Growing up, few things were scarier than our mother’s flying chappal. But, these on-screen villains from our childhood came pretty close to scaring the living daylights out of us innocent kids:
1. Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda
In case you’ve forgotten how scary she was, she flung a young girl, from her pigtails, straight out of the classroom. Luckily Matilda’s telekinesis saved her. Miss Trunchbull was the scariest school teacher we’d ever seen on-screen, and her bullying, tyrannical antics left us shuddering in fear.
2. Makdee witch from Makdee
Creepy, long nails, matted hair, and laughter that raised our goosebumps – this was the witch from Makdee. Every time she appeared on screen, asking Chunni for chickens, and drinking ‘animal blood’, I was tempted to hide under the chair.
3. Jhamunda from Jajantram Mamantram
“Jajantram Mamantram, na jaane kaisi mushkilam hai aa gai samundram”. The Hindi adaptation of Gulliver’s Travel delivered a villain who was a scary giant, with magical powers, who ate kids by swallowing them whole. Of course, we were scared.
4. Harry and Marv from Home Alone
Yes, Kevin manages to outwit them 9 times out of 10. But the one time he misses, you’re immediately reminded of the fact that ultimately, he is an 8-year-old at the mercy of two criminals. While we all wanted to turn our homes into adventure houses, no one wanted to face thieves while doing so.
5. Sher Khan from The Jungle Book
The sinister tiger who was after Mowgli’s life, Sher Khan’s faux politeness only made us even more wary of him. Yes, now he reminds us of a majestic tiger and is no longer the picture of evil. But growing up, we wanted to scream at Mowgli to run, and run fast, every time he appeared on screen.
6. Prof. Quirrell/Voldemort from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Okay, Prof. Umbridge left us disgusted and by the time Voldemort was ‘reborn’ in human flesh, we were older, wiser, and certainly more prepared to see evil wizards. But the first time Quirrell removes that turban to let Voldermort’s face speak, every kid was left staring in horror at you-know-who!
7. Darla from Finding Nemo
The dentist’s niece who killed more fishes than the ‘fishes are friends, not food’ sharks, Darla wasn’t just Nemo’s worst nightmare but also ours. We all wanted Nemo to escape her clutches, just by hearing her stories and looking at her photos.
8. Shanti from King Uncle
Sushmita Mukherjee was positively scary as Shanti, the drunken orphanage warden, who forced the kids to do her bidding, and misused the funds allocated for their welfare. And when she, and her criminal boyfriend Pratap, abducted Munna, we all started praying even when we knew there is going to be a happy ending.
9. Jafar from Aladdin
From the second Jafar left Aladdin at the Cave of Wonders, we knew he was nothing better than a fancily-dressed knave. And he proved it by constantly trying to trick Aladdin, Jasmine, and The Sultan.
10. Lajja Shankar Pandey from Sangharsh
No matter how old you were when you first saw the film, it’s impossible to not be terrified of Ashutosh Rana’s fierce portrayal of the religious fanatic Lajja Shankar Pandey. Truly the stuff nightmares were made of.
11. Gokul Pandit from Dushman
Almost every person I met, who saw the film as a kid, told me that they can’t watch the film a second time. And Rana’s brilliant but terrifying portrayal of sadistic killer Gokul Pandit is a major reason for that.
12. The staircase from Hum Aapke Hain Koun!
We all know the staircase from the film is the scariest villain ever created, no questions asked.
Which villain scared you the most? Let us know in the comments section below.