As Halloween approaches, it’s time to celebrate our fictional favorites who love to wreak havoc on stage. Whether they are riding snakes into houses, brewing potions, or invading bodies, they are some of theatre's creepiest characters.
From Beetlejuice to Albus Potter and the Weird Sisters of Macbeth to The Exorcist, check out our gallery of ghosts, witches, and monsters who terrify (and delight) audiences.
Alex Brightman in Beetlejuice
Matthew Murphy
Leslie Kritzer and cast of Beetlejuice
Matthew Murphy
Jennifer Saunders plays the clairvoyant Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit opposite Emma Naomi as Elvira, a ghost come back to haunt (and taunt) her husband. The show was revived in the West End in 2020. Angela Lansbury won a Tony for playing Madame Arcati in 2009 on Broadway.
Jonathan Groff in Little Shop of Horrors
Emilio Madrid-Kuser
“I am thy father’s spirit; / Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,” says King Hamlet, the ghostly specter who visits the Prince in his time of need. Pictured here is Michael Urie as Hamlet and Keith Baxter as his murdered father in the 2018 Shakespeare Theatre Company production.
Bernadette Peters originated the role of The Witch in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. Bitter and cursed, the enchantress transforms at the end of Act 1 into a beautiful conjurer after drinking a magical potion made from Cinderella’s slipper, Little Red’s cape, and corn silk.
Martha Swope/New York Public Library
“Double, double, toil and trouble, / Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” The three witches of Macbeth are some of the most terrifying characters in theatre with their invisible puppet strings directing the fates of nearly every character. Here, Charlie Cameron, Laura Elsworthy, and Anjana Vasan star as the prophetic heretics in Kenneth Branagh’s Park Armory production of The Bard’s darkest play.
The opening number of The Addams Family, “When You’re An Addams,” features long-dead ancestors rising from the grave to sing along. The original Broadway production starred (from left to right): Adam Riegler, Jackie Hoffman, Bebe Neuwirth, Nathan Lane, Kevin Chamberlin, Krysta Rodriguez, and Zachary James.
Joan Marcus
Nicola Hughes as the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Stephen Tompkinson as Ebenezer Scrooge on a stroll down memory lane in Jack Thorne’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens’ tale of greed and redemption transferred to Broadway in 2019.
Successful and hopeful presidential killers are the stars in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. The final scene has the murderous crew appear as ghosts to Lee Harvey Oswald, played by Neil Patrick Harris in the 2004 Broadway production and seen kneeling in this photo. Pictured (L-R) is Alexander Gemignani as John Hinckley, Jr., Jeffrey Kuhn as Giuseppe Zangara, Mary Catherine Garrison as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, Tony winner Denis O’Hare as Charles Guiteau, Tony winner Michael Cerveris as John Wilkes Booth, James Stacy Barbour as Leon Czolgosz, Becky Ann Baker as Sara Jane Moore, and Mario Cantone as Samuel Byck.
Joan Marcus
Frank Langella starred in a 1977 Broadway revival of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, adapted by Hamilton Deane in 1924, then revised by John L. Balderston in 1927. The 1977 production of the play won the Tony for Best Revival and Best Costumes by noted illsutrator Edward Gorey.
Martha Swope (New York Public Library)
Shuler Hensley as the Monster and Roger Bart as Dr. Frankenstein (“it’s pronounced frah-ken-steen”) starred in Mel Brooks’ musical comedy Young Frankenstein. The musical also featured Tony winners Sutton Foster and Andrea Martin, along with Will and Grace star Megan Mullally.
Photo by Paul Kolnik
Sam Clemmett and Anthony Boyle brought Hogwarts to life, respectively originating Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. The play, set 19 years after the defeat of Lord Voldemort, follows the pair as they struggle to live up to their famous parents’ legacies and face a new evil that emerges to threaten the entire Wizarding World.
Sam Wheat in Ghost: The Musical finds himself unable to move on after being murdered, choosing to stay behind and look after his girlfriend Molly. Believing she is in danger, he enlists the help of a medium to communicate from the other side. The original Broadway production starred Richard Fleeshman as Sam, Caissie Levy as Molly, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Oda Mae.
Joseph Wilkins and Clare Louise Connolly starred in the West End production of The Exorcist, based on one of Hollywood’s most successful horror films. The story from William Peter Blatty and adapted for the stage by John Pielmeier follows teenager Regan (Connolly) after she is possessed by an evil demon. When Regan’s mother enlists the Catholic Church to perform an exorcism, all hell breaks loose.
Robert Day
Sherie Rene Scott in The Little Mermaid.
Per Breiehagen
Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox starred in the 2013 Broadway revival of Jekyll & Hyde, in which a scientist creates a monster within himself after experimenting with potions that would separate good from evil.
Don’t be fooled by Mr. Applegate, portrayed here by Sean Hayes—the smooth talker is actually the devil in disguise from Damn Yankees. Hayes starred opposite Jane Krakowski as Lola in the Encores! Summer Stars’ performance in 2008.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Jenna Coker starred in the Off-Broadway musical Evil Dead, which opened at New World Stages in 2006. The musical, based on the films by Sam Raimi, has since become a regional and touring favorite.
Photo by Carol Rosegg
