Sometimes they come flying in from outer space. Other times, they emerge from the depths of the sea or from the great beyond of the grave. There have been times when we've created them ourselves, or we let them into our lives through a nightmare. But one thing is for darn sure: They scare the living daylights out of us!
It wasn't bad enough when they were appearing on separate screens? No, they had to bring two scary characters together in "Alien vs. Predator" (2004). And we hate to break this to you, but a sequel is coming out next year. Would you like a blindfold and earplugs with your popcorn? (In this photo, Predator is on the left and Alien, the right.)
This is Heather Donahue in scene from "The Blair Witch Project" (1999). We're not ripping you off by not showing you the witch mentioned in the title. No one ever saw the witch in this movie, which is the reason it was three times more frightening than anything movie audiences had seen in a long, long time.
A little respect, please. You're looking at Bela Lugosi playing the title role in "Dracula" (1931). Others have played the legendary vampire, but Lugosi has pretty much defined him. Without him, we never would have heard "I want to drink your blood" in quite the same way.
Here is another class act: Boris Karloff as the monster in "Frankenstein" (1931). The makeup was masterful and the story was dark enough to satisfy even the most demanding thrill-seeker. But what sets this movie apart is the humanity of the creature who never asked to be brought to life.
Heeere's Freddy! The first installment of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" burst upon the movie scene just before Thanksgiving 1984. It is memorable not just because of Robert Englund's portrayal of Freddy Krueger, but also because it marked the movie debut of Johnny Depp, who played one of his victims. (Poor Johnny got messily swallowed by a mattress.)
Here's Godzilla, the king of all the monsters, in the process of destroying a city. He started with Tokyo in 1956 and he has been busy ever since, even though some of his movies have been flops (such as the 1996 version that starred Matthew Broderick).
Anthony Hopkins didn't need much makeup or many special effects to create the monster Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). This movie scored all five major trophies at the Academy Awards: lead actor (Hopkins), lead actress (Jodie Foster), director (Jonathan Demme), screenwriter (Ted Tally) and best picture.
Actor Doug Bradley helped scare the heck out of movie audience with his performance as Pinhead in "Hellraiser" (1987). Pinhead and his pals (called the Cenobites) are truly creepy dark denizens who come from the netherworld to retrieve one of hell's escapees.
Margaret Hamilton, in all her glory as the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), gave many baby boomers their first taste of movie horror. As the annual TV showing of "Wizard" became a household tradition for many Americans in the '50s and '60s, Hamilton's witch caused many a sleepless night for kids and parents alike.