Welcome back to the Dust Lounge and the second instalment of my unofficial list of the most fabulous, fictional ladies of horror.

This is, of course, celebrating the ladies who strike fear into movie-goers and tellybox watchers, for the month of February is Women in Horror month. You can catch up on the first post here, but if you’ve already seen that and just can’t wait to see some more rather spectacular women doing their horror scene thing, then carry on reading (at your peril, mwahaha aha ah *ahem*). 

Video clips may contain bloody fantastic ladies, and also spoilers. 

Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier in The Walking Dead 

I love the Walking Dead – or should I say loved, as to be fair my enthusiasm has waned slightly in the later series, I’m still there but only just. But Carol is fantastic. She’s been on quite a journey, and my favourite Carol moments specifically have to be from Season 4. Without too many spoilers, let’s just say she makes some pretty difficult, and possibly extreme decisions. It’s some emotional, hard hitting stuff, and McBride plays it perfectly. My favourite version of Carol has always been when she teeters on the brink of ruthlessness, hardness and ferocity. And she does that so well. 

Shauna MacDonald as Sarah Carter in The Descent 

Honestly, I don’t consider myself to have many phobias, but if I had to pick one thing that truly gives me the heebie-jeebies it’s the prospect of going caving. I don’t understand why the idea of crawling into a dark, enclosed space that could potentially be filled with water at any given moment is an appealing hobby. This all makes The Descent a film that properly makes me hide behind the cushions for most of it. MacDonald plays Carter and ramps up the tension to perfection. 

Vera Farmiga as Norma Louise Bates in Bates Motel 

I can’t say enough about how bloody fantastic Farmiga is as Norma Bates in the TV adaptation of Psycho. SHE IS PHENOMENAL. Just the right balance of creepy, motherly, overbearing, sympathetic, crazy and so much more. A masterclass in the tightly strung matriarch. 

Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in Misery 

Oh my God Bates is brilliant playing Annie Wilkes in Misery. I haven’t seen this film for a while, and am certainly due a re-watch in the very near future. Although even the prospect of a re-watch is already making me wince over *that* scene. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know what I mean. If you’re about to watch it, you’ll find out. 

And therein lies my unofficial list of some of the most ferocious, fictional women in horror. It certainly ain’t exhaustive by any means, and there’s so many more that we could talk about. So who would make your final cut?