Mentions of sexual abuse, torture, incest, murder, and cannibalism.

A horror villain's tragic backstory adds depth without justifying their actions. Explaining horror villains' backstories can enhance their scariness without making them sympathetic. Some horror villains have complex backstories that provide insight into their motivations and actions.

Horror movies are meant to make the audience sympathize with the victims and heroes and fear the villains, but some horror villains have tragic backstories, making them complex characters. Villains in horror movies are not meant to be sympathetic, though some movies have made the mistake of overexplaining their stories so the audience feels pity for them. However, there are some cases where their backstories were explained in ways that added to what makes them so scary without forcing the audience to root for them.

A horror villain having a sad backstory doesn’t mean that their crimes and horrifying actions are immediately forgiven,...