Now I want to go rewatch it for the gazillionth time…<\/p>\n They’re both coming from similar places, in that their evil acts are informed by a perverted sense of love and family loyalty. Mrs. Danvers is caught in a love relationship with a dead woman she would kill for, while Merricat strives, after committing multiple murders, to preserve a solitary life with her beloved sister. Place plays a huge role in the lives of both characters: Manderley for Mrs. Danvers and the Blackwood house for Merricat. Both sites are doomed, as are these characters. I love them because of the cursed, uncompromising intensity of their emotions.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Friday-Elliot.jpg\")
<\/a>FRIDAY ELLIOTT: My favorite female villain<\/span> is Villanelle from the TV show Killing Eve<\/em>. She’s the rare example of a sociopathic character with an emotionally complex inner world. I love her shameless hedonism and attachment to luxury by her own definition, and she’s a totally unique take on the “sexy evil assassin\/spy” archetype.<\/p>\n<\/a>CAROL GYZANDER: Annie Wilkes, in Stephen King’s Misery: A Novel<\/em>, is hands-down my favorite female villain. After all, she totally supports her author and encourages his writing because she is his \u2018NUMBER ONE FAN\u2019! So I axe you, isn’t she awesome?<\/p>\n<\/a>KYLE TAM: My favorite female villain in horror is a bit of an off-kilter one – the villainess protagonist of Torture Princess<\/em>, Elizabeth le Fanu. She has a bloody history behind her, a villain who is deployed to destroy other villains. Both noble and violent, both monstrous and almost heroic, she’s a controversial figure both in and out of universe and I love her to bits!<\/p>\n<\/a>ANGELA SYLVAINE: My favorite female horror villain is Jennifer Check from Jennifer\u2019s Body<\/em>, the sacrificial victim turned monstrous demon. I love her because she uses her sex appeal to lure men, only to feed on them. She\u2019s also, in my interpretation, a messy bisexual who is complicated and imperfect. She clearly loves and is attracted to her best friend, Needy, but is also jealous and wants to hit her where it hurts.<\/p>\n<\/a>FRANCESCA MARIA: Lilith. I love Lilith because she was born equal to man, not made from a portion of his being. She is completely independent in her thoughts and acts solely based on her own will and needs.<\/p>\n<\/a>MORGAN SYLVIA: I have to go with Nancy from The Craft<\/em>. Not only was this one of the most iconic performances ever, it\u2019s also a fascinating take on the perils and repercussions of using power for greed.<\/p>\n<\/a>L.E. DANIELS: After a hot tip from Geneve Flynn, I’m preoccupied with Lady Maeda, played by Claudia Kim, in the South Korean Netflix series Gyeongseong Creature <\/i>set in Seoul during the Japanese occupation in 1945. Lady Maeda is complex, cunning, and utterly spotless in her silk couture as she quietly rules this male-dominated era. Through horror, the series is a social exorcism of the real-life war crimes committed to the Korean people during this period by the Japanese and once again, shows us how emotionally informed and truthful horror can be. Even the conclusion to Lady Maeda’s character arc is surprising and achingly beautiful, and she will inhabit me for some time.<\/p>\n<\/a>CATHERINE JORDAN: My favorite female villain<\/span> is the female cenobite,\u00a0a former nun\u2014Sister\u00a0Nikoletta\u2014who became obsessed with sin.\u00a0Her character is dark and mysterious and there\u2019s so much about her that I want to know. As a writer, there\u2019s more that I\u2019d like to explore.<\/p>\n<\/a>KC GRIFANT: The Xenomorph Queen in Aliens<\/em>. She is ruthless, intelligent and resourceful. And she\u2019ll do whatever it takes to ensure her offspring survive!<\/p>\n<\/a>EMMA MURRAY: Cathy Ames from East of Eden<\/i> by John Steinbeck. On one hand, she\u2019s a fascinating portrait of psychopathy: unable to feel the normal depth of emotion but learned to imitate them to manipulate others, always behaving callously selfish, and utilizing her beauty and ability to charm to use then discard everyone around her. On the other hand, she\u2019s a force of feminine rage in a patriarchal saga, and though she definitely acts malevolently, I\u2019m always impressed with how she goes against everything a woman is expected to be in that time and place.<\/p>\n<\/a>DESTINY KING: Annie Wilkes<\/a> defies Stephen King\u2019s stereotypical female roles, acting as a dual-sided figure who challenges gender norms and Gothic conventions. While she exhibits nurturing and even wife-like traits, she is also dark, abusive, and dangerously volatile. Her history as a serial killer, revealed through a chilling scrapbook, culminates in one of horror\u2019s most iconic torture scenes.<\/p>\n<\/a>JAN STINCHCOMB: It’s a tie (if that’s allowed) between Mrs. Danvers of Rebecca<\/em> (1938) and Mary Katherine Blackwood\u2013\u2013Merricat\u2013\u2013of We Have Always Lived in the Castle<\/em> (1962).<\/p>\n<\/a>ABIGAIL WALDRON: Countess Marya Zaleska is the protagonist\/antagonist of Dracula’s Daughter<\/em> (1936). Despite being written in the 1930s, her character remains complex to this day and is a vessel for queerness. Sadly, the Countess is quite self-loathing, wishing away her vampiric urges. However, by film’s end, she becomes a true antihero for spooky lesbians everywhere. Long live the Countess!<\/p>\n<\/a>MAY WALKER: Typically, I\u2019d follow the rules and choose one character, but these characters have decided to hold hands in my mind. I love a good backstory, but in the case of Virginia Merrye from Spider Baby<\/em>, and Elaine Parks from The Love Witch<\/em>, it’s all about performance, and the shift from prey to stalker. These enchanting women stand out for the unapologetic pursuit of their desires, of which one is love, ranging from romantic, to the unconditional familial variety, to the glee of playing spider.<\/p>\n<\/a>CLAIRE L. SMITH: I am team ‘Carrie White did nothing wrong’. I watched (and later read) Carrie<\/em> when I was first getting\u00a0into horror and it was the first instance I’d seen where the villain<\/span> of a horror movie wasn’t some masked killer but a victim that flipped the tables on her abusers. The moment she finally snaps after one last brutal act of humiliation from her peers is so horrifying but oddly vindicating in a perfect ‘good for her’ moment that will forever stick with me.<\/p>\n