The Best Bad Guys

Once we had kids our movie watching experience changed; those words that we hardly noticed now have us cringing, you know, words like "stupid and "shut up".  With the kids sitting next to us we choke back the laughter that pre-kids would have gone unchecked, now the jokes that get the laughs usually include the words "poop" and "toot".  We are also more aware of things that might be scary to the kids.  Before the kids came along we wouldn't have thought twice about most of these things.

Talking with Conner the other night about movies that are scary to him had me reflecting on my own childhood and the villains that were nightmare-inducing for me. So, without further ado, I give you my list of the five scariest movie villains from my childhood:

     

#5 Cruella de Ville

Her wild hair and maniacal driving suggest that Cruella de Ville's nearly out of her two-toned head.   The fact that she likes to skin Fido, the family pet, in order to add to her wardrobe, that's just creepy.

#4 Maleficent

Her striking beauty and chilling disregard combine to make Maleficent one spooky sorceress.  Oh yeah, and if you happen to make her really mad she can transform herself into a huge, fire-breathing dragon.

#3 Snow White's Stepmother

Here's another beauty I wouldn't want to come across in a dark alley.  Her fatal flaw is her vanity.  It drives her first, to make Snow White a slave in her own home; second, to order a Woodsman to cut out Snow White's heart and bring it back to her in a box (umm... gross!); and finally, to go undercover and attempt to kill Snow White by poisoning her.  All of this because her step daughter is prettier than she is.

#2 The Wicked Witch of the West

Margaret Hamilton is genius as the Wicked Witch of the West.  From the tip of her warty chin to her ten green toes she epitomizes my idea of what a witch should be.  Her creepy cackle is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

#1 The Child Catcher

I remembering lying on the top bunk in my room at night, thinking that the shadows on the wall looked just like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  I imagined him standing outside my window with his long nose and crumpled top hat.  He drove around in a scrumptious-looking candy wagon, enticing children out of their safe homes .  If the children remained hidden he would literally sniff them out using his oversized honker.  I haven't seen this movie in years and I would be happy if my kids never see it; he scared me that much!  

Which characters scared you as a child?

All the pictures in this post are from Wikipedia