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How would your favorite horror villains fare in a faceoff?

After reading the article, go to Byte's socials to cast your votes to see who moves on in the bracket! You can participate the entire week leading up to Halloween 2021.

Who would beat who in a fight? Would Superman beat Batman? Would my dad beat your dad?  A lot of these questions will never be answered (except my dad would totally beat your dad for sure). The point is, these questions that turn into full-blown arguments exist across pop culture, and one group of people who champion their icons more than most are horror fans. Now you have the chance to help decide who would win in a fight in the metaphorical boxing ring. Your votes directly relate to who moves on in the bracket, but I took the liberty of making this list for you so that your support is, at the very least, educated.

Chucky (Child’s Play franchise) vs. Annabelle (Conjuring franchise)

In this corner, at a staggering 2 feet 5 inches tall, weighing no more than 10 pounds, we have none other than Charles Lee Ray…Oh sorry, “Chucky” as you may know him. With the body of a baby doll and the soul of a serial killer, who can put a stop to this madman? With 74 canonical kills spanning across eight films, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping this fun-sized felon. Chucky has killed in a variety of ways but is most iconically known for his kills with a kitchen knife. He has forced people into heart attacks and even strangled his own son to death with his amputated arm. He has all those kills and seven personal deaths to his name but manages to keep coming back every time, earning Byte’s “Too Angry to Die” nomination to the list.

Photo from IMBd

And in this corner, standing at 3 feet 4 inches tall is the less than lustrous lady, Annabelle. With a whopping zero deaths directly attributed to her name, she is clearly an underdog, but don’t count her out yet. This demonic dolly has the powers of telekinesis, manipulation, trickery, and possession. She has all the potential to toss around the competition. She also happens to be based on a “true story” so she’s the only one on this list that could come after you if she finds out you betted against her! The real Annabelle doll has been accused by demonologists to harbor a demonic spirit and possess powers such as teleportation, materialization, and the mark of the beast. She has been linked to multiple near-death experiences and one fatal accident. She stands out from the rest of this bracket being the only one to be even accused of causing death in real life.

Photo from IMBd

Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th franchise) vs. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise)

In this corner, standing at a skyscraper height of 6 foot 5 inches and weighing 275 pounds, with a kill count of more than 150, is Jasoooon Vorheeees. This realistic hash-slinging slasher tells a cautionary tale of childhood bullying. Unlike other installments to the bracket, this man literally cannot die, he will just come back more determined. This man moves faster than the naked eye, walks off explosions, punches through metal walls, and throws cars out of his way to reach his victims. All of these things have been done at least once in the films he is featured in. He also has the highest kill count of anyone on this list, likely making him a front runner. He’s also one of only two characters to go head-to-head from this list. The director of Freddy vs. Jason, Ronny Yu, even insisted that Jason was the clear winner.

Photo from IMBd

And in this corner, standing at a modest 5 feet 9.5 inches and weighing in at 165 pounds, he puts the terror in night terror. Freddy Krueger, known in his mortal life as the Springwood Slasher, admits to being a bit “naughty”. It wasn't until after he was killed that the “fun” really began. The fear inside the children of Springwood is what elevated Krueger to a Boogeyman on steroids persona. He can enter your dreams and if he kills you, then you die in real life. In the dream world, he can’t be killed and he can manipulate the world to torture you and soak in your fear before he finishes you off with his iconic glove. Even if you kill him when he comes back to the real world, he can escape hell as long as there is enough fear in the area. His only real drawbacks are that he can’t leave Springwood unless it’s in your dreams and most of his 39 canonical kills are children. That said, he is the stuff of nightmares for a reason and can make the other contestants’ worst dreams come true.

Photo from IMBd

Michael Myers (Halloween franchise) vs. Sadako Yamamura (Ring franchise)

In this corner standing somewhere between 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 9 inches depending on the film, is Michael Myers. Overall Michael is a typical human man, except that he’s been shown to possess superhuman strength, endurance, and stealth capabilities. One aspect that no one really knows the limits of is his durability. He has sustained stab wounds to vital areas, gunshot wounds, and being burned alive only to show back up and continue pursuing his victims. That being said, Michael has been pursuing some of the same people since 1978, and while he has an astounding kill count of at least 133, he still has yet to kill some people from the very first film despite his efforts. This proves him a prolific killer, but not the best at seeing his targets through to their end.

Photo from IMBd

And in this corner, standing at… well honestly we can’t tell because she’s always slouching, is Sadako Yamamura, or “the Ring girl”, as she’s most often referred to as. Her kill count is somewhat irrelevant as it’s just factual that if you watch her videotape you will die in seven days. (Or two days in one very specific movie). Which, not going to lie, I sort of wish would’ve happened after I was forced to watch Cats. She is a vengeful ghost and there really isn’t any stopping her if you’re her next target. However, I’m giving her the underdog award simply because no one owns a VHS player anymore.

Photo from IMBd

Pennywise (It franchise) vs. Jigsaw (Saw franchise)

In this corner, standing creepily at 6 feet 3.5 inches tall, is the dancing clown, Pennywise. While Pennywise is the creature’s most common form, “It” can shapeshift into seemingly whatever it wants. It is the oldest entity on the list, aged billions of years old, when “It” came to earth (of all places) to feed. It feeds primarily on the fear of children it kills, to fuel its lifeforce. While in the film adaptations Pennywise has killed less than 10 people, in the novels they were based on, “It” claims to be responsible for over 600 accounted deaths. While Pennywise may seem unbeatable, he has a serious weakness: insults. Yes, you read that right. The old sticks-and-stones rhyme works in the opposite way for the clown. If someone is not afraid of him and instead directs their anger and insults his way, he will shrink and try to escape. But, let's be honest, who isn’t afraid of clowns?

Photo from IMBd

And in this corner, standing sickeningly at 5 feet 11 inches, is John Kramer. Better known as the “Jigsaw Killer", or simply “Jigsaw”, his little games have claimed the lives of more than 60 people throughout the Saw franchise. Though there is a trend to all of his games, they are all escapable at least to some extent. They are typically contraptions that involve maiming yourself to get out of some other form of sacrifice, like the “Flytrap” in Saw II where the contraption would snap shut and crush the wearer’s head, but there was a key they could use to get out. That key was implanted behind the contestant's eye, and they would have to dig into their own eye socket to get to it. His philosophy on who he chooses for these trials inspires even past contestants to join his cause of forcing people to stop taking their lives for granted. He leaves plenty of clues for anyone who wants to try to put a stop to him, but his intelligence outwits pretty much everyone at some point in the series. Sadly for him though, he is on a serious time constraint as he himself is suffering from a terminal illness that has left him not much time to get the job done. He has no special powers, just a big brain, and willpower.

Photo from IMBd

Feature Graphic designed by Emily Hanes

Sources: Dimensions, Wiki, ati, Dimensions, ScreenRant, NightmareOnElmStreetFilms, Dimensions, ScreenRant, ScreenRant, IMBd, Dimensions, Youtube, Wiki, ScreenRant

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