Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, or Jason Voorhees: Who Has the Highest Body Count?
Michael Myers is set to scare moviegoers this Halloween season and will continue his slasher spree into Halloween Ends. He’s been terrorizing folks on-screen for 40+ years, placing himself firmly in the horror icon hall of fame alongside Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th are comparable to the Halloween franchise, but how do these leading villains stack up against each other in terms of movie victims?
Michael Myers has Halloween massacres on lock
Whether it’s with knives, fluorescent light bulbs, or his bare hands, Michael Myers doesn’t stop until he finishes the job. He may be a monster of few words, but his slow yet menacing walk, mask, and bloody rampages are legendary. Throughout 10 movies — we’re excluding Halloween 3 because he wasn’t in it — he’s taken the lives of more than 100 people.
According to Halloween Fandom, Michael’s killed 130 kids and adults on film using various gruesome methods. When Halloween Kills drops on Oct. 15, that number will grow. Those poor firefighters. And poor Laurie Strode.
Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger
Perhaps the funniest of the slasher bunch, Freddy Krueger is known for tossing out puns before, during, and after his kills. He’s delighted and terrified fans since 1984 in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies with his slick one-liners and psychological scares.
But his targets? His signature hat and glove have been haunting their dreams and occasionally, their waking lives for decades. A master at shapeshifting, torture, and supernatural murders, Freddy’s racked up roughly 42 victims, total, per the A Nightmare on Elm Street Fandom site. And not even The Final Nightmare could keep him down.
Interestingly, when he and Jason faced off in Freddy vs. Jason, he only killed one person, and Jason blew through about 20 innocents. Don’t expect Freddy’s count to increase, as Robert Englund decided to hang up his glove for good.
Jason Voorhees of ‘Friday the 13th’
How many times have you driven past a sign for Crystal Lake somewhere and wondered if it’s where Jason lived? That’s his effect on public consciousness. Between the iconic hockey mask, campsite panic, and trademark breathy sound effect, Jason is one of the most intimidating on-screen baddies out there.
Looking back at his stable of films, he didn’t kill anyone until the second Friday the 13th movie, and 1985’s A New Beginning left him out of the murder fray. But by 1993, Jason continued his streak and killed over 100 people.
However, his last film happened in 2009, and he’s surpassed Michael Myers’ body count with close to 200 victims. Because Jason Takes Manhattan involved him sinking an unknown amount of folks on a ship, the exact number is unclear.
Stay tuned for more Michael Myers madness
Halloween Kills arrives in October 2021 with more gore in Haddonfield, but the story won’t end there. Between the new film and 2022’s Halloween Ends, Michael Myers may beat Jason Voorhees when it comes to these savage statistics. The only thing that may change that is if Friday the 13th is resurrected with fresh blood.
