If horror movies have taught us anything, it is that we are all sick bastards. Sorry, we mean it tells us that all like to be scared out of our wits. That’s it. We take absolutely no sick pleasure from teenagers being eaten, cut to pieces or burnt alive – it’s all about the thrill of being frightened.

But, of course, the best horror villains don’t tend to be the ones we are afraid of. They are the ones we actually quite like. Unstoppable serial killers, frazzled up kiddie-fiddlers and maniacal dolls are just some of the anti-heroes idolised by horror fans the world over. We just can’t get enough of them, it seems.

Now, if you wanted to really get scared, we suggest you make movies about global warming, nuclear holocaust or John McCain.

Anyway, enjoy.

28. The Reaper
Film: Jeepers Creepers

The eyes have it.

27. Dr. Carl Hill
Film: Re-Animator

Gave a new meaning to giving head.

26. Blade
Film: Puppetmaster series

This is what happens when good puppets go bad – a psychopathic leader of wooden tops with a knife instead of one hand and a hook for the other. You never had this kind of trouble from Pinocchio. Acting is a
little wooden though.

25. Leprechaun
Films: Leprechaun series

Is there anything more scary than a psychopathic, Irish midget with a God complex? Just look at Bono. Our favourite is Leprechaun In The Hood. Seriously. That really happened. Jennifer Aniston has a lot to answer for.

24. Pennywise The Clown
Film: IT

Ok, so he was a bit of a clown and nowhere near as scary as in the book. But clowns are surprisingly scary. Bloody painted freaks.

23. Hannibal Lector
Films: Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter, Red Dragon and Hannibal

He can do some amazing things in the kitchen. He’s like Gordon Ramsay only slightly nicer.

22. Frankenstein’s monster
Films: Too many to mention

Only Lindsay Lohan has a bigger forehead.

21. The Thing
Film: The Thing

Looks a bit like Chelsea Clinton.

20. Angela
Film: Sleepaway Camp

The most hideous and shocking transformation since Leslie Ash. What happened??

19. Victor Crowley
Film: Hatchet

Would have been higher but for his terrible name and the fact he is basically a Jason copy.

18. The Fisherman
Films: I Know What You Did Last Summer series

Remember to drive carefully – or you could kill someone and  turn them into unstoppable serial killers. We think that is the moral of the tale anyway. Does that sound a bit fishy to you?

17. Richard
Films: Dead Man’s Shoes

There is nothing scarier than someone who is actually quite realistic. If you have never seen this movie, rent it out now!

16. The Candyman
Films: The Candyman series

There’s nothing sweet about The Candyman.

15. Ghostface
Films: Scream series

Worthy of a mention in that it breathed new life into the horror genre, but wouldn’t you just hang up on them?

14. Jack Torrance
Film: The Shining

Here’s Johnny! Nicholson is one scary son of a bitch when he wants to be.

13. Sadako
Film: The Ringu series

Well, she gives us the creeps.

12. Chucky
Films: Child’s Play series

A good reason why you should not play with dolls. Well, that and you’re over 30.

11. Pinhead
Films: Hellraiser series

Of course, not only is Pinhead a scary bastard, he’s also a warning to not mess around with acupuncture.

10. Satan
Films: Too many to mention

Bit of a relegation for Old Nick, but he has been overtaken by upstarts recently and needs to get his game back on track.

9. Norman Bates
Films: Psycho series

Bit of a mummy’s boy, but set the standard for every slasher film since.

8. Bloody great big shark
Film: Jaws

OK, so it was a bit rubbery and you always knew it was coming because of the cellos, but Jaws remains a horror icon.

7. Xenomorphs
Films: Aliens series

Whoever came up with the concept of Alien needs their heads examined. Pretty scary stuff.

6. Leatherface
Film: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Everyone’s favourite deformed, chainsaw-wielding cannibal.

5. Jigsaw
Films: Saw series

Not exactly a barrel of laughs and a bit preachy, but that doll is enough to make even the Hecklerspray team amend its disgusting ways. Well, almost.

4. Dracula
Films: Too many to mention

Would have been higher, but he’s had a bit of a lean period lately. He should get a role he can really get his teeth into.

3. Jason Vorhees
Films: Friday the 13th series

The top three could have appeared in any order, to be honest. Between them, they are the holy trinity of horror. But someone had to be third.

2. Freddy Krueger
Films: A Nightmare on Elm Street series

The funniest child murderer in town.

1. Michael Myers
Films: Halloween series

That mask still gives us the creeps.

No? Neither did we – and we’re still recovering! Unless someone is playing a joke on us. Damn them! But it got us thinking: Why do we care so much about these characters? What is it about the cartoon baddies that we love so much?

Aren’t we supposed to hate them? Boo them when they come on the screen like some kind of pantomime villain? No, and the reason why is because they are usually the most interesting characters in the cartoon.

So we have decided to come up with 16 of the best 80s cartoon villains. They reason we went for the 80s is because, well, that was when we were all kids. Plus it was a golden era. Or is that what everyone says?

Enjoy, and feel free to tell us which ones we’ve missed…

16. Lotor- Prince of Doom from Voltron

Would have been higher, but how can you take a villain dressed in tights seriously.

15. Miles Mayhem from M.A.S.K
The leader of Venom was the best character in the show. Which, admittedly, isn’t saying all that much.

14. Baron von Greenback from Dangermouse
Dangermouse’s slimy arch-enemy was essentially what Bond nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld would look like if he was a toad. It isn’t easy being green.

13. Darkstorm from Visionaries

Never quite understood why he turned into a giant snail. You really would not be happy with that would you? Your opposite number turns into a lion and you turn in a slimy mollusc. Not exactly a fair fight.

12. Hugo A-Go-Go from Batfink
Gets in purely because of his name.

11. Starscream from Transformers

Megatron’s power-hungry right-hand man was possibly the most realistic characters in the show. He moaned a lot with that annoying high-pitched voice of his, always thought he would do a better job if he was in charge, and wimped out when things turned tough. Sounds like someone you know at work? Plus he transformed into a cool plane. Bonus!

10. Venger from Dungeons and Dragons

Never quite understood why he only had one horn. Where was the other one? Plus, there was one episode where Dungeon Master called him his son. Nooooooooo!

9. Doctor Claw from Inspector Gadget
With such a cool voice and the fact you never saw his face, just a claw, he really should have been higher up the list. But how could any self-respecting villain been beaten by a dog and a little girl in every episode? If we had had our way, he would have sold Gadget for scrap, boiled Brain down into glue and sold Penny into slavery. That really would have been mean.

8. Zoltar from Battle of the Planets

There is something really quite sinister about this guy. We think it’s because he is wearing lipstick and dresses like a dog.

7. Mumm-ra from Thundercats

Who knew Mummies could be so cool?

6. Gargamel from The Smurfs
We can never remember: Did he want to catch the Smurfs to turn them into gold or because he wanted to eat them? They don’t look very tasty, to be honest.

5. Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Uncle Phil??!!!! Really. We are so disappointed.

4. Cobra Commander from GI Joe
We think he had some anger issues. Not sure about the hood either.

3. Serpentor from GI Joe

Just beats Cobra Commander to the coolest character in GI Joe.

2. Megatron from Transformers

Only just pipped to the top spot by Skeletor, Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, was a worthy adversary for Optimus Prime. Plus he turned into a cool gun.

1. Skeletor

OK, we’ll admit it: we were scared of him too. Looking back now, he’s actually quite funny.