Horror movie villains have had some of the darkest backstories ever seen in the history of cinema, as their terrifying existence influenced their sadistic lifestyles. From intensely abusive childhoods to sinister supernatural forces, horror movie villains have endured origins that would turn even the most optimistic and cheery individual into a ranging maniac with a seething desire to fill the world with pain. While these villains dealt with their horrific histories in different ways, their existence has continued to spark fear in the hearts of countless moviegoers.
The dark backstories of horror movie villains included iconic characters like the unstoppable killing machine that was Michael Myers in Halloween or the supernatural nightmare-inducing ways of Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Other killers’ origins felt even more sinister, as villains like Leatherface and Norman Bates owed their existence to the real-life stories of genuine serial killers. While all horror movie villains had a unique charm, one thing was certain: Their stories were enough to keep even the most fearless film audiences up at night.
Based on appearances alone, the Good Guy doll named Chucky appeared to be a cute and harmless children’s toy, but once his dark backstory was revealed, it became clear this was far from the truth. As seen throughout the Child’s Play franchise, Chucky was the spirit of a vicious serial killer who, before dying from a gunshot wound, transferred his soul into the doll. Born Charles Lee Ray, Chucky’s ultimate goal was to transfer himself into a human to continue his murderous ways.
The young Charles grew up with sadistic tendencies, and after witnessing his father being killed by a serial killer, rather than help his parents, he decided to join in and kill his mother. Charles’ desire to kill only grew as he got older, and he stacked up a sizeable death count even before he was reborn as a terrifying, talking redheaded doll. It seemed death couldn’t even kill Charles’ pursuit of bloodshed, as he returned as Chucky through supernatural means.
The machete-wielding hockey mask-wearing killer Jason Voorhees truly never had a chance for a normal life, as his dark backstory included his equally troubled mother, Mrs. Voorhees. While Jason was the main antagonist of the overall Friday the 13th franchise, in the original Friday the 13th film, it was his mother, Pamela, who stalked and murdered teenagers at the Crystal Lake Camp, where her son was believed to have drowned. Pamela sought revenge on the negligent camp counselors whom she blamed for her son’s assumed death.
However, Friday the 13th Part 2 revealed that Jason did not die at all and, since the age of 11, had been fending for himself as a hermit, living in the woods, and feeding off plants, bugs, and animals. Jason’s horrific circumstances led to him growing up without an education, almost completely silent, and as a hulking, unstoppable killing machine. While many horror villains can have difficult childhoods, Jason’s isolating and lonely upbringing was truly depressing.
While serial killer Ed Gein was an important influence on the true story that inspired The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the dark backstory of that franchise’s antagonist, Leatherface, went even further than its real-life inspiration. As a highly unstable and cannibalistic serial killer, Leatherface, whose real name was Jed Sawyer in the origin story prequel Leatherface, had a truly tragic childhood that destroyed his cognitive stability. As a highly dysfunctional killer, Leatherface wore masks made of human skin and wielded a chainsaw to brutally murder his victims.
Leatherface’s dark backstory was truly tragic, as he was also a victim of his deranged parents, who initiated him in their murderous ways before he was left to rot in a youth reformatory for unwanted children. It was here that Leatherface was subjected to shock treatment and torture. With one horrific experience after another, it was no surprise that this once innocent young boy grew up to be the ranging maniac known as Leatherface.
While the Halloween franchise has had its fair share of retcons and contradictory timelines, one thing that’s remained consistent was the serial killer Michael Myers’ role as an unstoppable, almost supernatural killer. Michael was a deranged child who killed his sister when he was just six years old, and for this, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. After nearly 15 years, Michael broke out of the hospital and went on a killing spree that included an attempt to kill the babysitter, Laurie Strode.
While Halloween II revealed that Laurie was Michael’s younger sister, this aspect of his backstory was disregarded in the rebooted series, and, in the original movie, Michael had no special connection to Laurie. Michael’s determination to kill Laurie made his terrifying presence all the more sinister, as it appeared he needed no special reason to hunt his prey. The embodiment of pure evil, Michael’s backstory as a troubled child meant he was born to kill and would stop at nothing to achieve this.
Lots of horror movies featured over-the-top killing machines whose evil was apparent from the second they appeared on screen, but this was not the case for Norman Bates in Psycho, who initially appeared like the clean-cut boy next door. A shy and awkward young man, Norman had trouble even speaking to Marion Crane when she came to stay at the Bates Motel. However, behind all these niceties was an extremely dark backstory that led Norman to dissociate from his psychology.
Norman suffered extreme emotional abuse at the hands of his mother, Norma, who taught him that sexuality was a sin and forced him to bury all his lustful urges. After Norman’s mother got remarried, he was overcome with jealousy and murdered both of them. Norman then developed a split personality disorder and would take on the alter ego of “Mother” as he dressed up to kill those she wouldn’t have approved of.
As the main antagonist of the Candyman series, Daniel Robitaille had his origins in a Clive Barker short story called “The Forbidden,” in which he was portrayed as an African-American man who was brutally murdered for engaging in a forbidden interracial love affair in the 19th century. The son of a slave, Daniel was a talented child who showcased incredible painting skills and was hired by a wealthy landowner to capture his daughter’s beauty on canvas. Daniel and the young woman had a relationship, and the townspeople hunted him down and killed him.
The ruthless townsfolk hacked off Robert’s hand with a rusty saw, covered his body in honey, and let him die as bees attacked him while they chanted “Candyman.” This intensely dark story led to an urban legend where the ghost of Robert could be summoned by chanting Candyman five times in front of the mirror, after which he would return. In Candyman, this legend turned out to be true, as Robert would murder his summoner with the bloody hook that replaced his hand.
The backstory of Victor Crowley from the Hatchet franchise was a truly tragic one, as Victor was a child born with extreme deformities whose father hid him away from the rest of the world. Victor was relentlessly bullied by the other children whenever they caught a glimpse of him, and he was doomed to live a life isolated and feared. One Halloween night, a group of kids decided to scare Victor out of his house using firecrackers, but in the process, they set the building alight.
Victor’s father desperately tried to save his son as he attempted to break open the door with a hatchet, but little did he know, that Victor was trying to break free from the other side, and his dad smashed the weapon into his head and instantly killed him. The ghost of Victor haunted those who entered his swamp home, and Victor’s dark story was outlined throughout the Hatchet series. Victor’s death sent his father into a deep depression, and after ten years of mourning, he died of a broken heart.
The backstory of Jigsaw from the Saw franchise was a truly dark one, as it started with a hopeful man who became overwhelmed by the trials and tribulations of life to the point where he was turned into a deranged maniac. The story of Jigsaw started with the civil engineer John Kramer, who was reeling from the breaking down of his marriage, the loss of his unborn child, and a terminal brain cancer diagnosis. After a failed suicide attempt, Kramer became obsessed with forcing people to prove how much they valued life by putting them through torturous games.
After learning about the fragility of life, Kramer decided that others could benefit from similar near-death experiences, and he took up his alter ego of Jigsaw as he put his victims through unspeakable horror. Kramer used a puppet named Billy to represent Jigsaw as he delivered sinister messages to his victims during their tests. A highly deranged and unpredictable villain, Jigsaw’s dark backstory was outlined across the entire Saw franchise.
While little was known about the threatening phone killer in Black Christmas, the dark mysterious backstory of Billy “The Moaner” Lenz was truly horrific. As the villain in both the 1974 version of Black Christmas and two remakes in 2006 and 2009, the deranged murderer Billy had his origins in the urban legend of “The Babysitting and the Man Upstairs” as well as real-life murders that occurred during the Christmas season in Montreal in 1943. While Billy’s origins were not fully revealed in the original Black Christmas, there are lots of hints towards his dark backstory.
Billy’s backstory was further outlined in the remakes, where it was revealed he was born with severe jaundice, liver disease, and was emotionally, physically, and sexually abused by his mother. After murdering his father, Billy’s mother gave birth to their child, Agnes, who was both Billy’s daughter and sister. After going insane and killing his mother, Billy was sent to an asylum but escaped and went on a killing spree with Agnes, completing one of the darkest backstories in all of horror.