by: Melissa Frolich

Horror villains and icons have always been a part of our lives and our culture in general. These icons tend to pop up in nearly every decade since the beginning of man including the early urban legends of werewolves and monsters. If man were to erect a monument for Horror icons much like Mount Rushmore, who would we see on that monument?

We looked into the past fifty years of horror and erected a monument for each decade.

1960's

We start with a decade that had a mix of great characters and icons. Hershell Gordon Lewis started the decade off with a gory bang. With films like Blood Feast and The Wizard of Gore. Yet when I think of the 1960's horror, I think of 2 movies and 2 well known names. Rosemary's Baby, Night of the Living Dead, Vincent Price and Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock really solidified himself in the 1960's. He made us afraid of birds and always make us think twice when we saw a creepy motel. Hitchcock showed us that horror movies don't necessarily need to be full of gore and blood. Suspense keeps us glued to watching his movies.

Vincent Price, the godfather if you will of horror movies. His face and voice is so recognizable that it would shock me if someone said they had never heard his name. A true legend, his face will always be recognizable as a face of horror.

This decade also introduced us to the wonder that is zombies!!! Thanks to the king of zombie movies, George A. Romero. His first film, Night of the Living Dead, is forever imprinted in our minds. His zombies will always hold a place in 60's horror cinema.

Now how can we talk about 60's horror without mention the movie Rosemary's Baby. It wasn't a gory or violent movie, but that story stuck with you, even a few days after you saw it. Rosemary's Baby was Mia Farrow's first leading role.

1970's

Next we move into an age of horror that I think truly broke the mold for horror movies, the 1970's. In this decade horror changed. Horror suddenly became more terrifying and prayed on real emotions and situations.

When you look at movies of the 1970's, you cannot deny that Stephen King made a impact with books that were turned into films like Carrie and The Shining. These movies alone made people stop and think whoa wait, that is believable, that could happen and we had not seen anything like that before in horror! I think Jack Nicholson's face from The Shining deserves to be on the 1970's era tribute. "Here's Johnny" is one of the most recognizable scenes in movie history.

What comes to mind when you hear the sound of a chainsaw? Your mind automatically goes to Tobe Hopper's masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie changed the genre of horror. It suddenly became violent and bloody. Tobe Hopper introduced us to a true horror icon, Leatherface. Who wouldn't run for the hills when a terrifying maniac, wearing the face skin of his victims, is chasing you with a chainsaw?

Now close your eyes and think of the Halloween theme music. The image of Michael Myers comes to mind. Michael Myers will forever be an icon in horror. His white mask and knife changed the slasher genre. Michael Myers did not utter a single word during the whole Halloween movie franchise and I believe that is what was so frightning about Michael Myers.

I believe would have to go to Linda Blair's character in the Exorcist, Regan would be next on the 1970's Mount Rushmore horror tribute. The Exorcist was truly an unbelievable movie! For every Catholic out there, this movie hits home! Being raised Catholic this movie freaked me out. This movie made people leave the theater in terror! People were throwing up in the aisle as well as fighting. It brought to light that what if the devil decided to take a child. What would you do? Its truly chills you to the bone. Everybody will always recognize Regan as the devil.

1980's

Moving to the decade of Valley girls, new wave and some of the greatest horror icons, the 1980's. This decade brought a slew of horror movies, some cheesy, some terrifying, some so horrible that you think to yourself that the producers must have been high to think that was a good idea. The 1980's gave birth to a whole different kind of horror icons.

Jason Voorhees is first up in the 1980's Horror Mount Rushmore. Jason was a crucial part of the 80's horror craze. In addition to making hockey masks just a tad creepier, he learned from mommy. Jason's mother was the killer in the original Friday the 13th. That in itself was a first for horror.

Next we move onto another great horror icon, Freddy Krueger. The name alone can send chills down your spine! Freddy was a new type of horror character. Freddy was able to penetrate your dreams and turn your nightmares into a true reality. Freddy was almost a funny killer, he developed a great sense during his 6 movies. Everything about Krueger screams terror, from his signature knife hand to his burnt flesh to his red stripped sweater. Freddy was a character that you couldn't escape from no matter what you did.

Next come a new icon of horror. Pinhead from the Hellraiser movies. Pinhead is a true horror icon. His character wasn't funny, wasn't remorseful, he was all business. If you open the box you felt the wrath of Pinhead. Unlike Krueger and Voorhees, Pinhead was only a killer when called on by people who opened the box.

Selecting last icon for the 80's tribute was a tad difficult. After thinking about it for a while I finally decided on one, Chucky! Although he was a doll, Chucky still scared us. I think a lot of people are slightly uneasy when seeing a life size or realistic looking doll. Just the thought of that doll coming to life and trying to murder us I think will forever live in our minds.

1990's

Now moving onto the 1990's era. This was a really tough era only because there were so many teen horror movies like: The Craft, The Facility and I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was difficult to search through the teen horror, but I did manage to find four horror icons fro this decade.

First up, Pennywise the Clown from Stephen Kings "IT". This was one of Tim Curry's finest performances. Yes I know what you are thinking wait "IT" wasn't a movie at the theatres, it was a made for TV movie. Be that as it may, Pennywise was absolute terrifying and it proved to us that Stephen King is here to stay and terrify us to death. I think on some level about half of Americans are afraid of clowns. As soon as this movie came out, I believe clowns became a lot scarier to some people.

Next up on the list. Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman. Don't say his name 5 times otherwise he will appear behind you and gut you like a fish. Another creation from the mind of Clive Barker, the man who was behind Hellraiser. Candyman was an undeniable presence in the 1990's with his deep voice and hook for a hand. This icon and movie was a bit different, it followed an urban legend of Candyman. Tony Todd truly made his character memorable. Thank you Clive for scaring us to death yet again.

This next icon maybe a bit conversational. I think Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas deserves to be here. Now I know this movie isn't technically a horror movie but its not exactly a kids movie either. Tim Burton clawed his way into the horror/animation genre with this movie. Jack Skellington really is an icon though, almost everyone I know, knows that skeleton face. Like or not Jack is an icon for 90's.

Which movie franchise really made a huge impact on the 1990's? Give up? Scream. Like it or not, Scream made a huge impact on the genre of horror in the 90's. The mask of Ghostface, as he was officially called, is terriftying. This move actually brought some of the classic rules of horror such as " you can never have sex" and never use the term" I'll be right back".

2000's

The decade of 2000's .This whole decade was all about remakes, such as House of Wax, the classic Vincent Price movie. America began to remake almost every horror movie dating back to the 1960's. American movie makers even began taking movie ideas from the Asian and Spanish horror.

This brings us to our first horror icon on the list, the little boy from the Grudge, Toshio Saeki. Yes, this movie was a remake of Ju-On yet most people choose to ignore that fact. Whenever you see that kid, you know which movie he is from, especially when you hear the noise he makes.

Next we come to one of the most delightful characters of this era, Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses. Everyone remembers the clown makeup, wise ass remarks and clever jokes. Sid Haig did a great job of making this character memorable and almost likeable.

Next on our list, is....Okay I know I will get a lot of flack for this, but I decided to choose Rob Zombie himself. He's not technically a character in a movie, but you have to admit the horror genre of this decade would not be the same without him. He Brought back terror in a sea of remakes.

Last on our list of icons is the one the only, Jigsaw. His presence in this decade in undeniable. Since 2004/2005 new installments of the SAW series come out almost every year on Halloween. Jigsaw was a different kind of killer, the man himself never physically killed anyone. He made his victims make a choice....Live or Die!

There we have it, 50 years of horror icons.

Agree? Disagree? Comment on this article on our forum.