her obsession and the lengths she is willing to go to trap her prey which really make her scary.
Kathy Bates also did a tremendous job in bringing Wilkes to life with a truly terrifying performance. It was so good in fact, that Bates actually won an Oscar for the role as she brought fear to everyone in the cinemas.
Randall Flagg (Dark Tower + More)
If you are a major Stephen King fan, then you know Randall Flagg. He's an incredibly scary character and is someone that King brings out in many of his different stories, having different names throughout.
Whether you know him as Walter Padick, Walter o'Dim, The Man in Black, Nyarlathotep, or one of his other names, what you should know is that he's terrifying. Flagg's iterations might be slightly different, but this detail remains consistent. Flagg is desperate to cause destruction in each story, and the fact King continues to write the character into his stories proves what a good villain he is.
Pennywise (IT)
Pennywise is Stephen King's best-known villain, and there is a reason for that. He's the best. Pennywise blends so many different fears into one that it runs the risk of being overloaded, but King gets the balance just right.
Firstly, the fact he is a killer clown is enough to put the fear into some folks. But then when you peel back the layers to reveal his twisted and demented secrets he becomes even scarier. Whether it is the fact he is actually a cosmic demon, or that he can morph into your individual fears, Pennywise is truly vile.
One of the main reasons he is so scary is because of the way he can switch his moods. One minute, Pennywise is very calm, almost sedate, yet the next he can be an alien madness incarnated, catching everyone off guard. There's a reason that the IT movies have done so well, and without a terrifying Pennywise they wouldn't have prospered.