50 Hollywood Movie Monsters And Their Scary Origins
Throughout the years Hollywood has given us some of the scariest monsters we have come to know. And although we know these monsters aren't real, that doesn't stop them from haunting our dreams.
These monsters include vampires, werewolves, mummies, and even man-made monsters. These monsters have become so famous that most can name them just by looking at their pictures, however, not many know their true stories. If you are a huge horror buff, scroll through this gallery and read all about these Hollywood-created monsters.
The Toilet Ghoul
You might remember the Toilet Ghoul from the Ghoulies II as it was the most unlikable character in the 1998 movie. The unruly character literally sat to unload his junk in a trailer bathroom in the movie.
Even though we didn’t quite get to see what actually happened at that point of events, we get a pretty good idea from the blood-wrenching screams that quickly rent the air. Thank goodness then that anyone who’s recently had fast-food meat is immune to its repulsive powers.
The Crawling Eye
The Crawling Eye from The Trollenberg Terror popped in one scary moment right after the roof of a building had been blown off to wrap its tentacles around the necks of several people.
It sounds ludicrous now if you think about it during the daylight, but come night-time, seeing a gigantic eyeball approaching in the dark is enough to make anyone wet their pants. Its major weakness is Molotov Cocktails and fire, so at least you know what you need to overcome this monster.
The Critters
Featured in Critters, Critters 2, The Main Curse, Criterrs 3, and Critters 4, the Critters are a couple of beasties that appeared in the climax of the original Critters movie. They turn up together and communicate in a language only they can comprehend.
The first time we saw these beasties, they were about to bum-rush a building, armed with weapons when a woman blew one of them away with her shotgun. The carnivorous beasts are however susceptible to human feet, which can easily punt them away despite their remarkable speed.
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a memorable serpent villain that was unveiled as an 80s oddity used to entertain audiences in places like the Alamo Drafthouse. The serpent was also featured in The Winged Serpent in 1982, and in one scary moment, it easily plucked away an unsuspecting sniper from a tower, spitting him into the air right after and killing him.
This was basically a winged demon with the ability to wreak havoc in an instant, but with an unusual weakness for poorly hidden green screens.
The Blob
The Blob looks like a raspberry jam wad that came out poorly, yet despite its terrible appearance, and much like a hippo, many victims are unable to outrun it. The terrible villain jelly substance came from an alien meteor, and it operates by attaching itself to humans and gradually swallowing its victims completely.
Terrifying and disgusting in equal measure, the beast came right out of a dirty sink in one scene and attached itself to a cook’s face before pulling him down the drain.
The Pack
The Pack hits you on a different level because, unlike several others that are solo-operating villains, this is a collection of zombified offspring that crawl out of the ground to feed on humans.
Featured in The Pack, a 2010 horror flick, the Pack are humanoid cannibal monsters that live in the ground and crawl out whenever some strangers have been lured to the farm where they’re kept. They were killed in an accident but they live on by feeding on humans.
Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead is a villainous and vengeful character out to enact revenge. The character was created when a witch managed to combine a human corpse and a pumpkin, so its appearance is something for scary hours.
In one terrifying sequence, Joel thought he’d shot the monster dead, then he made the ill-advised decision to check the body only to get impaled with the same rifle he’d used. Thankfully, doing harm to Ed Harley meant you were getting to Pumpkinhead too, so it wasn’t without weaknesses.
Stripe
The monstrous Stripe was featured in Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch as an evil monster that only exists to terrorize Gizmo and child viewers. At the peak of its powers, Stripe fired some handgun rounds at Gizmo while baby Mogwai convulsed on his back in bubbles.
Thankfully though, it is weakened by sunlight and strictly spray tans and there’s Gizmo, the likable Mogwai with a big heart, to keep the movie enjoyable throughout. Stripe basically turned up and gave the movie an insidious vibe.
The Rhedosaurus
Sounding like a dinosaur from the age of T-Rexes, this rampaging monster dinosaur is gigantic enough to survive military gunfire while destroying buildings, but it lacks the ability to withstand radioactive isotopes.
We got to know this spooky monster all the way back in 1953 when it was featured in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and at one point in that movie it took significant firepower, specifically bazooka fire, from a soldier to the monster’s scaly throat to halt its advance.
The Triffids
Featured in The Day of the Triffids, the Triffid is a disturbing monster in a monstrous and poisonous plant form. The monster can move around like it has feet and legs even though it has none, can uproot itself, and kill humans with its deadly stinger.
In one terrifying sequence, a particularly disruptive triffid managed to unleash terror at a fancy dinner party after crashing through a window. The best way to avoid getting killed by the Triffid and its deadly stinger is to get some seawater to slow it down.
The Predator
The Predator is one of the more famous movie monsters/villains and that popularity has spread to video games as well. The character was unveiled by John McTiernan, and it is an extraterrestrial armed with advanced technological capabilities that enable it to hunt down its prey and hapless humans with deadly efficiency.
It even has a laser beam that can rip human flesh off from a distance, as well as advanced camouflage capabilities that enable it to become invisible at will. With all these powers, it hunts down soldiers with ease.
The Dog Gargoyle
The Dog Gargoyle was featured in the original Ghostbusters, a terrifying and monstrous dog whose growls are the stuff of nightmares. One time, it turned up at an otherwise thrilling apartment party to chase a human out and into a swanky restaurant’s glass wall.
What makes it so scary is that it is essentially a possessed dog more rabid than anything you’ve ever seen but also one that gets weakened by equally possessed vacuum cleaners. The terrifying four-legged gargoyle with horns is one terrifying movie monster.
Imhotep
Imhotep hits you deeper than most other movie monsters because it is a reanimated corpse that lives in a coffin, and exits whenever it has some evil business to handle.
Powered by a scroll that gives it life, Imhotep crawled out of its coffin at one point and slowly made its way over to Ralph’s table to grab the scroll, making him scream like a child. Thankfully, destroying the scroll weakens the monster significantly in a way even the overzealous archaeologists that brought it to life can only be grateful for.
The Rancor
The Rancor is terrifying and monstrous, and really not the kind of creation you’d like to see approaching you while you’re pinned against a gate. Yet, this was Luke Skywalker’s fate when he thought his time had passed and the monster barreled in his direction.
The Rancor is a truly terrifying creation that scares you in more ways than one. Yet, for some reason, unfortunate lads like Luke Skywalker occasionally get hurled into its pit for entertainment, although it can be quickly defeated with the right strategy.
Cyclops
Cyclops was featured in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958, turning up to terrorize Sinbad and his crew members. In one climactic sequence, the monster chased the men down a beach while they hurled their spears at it, but rather than slow it down, they only made it angrier.
Inspired by a Greek mythology beast and brought to life by legendary animator Ray Harryhausen, this is one of those monsters that aren’t getting old anytime soon. However, it does get weakened by any kind of damage done to its eye.
Crowley Demon
Crowley Demon is similar to The Incredible Hulk in the sense that they’re both monsters that are basically transformed humans. However, unlike the Hulk, which can transform back to its human self, the Crowley Demon stays in the obese repulsive tentacle demon state forever.
Starting off as a vindictive college professor that meddled with a force of pure evil, it becomes a malicious monster that looks the part and only gets slowed down by treadmills. The Crowley Demon was featured in Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer.
Pyramid Head
This one was unveiled in Silent Hill as a faceless punisher and striking monster that appears with a gigantic spear that it literally drags on the ground. It rips off the skin of its victims in one swoop with that spear, disturbing your imagination in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.
Because of the way the monster operates, it’s not particularly fond of people with thick skin as those can make difficult victims. In one terrible sequence, it literally tore off a woman’s skin in one terrifying swoop.
Clover
We got to meet the monstrous Clover in Cloverfield, where the monster turned up like King Kong and Godzilla. Beneath all the terror and shrieks, this is a masterfully designed beast that evokes fear with some accompanying found-footage tactics.
At one point, the monster appeared to be living out its final moments as some Army missiles bombarded it, and just when it appeared to be done for good, it rose again and jumped on the helicopter, bringing it down with significant force.
The Bugs
The Bugs are a seemingly endless army of angry alien insects that attack with renowned vigor. They tend to leave behind a disturbing trail of gooey, blood-red pools of limbs and blood whenever they kill, and they appeared to particularly enjoy attacking the futuristic human soldiers in 1997’s Starship Troopers.
In one scary sequence in the movie, the army of alien insects gradually marched toward a bunker of soldiers, undisturbed by all the firing from the soldiers’ weapons. They come at you as an endless swarm of huge enemy insects that can’t be stopped.
The Giant Ants
Featured in 1954’s Them, the Giant Ants are gigantic ants that erupted from a ship loaded with sugar to attack the ship crew in mass. Humongous ants wield so much power, and they’re scary because we all know how powerful even tiny ants are.
There are few ways to slow down the Giant Ants, let alone kill them unless you’re in luck and there are some flamethrowers nearby. Some gigantic magnifying glasses might help you somewhat too, but we wouldn’t bet on those. The monstrous ants came to be thanks to atomic tests that went south in New Mexico.
The Bear Monster
The Bear Monster was featured in the John Frankenheimer-directed Prophecy (1979). The monster is a mutated bear that walks on its hind legs, and the spooky part is this beast got transformed by some industrial waste from a paper mill.
Similar to the T-Rex pair in The Lost World, the Bear Monster is a vengeful and desperate creature on a mission to retrieve its offspring that were threatened. There’s even a remarkable death scene mixed with all the environmental passion juice.
Frankestein’s Monster
Frankestein’s monster originated from Mary Shelley’s Frankestein book, which has been adapted so many times over the years. Beneath all the layers added to the character by directors over the years lies a monster that was essentially made from different parts of long-dead and buried corpses.
While it doesn’t look as disjointed as you’d expect, considering how it was made, this is a walking dead man with a look that is mostly lifeless, yet also human in some small measure.
Count Orlok
Count Orlok is an insanely spooky version of Count Dracula that people don’t seem to talk about enough. It is basically a modified Count presented as Count Orlok, who can literally make people go into a state of frozen paralysis by staring at them.
Armed with penetrating eyes that are convincing enough, the monstrous character was portrayed commendably by Max Schreck, and director F.W. Murnau did a great job by emphasizing those penetrating eyes and framing the monster in shadows.
The Xenomorph
The Xenomorph is a tall monstrous chestbuster alien that looks like a crab. It was first unveiled as a small crab-like alien before it went on a chestbursting rampage that involved face-hugging victims, making them convulse before their chests burst open and it slithers in.
At its prime, the monster became a tall creature equipped with a small head filled with fangs. One time, an unsuspecting engineering technician encountered a fully grown Xenomorph without realizing it, and the look in her eyes was a prediction of her unfortunate fate.
The Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch is a scary villain with an equally disturbing voice that literally invades your brains with a shrill pitch that comes right before a disturbing cackling, demonic laugh.
Her voice is terrible enough that you don’t even have to hear it to feel the chills deep in your bones as seeing her demonic eyes, abnormally long fingers, and pointy nose should do the trick for even the bravest of hearts. She even has a magic broom with which she swoops in to invade the nightmares of whoever’s watching, but she gets weakened by any kind of contact with water.
The Thing
The Thing is basically a parasitic alien whose appearance is always changing. The monster hits you in a different way because it can literally be anything or anyone at any point in time.
It attaches itself to different people at will, turning people against each other, and brewing suspicion in the minds of neighbors and friends who otherwise trusted each other. Hosts are the most unfortunate because they get turned into anything from tentacle spiders to other monstrous forms at the will of the beast.
The Humanoid Crawlers
The Humanoid Crawlers live in narrow caves with constrictive, crumbling walls from which they stalk victims through sound like prehistoric beasts. Once they get catch some victims though, they quickly tear through skin and flesh to feast on intestines, which is how they survive.
The scariest bit about the monsters is they were first revealed through the video camera of a character that captured the moment another character stood mere inches away from a crawler without even realizing the danger lurking so close.
Wolf Man
Wolf Man is a half-wolf half-man creature that was transformed into a ravenous beast after being bitten by a lycanthrope. The Wolf Man transforms unwillingly whenever there’s a full moon.
One time, the Wolf Man was prowling at night the first time it transformed into its wolf state, then it encountered, attacked, and eventually killed an unfortunate gravedigger that had no idea what was lurking in the shadows until it was too late. In order to slow down the Wolf Man, you need to have some silver bullets or stop it from getting a good blow dryer which it constantly needs.
Brundlefly
The Brundlefly is a mutant and a cross between a man and an insect. Scientist Seth Brundle morphs into one of the most disturbing monsters ever featured in a movie but it wasn’t his choice to become the beast, he was just very unlucky.
He would eventually become a full-blown Brundlefly that you will sympathize with and shriek at in equal measure. The beast works on victims by dissolving their limbs and flesh with its acid-like vomit that it releases when it's time to feast.
Godzilla
Godzilla has been around since the monstrous villain was first unveiled in 1954’s Godzilla, and is still going strong today as the character has been adapted in a dozen other movies over the years.
Lurking from the depths of the sea, Godzilla is a humungous monster that rips skyscrapers apart with one paw, tearing through power lines while it advances, and not even cannonballs and bazookas can halt its advance. Always in a state of agitation, and huge enough to rip gigantic buildings to shreds, this is a terrifying sea monster.
Mr. Hyde
Mr. Hyde is a spooky monster that terrified movie-goers in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The monster is basically a man whose deep and most terrifying impulses come to life in the form of Mr. Hyde, his super-evil alter ego.
One time, Dr. Henry had just had some of his terrible potions and soon enough his face contorted, his skin got darker and he became the disturbing Mr. Hyde. Even worse is the fact that he can only be slowed down by Jekyll’s conscience or anything that can kill a real human.
The Psychosomatic Offspring
These monsters were unveiled in 1979’s The Brood, from whence they have invaded countless nightmares. In one very scary moment in the movie, the Psychosomatic Offspring turned up in the middle of a grade school classroom that had been calm for ages with their toy hammers.
They then beat their teacher to death with their deadly toys, and the curious thing about their rage is that it can be traced to Nola, who embodied anger and expressed her rage through asexual, bloodthirsty kids.
Gill-Man
Gill-Man appeared in 1954’s The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and it has since had the effect of making us all more scared of swimming. Gill-Man is a modern-day descendant of an ancient sea creature that attracted the interest and investigative eyes of a couple of geologists.
The monster itself is a freaky-looking beast that is drawn to women; this much was emphasized when Kay Lawrence got stalked by the creature from beneath the surface when she swam.
Pale Man
Pale Man is an eyeless beast that has an unquenchable thirst for the blood of children. Monstrous and vicious, it guards its feasts ferociously, ever ready to swipe at and attack anyone that threatens its meals.
One time, the Pale Man grabbed two eyeballs off a plate like it was grabbing some lasagna, then it opened its hands to see a young girl that was terrified. Despite all its menace and malice, the Pale Man gets weakened by seriously firm handshakes, and perhaps a firm will to survive as well.
The Thing in the Crate
We got to see this monster in the aptly titled 1982 movie, Creepshow, and its appearances are awfully creepy as you’d expect. The Thing in the Crate is a Yeti-esque monster that lives in a college basement, where it had been dormant for over a century.
One of the college professors knew about the legend of the crate monster, and he tried to convince a grad student about it but the latter was too arrogant to listen. The student then proceeded to the quarters where the beast lurked, and they encountered one another face-to-face.
The Creeper
They rarely come creepier than The Creeper from Jeepers Creepers and Jeepers Creepers 2. It is a creatively thought-out monster unlike any other horror monster ever created. For one, it lives in a house right on the side of a highway, and it is both winged and flesh-loving.
One thing about The Creeper is that it only comes out every 23rd spring, unleashing terror for 23 days before taking some pieces of its victims back to his collection.
The Phantom
The Phantom is a deformed monster that looks like a terrible acid-burned victim. In 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera, the beast goes about eliminating whoever was unfortunate to attempt to get in the way of Christine’s stage success.
Emphasizing the saying that love stinks, its murderous rampages had peaked when he held Christine captive. Soon enough, she walked up to him and pulled off his mask to reveal his disturbing and hideous face. Thanks to his own hideous appearance, the Phantom’s major weaknesses are mirrors, toothbrushes, and dentists.
King Kong
King Kong is a gigantic movie monster that was super-intimidating when he was first introduced in 1933’s King Kong. Kong became softer as time passed, especially once it met Fay Wray.
Introduced as a monstrous giant in the beginning, we began to feel for the beast as time passed even though its unquenchable rage remained directed at enemy creatures and forces. It even rescued its favorite human, Fay Wray, from some jungle natives that intended to cause her harm.
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger needs no introduction thanks to his appearances in more than half-a-dozen high-performing movies. He is a monster that loves attacking victims when they’re sleeping, which is despicable because that’s when they’re at their most vulnerable.
Staying awake for a while keeps you safe but no one stays awake forever so entering his domain of dreams is an inevitable occurrence for all but those that can pull him out of their dreams and into the real world.
The T-Rex
The T-Rex is arguably the most fearsome and terror-evoking monstrous animal of the many terrifying dinosaurs brought back to life in the Jurassic Park series.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex is scarier than most killer dinosaurs because of its unique combination of speed, wits, and savagery. All of these qualities were in full play in the movies as the T-Rex terrorized and roared in the faces of unfortunate victims.
The Pterodactyls
2007’s The Mist is where we got to see the menacing Pterodactyls that are ferocious monsters with an insatiable hunger for flesh. Among the many monsters of varying sizes, shapes, and killer instinct, these beasts stood out in an instant with their rage and hunger-inspired roars that lets you know the beast needs to feed quickly.
Thankfully, despite all their power, you can slow down the beasts with some bullets, torches, or broomsticks. Attackers only need to stay far from their reach so they don’t get included in their dinner plans.
The Eraserhead Baby
Unveiled in the 1977 classic Eraserhead, the Baby is a sperm-like monster with sores all over that struggles to breathe and cries in agony.
This monster taps into the fear of becoming a father someday, hitting parenthood anxieties in a different way because who wants to have a monstrously deformed newborn? The sores on this baby’s body keep it crying throughout, and light switches have a profound effect on its already miserable head, so this is no normal, average baby in any way.
Pinhead
Pinhead has been featured in a good amount of movies starting from 1987’s Hellraiser, and the character has remained terrifying over the years. Before Darth Vader, the monster shook up theater speakers with its muddied-up, marble voice.
Again, like Darth Vader, Pinhead turns up for his terror flicks in sliced-up S&M black leather regalia and an inhuman appearance evil enough to make it the leader of the demonic crew of Cenobites. Before he became so evil, Pinhead was British captain Elliot Spenser, and a part of the monster continued to cling to its former human self.
Jaws
The original Jaws movie was released in 1975, and since then many more have adopted the same formula that revolves around a killer great white shark that lurks beneath and kills whoever gets too close.
In one terrifying sequence, Brody and Quint were trying to bring a cage that had been ripped up to their boat when the gigantic shark lunged suddenly from the water and caused their boat to tip over. Armed with razor-sharp teeth, and a never-ending hunger for blood and flesh, there are few ways to slow this water monster down.
Cesare
Cesare was introduced to us horror heads over a century ago, yet we still can’t get enough of the feelings of pure terror it evokes. The white-faced, black-eyed ghoul emerges from a coffin in the creepiest way possible on sets designed to look like dreamscapes filled with jagged seeming structures.
Cesare works for Caligari, an eccentric and mad doctor that deploys his servant to achieve the zenith of true horror in a way no one who’s seen the movie is forgetting anytime soon.
Count Dracula
Count Dracula operates in a house filled with the kind of thick cobwebs we’ve come to expect in modern vampire houses. Much like other vampires, he gets incredibly weakened by exposure to sunlight so he operates in dark and dimly lit areas for the most part.
A monstrous ladies’ man that scares the hell out of you by simply leering over a sleeping woman. One time he calmly invited Reinfield up the stairs, and you knew for certain nothing good would come out of it.
The Graboids
The Graboids terrorize with their strategic brainpower much like The Brain in Pinky and the Brain but unlike that duo, the Graboids deploy significant brainpower between them. One time, they made a machine wreck by simply digging a big ditch in a bulldozer’s path.
They are essentially very big sandworms that rumble through the ground beneath, busying themselves with the business of trying to finish humans off, so they’re not exactly man’s best friend but they do bring lots of jump scares and excitement on screen.
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees’ on-screen killer rampages are the stuff of nightmares thanks to his above-average height and zombie-like thirst for murder and blood. Yet, despite how terrifying his blood-stricken hockey mask is, his scariest moment came when his rotted corpse pulled Alice into Crystal Lake.
The slasher monster truly disturbs you with the way he kills without remorse or emotion, and his muscular, unstoppable frame helps him remain in nightmares for months after you see him in the Friday the 13th movies.
The Terminator
The Terminator is a robot assassin that was built in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s likeness so it packs some serious punch in metallic form. This is an advanced artificial intelligence killing machine that imitates human movement.
However, because its metallic components are concealed with synthetic skin, few are aware of the cold-blooded killer lurking beneath. Its foes are typically intimidated by nothing more than the flashing red laser beam the robot emits from its eyes, but it gets weakened by hydraulic presses and things that crush metal.
The Skeletons
The Skeletons were featured in Jason and the Argonauts, and they’re an army of combatant skeletons equipped with shields and swords like warriors from another time. Because they’re already dead, killing them is impossible, and slowing them down is just as difficult.
At some point, the skeletal soldiers even look like video game characters but with some swords, kicks, and punches, the skeletal swordsmen can be somewhat hindered from their murderous rampages. In one scary sequence, they chased Jason and his squad to a mountaintop edge and attacked them right there.