Horror is a genre audiences can’t seem to get enough of, with new movies constantly finding weirder and more creative ways to get a scare out of viewers. There’s a horror movie about nearly every fear you can imagine, from the supernatural, like ghosts and monsters, to the very real terrors that exist in the real world.
While most horror films are made with an adult audience in mind, often, the actors participating behind the scenes as key players are children too young to watch their own work. Young as they may be, these child actors played a big part in making their respective films effective.
10 Isabelle Fuhrman in ‘Orphan’ (2009)
Orphan follows a married couple who are reunited with their formerly missing 9-year-old daughter, only to discover something very wrong with her behavior.
What makes this performance so noteworthy isn’t just the fact that it’s a child actor being scary, but that the then 12-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman was able to convincingly play an adult serial murderer masquerading as a child. With another great performance in Orphan: First Killunder her belt as well, she’s proven yet again why no one else could make Esther quite as sinister as she does.
9 Haley Joel Osment in ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)
The Sixth Sense is the story of Cole Sear, a young boy disturbed by his frequent encounters with spirits, and child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis)who seeks to help him understand his unusual talent.
Such emotionally demanding roles can be a heavy burden for a young actor, but Haley Joel Osment approaches his part in this now classic film with a type of depth that takes most actors years of experience to embody. With just one line (you know the one), he cemented his place as one of the best child actors to ever appear in a horror flick.
8 Danny Lloyd in ‘The Shining’ (1980)
The Shining sees a family of three taking a winter vacation at a large, isolated hotel. When the son starts to have increasingly terrifying premonitions, the hotel’s sinister nature begins to reveal itself.
It takes a lot to have a standout performance in a film led by Jack Nicholsonbut Danny Lloyd found a way to do just that. A key contributor to the eeriness that pervades every second of this iconic film, the now-retired actor certainly left his mark on cinematic history.
7 Milly Shapiro in ‘Hereditary’ (2018)
Following the death of a family matriarch, Hereditary is the story of a grieving mother and her children as their lives unravel due to mysterious evils that seem to be tied to their own ancestry.
One of the selling points of the entire film was the character of Charlie, played to disturbing perfection by Milly Shapiro. Able to entrance audiences with a hauntingly mysterious screen presence, this performance was crucial in shaping Hereditary’s terrifying tone.
6 Macaulay Culkin in ‘The Good Son’ (1993)
The Good Son follows a young boy who goes to live with his extended family following his mother’s death. When his cousin begins to show sadistic tendencies, it becomes clear that he’s dealing with more than just a mean kid.
It’s no secret that Macaulay Culkin turned in some incredible performances as a child, but his turn as this killer neighborhood menace deserves just as much love as Kevin McCallister. Henry’s menacing grin and imposing aura made this role particularly.
5 Kyleigh Curran in ‘Doctor Sleep’ (2019)
Long after the plot of The Shining, Doctor Sleep follows Dan Torrance in his adult age as he seeks to protect a young girl from a mysterious cult.
Following up on one of the most iconic horror movies of all time is a monumental task, but Doctor Sleep is aided immensely in its goal by the efforts of Kyleigh Curran. Her performance as the young Abra Stone is not only extremely impactful on its own but also holds up as the perfect foil to Ewan McGregor’s adult Danny.
4 Daveigh Chase in ‘The Ring’ (2002)
The Ring tracks a journalist who investigates a horrifying urban legend — a videotape that, once watched, will result in the death of the viewer in a week’s time.
Another iconic horror performance, you can’t think of The Ring without picturing this spine-chilling entity climbing out of a TV. Young Daveigh Chase embodies her role with a spookiness you can feel through the screen and nails every scare she’s tasked with inflicting on the audience.
3 Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
The Exorcist follows a teenage girl who becomes violently possessed and the two priests who are brought in to save her against all odds.
Possibly the definitive performance from a child actor in a horror film, Lina Blair made cinematic history as this literal devil child as she resists her exorcism. Her work in this role has been traumatizing audiences for what will soon be 50 years, and its impact shows no signs of softening.
2 Mason Thames in ‘The Black Phone’ (2021)
The Black Phone is the story of Finney, a young boy who is the next victim of a serial child kidnapper. After finding a rotary phone in the basement, he learns that he can talk to his captor’s previous victims.
Mason Thames shines in this role, spending most of his time on screen isolated from the rest of the cast and struggling to find a way out. He bounces off Ethan Hawke effortlessly in a role that will make anyone watching root for him to get free.
1 Alex Vincent in ‘Child’s Play’ (1988)
Child’s Play sees a mother buy her son the doll he wants for his birthday. What neither of them knows, however, is this particular doll is under the possession of the soul of a black-magic-wielding murderer.
It’s harder than you might think to sell fear, but Alex Vincent pulled it off masterfully for his age with his role as Andy. Playing off a literal doll is another obstacle that could hold back an actor with less skill, but his reactions help to convince the audience of the danger he’s in throughout the movie’s runtime.