Horror movies often take our deepest, darkest fears and manifest them into physical form on the screen. They subvert our expectations of what it means to be afraid by taking our psychological discomfort and using it against us. The best horror movies prove that just because the abominable terrors on the screen can’t reach us, doesn’t mean we’re safe from them. They’re why we sleep with night lights, don’t go near water we can’t see the bottom of, and watch out for sewer drains.

There are those fearless few who delight in being scared, and take their ardor for horror movies to whole new heights by creating cosplays based around their favorite films. Whether they have a special fondness for mainstay horror legends like Freddy Krueger or slightly newer icons like The Nun, they craft cinema-quality ensembles that make it look as though they’ve stepped right out of the screen. Below you’ll find 10 of the best horror cosplays that terrify us.

PENNYWISE (IT)

Best-selling horror author Stephen King’s iconic villain Pennywise comes to terrifying life with this cosplay by ATxCustomArt. Featured in the spine-tingling novel IT, and featured most prominently in recent years in blockbuster films IT and IT: Chapter 2, Pennywise both preys on your worst fears and represents them by shape-shifting into a serious of macabre entities, most notably a clown.

This amazing recreation of Pennywise’s costume from the newest film adaptation of King’s novel recreates his whimsically chilling image in painstaking detail. The makeup, hair, and costume are all spot-on replicas of the outfit he wore in the film, complete with a red balloon for Billy.

SAM (TRICK ‘R’ TREAT)

For those that think Sam from Trick ‘r’ Treat is an adorable prankster who’s just out for a little mischief on Halloween night, they’re dead wrong. Though his bobble head and diminutive size may make him adorable, he’ll just as easily slice the hand off of anyone who gives him a treat.

This insane cosplay by straywind perfectly captures Sam in his natural habitat ⁠— surrounded by grinning pumpkins and a pail full of candy. The costume was created using an old school mascot suit, a beach ball, and some burlap. It just proves it’s not about fancy materials, just how you put them together that makes an effective cosplay.

VALAK (THE NUN)

For those who couldn’t get enough of the demon Valak in The Conjuring 2, an origins film was released that went into the specifics of the character and its compulsion to terrorize humans. The Nun acted as a prequel to The Conjuring franchise, and showcased the horror icon in even more frightening and gruesome ways.

This Valak costume by sistervalakofficial brings together everything that makes The Nun such a wonderfully scary villain. From the crepe-paper white skin, to the glowing yellow eyes, blackened hollowed circles, and bloody teeth, her visage is the stuff of nightmares.

BALLERINA DENTATA (CABIN IN THE WOODS)

Cabin in the Woods could have been a very paint-by-numbers horror movie, in which a group of college students decide to get a cabin in the woods, only to get picked off by zombies one by one. However, the film took a startling turn by revealing there were other sinister forces controlling the zombies.

The kids discover a secret underground facility where monsters are created by several scientists. One of these is the “Sugarplum Fairy,” or Ballerina Dentata, recreated here by MissPyramidHead4 in wonderful detail. She looks like she’s ready for her school recital, with shoes on point, and concentric rows of teeth on point as well.

OTHER MOTHER (CORALINE)

Just when you thought Tim Burton had the market cornered on creepy stop-motion animation, along came Coraline, a film about a little girl who ventures to another world where everything about her life is reversed. Her “Other Mother” starts off being a great deal more congenial than her real mother, until Coraline misbehaves…

This fantastically frightening cosplay by MissTrisi perfectly captures the final form of Other Mother, from her garish face (and button eyes) to her spider-like legs that protrude from her hips. We would certainly not want to round a corner and see this.

FREDDY KRUEGER (FREDDY’S REVENGE)

Most horror movies make you not want to go to sleep, but the Nightmare on Elm Street series really reinforces that, thanks in no small part to its terrifying villain, Freddy Krueger. He comes for you in your dreams, and if he kills you in your dreams, you will die in real life.

This Freddy cosplay by BaptismOnFire is patterned mostly off of the second film in the franchise, Freddy’s Revenge, and shows a tremendous attention to detail regarding Freddy’s scarring and the weathering of his iconic hat. Freddy continues to have access to people’s insecurities and darkest fears, making the deaths in their dreams that much more horrific.

PYRAMID HEAD (SILENT HILL)

Pyramid Head is arguably one of the most horrifying creatures you’ll encounter in the Silent Hill games, and he’s even more frightening when he appears in the film Silent Hill as the main antagonist. His voiceless, faceless appearance, with large angular helmet, is a nod to the town’s past as a location for public executions.

Cosplayer Aoki Lifestream brings Pyramid Head to gruesome life with this towering recreation, complete with large helmet, apron, and giant cleaver weapon. In the Silent Hill games, he was revealed to potentially be an element of the main character’s psyche…but this looks very, very real.

NEMESIS  (RESIDENT EVIL)

Based on one of the many powerful antagonists from the popular Resident Evil video game series, Nemesis was brought to the big screen in Resident Evil 2, a follow-up to the hit action horror film starring Milla Jovovich. Alice had managed to escape The Hive facility, but her accomplice Matthew did not.

His tissue spliced when the dreaded T-virus transformed him into the creature Nemesis, with superhuman strength and regenerative powers. This amazing cosplay by Cris-Nemesis captures everything about the abomination, from his disfigured face to his fetish-like outfit.

PINHEAD (HELLRAISER)

One of the most iconic horror villains of all time, Pinhead has haunted many a horror fan’s dreams since his first appearance in Clive Barker’s disturbing Hellraiser. He’s gone on to feature in almost a dozen sequels, sometimes as a hero, and sometimes as an antagonist.

This utterly convincing cosplay by CrisAlexMUA features a six-piece silicone prosthetic which took three and a half hours to apply to the wearer. It was actually developed with Clive Barker’s input. It’s so good, this cosplayer can take over when the actor who plays Pinhead retires.

NURSE (SILENT HILL)

The nurses from the Silent Hill video game, which inspired a series of horror movies, are by far some of the creepiest evil entities to recreate. Though they aren’t a main antagonist, they’ve become so synonymous with the horror franchise that it’s the first thing you think of when you look at them.

Cosplayer elenasamko has made what could have been a relatively simple costume (and therefore grossly underestimated) and turned it into something truly disturbing. She could have gone the typical route of simply putting a stocking over her face, but she chose to sculpt a mask, and even go so far as to draw black veins spreading out from her neck.

THE BABADOOK

The Babadook has emerged in recent years as an antagonist as recognizable as Pennywise; a new figure of fear from a popular Australian horror film of the same name. Born from a children’s book, he becomes the twisted embodiment of a young boy’s grief, and eventually comes through the pages to infect the boy’s family life.

PulpAddedCosplay has recreated not only the Babadook’s fearsome visage, but what it might look like beyond the illustrative form of a child’s story. The atmospheric black and white lighting, tailored outfit, and ghoulish expression all contribute to the disturbingly effective cosplay.

THE ANGRY PRINCESS

One of the most popular specters from Thirteen Ghosts, the Angry Princess is the ghost that most embodies vanity. Never seeming satisfied with her own form, she’s encountered in the film as a botched testament to the exacting standards of physical beauty, and a cautionary tale about body modification.

Elenasamko has recreated every detail of the first encounter with the Angry Princess, laying in her bloodbath, her makeup smeared, and her heavily modified body exposed for all the world to see.

THE QUEEN

Ridley Scott’s Alien gave horror fans one of the most horrifying monsters in cinematic history, and James Cameron’s Aliens took the xenomorph’s metamorphosis one step further and gave fans The Queen, responsible for the proliferation of murderous drones in countless colonies.

While there may be many xenomorph cosplays on the convention circuit, Cosplayquest has managed to actually recreate The Queen of them all, no small feat when the materials and their engineering is considered.

JASON VORHEES

One of the most iconic figures in horror movie history, Jason Vorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise has risen from the grave over and over again to murder clueless teenagers and strike fear in the hearts of horror lovers with every strike from his hatchet.

Taylor Winters, a cosplayer renowned in LA for creating cinema-quality interpretations of famous characters, has managed to make his Jason cosplay look every bit as terrifying as it did when it appeared in Friday the 13th VII, right down to his mask.

SAMARA MORGAN

When it premiered almost 20 years ago, The Ring was one of the most frightening horror films of the 21st century. It’s left a lasting impression on the horror community, not only because of its haunting cinematography and suspenseful story but because of its classic villain Samara Morgan.

A lifetime of abuse created Samara, and her quest for revenge made the film a harrowing experience, especially the way she manipulated her body. DragonxCat has managed to bring Samara to life with deft use of clever staging and lighting. The cosplay may be simple, but it’s incredibly effective in the right hands.