Horror movies are known for drawing inspiration from folklore, including vampires, witches, ghosts, and mummies. Many of the best horror movies are supernatural in nature, with the genre having a high degree of familiarity with magical elements. But sometimes, they’re willing to make nightmares out of seemingly benign mythical creatures, leading to mixed results.

Being supernatural in any sense is sometimes good enough to warrant an entire horror movie around a given fantasy creature, even if they aren’t usually considered to be dangerous. But horror movies like Blood and Honey have proven that filmmakers are willing to try to mine scares even out of the most whimsical and good-natured concepts, leaving such mythical beasts wide open.

8

Leprechaun

One Of The Most Absurd Ideas For A Horror Villain Ever

When most people think of leprechauns, images of Saint Patrick’s day might be the first thing that come to mind, full of merriment, green food dye, and chocolate coins wrapped in golden foil. However, the horror comedy Leprechaun turns the pint-sized fae creatures into nightmarish, jive-talking murderers obsessed with their treasure hoard.

Amazingly, the original Leprechaun had enough fans to warrant the creation of an entire sprawling Leprechaun franchise, with star Warwick Davis entering into increasingly absurd situations while wearing the character’s signature ghoulish makeup. Recognizing the absurdity of the idea, the original movie was smart enough to make the Leprechaun a wise-cracking killer a la Freddy Krueger or Chucky.

7

The Lighthouse

Robert Eggers’ Fishy Nightmare

For the most part, critically-acclaimed horror director Robert Eggers’ relies on psychological warfare to squeeze scares out of The Lighthouse, which posits Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as lighthouse caretakers who quickly succumb to the madness of isolation and the sea. But the film also makes a brief pit stop to make a beloved mythical creature, the mermaid, into a terror of the deep.

At one point, Pattinson’s Winslow dreams of an eerie mermaid washed up on the shore, admiring her disturbing beauty. He quickly decides against any romance, however, when she awakens, unleashing an unsettling, ear-piercing scream that almost seems to manifest into reality. Mermaids have never looked scarier than in The Lighthouse.

6

Krampus

A Delightful Holiday Chiller With An All-Star Cast

By the time of Krampus’ release, Christmas-themed horror movies were already a dime a dozen, but few of them actually took the time to popularize the then-little-known dark counterpart to jolly old Santa Claus. In Austrian and German folklore, Krampus is a sort of demonic evil counterpart. While Santa rewards good behavior, Krampus terrorizes naughty-listers with unspeakable punishments.

The first half of Krampus is admittedly a lot stronger than the second half, in which Krampus’ goofy minions like the Gingerbread Men and Elves begin to lose a lot of their chilling appeal. But overall, the film manages to mix the eerie terror of a horned figure lurking at the edges of a snowstorm with the hilarity of its talented cast playing a dysfunctional family.

5

Death Of A Unicorn

Turns Wonderous Mythical Animals Into Hungry Demons

The idea of something as colorful and whimsical as a unicorn being a horror movie villain was first explored in the clever horror comedy The Cabin in the Woods, but such a concept wouldn’t get its own movie until the recent Death of a Unicorn. After unicorns are discovered, a billionaire hopes to make a fortune off of their restorative properties.

Of course, this plan goes awry when it’s revealed that the unicorns aren’t the pᴀssive, gentle creatures of fantasy legend, but instead vicious killers who can take away life just as easily as they grant it. The film deserves points for making more out of unicorns than simple horned horses, but the painfully ham-fisted message and cringey sense of humor drags it down a bit.

4

Trollhunter

A Faithful Recreation Of Its Home Country’s Signature Creatures

“Troll” is a bit of a catch-all term when it comes to Western European folklore, but Scandanavian myth has a very specific idea of what a troll actually is. Enter 2010’s Trollhunter to clear up the confusion, centering on a group of students who become aware that trolls exist when they meet a professional hunter of them.

Trollhunter uses a mockumentary style that’s surprisingly fun, avoiding the same pitfalls of many similar found-footage horror movies. Able to acknowledge how silly it is with some well-placed comedy while still respecting itself well enough, the film is an endearing effort to make such a generic storybook creature scary again.

3

Exists

Bigfoot Is No Friendly Forest-Dweller

By now, Bigfoot might as well be a mythical creature with folklore all his own, with equal number of claimed witnesses supposing he’s friendly or dangerous. Another found footage horror movie, Exists decides on the latter, describing a camping trip gone wrong when a group of friends have a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly encounter with the famous cryptid of yore.

The film actually manages to make Sasquatch fairly scary, with the practical effects rendering actor Brian Steele into a hooting and hollering simian nightmare. That being said, it’s easy for a viewer to find themselves rooting for Bigfoot as Exists presents some of the dumbest horror movie characters ever created, a тιтle that isn’t doled out lightly.

2

Wishmaster

Will Make Viewers Wish They Never Rub A Magic Lamp

In Western culture, genies are best known for being friendly wish-granting spirits voiced by Robin Williams or Will Smith. In their native Middle East, however, the djinn can be quite frightening spirits with grand cosmic powers. Wishmaster makes a pᴀss at bringing the public perception of genies in pop culture closer to their actual origins.

The premise of an evil genie killing his masters with their own wishes in a series of monkey’s paw twists of irony makes Wishmaster worth the price of any admission alone. While the genie’s special rules and appearance may make it a horror movie derivative of A Nightmare on Elm Street, it’s a creative take on a typically helpful mythical being.

1

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Turns A Childhood Staple Into A Poltergeist

Calling Hellboy II: The Golden Army a horror movie is admittedly a bit of a stretch, but there’s no denying that Guillermo del Toro put forth one of the most horrifying takes on a friendly folklore creature ever with the film’s tooth fairies. Rather than being cute pixies that buy baby teeth at a quarter a piece, these nasty little bug-like creatures eat teeth.

Despite their name, these ravenous little monsters aren’t that picky, and while they prefer teeth, they’ll strip a full-grown man’s flesh from his skeleton in a matter of moments. Flying in terrifying swarms, their mouths whining like a dentist’s drill, the tooth fairies are one of the most genius horror versions of a normally good-natured mythical creature.