Sam Stanton
The film: Babysitter Wanted (2008).
The child: Sam (Kai Caster) is a kid with some very specific requirements: he eats a specially prepared diet, and he wears a hat. At all times. Not that weird, right? Except hes the son of the devil and eats young girls. Eek.
Blame the parents? Nah, theyre doing the best they can in a difficult situation.
Mitsuko Souma
The film: Battle Royale (2000).
The child: Most kids, finding themselves in the terrifying Battle Royale programme, at least try to run or form alliances or otherwise resist killing their classmates. Not Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki). Shes one of the games scariest players, only forming temporary alliances with kids whove got weapons she wants to steal.
Blame the parents? Yup. Mitsukos backstory makes it pretty clear where her ruthless streak came from.
Miles and Flora
The film: The Innocents (1961).
The children: Orphans sent to live with an uncle who cant really be bothered, Miles (Martin Stephens, again) and Flora (Pamela Franklin) scare the hell out of their new governess (Deborah Kerr) by wandering off, using inappropriate language, and claiming to see ghosts. Are they possessed? Is she? Who knows.
Blame the parents? Not the parents, but we can pretty safely blame the kids guardians for their weirdness.
Michael Myers
The film: Halloween (1978).
The child: Better known for his adult exploits, Michael Myers (Will Sandin) was a terror as a child, too; at the age of six, he murdered his sister with a kitchen knife while wearing a clown costume. Theres precocious for you.
Blame the parents? In the absence of any other obvious people to blame, yup. Normal six-year-olds just dont go on killing sprees.
Rhoda Penmark
The film: The Bad Seed (1956).
The child: Prim little Rhoda (Patty McCormack) doesnt like being denied anything and will kill to get what she wants. Her murder weapons are brilliantly unconventional, though the source of Rhodas evil isnt: turns out shes the daughter of a convicted serial killer.
Blame the parents? Absolutely.
Eli
The film: Let The Right One In (2008).
The child: Despite her meek appearance, Eli (Lina Leandersson) is a force to be reckoned with a centuries old vampire capable not only of murdering adults but of bending them to her will. But maybe shes not all bad. Maybe she just needs a friend?
Blame the parents? Eli hasnt seen her parents for a very, very long time.
Claudia
The film: Interview With The Vampire (1994).
The child: Another child vampire, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) is as tragic as she is deadly and shes pretty deadly. Saved from a plague house by her bloodsucking parent stand-ins Louis (Brad Pitt) and Lestat (Tom Cruise), she eventually becomes frustrated by the limits of her childish form, which is strong enough to kill but not to grant another person eternal life. And with the mind of a centuries-old killer, the ringlets and pretty dresses must get annoying, too.
Blame the parents? Claudias real mother died, but her adoptive dads should definitely be blamed for her eventual fate.
Toshio Saeki
The film: Ju-on: The Grudge (2002).
The child: Pale and wide-eyed, Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) could almost be cute, were it not for the fact that he keeps appearing in bizarre places and making freakish meowing noises. Part of a two-ghost team with his ghoulish mum (Takako Fuji), hes really not keen on trespassers, and will haunt anyone who sets foot in his home to death.
Blame the parents? Definitely blame his father (Takashi Matsuyama) for murdering him, and his mother for teaching him how to play hide-and-seek with victims.
Ragen MacNeil
The film: The Exorcist (1973).
The child: Like many pre-teens, Regan (Linda Blair) is curious about the supernatural. But an ill-advised experiment with an Ouija board invites a demonic presence into her body, and from there on out its all pea-soup spitting and exhibitionism.
Blame the parents? Nah. Regans poor mother (Ellen Burstyn) does her best to figure out whats wrong with her suddenly horrifying daughter.
Samara Morgan
The film: The Ring (2002).
The child: In the original Japanese version of the story, VHS lover Sadako (Rie In) was a college student, but the remake casts her equivalent, Samara (Daveigh Chase) as a ghostly eight-year-old, which qualifies her for this list. Samaras evil MO is to scare people to death by clambering out of their TVs exactly a week after they watch her cursed video.
Blame the parents? Yup. Her birth mother tried to drown her while her adoptive parents locked her in a barn before shoving her down a well, which is enough to drive anyone to supernatural revenge.
