From writer/director David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) comes a new supernatural horror film, The Unborn, which stars Gary Oldman (Harry Potter), Cloverfield‘s Odette Yustman, and Twilight‘s Cam Gigandet. In the film, which opened this weekend, a possessed child whispers, “Some people are doorways.”

Typically, the children in horror movies are either the unwilling messengers of doom or are evil themselves. Either way, the dialogue these kids have to spout is usually pretty eerie and often not something you’d want to hear coming out of the mouths of babes.

In honor of the release of The Unborn, here’s a look at 9 chilling quotes spoken by children in some of our favorite horror/thriller films.

Poltergeist

Is there any more classic moment than when Carol Anne turns away from the static TV and says to Craig T. Nelson, “They’re here”? The sing-song delivery, the creepy little tow-headed kid, everything about the scene is unnerving. The reality of what happened to Poltergeist star Heather O’Rourke only adds to the enduring scariness. The sad thing is that the scene is now being used to sell cable TV, which seems a crass and careless way to tread on someone’s memory.

The Sixth Sense

Of course, the most famous of the creepy little kids of the last decade is Haley Joel Osmet in The Sixth Sense, when he imparted those famous words to Bruce Willis, “I see dead people.” Coming at about the midway point of the film, those four little words explain what has been going on in the film, and opens the door for the much larger surprise that comes at the end. A lot of people would argue that writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has been making the same film ever since and that none of his other films have lived up to the promise of that first success, but if nothing else, he has given us one of the most memorable film experiences ever.

The Shining

While Jack Nicholson’s psychotic axe-wielding family man Jack Torrance managed to scare the crap out of us — and has one of the greatest movies lines ever with “Here’s Johnny!” — it was really Jack’s young son Danny who had the most chilling scenes of the film. In this Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel, a writer takes a job as the winter caretaker at what turns out to be a haunted hotel. After Jack, his wife, and their young son Danny move into the hotel, it’s revealed that the young boy has “the shining,” an ability to see ghosts. Eventually, Danny begins to repeatedly chant “redrum” in a deep voice while holding a knife in one hand while writing the word in red lipstick on a door with the other — that’s creepy enough. It becomes even more chilling when we find out what “redrum” actually means.

Notable Mention: The bloodied hallway scene where Danny sees the twin girl ghosts who beckon to him, “Come play with us, Danny … forever … and ever … and ever.”

The Exorcist

There are so many chilling and iconic moments packed into Linda Blair’s performance as the possessed Regan MacNeil that choosing just one singular moment is pretty difficult. Nearly every moment of dialogue that takes place between Father Karras and Regan during the Exorcism scenes are far beyond mere disturbing. Most of the gems concern Karras’s mother, like “Your mother’s in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it.” and the infamous “Your mother sucks cocks in Hell…”, or even parroting his Mother’s dementia-filled agony with “Why you do this to me, Dimi? Please Dimi, I’m afraid.” Yet for me the creepiest bit in the film takes place before the actual possession at her mom’s cocktail party. Amid the festivities of a piano-fueled singalong Regan pulls a true show-stopper when after being put to bed she returns to the party and sidles up to an Astronaut (we should all have one Astronaut buddy). In a monotonous deadpan Regan say “You’re gonna die up there.” followed by her letting loose a load of piss on the rug. Now, a little girl in pajamas telling a spaceman he’s gonna be orbital toast the day before his launch is eerie enough, but that piss-filled encore takes the moment beyond mere creepy and into utra-disturbing territory.

Interview With The Vampire

Little Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) is a beautiful girl perfectly dressed and coiffed, just like the numerous dolls that decorate her room. But she’ll never be truly happy, because she’s a child vampire who’ll live forever, yet never grow into a woman. This is the one thing she desires — so much so that amongst her dolls she hides the corpse of a female victim she wanted to emulate, which prompts a heated argument with her “father” and maker Lestat (Tom Cruise). Seemingly to make up for the fight, little Claudia brings Lestat twin boys to fed on, concealing that the boys are already dead — and drinking from the dead is a big vampire no-no. To coax Lestat to drink, Claudia so sweetly says “I promise I’ll get rid of the bodies.” Lestat takes the bait, which allows Claudia to finish him off. This “child” may seem innocent and look like a little angel, but underneath it all, she’s the deadliest of them all.

The Good Son

Macaulay Culkin was on a meteoric rise in the early 1990s with the success of the first two Home Alone movies, so it might not have been the best idea for the child star to headline the 1993 thriller The Good Son as the “bad son.” Culkin’s Henry goes far beyond spilling some milk. He’s an innocent-looking boy with malicious intent and no conscience. He will harm with no remorse. The film’s climatic scene is truly a cliffhanger: After trying to kill his own mother, Susan, Henry hangs from a cliff alongside his “good” cousin Mark (Elijah Wood). Holding one boy in each hand, Susan tries to pull them both to safety when Henry tells her, “Mom, I need your other hand” leaving Susan with the dilemma of who to save — her innocent nephew or her evil son?

Damien: Omen II

The 1970s loved to pair children with the devil, as we saw with The Exorcist. But with The Omen, instead of the child being possessed by the Devil, this 1976 horror film centered around the spawn of Satan — the Antichrist. While the original film was frightening enough, Satan’s son Damien was just a small child who didn’t say much. But in the 1978 sequel, Damien still doesn’t know of his true nature, until he begins to come of age and starts to feel a change. When he finds out that the AntiChrist has a 666 birthmark, he checks his scalp and discovers he has it. As horrifying as the gruesome deaths in the movie were, it’s Damien’s discovery of his true Satanic heritage — complete with an anguished “Why me?” — that’s truly bone-chilling.

Pet Semetary

For me personally, it does not get any more terrifying than adorable little Gage from Pet Semetary. If the horror of your baby son being hit by a speeding 18-wheeler isn’t enough to begin with, this little one is buried in then that wacky cemetery. A little bit of Monkey’s Paw later, well, we all know what happens there… back comes little Gage, only quite different now. That kid, with his little outfits and his knife and tiny high-pitched voice is enough to make me weep, especially when he’s bringing a knife to his mother, saying “I brought you something, Mommy” as if it will be a sweet surprise for her.

Children of the Corn

Let’s face it, the entire premise of Children of the Corn and its numerous sequels is one big creepy-children horror fest, from its brainwashed children with pitchforks chanting “KILL!” to its charismatic child leader Isaac and his eerie preaching about the evil god of corn known as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” While driving through Nebraska, Linda Hamilton and the guy from 30 Something have a run-in with the murderous children who sacrifice adults to the evil corn god. When Isaac has a disagreement with his right-hand man Malachai, the latter has Isaac crucified as a sacrifice to their god. As Isaac awaits death on the corn cross, he spouts off about how he is the giver of “His” word and how the children will pay for their treachery and disobedience to Isaac’s teachings. After his death, in true biblical form, Isaac is resurrected. Looking like he just put his finger in an electrical socket, the prophet Isaac returns to bring vengeance from their God to Malachai. In a possessed voice, the young Isaac tells his betrayer, “He wants you too, Malachai.”

HONORABLE MENTION
The Devil’s Backbone
The Devil’s Backbone, the first in director Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language Civil War movies, tells the story of a boy who’s brought to an orphanage during Spanish Civil War times. When he arrives, he learns of a boy who had just recently and mysteriously died there. It’s not long before the two meet and the new boy has to help the ghost of the murdered boy figure out what happened. While the ghost boy isn’t evil, he’s still really scary, and whatever the hell he’s saying here really creeped us out, man.

Compiled and written by Empress Eve, Dave3, Henchman21 & The Movie God

Don’t forget to enter to win an autographed Unborn poster from Geeks of Doom: Unborn Contest