Jump to:
- The Scariest Horror Villain Based on Heart Rate
- The Least Frightening Horror Villain Based on Heart Rate
With Halloween just around the corner, Americans are taking to their TVs to watch their favorite scary films. Though it can be fun to get spooked this time of year, horror film lovers have long battled over which villain is the scariest of them all. To end this heated debate, the All Home Connections team turned to heart rate data to find the answer.
First, participants in this study watched 5,760 minutes of horror films while wearing a heart rate device. We then used their heart rate to determine which villain scared them the most based on the variance of their resting heart rate and how the rate peaked throughout each movie. Finally, we surveyed 990 additional people to determine which movie villain they think is the scariest to compare the perception to the actual heart rate data.
Interesting Findings
- Michael Myers was the scariest villain according to the heart rate data, which is no surprise as he stars in a wildly successful (and frightening!) franchise.
- While the heart rate data put Chucky in second to last place, our survey showed that 19% of respondents were scared by his films, placing him just below Michael and Freddy. Did you know that Don Mancini was inspired by the kid’s toy Cabbage Patch Kids for this movie?
- Jason Voorhees scared his way into the second spot based on heart rate. The durable and persistent villain is known for his hockey mask, but that fashion choice wasn’t made until the third movie in the series, per ScreenRant.
Interesting Findings
- While Samara Morgan wasn’t particularly frightening to our viewers, The Ring has been named the #6 scariest horror movie of all time according to Rotten Tomatoes.
- Between The Ring, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Child’s Play, survey respondents thought Hellraiser’s Pinhead wouldn’t be very scary, but the heart rate data said otherwise and placed him in the number four spot.
All Home Connections is an authorized AT&T retailer. Reporters can email questions to Bailey@attsavings.com.