Women in horror: 17 powerful women in Netflix horror shows and films

In honor of Women’s History Month, it felt appropriate to take some time and show love to a few of my favorite women in Netflix horror movies and television shows. In general, talking about women in horror is one of my favorite pastimes so I could go on about these ladies.

From killer babysitters to wicked witches to telekinetic teens and everything in between, Netflix has amassed a pretty great library of horror content in recent years, and that includes some heavyweight women in horror.

Women in horror: 23 powerful women in Netflix horror shows and films

The following list will dive headfirst into some of the most beloved Netflix horror movies and horror shows such as The Haunting of Hill House, You, Midnight Mass, All of Us Are Dead, Squid Game and much more! Keep reading to find out who some of our favorite women in horror are on Netflix and what shows or films you can watch them in right now.

The women of The Haunting of Hill House

It’s too hard to pick just one woman from The Haunting of Hill House, a standout entry on this list from the excellent director and storyteller Mike Flanagan. Based on the novel of the same name by the iconic author Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House became a massive and critically-acclaimed success for Netflix when it came out. The series spawned a partnership between Flanagan and Netflix that gave us the follow-up, Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass, with at least two more Flanagan series on the way.

There are a few great male characters on this show, too, but I think most of us would agree that Hill House belongs to the Crain women. From family matriarch Olivia (played by the always-amazing Carla Gugino) to Victoria Pedretti’s heartbreaking portrayal of Nell Crain to Kate Siegel kicking a** as bisexual Theo Crain to Elizabeth Reaser anchoring the season as Shirley Crain, it’s too hard to pick just one of these lovely ladies so I’m choosing them all!

And that’s not even mentioning the brilliant young female actresses who portrayed the characters in their younger years, like McKenna Grace, Lulu Wilson, and Violet McGraw all of whom have gone on to lead successful careers, with Grace and Wilson showing up in several more horror films and projects over the years.