# All the creepy little girls... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123 "2006-12-06T21:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/1 "2006-12-06T21:31:19Z")
As has been discussed in countless 'cliche movie scenes" threads, one of the most overused cinematic devices is the ‘evil little girl in babydoll clothes’ in horror movies. Well, just how many of them have there been over the years? Let’s list 'em… **the Shining** : twin little girl ghosts “come and play with us Danny, forever, and ever, and ever…” **Angel** : the girl in Wolfram & Hart’s office’s ‘white room.’ **the Bad Seed** : One of the earliest, if not the original, bad little girl. **Ringu / the Ring** : Samara, star of an underground (sorry, couldn’t resist) cult video. **Amityville Horror** (the remake): Jodie (a demonic ghostly pig in the original flick) is a little girl ghost, who isn’t actually evil, but creepy. **the Exorcist** : Regan McNeil possessed by Captain Howdy (a.k.a. Pazzuzzu) And although not from a film, I’ll put a special plug in for the [blythe doll](http://www.thisisblythe.com/). When I was growing up, one of the girls who lived next door to my family actually had one. I gave me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/2 "2006-12-06T23:11:20Z")
Hehe, this is one cliche that makes me want to gag. The worst movie I’ve ever seen (The Grudge) employed that increasingly overused plot device too. The saddest part is … I think it was actually the only scary part of the film. The makers of the PC game F.E.A.R. used the same plot device almost verbatim. A haunting, silhoutted, ghostly girl stalking you in the shadows and causing time to slow down while she moans and/or giggles at you in the dark. Very atmospheric and tense game, although the gameplay was as repetitive as the horror cliches it used. I’m sure I could think of some more of these … ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/3 "2006-12-06T23:24:48Z")
**Resident Evil** ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/4 "2006-12-06T23:26:10Z")
I don’t know if the little girl in a recent episode of My Name is Earl was supposed to be creepy, but she was. She reminded me of someone who’d leave a toy on some dark stairs, and take her time dialing for the ambulance. Have you seen the Fidelity “You Want Easy?” ads? The little girl playing ping pong with her dad didn’t appear to like losing. If I was her dad, I’d watch my step. Little girls creep me out, generally. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/5 "2006-12-06T23:41:00Z")
The little ghost girl in Ghost Ship. And I thought that the “Alice” in Jan Svankmajer’s **Alice in Wonderland** was creepy, but then so was everything else in that film. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/6 "2006-12-07T00:12:55Z")
Dakota Fanning in that Hide and Seek movie. Wednesday Addams If you want to include dolls you have to have Talking Tina. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/7 "2006-12-07T00:45:29Z")
The kids in Village of the Damned ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/8 "2006-12-07T00:49:24Z")
**Dark Water** ---
**Author:** ![Phantom\_Dennis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@Phantom\_Dennis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phantom_Dennis)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/9 "2006-12-07T01:03:27Z")
I wonder why Hollywood picked up this particular cliche? What is so creepy about little girls? They’re harmless, at least compared to, say, a masked psycho with a chainsaw, so why are they used so often to elicit fear in the audience, and why does it work? ---
**Author:** ![Peaceblossom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Peaceblossom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peaceblossom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/10 "2006-12-07T01:15:12Z")
[QUOTE=Phantom Dennis] I wonder why Hollywood picked up this particular cliche? What is so creepy about little girls? They’re harmless, at least compared to, say, a masked psycho with a chainsaw, so why are they used so often to elicit fear in the audience, and why does it work? [/QUOTE] Just my opinion, but I think the fact that they usually are harmless is what makes them so creepy. By using little things like, for example, dark makeup, they can make a child who looks vaguely threatening, and that is intensified by the human instinctive fear of things which don’t make sense. A frightening thing that is also a cute little kid messes with our minds because it’s so at odds with what we know. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/11 "2006-12-07T01:16:22Z")
[QUOTE=Phantom Dennis] I wonder why Hollywood picked up this particular cliche? What is so creepy about little girls? They’re harmless, at least compared to, say, a masked psycho with a chainsaw, so why are they used so often to elicit fear in the audience, and why does it work? [/QUOTE] Probably _because_ their harmless. It’s ironic, you see. They take something completly innocuous and make us scared of it, and then we’re creeped out more because we’re afraid of something that in real life isn’t even scary. I mean, on one would blame you for running away from a Jason-esque killer, but they find out you ran away screaming from a little girl and you’re branded a wuss the rest of your days. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/12 "2006-12-07T03:47:52Z")
[QUOTE=Phantom Dennis] I wonder why Hollywood picked up this particular cliche? What is so creepy about little girls? They’re harmless, at least compared to, say, a masked psycho with a chainsaw, so why are they used so often to elicit fear in the audience, and why does it work? [/QUOTE] We discussed the scary little girl meme not so long ago [over here in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=389511) The notion of malevolent children stretches back a long way, to the European folklore concept of the [changeling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling). > [@](#): > > In European folklore and folk belief, a changeling is the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in exchange for a human child. ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/13 "2006-12-07T09:47:23Z")
The x-files episode Eve (season 1, ep 10) features a plethora of identical, psychotic little girls. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/14 "2006-12-07T10:01:02Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] **Ringu / the Ring** : Samara, star of an underground (sorry, couldn’t resist) cult video. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: she’s Sadako in _Ringu_, Samara in _The Ring_. In _The Evil Dead_ one of the possessed adult female characters becomes infantilized and sings “We’re gonna get ya” in a child’s voice. Which is quite creepy. Oh, and that scene with the old lady/young girl cross in _The Others_ which made my skin crawl to bejaysus. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/15 "2006-12-07T10:17:37Z")
“One, Two, Freddie’s coming for you…” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/16 "2006-12-07T13:31:12Z")
Jodie Foster in “The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.” Definitely the best evil child performances ever. ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-creepy-little-girls/383123/17 "2006-12-07T14:56:58Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Jodie Foster in “The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.” Definitely the best evil child performances ever. [/QUOTE] I agree that it is a fantastic performance and an underrated film. But, although Rynn, played by Foster, definitely does some terrible things, I never saw her as evil. And I certainly never thought she was creepy, like the rest of the examples in the thread. On the other hand, I never had as much sympathy for Rynn as protrayed in the novel.