This haunting franchise is home to many of the scariest bad guys in horror movie history. From the towering Nun, to that dastardly doll, Annabelle. While some villains have stuck with us more than others, there is no denying that every villain is downright terrifying. The most beloved and scariest villains have even had sequels and spin-offs made about them, helping this franchise become one of the most popular andsuccessful horror franchises of all time. The villains in this franchise, are all rooted from true stories and based on thecase files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, as well as mythology, which makes these evil spirits even more terrifying.
There is no denying that every villain in this franchise is downright evil, whether it be a terrifying witch that possesses mothers to kill their children, or a weeping bride who murdered her own children and seeks the souls of others. The villains in this franchise are not to be messed with. So, pick up your crosses and grab that holy water as we rank all the major villains fromThe Conjuringfranchise.
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8The Weeping Woman - La Llorona
La Llorona (which translates in English to The Weeping Woman or The Wailer) is a Hispanic urban legend used to scare children, who is said to roam the waterfronts mourning her children, whom she drowned. La Llorona made her haunting debut in the franchise withThe Curse of La Llorona, terrifying audiences with her twisted backstory and unnerving presence. The image of a weeping bride in a tattered wedding dress is haunting, and will send shivers down your spine. While the scares in the movie may have fallen a little flat, there is no denying that when seeing The Weeping Woman will give you goosebumps.
7The Crooked Man
Formerly known as Alexander Leslie (a Scottish General), The Crooked Man is a vengeful spirit after those who despair. This Scottish legend is based off a scary poem and unnerving nursery rhyme, which, after hearing it inThe Conjuring 2, we unfortunately cannot get out of our heads as it haunts our dreams.
The Crooked Man appears as a scrawny humanoid, wielding a tattered umbrella, and a withered dark red striped suit, along with a black fedora. His wide and monstrous grin will keep you up at night, as well as his misshapen and crudely bent legs, which are the result of a terrible accident. This terrifying entity is host to many of the scariest scenes fromThe Conjuring 2,and it’s easy to see why. With his creepy nursery rhyme, nightmarish grin, and haunting figure, The Crooked Man became one of the creepiest villains in the franchise. His appearance was short in the film, but a spin-off entitledThe Crooked Manis still happening, delving into his terrifying legend.
6The Ferryman
While only a minor antagonist inAnnabelle Comes Home, The Ferryman was still a pivotal villain in the movie and is reported to have a spin-off in the works. Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson andVera Farmiga) dealt with The Ferryman in one of their cases, which is the reason his evil spirit is in their possessed artifact room. This dark spirit is said to take souls to the afterlife for a price, but instead collects the souls and tortures them. The Ferryman is a ghastly entity, wearing a tattered cloak with a hood, along with coins over his eyes, which The Ferryman’s victims sport also. We are still waiting to see how twisted The Ferryman can truly be, but his brief appearance inAnnabelle Comes Homecertainly cemented him as a great villain in the franchise.
5The Old Man - Bill Wilkins
Bill Wilkins was the main villain for the majority ofThe Conjuring 2until we learn that he was just a pawn for the terrifying Valak. This is a twist on the true story of The Enfield Haunting, which still sees Bill Wilkins' spirit haunt Janet and her family, but without the twist of Valak being behind it all. Bill Wilkins is utterly terrifying and creepy, sitting in his old, tattered, spine-chilling chair and shouting “MY HOUSE!” every chance he can. Similarly, you will get shivers down your spine when Bill speaks, more specifically when Bill speaks through Janet.
4The Occultist - Isla Kastner
Having the Warrens face off against an occultist is a breath of fresh air, compared to the Warrens always having to go up against spirits. Isla is no less evil than any of those dark spirits. Isla is an occultist who has always studied and been interested in the occult; more specifically the Disciples of the Ram. She would create witch’s totems, one of which she hid under the house of the Glatzel family and is responsible for the curse and demonic possession of eight-year-old David. But after an exorcism goes wrong, with the help of Ed and Lorraine, Warren Arne Johnson tests the demon by asking it to take control of him. Which unfortunately for him, the demon takes him in up on that offer and starts possessing him, leading him to kill his friend and tenant, Bruno.
While Isla isn’t a vengeful spirit or dark entity, she is no less evil than the rest of the bad guys on this list, from her intentions, to even the way she dresses and moves around. Isla may not be as memorable as the rest of the franchise, but she is certainly still terrifying.
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3The Witch - Bathsheba
The very first major villain of the franchise is one of the most frightening, unnerving, and downright evil of them all. In the 1800s, Bathsheba gave birth to a baby, whom she would quickly sacrifice by burning it in a fireplace. But her husband caught her in the act and quickly exposed her, causing Bathsheba to climb up that giant tree we see in the film to proclaim her love for Satan, and curse all those who would take her land, before hanging herself. This would cause Bathsheba to forever haunt her residence and when a family moves into the home, she possesses the mother to kill her children before making the mothers commit suicide. The spirits of Bathsheba’s victims continued to reside in the house, along with her, living in constant fear of her curse.
Just hearing Bathsheba’s backstory would send a shiver down anyone’s spine, but adding in the fact that Bathsheba takes joy in haunting and spooking her victims is utterly eerie. Bathsheba is certainly in the running as the darkest and most evil villain of the franchise, and seeing that evil witch on top of that wardrobe will give anyone nightmares long after watching the movie.
2The Nun - Valak
The Nun has become the stuff of nightmares since her debut inThe Conjuring 2.The demon has now become iconic and synonymous to the franchise, so much so the evil spirit has since had its very own spin-off,The Nun, andan upcoming sequel,The Nun 2. Valak, or the Marquis of Snakes (which just makes the demon sound even more frightening) is arguably the most powerful, and intelligent entity in the whole franchise, and is responsible for making Lorraine Warren terrified to take on another case, by showing Lorraine the death of her husband, Ed. Also inThe Conjuring 2, The Nun haunts a poor London family by posing as the spirit of Bill Wilkins, and forcing Ed and Lorraine Warren to investigate.
Valak poses as a demonic Nun to both mock the faith and to hide among them. The image of a demonic nun is extremely unnerving and horrific, causing us all to sink into our seats whenever and wherever it pops up.
1Annabelle
As the most infamous villain on this list, Annabelle takes the top spot with ease. While she may not be as intelligent or powerful as The Nun, Annabelle is iconic for her creepy design, evil antics, and mischief she causes inThe Conjuringuniverse. Annabelle is the main stay of the franchise, being featured in no less than four out of the eight movies in the franchise, with three of them being her very own movies. As terrifying as a fictional doll possessed by a demon is, it is surely no less horrifying than to find out thatthe Annabelle doll is 100 percent real. The only difference being that the real doll is a Raggedy Anne doll, and some of the movies expanded on her haunting legacy.
This doll is possessed by an evil demon that latched itself onto the doll when the Mullins attempted to contact their recently deceased daughter. But if you know horror movies, you know that was a bad idea, and instead of their daughter, a demon came fourth to torment the Mullins. Since then, the demon has possessed a crippled young orphan girl, tormented a mother and daughter, and set loose a band of horrifying evil entities from the Warren’s artifact room.
This dastardly doll is spine-chilling to look at, with that haunting grin and dead eyes, many have had nightmares andnew-found phobias of dollssince witnessing this evil doll. Annabelle is the epitome of the franchise, haunting our minds, terrifying us with many memorable scares, and being horrifically iconic.
