For the past few decades, horror movie villains have been a part of our culture that drives nightmares, closet inspections, and sales of Halloween masks. How many of us get a cold chill at the mere thought of a man dressed in a mechanic’s jumpsuit lurking at the end of the alley? Or, if you’re like us, have never visited their attic thanks to Kayako, the antagonist in The Grudge.
Horror fans’ Google search histories prove many people are drawn to what they fear. With this on our minds, the team at GetWindstream found each state’s most searched horror villain. Plus, using our freaky fast Gig internet, you can watch your favorite scary movies with even smoother streaming (possibly making the jump scares even spookier). Keep reading to see which villain led the reign of terror in your state.
Ten Years of Terror: Nationwide Results
| Villain | Number of States | National Search Volume (since Jan. 2010) |
|---|---|---|
| Alien | 4 | 673,000.00 |
| Chucky | 3 | 368,000.00 |
| Frankenstein | 4 | 246,000.00 |
| Hannibal Lecter | 8 | 201,000.00 |
| Dracula | 1 | 135,000.00 |
| Ghostface | 3 | 74,000.00 |
| Pinhead | 1 | 74,000.00 |
| Norman Bates | 10 | 60,500.00 |
| Carrie | 7 | 40,500.00 |
| Jack Torrance | 5 | 14,800.00 |
| Samara | 4 | 8,100.00 |
| Kayako (The Grudge) | 1 | 2,900.00 |
Like Norman Bates adding pearls to his mother’s ensemble, we want to be a little extra this year. Along with this year’s results, here are the nationwide findings for the past decade: the most popular horror villains from 2010 to 2021.
- The title monster from Alien was the most searched villain nationwide over the past decade (and tops in four states). The xenomorph, as it’s come to be known, endures as audiences flocked to the two Alien prequels released in the 2010s, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
- There’s no stopping this pint-sized terror when it comes to your TV screen. Amongst sequels and revamps, Chucky creator Don Mancini is now launching a TV series. Set to premiere in October of 2021, it may explain the Child’s Play craze in three states, landing the second spot for most searched in a decade.
- From the comedic caricature in Hotel Transylvania to the iconic depiction in Young Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s monster boasts more than 70 films since his 1910 silver screen debut, and the interest shows no sign of slowing. Frankenstein had over two hundred thousand searches for the past decade alone, and was the most searched horror movie villain over that time period in four states.
- Hannibal Lecter has no shortage of fans. Thanks to the popularity of this meat-eating murderer, his story has continued with such releases as Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising. As a result, eight states looked for him most in their Google searches throughout the years.
- The lore of Dracula goes back not just decades but centuries thanks to his real life counterpart Vlad the Impaler. With ongoing fascination with vampires, this cultural icon continues to take a bite out of search histories and has nationwide fans searching for him by the thousands.
Your State’s Most Popular Horror Movie Villain
Frightening Findings
- Early drafts of The Ring set the story in Massachusetts, where the antagonist Samara was most searched this year.
- Pennywise takes on Samara in a financial fight: The Ring was the highest-grossing horror remake in history at more than $249 million in the US until the 2017 version of It snatched the honor.
- The exterior of the Overlook Hotel was filmed using Oregon’s Timberline Hotel Lodge at Mt. Hood, which may explain why Oregonians have Jack Torrance on their minds and search histories this past year.
- West Virginians love a good scare. For the nationwide decade data, the Mountain State searched for eight out of the 18 villains. No other state came close to that amount.
| State | Villain |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Frankenstein |
| Alaska | Hannibal Lecter |
| Arizona | Carrie |
| Arkansas | Norman Bates |
| California | Alien |
| Colorado | Jack Torrance |
| Connecticut | Samara |
| Delaware | Norman Bates |
| District of Columbia | Ghostface |
| Florida | Carrie |
| Georgia | Norman Bates |
| Hawaii | Carrie |
| Idaho | Frankenstein |
| Illinois | Jack Torrance |
| Indiana | Samara |
| Iowa | Samara |
| Kansas | Norman Bates |
| Kentucky | Kayako (The Grudge) |
| Louisiana | Norman Bates |
| Maine | Norman Bates |
| Maryland | Carrie |
| Massachusetts | Samara |
| Michigan | Norman Bates |
| Minnesota | Jack Torrance |
| Mississippi | Chucky |
| Missouri | Norman Bates |
| Montana | Hannibal Lecter |
| Nebraska | Hannibal Lecter |
| Nevada | Carrie |
| New Hampshire | Norman Bates |
| New Jersey | Frankenstein |
| New Mexico | Alien |
| New York | Ghostface |
| North Carolina | Ghostface |
| North Dakota | Pinhead |
| Ohio | Jack Torrance |
| Oklahoma | Hannibal Lecter |
| Oregon | Jack Torrance |
| Pennsylvania | Frankenstein |
| Rhode Island | Carrie |
| South Carolina | Chucky |
| South Dakota | Hannibal Lecter |
| Tennessee | Hannibal Lecter |
| Texas | Chucky |
| Utah | Alien |
| Vermont | Hannibal Lecter |
| Virginia | Carrie |
| Washington | Alien |
| West Virginia | Dracula |
| Wisconsin | Norman Bates |
| Wyoming | Hannibal Lecter |
Methodology
For the statewide data, GetWindstream compared 12 popular horror villains and their films by using Google Trends and looked at results for the past twelve months.
For the nationwide results, the team at GetWindstream searched Google Trends from June 2010 up until July 2021 for the highest search volume for a given horror movie character over a span of 11 years. In the event of a character tie, a keyword search volume tool was used to specify that character’s search volume for each state it was popular in.
GetWindstream is an authorized seller of Windstream products. For media inquiries, please contact media@getwindstream.com.