A horror movie is usually only as good as its villain. With the success of the 2013 horror film The Conjuring, Warner Bros. unexpectedly spawned a new horror franchise closer to the likes of Marvel than most other horror franchises. Currently, there are seven films in The Conjuring universe, with the eighth titled The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It debuting on June 4, 2021, in the United States.
Each with their own horror monsters, though some scarier than others, The Conjuring is a great example of a universe that fans might enjoy watching from a distance but otherwise wouldn't want to live in. Horror movie villains might be terrifying, but that's exactly what makes them fun to watch.
10 Black Shuck
Werewolves are perhaps one of horror's most underrated monsters. Outside of a few noteworthy classics, they're hardly ever used in modern horror movies. As one of the many creatures unleashed in the 2019 film Annabelle Comes Home, the Black Shuck is a strange mixture of werewolf and hellhound.
It loves feeding on both animals and humans and seems almost invulnerable to any attack. As if that weren't enough, the Black Shuck can also turn into fog. This seems the last pet any dog lover would want.
9 La Llorona
The Curse of La Llorona mostly stands on its own, but since the character of Father Perez crosses over from Annabelle, fans consider it a part of the Conjuring horror family.
Based on real Mexican folklore, La Llorona is the spirit of a woman who drowned both of her sons, then proceeded to drown herself in hopes of reuniting with them in the afterlife. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned, and since she roams the Earth looking for other children to drown.
8 Samurai
A giant set of samurai armor isn't exactly the first thing anyone would think of when considering terrifying horror villains. Those people haven't come face-to-face with the armor found in the Warrens' home. Not much is known about the armor's wearer, only it was a ruthless warrior who slaughtered innocent people, including women and children.
Once the warrior died, his soul possessed the armor set, which now attempts to kill anyone and everyone unlucky enough to come into contact with it. Needless to say, the samurai armor takes the "ghost" in Ghost of Tsushima a little too literally.
7 The Bride
This wedding dress will have people second-guessing virtually every item of clothing they try on. Introduced in Annabelle Comes Home and known as "The Bride", this dress is possessed by an evil spirit who forces any bride who wears it to murder their fiance.
Afterward, the dress is mysteriously free of blood, retaining its ghostly white shade. The Bride can also seemingly attack people without a wearer, as it does in Annabelle Comes Home. Of all of the villains in The Conjuring universe, The Bride stands out. It isn't often that possessed clothing is an entity in a horror movie.
6 Bill Wilkins
Most of the entries on this list are monsters or other ghostly entities, but not Bill. A major player in The Conjuring 2, Bill Wilkins spends most of the movie possessed by the demon Valak, who uses Bill to torment the poor Hodgsons family.
Bill has an unsettling presence throughout most of the movie, largely due to Bob Adrian's performance of the character. Adrian adopts deeply disturbing mannerisms and voices as he plays the possessed Bill, of which the innocent young Janet has no choice but to endure his torture.
5 The Crooked Man
Valak doesn't just take the form of a deceased old man, however. Also appearing in The Conjuring 2 is the Crooked Man, a pale slender man wearing a purple suit and one creepy smile. The Crooked Man takes on several other forms throughout the movies, but none are as nightmare-inducing as his central appearance.
The way it can also contort its unnatural and grisly body is sure to terrify those who weren't already creeped out by his appearance alone. Horror fans who can't get enough of the Crooked Man should be looking out for his standalone film, which doesn't yet have a set release date, though will reportedly have a "dark fairytale" quality.
4 The Ferryman
The Ferryman may have only appeared in one of The Conjuring movies so far, but that doesn't make his presence any less chilling. Based on classic folklore, the Ferryman demands a "toll" or else it will take the souls of the departed to the underworld.
The Ferryman looks like a corpse himself as he pursues the poor victims in Annabelle Comes Home. At one point, all of the Ferryman's victims come back to torment one of the unsuspecting characters in the film. The Ferryman is truly not someone to mess with.
3 Bathsheba
The one that started it all, Bathsheba is the main antagonist of the first Conjuring movie. Supposedly based on a true story, Bathsheba was a woman who proclaimed herself to Satan, before cursing the land she lived on and killing herself. Her antics within The Conjuring start off with an innocent game of "hide-and-clap" before things start getting a little too real.
By the end, Bathsheba possesses the family's mother in a scene whose terror seems lifted out of The Exorcist. The producers of The Conjuring originally wanted the film to be rated PG-13, and when asked what they could cut to lower the rating, they were told that the movie was too scary to feasibly get a lower rating. Anyone who's seen it knows why.
2 Annabelle
Any villain in The Conjuring universe terrifying enough to get themselves multiple main entries clearly has what it takes to be one of the great scarers. Annabelle herself kicks off the first Conjuring movie, instantly placing viewers in an unsettled state of mind. A doll possessed by some sort of demon, Annabelle seems to have no motive but to torment and kill anyone who comes into contact with it.
What makes Annabelle more terrifying is how she awakens other evil spirits. In Annabelle Comes Home, the simple act of accidentally leaving her case unlocked is the catalyst for not just her, but nearly every malevolent entity in the Warrens' home to be unleashed.
1 Valak
While The Nun may not be as strong as some of this century's other horror films, there's no denying the terror behind its title villain. When not taking the form of several other villains in these movies, Valak is a horrifying demon often seen as a nun.
It mocks and degrades the religious, and often continues to torture and terrorize others simply for its own sadistic pleasure. Valak is truly a spine-chilling menace that is set to continue haunting the films of The Conjuring franchise.