Category: Women in Horror

Diabolical Dames: Evelyn Ankers

By Ariel Messman-Rucker At a time when Bella Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr. and Boris Karloff were taking over the silver screen for Universal Studios, Evelyn Ankers was staring opposite them. But while the men playing the monsters are still household names, few remember those of the leading ladies who screamed their hearts out for audiences…


Diabolical Dames: Angela Bettis

By Summer Aborashid Most of horror fans are familiar with actor/director Angela Bettis for her turn as the titular, tragic homicidal wierdo in May, Lucky Mckee’s 2002 gem. The role won her a cult following and her ability to imbue even the most painfully awkward characters with an undeniable likability that makes it impossible not…


Diabolical Dames: Anne Rice

I first got my hands on an Anne Rice novel when I was 13, I had just blazed through the Vampire Diaries series (yes, the ones the CW series is based on… shh I was 13) and I was ready for some more blood-sucker goodness which is how I stumbled upon the Vampire Chronicles. Despite…


Diabolical Dames: Jamie Lee Curtis

By Ariel Messman-Rucker You couldn’t exist in the ’80s without knowing her name–Jamie Lee Curtis. She took over movie theaters in 1978 with John Carpenter’s classic boogeyman tale Halloween and spent the next few years staring in a slew of memorable slasher flicks. The last girl in nearly every movie she stared in, Curtis embodies…


Diabolical Dames: Jennifer Carpenter

By Summer Aborashid and Rachel Shatto [Jennifer Carpenter is one bad-ass diabolical dame. In fact we love her so much that Summer and I had to write this piece together. Plus, she is one of Summer’s favorite women we are profiling this month!] When we started researching Carpenter for this post, we were surprised to…


Diabolical Dames: Janet Leigh

By Ariel Messman-Rucker As one of Hitch’s infamous blondes, Janet Leigh earned a place in the horror movie hall of fame playing thieving Marion Crane opposite the crazed Anthony Perkins in Psycho. And while this was her only major contribution to the genre, this performance earns her a place next to the rest of our…


Diabolical Dames: Mary Lambert

By Ariel Messman-Rucker Mary Lambert began her directorial career making music videos, but we can imagine at least some of the artists she had to work with were pretty horrifying. She was behind many of Madonna’s iconic videos, including “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl” and “Like a Prayer,” but has also been brought in by…


Diabolical Dames: Linda Blair

By Summer Aborashid There was no way we could celebrate 28 Days of Diabolical Dames without including the star of what I consider to be the scariest movie ever. Linda Blair was only 14 when she was cast as Regan MacNeil in the 1974 classic The Exorcist. She wasn’t the director’s first choice (he even…


Diabolical Dames: Diablo Cody

By Rachel Shatto If you listen to the Zombie Grrlz podcast regularly then you knew this one was coming! With only one horror title under her belt, it may seem to some like I am jumping the gun by including her in our list of women who have contributed to horror–but I disagree (obviously). I…


Diabolical Dames: Fay Wray

By Ariel Messman-Rucker No list of women’s contribution to the horror genre would be complete without giving a nod to the original “Queen of Scream,” Fay Wray. Before Peter Jackson had them ice skating in Central Park (tragic directorial mistake), the giant ape was in love with Wray who played Ann Darrow in the original…