By
Mat Elfring
and
Chris E. Hayner
on
Traditionally, wrestling has been known for its larger-than-life characters, many of which are akin to superheroes. They smile, want the crowd to cheer them on, and want to inspire. Horror isn’t a gimmick wrestling companies lean into very often.
However, going through the WWE archives, we found a few wrestlers who brought horror to wrestling. From early Undertaker appearances, frightening children with his pale skin, to Mankind pulling his hair out in the boiler room, there are a few wrestlers who truly terrified us throughout the years.
Below, you’ll find the 10 spookiest WWE wrestlers that may have kept you up during the night, just in time for Halloween. For more spooky lists, check out every Hellraiser movie ranked, 22 must-watch horror movies you can stream, Freddy Krueger’s best kills, and the best horror movies made by female directors.
Papa Shango
When Charles Wright stepped into the gimmick of Papa Shango in the early ’90s, it was hated by many and thought of to be corny or dumb. Papa Shango was a voodoo priest who put curses on people–famously on Ultimate Warrior, making him sweat black liquid and puke. The character was exceptionally dark, mysterious, and terrifying–especially when he wasn’t talking during interviews, and was just looking around and seemingly mumbling to himself.
The Boogeyman
He’s the Bogeyman and he’s coming to get you! While yes, the eventual portrayal of the Boogeyman became a comedy act, the initial arrival of the character was downright horrifying. When his music hit, the lights went down, and the Bogeyman shook on his way to the ring, writhing with live worms hanging out of his mouth, it was a truly creepy scene to behold. Then, when he fed those live works to his victims, it was utterly disgusting. While we look back on the Boogeyman and giggle, don’t forget how scary he was initially.
Bray Wyatt
Before Wyatt became an unstoppable force of pain and fear, he was a lot like Waylon Mercy from WWF in 1995. Based on the character from Cape Fear, Mercy would ramble incoherently. Wyatt’s character would do the same, except he was a leader–he’d ramble off things you couldn’t understand, but you knew he meant what he said, and it was terrifying. His actions, demeanor, mannerisms, it all created this mysterious cult leader character you knew not to mess with.
The Fiend
Wyatt evolved from the cult leader to something incredibly different. One side of the character would be a children’s TV show host full of fun and whimsy. The other side was a demented, vicious fighter in a clown mask that carried a lantern to the ring that looked like the old Bray Wyatt’s head. The Fiend no-sold most of the moves done on him, which made him even more frightening. Sadly, we didn’t get to see the next evolution of this character, as Wyatt was let go from WWE this year.
Alexa Bliss
Bliss picked up the torch where Wyatt left it. She was possessed or corrupted by Wyatt while he was still with the company. However, she made the gimmick her own and made it evolve. Bliss’s new character was unnerving and always seemed on the brink of losing her sanity. Then, there’s the whole Lilly doll, which is creepy enough on its own. One of the most horrifying images of Bliss comes from WrestleMania 37 where she turned on The Fiend, while covered in black liquid. Could it be the same Papa Shango used for curses? (Probably not)
The Undertaker’s first appearances
The Undertaker’s career has been a mixed bag of characters, but upon his debut in WWE he was terrifying. He was a mortician, with a white painted face, who worshipped a golden urn. For its time–Undertaker debuted in 1990–he was a captivating character. He looked frightening and rarely spoke as his manager Paul Bearer did most of the talking for him. It was something WWF hadn’t seen at the time, a character really leaning into the macabre.
Unmasked Kane
While Kane was initially meant to be a scary character, that was never really the case. Compared to the darker iterations of The Undertaker, he was actually pretty tame. However, that all changed when Kane finally lost his mask. It was at that point viewers saw him as a demented madman, bent on torturing and maiming those who stood in his way. From hooking Shane McMahon’s testicles up to a car battery, to Tombstoning Linda McMahon on the Raw stage, that era of Kane remains downright terrifying.
Doink The Clown’s first appearances
We all remember Doink as the silly clown character that made fart sounds when he jumped on people and was followed around by a miniature version of himself named Dink. Do you remember evil Doink, though? Seemingly heavily inspired by Tim Curry’s turn as Pennywise in the It TV miniseries, evil Doink is what happens when the nightmarish version of clowns come to get you. He didn’t look particularly horrifying and, ultimately, the makeup he wore was very similar to other versions of Doink. But he was portrayed as a psychotic clown, complete with cackling at his opponents as he beat them and scaring children in the audience. Clowns are creepy and for a hot second, Doink was their king.
Luna Vachon
Luna first entered the WWF as Shawn Michaels’ valet at WrestleMania IX. She looked like she came straight out of a Mad Max movie, covered in leather and chains with half her head shaved, and facepaint on one side of her face. Before she even spoke, she was exceptionally intimidating. During her walk to the WrestleMania ring that year, she had a snarl on her face and dragged a foot behind her. She was unhinged. Later, when she spoke with that graveled voice, she seemed like a person teetering on insanity, which made her oh so much more terrifying.
Mankind’s first appearances
Everyone remembers Mankind as the guy Undertaker threw off a cage. He’s the guy that yelled, “Have a nice day” all the time. However, the first incarnation of Mankind was seriously disturbing. He wore a tattered brown outfit with a giant ankh symbol on the back and that famous leather-strapped mask on his face. He did all his interviews in a darkened room–or a boiler room. He rocked back and forth and his voice cracked. While Undertaker during this time was stoic, silent, and intimidating, Mankind was the exact opposite. He talked a lot, was full of movement–like pulling out his own hair–and was a danger to those around him, and himself.